Rollan's Censored Issues Blog

RESTRICTED OR FREE IN 2012?

2012-01-04T03:21:00.000-08:00

STARTING IN PERSECUTING LAOS

As though the news of the Christmas Day church bombings in Nigeria wasn't bad enough, on New Year’s Day I read information so ghastly it caused me to send a message to the Australian Embassy of Laos. The discrimination against Christians in that country, long controversial, is becoming unacceptable. People are being forced from their homes and villages, refused burial (aided and abetted in this by the local Buddhist priest) even in some cases placed and left in stocks for days like some medieval scenario or put into animal pens, all to make them recant being Christians.

I don’t know what kind of freedom of religion the government of Laos considers it represents. Perhaps freedom for the ubiquitous Buddhists who prove anything but friendly to Christians despite all the talk about the religion’s tolerance and compassion. And it’s the same kind of picture in Vietnam one discovers. Something should be done. One complains, one protests and hopes to be heard and I trust that others might also complain, but the fact is that churches, like national governments, are very selective in what causes they take up and some communities and issues just get ignored. I am at least glad that the relevant information reached me as I put the final touches to a book The Great Circle: Asia, David and God Consciousness which includes a lot about Buddhism that people don’t know but need to.

But meanwhile Christians in the West, who should be campaigning loudly about these numerous rights abuses, are more taken up with things nearer at home that are less vital, productive and righteous upon examination. Not least I mean the embarrassing campaigns against gay marriage in America or even just the existence of gays in Africa – in Zambia Christians are marching for Jesus against the evil of homosexuality. They absurdly suggest, against all evidence, the orientation is not "African" (homosexuality is universal including within nature) and they want it allowed no rights under the constitution and clearly like Ugandans they would like gays to be extinct. Over in Zimbabwe gays must be so extinct that there are even hysterical moves against pink rubbish bins whose colour might remind people of the homosexuality the government of the anything but holy and righteous Robert Mugabe has outlawed!

The persecutory African line on gays is proof positive of what some of us have long been saying, mamely that Christian talk about loving the sinner, hating the sin is self-deception and little more than self-defence against the new public emphasis on rights. The average leader of Christian opinion has never been a lover of gays on any basis, (historically too many have been happy to have them imprisoned or dead - only just recently members of Christians for a Moral America have controversially prayed for the death in hospital of Singer George Michael because he was gay). And with the God of Pat Robertson's prophecies for 2012 supposedly faced against Obama and Clinton and ready to judge all America for supporting resolutions against international homophobia, obviously it's lies to talk about loving the sinner where gays are concerned. If his prophecies were true, Robertson and his God are implicated in unopposed, insufferable levels of discrimination and bullying (in Uganda to the point of murder) in African nations that it could only be right for Christians to protest with or without any encouragement from Obama and co. Robertson is another of the noisy American false prophets Christianity has to suffer the taint of.

THE GAYS AND MARRIAGE MUDDLE

It’s not that I am a fan of gay marriage or uncritically accept all gay/queer agendas promoted in the West. Personally I feel for various reasons that civil unions would suffice even while I don’t foresee gay marriages as the downfall of the western civilisation which has more than enough things wrong with it. But I am ashamed of my religion on this subject which is generating so much heat over an issue affecting a relative minority and going about its conservative campaigns dishonestly or incoherently and trying to deny rights as the same time as it wants every right for itself.

It is dishonest and even subtly heretical because the root argument of campaigners runs that the Bible clearly states marriage is for one man and a woman. NONSENSE! The Bible merely accepts and addresses the traditional line, but it also destabilizes the same line to the extent it proposes a marriage of Christ to the Church which is a marriage to both sexes and a polygamous one! Exceptions with a certain flexibility simply have to be assumed, and God is able to accept them or even wills them. God didn’t intervene to prevent or condemn leading figures of Biblical history taking multiple wives even if it wasn’t the ideal, while at least one saint of the church, St Aelred regarded Christ as having lived as though in marriage with the Beloved Disciple.

The subject of marriage is just not so clear cut as campaigners maintain (nor is "homosexuality", a word that doesn't even exist in the Bible). But even if it were, it is not for Christians to impel the whole world to live according to the narrowest possible interpretation of its own traditions or it becomes another oppressor, and in subtle ways that is what especially American Christians of the Dominionist heresy are becoming – they believe they must impose Christian laws on the world before Christ can and will return.

Meanwhile people are getting sick of the bossy political and emotional manipulation and the known effects on individuals where various sex laws are concerned. It's one of the reasons the youth are leaving the churches. They don’t need to be gay themselves or even pro gay and into various other Christian Right agendas, but they see through the rhetoric and they know what it does to people and want none of it. (As one correspondent to The Christian Post commenting on the latest news re the NIV bible translation mentioned presently and that stresses "homosexuality", it's just one more reason to reject Christianity on humanitarian grounds!). The conservative position can anyway be plain paranoid. New star of the Republican ticket and the evangelicals, Rick Santorum, declares gay marriage threatens his marriage. What does he even mean? Are all gays secret bisexuals trying to seduce his wife?

THE JOE DALLAS CONFUSION

After I chanced on one of his articles recently I finally lost patience and wrote to this star and leading voice of the ex-gay movement, Joe Dallas, and told him what I believe is the truth that needs to be told to his face. A person who admits to have had plenty of sex with both sexes including with female prostitutes and who has been married more than once is not the ideal person to be telling gays and Christians how to conduct or cure themselves. I question if Dallas ever really what could be called gay, he seems closer to some kind of addictive personality (his sex life was influenced by a drug habit) or bisexual like the Amy Winehouses of this world.

But Dallas won’t have it that gays should compromise the Bible by talking of acceptable gay relations. Indeed? I told him in that case he should practice some biblical literalism himself and be back with his first wife whom he considered he had married too quickly and thoughtlessly and therefore could be divorced from.The fact is everyone compromises, everyone lets bits of the Bible go – how many conservative Christians reckon to insist with St Paul that women cover their heads? How many evangelicals make their women keep silence in church? How many believe all divorce is wrong? How many reckon to follow St Paul on authority - the American republic was founded strictly speaking on a rejection of St Paul on political authority. Oh, that’s culture, that’s historical custom, it gets said. But if gays make arrangements, pointing to history, culture, science, psychology and the times, that’s inexcusable and abomination.

Sorry, but this kind of thinking won’t do. And actually, though it’s only one of several sensitive subjects engaging churches, the gay issue is rather special all the same and I can see we, or some sections of the churches and even Israel, are in for more controversies around it all over again in 2012, especially now since even I began this article I see that the just released new edition of the NIV, the bestselling modern Bible among especially evangelicals has tried to tighten up St Paul on homosexuality to make it clear that in Corinthians he is condemning both active and passive homosexuality.

SEXUAL SENSE AND NONSENSE IN 2012

Just on the edge of the New Year was Jewish Hanukkah (Feast of Lights), always close to Christian Christmas. For some Jews (a coalition of 150 Orthodox rabbis) it has suddenly obtained a new or renewed meaning. Denying more liberal ideas expressed within their community only a year previously, they want to remind all Jews and liberals that Hanukkah is about historic resistance to Greek culture and Hellenistic culture was gay. Consequently, as the Torah would never forbid what it would be unreasonable to forbid, it has to be that homosexuality is a great verboten that is wholly curable.

So in 2012 the old story of visits to rabbis and therapists will start over again - and doubtless with some effect on conservative Christians and Messianic (Jewish) Christians who take notice of what rabbis say while the rabbis take notice of what Ex-gay ministries say - and there will be more of the kind of misery and abuses described by gay Rabbi Steven Greenberg in his Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in Jewish Tradition (2005). Young Jewish gays will be pressured into believing they must be assisted in discovering what hidden childhood wounds they can't recall are at the base of their perverted desires and get into marriages which they will likely mess up. I’ve seen and known cases. In short, Jews and Christians are going to agree with Talmudic sage Rabbi Eliazar who believed that though “eunuchs” are born with aversion to the opposite sex they can be cured.

Which of course is to take the opposite line of the Jesus that at any rate Christians should be listening to who didn’t believe born that way “eunuchs” were for the curing but in some mysterious way (what way?) he identifies these outsider persons with the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:12).

It is often held the Bible has no word for “homosexual” or “homosexuality” with its whole modern complex of sexual and psychological frame of reference - and it doesn’t. If there was any it would not be of the kind from St Paul and which as in Corinthians get misleadingly translated and used in relation to “homosexuality” where his references likely have to do with male prostitution and the paedophilia often involved with same in ancient society so that the original now rejected "homosexual offenders" of the NIV's original translation is nearer the sense for today. The nearest word would be the gospel reference to the eunuch. The word didn’t automatically mean a castrate (“those made eunuchs”) nor did it even automatically signify asexual or celibate, but it would always signify someone for any reason not in the normal way of nature, the outsider of some kind.

SENSE AND NONSENSE IN TORAH INTERPRETATION

Rabbi Greenberg has Jewish perspectives on the gay issue, and as will be evident I have Christian ones, so we are not perfectly agreed on all things though we would agree on much. Anyone who might want to know my approach to a) gay issues and b) the Torah legacy for Christians, can read them in not just my survey and assessment of gay spiritualities in A Special Illumination, but in parts of Cosmic Father, Chapters 11,12 and 13 of Testament of the Magi and chapters 10 and 11 of Temple Mysteries and Spiritual Efficiency. The latter includes facts and opinions that Christians really ought to know but which I couldn’t hope to put in A Special Illumination because it was an academic work based on a doctoral thesis. One point it clarifies is who can really be considered gay and why and when –the average, wilfully ignorant conservative Christian notion is that gay is a “lifestyle”, which they deduce from gay parades and tales of bar pickups. It's a vital point which can help explain why some people are apparently “cured” and others not and there is a terrible amount of lies and deception around that subject.

For example one can hear on the Sid Roth (Messianic Jewish) show only this past week – just in time for Hannukah obsessions! - how Dennis Jernigan was “a practicing homosexual” who was set free by Christ, because “nothing is impossible to God”. He is now so hetero he is a paterfamilias with 9 children! Please! There are things one could say about this including one or two bad jokes I won’t make though really at times one needs to be plain super patient saintly to deal with some of the nonsense some Christians come up with and Jernigan is anyway to be pitied. He represents some kind of confusion. He had been terrified and tormented before puberty itself and aged ten by the extremes of evil that “good” Christians put into his mind that homosexuality or effeminacy represented. Something beyond redemption itself. The surest ticket to hell! So his suggestible personality was frantic to be hetero. In fact, it is the residual extremes of horror around homosexuality in conservative religious circles in America that still makes the ex-gay ministry so attractive to some. When it’s a case of better dead than gay and the person is no kind of individualist, cure is the last and only hope!

Whatever, at the risk of over-simplifying and omitting things, and thus being misunderstood and having mud slung, let’s make a few simple points on a complex and contested subject. The Bible via the Torah in Leviticus doesn’t ban or punish “homosexuality” as such - the word and concept didn’t exist at whenever precisely the Torah came into being. The Torah is “extraverted” in the ancient style, having little or no psychology and referring chiefly to actions, sometimes like so much case law. The Leviticus text is not clear, some would say corrupt, but it looks to ban same sex activity, probably sodomy, probably in the context of cultic prostitution especially as it seems to assume behaving like a woman and a lot of ancient prostitution involved transvestism, with male prostitutes taking the role of women. Israel’s covenant seeks in all ways to avoid the (religious) ways of the surrounding peoples.

Anciently there was anyway no greater disgrace than for a man to be womann associated or to adopt a female role. It’s the reason such as the Egyptians sodomized prisoners of war to feminize them. Drag queens exist but almost no modern gays regard themselves as feminized by engaging in whatever precisely they may do. The Hebrews however took on board an Egyptian view of things at a few points. The Egyptians believed sodomy could cause eclipses – much later the rabbis of the Talmud did the same, though usually their astrology is more sophisticated. More importantly there is not a single reference in the whole OT (Jewish bible) to anyone being executed for same sex behaviour, but there is a reference to male cult prostitutes being removed from the temple area to purify worship (but not executed as they would have to be if the law was literally applied). Assume the prostitution connection was always the main consideration and reference as far as the Torah was concerned.

Even if improbably the Leviticus reference was to “homosexuality” as we understand it, should it concern us, any more than certain biblical ideas on political authority that not even fundamantalists or evangelicals take too seriously? Though there is much that is uplifting and advanced in the Torah, many of its provisions are unthinkable in modern terms like the extreme observance of the Sabbath and extreme penalty for not observing it, or parents bound to execute fractious children - is this the cure for delinquency?! Or was it intended to be? (We hear no biblical instances of such dire remedy occurring!). Ancient Middle Eastern laws began almost symbolically. No doctor would ever have practiced if the laws seriously meant the penalties prescribed should he fail! A very literal reading of the Torah is a late development, basically post Exilic. And it is also a dispensational thing. Again I won’t try to explain but the entire concern with War and Law is consistent with the Aries-Libra era under which the Torah was proclaimed. Things have changed.

This doesn’t mean that the Torah means nothing or tells us nothing whatsoever about God and life. If we can read and understand it aright it does contain messages. I was very keen to insist on this in Cosmic Father. It is not for Christians to throw it away. But we must come to terms with the Torah legacy and the gay issue it introduces and still more the gospels and the eunuch question. You can go to You Tube and see/hear a sermon of Rev Jeff Miner on Jesus and the eunuchs. It is popular and radical but it is open ended and not quite sure what Jesus is getting at and why he would identify believers and/or perhaps himself with the outsider status or consciousness. Are we meant to understand Jesus considered himself to be a eunuch? The Church Father Tertullian is believed to have said so but I'll not get into that one.

If you want answers and explanations in relation to this major theological and psychological issue - riddle almost - I can only say there are answers to be had and some of them are given in the books I have cited above.

2012 TIME FOR A NEW YEAR REBUKE

It would be nice to send out good wishes for the year but on the subject I’ve just been considering stinging rebuke for once might be more fitting. Besides which I don’t know how many times those of us who have tried to talk sense on this subject have turned the other cheek, given the benefit of the doubt, tried to understand when being insulted or ignored.

The kind of conservative American Christians who confuse and terrify the mind of ten year olds like the mentioned Dennis Jernigan deserve little better than to be locked up. They are crazier than the craziest gay parade exhibitionists and their obsession with such people is a Jungian projection on their part. They have largely been the cause of the very problems they currently complain against.

If America is now unnaturally afflicted by such as education about gay sex from kindergarten level up, it’s because these Me Tarzan, You Jane, if you play piano you’re a girl, hell fire ignorant Christians have ruined so many minds that society religious and secular almost needs protection from them. Don’t let them imagine Jesus will answer their heretical dominionist prayers to stop by legal impositions any slide to decadence. Before God will hear them for anything they must repent first of their half criminal, redneck nonsense and start contemplating what and who their Jesus was and why he set so much store by the eunuchs of the kingdom which in their spiritual blindness they so proudly and aggressively aren’t.

INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS: CHRIST’S ASTROLOGY

2011-12-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

Every new discovery and test certifies that the true and revelatory data for Christ’s birth and life have been found. They even work for Christ issues to this day. This sadly increases the shame of those who, year after year in both religious and secular fields, doggedly refuse to examine, publish or broadcast the relevant evidence but instead - if they consider any theory - look for non-astrological explanations of the Bethlehem Star. This despite the fact “magi” means astrologers. Before proceding, a couple of examples, one very recent, of Christ’s natus still responding to and describing events by the verifiable, standard rules, are:

• On November 19th when Pakistan’s PTA listed “Jesus Christ” as a banned, obscene expression for text messages, Saturn (traditional planetary symbol of restriction and in medieval tradition the devil) had arrived at 24.30 degrees of Libra. This means Saturn was negatively conjuncting Christ’s natally conjunct asteroids Messiah, Christ and Jesus (Isa, Arabic for Jesus). These stand in his horoscope at 23, 24 and 25 Libra respectively.

• When first published in early April ‘03, The Da Vinci Code was heralded by a lunation (new moon) at 11 Aries, exact to the degree in what astrologers call a hostile “square” aspect to Christ’s natal Magdalena asteroid. But ’06 was the year of the book’s maximum influence. In late April 5 million paperbacks were issued (forty million copies had been sold since ‘03) this followed in mid May by film of the book. Neptune in modern astrology is film. It is also deception or scandal when in “affliction” aspect (such as quincunx) to another planet as happened at both issue and première dates. On both occasions this “afflicted”Neptune had arrived close to perfect conjunction with Christ’s natal Midheaven angle (marker of destiny and reputation) signalling how novel and film were the disinformation many have claimed.

Such events can only register so accurately after millennia because the discovered data is so extremely accurate and - against what astrophobic conservative Christians and materialistic sceptics wish to believe - what the Magi knew was astrological through and through. We can be assured of this even without recourse to the clarifying, certifying input of later discovered celestial factors like Jesus and Magdalena asteroids which retroactively work upon the base data. A way to the latter was opened up years ago by two noted astronomers, Ferrari D’Occhieppo and David Hughes whose researches assumed a target area for the birth of mid September 7 BC. (Common objection to 7 BC birth and 30 AD death is that Jesus began preaching at “about 30”. With ages counted in multiples of five he could be between 30 and 35). However.....

If in addition to standard proofs one applies hundreds of name, place and concept asteroids and numerous so-called Arabic Parts to the base planetary data, the date and time of Christ’s birth supply information demonstrably obvious to even the layperson. It helps reveal Christ’s life and mind and clarifies many issues around him almost more than anything since the gospels. It’s a discovery intriguing in its way as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the purest instance of the night skies “uttering knowledge” (Ps 19:2).

• The names of Jesus’ ancestors Jacob, Ruth, Jesse, Solomon, etc impossibly turn up in his fourth house of family and origins - and don’t ask even this author how and why – so too do Eve and Adam (strictly speaking Adams[on] since no Adam asteroid exists) along with Paradise, and the nearest available name to Bethlehem (Betlem – call it “astrospeak”!).

• Christ’s role more theologically is certified by the Part of Redemption exactly conjunct his identity giving sun along with Berger (Fr. Shepherd) and other suggestive factors in conjunction and aspect to it.

• Christ’s reputation and self-declaration as “Light of the World”, “Lord of the Sabbath” and “True Vine” are all certified by the Midheaven angle (reputation and destiny) conjuncted by Licht (German for Light) conjunct Shabbas (Yiddish for Sabbath) in Aquarius sign of the peoples and world, conjunct Joshualevine, Joshua being Jesus’ real name.

• The mother, the moon in astrology, was conjuncted either side by Jungfrun (Virgin) and Betulia (God’s virgin). Added to which, Maria conjunct Vesta in fortunate aspect to Angel, tells what looks like a familiar tale around Gabriel whose message is likewise coded in another pattern promising exceptional birth.

• All astrology’s six “world points” code some religious/theological message beginning with the Gluck (German for Good Fortune/Happiness) at 0 Aries which is like an angelic “Joy to the world”.

Despite having some qualification as a doctor of religious studies and an astrologer to deal with these issues, almost no one (among those with influence) has been keen to know and consider these facts and the detailed, remarkable information available (including re such currently disputed issues and figures as the crucifixion, the Magdalene, the Beloved Disciple to each of which I devote a chapter) that fill the nearly 400 pages of my Testament of the Magi. (Given the almost total refusal to even look at the material it has been self-published to Amazon in print and e-book versions).

Perhaps, like one astrologer who was at least honest with me about their avoidance, people are afraid to get so close to the centre.

A leading Christian newspaper who, despite having reviewed a regularly published work of mine refused the suggestion of any feature or interview assured me they knew all there is to know about Jesus, they didn’t need to know about the Magi. But they very much do need to know. As does also an Archbishop of Canterbury who controversially assured the world a few Christmases ago the Magi were myth.

The shameful “no room at the inn” list is almost endless and has continued on and off since I knew the first elements of the picture in 1987. A few years ago a leading publisher of almost anything in religion, including the likes of a retired bishop who now denies theism, immortality and the soul – they pursued him for a book on that! – managed to forget and lose Testament of the Magi. They did so after its being recommended through to them by an editor of a leading international house which for once had actually been prepared to read. They finally found it, then decided it wouldn’t fit their list anyway.......just as perhaps they and the regular streams of disinformation (some might say libels) they issue about Christ and Christianity and from which they unabashedly profit, wouldn’t fit the Lord of the Universe. (Ironically I notice their name exactly opposed asteroid Christian at Christ’s birth, so maybe their refusal was providentially destined in relation to sacred information needing the right hands!).

Someone retired from long prominence in religious publishing but still influential advised me last August she wouldn’t know where and to whom she could recommend such unusual material today. I feel she might have dedicated herself to every effort for such rare and momentous information, but I reckon she is by and large right - from the purely practical standpoint which is too often the average Christian one.

Religious ignorance and indifference, moral and spiritual cowardice, the stubbornness of some promoting films and books based on deceptive theories of astronomy with no proper relation to the astrology of the Magi – conveniently dismissed as unbiblical or “divination” though Talmudic rabbis wouldn’t understand such nonsense - where does the dismal, decadent picture end?

MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN.

“You are weighed in the balances and found wanting”

One must love truth in order to obtain it. And the truth of Christmas? Too many don’t know what it is, what it means, and when it occurred! In the words of Isaiah cited by Christ:

Keep listening, but do not comprehend:
Keep looking, but do not understand
Make the mind of this people dull (Is 6: 9,10).

(TRANSLATION NOTE). The natal super-conjunction of Christ’s names/titles which include Messiah/Christ/Jesus is literally Masi (Ar. Messiah) Christa and Isa. Originally asteroids were registered in female form, Mozart = Mozartia, Washington = Washingtonia. But in Christ’s natal chart and elsewhere Christa is always the Christ asteroid. It was even on a world point at the Pentecost foundation of Christianity. (See my Christianity’s Destiny - also available on Amazon).

STOP PRESS: JOHNNY DEPP’S BLASPHEMOUS CHRISTMAS SONG: WHY DEPP, WHY NOW?

December Lunar Eclipse 18 Gemini conjunct Depp’s natal 18 Gemini Sun highlights him
Depp’s natal Mars (aggression/attack) 3.13 Virgo is directly opposite
Christ’s Uranus (“ruler” of reputation/career and symbol of Spirit) 3.14 Pisces
Depp is natally thus very challenged by, or opposed to Christ.

KATE MIDDLETON'S BIBLICAL DILEMMA

2011-11-29T01:09:00.001-08:00

BEING BIBLICAL BY DEFAULT

One doesn’t exactly associate Kate Middleton with religion and things biblical. Early this year the bishop of London rushed through the confirmation ceremony she had never undergone ahead of a marriage to someone expected eventually to become Head of the Church of England (if laws and customs don’t change in that respect). However...

If you can believe what you read in glossy mags in supermarket queues it sounds as if - and this time I suspect it might actually be true – there have been domestic arguments, the first major round of them, between a tearful Kate Middleton and her prince. The subject is Kate’s resentment as a royal widely believed to be pregnant, or at least hoping soon to become so, that her prince seems set to be off early next year to the possible danger zone of the Falklands. The region is currently once again disputed by a sabre rattling Argentina. William is already doing dangerous and in the last few days recently heroic things in air-sea rescue. Quite simply Kate doesn’t want William into danger zones only months after the marriage.

If she hasn’t been biblical before, the new Duchess finally more or less is so however unbewares and unintentionally. According to Deuteronomy 25:6

“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife he has married.”

I am not suggesting that Christians, who consider themselves unbound by Torah, must follow all of Deuteronomy’s sometimes archaic and difficult provisions. (Not even most Jews would reckon to do so). But it contains some useful and exemplary principles all the same, and ideally Christians should keep it somewhere at the back of their minds as a guide in evaluation of some affairs. The rule governing army and marriage is surely one such case.

And at another level I don’t anyway think William should court too much danger. I commented back in April on the chart for the marriage omitting what struck me as most potentially tricky. I don’t wish to go into that here either, but in Kate’s position I do think she would be justified in opposing too much unnecessary risk taking.

EVEREST AND THE IDOLATRY QUESTION

But at least it looks as though it’s Prince Harry rather than William who aspires to climb Everest. It is nonetheless controversial that any members of the royal family would engage in this adventure and certainly William should not, though if Harry goes ahead he might well to tempted to do so later. The problem is that - if we are to be biblical again - the project is surrounded by what for Torah and Christians has to be called idolatry. Bible and sherpas disagree over who owns the mountains. For sherpas it is certain gods and demons. Mountaineers normally join in appeasement puja ceremonies in order to have permission to climb the heights at all, or at least to insure devout and nervous Sherpas will guide and accompany them.

As a recent documentary which included a puja made clear, a lama beneath Everest warned Mallory and Irvine before their fatally unsuccessful attempt on Everest that the demons were hostile to them and only waiting to send them to hell. The heroes of Everest never appear to have been particularly heroic on the moral and spiritual plane if they merely acted for convenience with appeals to or appeasement of local gods. And if they considered themselves Christians at all, they don’t belong to the class of Christians who refused to throw incense to the worship of Caesar. Idolatry has long term effects upon individuals, families and societies which is why it is so strongly opposed in the Torah. Kate should keep her prince away from Everest whether for safety’s sake or more biblical reasons.

PROOF THE “ANONYMOUS” FILM ON SHAKESPEARE IS WRONG

2011-11-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

THE STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE UNDER SIEGE AGAIN

Released in the US and UK on Oct 28th and here in Australia this mid November, the film Anonymous is built round the theme that Shakespeare didn’t author his plays. Instead of Bacon or Marlowe as author of the bard’s opus (the most longstanding alternative theses) this film backs the Edward de Vere theory, an Earl of Oxford portrayed as lover of Elizabeth 1st, played in film by Vanessa Redgrave.

When I first learned of the film which promises to depict Elizabethan London faithfully I felt I must see it. When this weekend I gathered it entailed promotion of the de Vere thesis I was less interested, but turned with curiosity to an old piece of research of mine, sure that like Snow White’s mirror on the wall it would tell the truth.

Way back in August 1991, I demonstrated to some minor acclaim (people were citing the relevant article to me years later) that Shakespeare was indeed born at Stratford on the given date (23rd April 1564 OS) with a birth time of 11.20 AM. This supplied him 19 degrees of the theatrical sign of Leo rising over the horizon and 3 degrees of Venus ruled Taurus at his reputation Midheaven.

My original pattern could be proved against such facts as we can know about Shakespeare’s life and its situations, including such problems as alleged tax evasion and a shot gun marriage, not to mention the problem of his very odd grave place. Demonstration was more of a tour de force back then as I had no recourse to the name, place and concept asteroids for centuries past and these descriptively work.

ASTEROID SHAKESPEARE. A BARD EMBARRASSED BY HIS NAME

Among other things there is an asteroid Shakespeare. Usually name asteroids turn up near an angle or somewhere very prominent and easily recognizable for the person. We might expect the Shakespeare name would scream at us from an angle, but in my chart it doesn’t. It’s in the sixth house of work and the working classes at four degrees of controversial Aquarius in affliction square to the bard’s reputation Midheaven. Why? Because we know that despite his love and affinity for theatre Shakespeare didn’t like his profession, which was felt to be an inferior one, and he interiorized this prejudice as his self-reflecting pattern shows.

Shakespeare was reluctantly an actor. He was really an actor/writer, so appropriately the asteroid Actor conjuncts his socially aware Libran moon in his third house of writing. His dislike of his professional status is described by the almost perfect affliction square of his Actor asteroid with his natal Mars, whose drive and energy spurs him on even when he resents it. (At another level Moon square Mars is linked to his tricky relation to wife and women).

SHAKESPEARE’S DISPUTED REPUTATION AND AUTHORSHIP

That Shakespeare’s would often be a disputed authorship seems guaranteed by the following crucial fact. At the Stratford Shakespeare’s reputation-identifying Midheaven stands Taurus. That sign is ruled by Venus and this natus Venus conjuncts Neptune in Gemini. The combination is incidentally THE signature of the bard’s genius. Venus (art and love) conjuncts Neptune (imagination, vision) in Gemini, sign of words and writing. However…..negatively Neptune can be mere lies and deception and if your reputation ruler conjuncts Neptune, things about you can be unclear and there may be deception regarding who your are. (Venus to Neptune incidentally also inclines to bisexuality such as Shakespeare exhibits).

The deception around authorship begins with the attribution of the Bard’s work to Francis Bacon. The Bacon name can thus be taken as symbol of all alternative Shakespeare theories and suitably, asteroid Bacon directly opposes Shakespeare’s Venus ruling his reputation! (There is no asteroid for Marlowe or de Vere who furnish later theories, so Bacon is the true symbol of all alternatives here).

Obviously there is much more one can say about the natal chart and proofs for it, but it is only what is happening right now that really matters to prove that Shakespeare was as claimed and not as currently filmed.

SHAKEAPEARE’S REPUTATION RIGHT NOW.

General release of Anonymous was on Oct 28th. This followed the 26th October lunation defining events for people in the month from then. On that day Mercury, (news, ideas) at 19 Scorpio (traditionally the most unfortunate degree on the zodiac) was in exact affliction square to Shakespeare’s 19 degree ascendant angle, his persona.

The lunation itself fell at 3 degrees Scorpio. This means it was in affliction square to asteroid Shakespeare at 4 Aquarius and exactly opposite to the degree the bard’s Midheaven, which is quite simply some “opposition” to his reputation and status form the sector of origins. However at the same time, Jupiter was near conjunct his Midheaven from 5 degrees Taurus and again square the Shakespeare asteroid, exaggerating and enlarging issues as Jupiter tends to do, but rendering the situation not entirely unfortunate. People will still go on talking about the Bard, perhaps with renewed interest and defending him and so on. That there is nonetheless a real problem is confirmed by the way the fated nodes transit in exact square to Shakespeare’s Pluto (secrets). The wrong, false kind of pretended secrets are being let out about him.

SHAKESPEARE AND NATURAL GIFTS

What this whole problem of origins comes down to is the old - if anything rather snobbish - scepticism that mere Shakespeare could ever be himself. How could he absorb so much, be a poet to such a high standard and sound so educated and be able to portray aristocratic figures so easily given his relatively humble background? Well, for a start we know that like a lot of poets Shakespeare absorbed a good deal of Ovid, who suitably fortunately aspects his natal Uranus (a genius factor) plus with both a natal Jupiter in regal Leo and Leo rising his manner would switch on to high style without too much prompting and example to go by. But as the late poet and critic Kathleen Raine always insisted in promoting neo-romanticism, the currently disfavoured high style in poetry is the natural, even spontaneous accompaniment of the vision which, traditionally at least some poets deal in. She felt this was certified by the way one could trace high style even among the visionary poetry of peasant populations.

I have written about my dealings with Kathleen Raine in the introduction to a book of my poems whose proof I have been reading this last week. Puer Poems will be available in a few weeks now. If the matter gets out and is known, that this poetry was never published twenty and more years ago could be considered a real scandal in modern literature. It was never disputed I was seriously gifted for poetry, that wasn’t the reason the poetry never saw light of day even after I had had a whole poetic drama broadcast on the ABC.

PUER POEMS SOON

Just what all this is about, wait and find out, but all I will affirm here is that I know beyond question poetry is very much a matter of gift. Before I started on the poems of my collection, I had scarcely studied English literature (I studied French and German lit at degree level) beyond some Shakespeare plays at school and then reading a little of the Romantic poets who were not taught at school. I scarcely even studied Latin poetry beyond a bit of Vergil for O level, but one prominent poet who refused to publish me for a peculiar reason, opined I must have been studying the classics for years to have reached such levels of musicality.

So no, sorry, it’s all nonsense about alternative Shakespeares. All you need is the gift and the right horoscope. Poetry can be improved, but it is only minimally taught and learned. Shakespeare was who history says he was, and he managed to be born at the right moment to engage his talents. Films like Anonymous are for people like Vanessa Redgrave who always fall for the wrong ideas like supporting Palestinian terrorists as heroes and martyrs.

RIGHT ABOUT GILAD SHALIT (AND OTHER MATTERS)

2011-09-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

TOWARDS RELEASE

I was delighted to read the latest news around Israeli soldier and prisoner Gilad Shalit and pleased to have forecast so near the mark about him too.

In my January Blog I observed that this year there was a helpful sign for Shalit from the January eclipse. However, as can happen with eclipses, I said its promise might hold off till specifically stimulated. Accordingly things would likely wait at very least until Jupiter got into Taurus (in June) and then the lunation affecting September when with its full moon on the prisoner’s Jupiter it would waken things up.

I see that things have been hotting up since Gilad's birthday on 28th August but right on the day of the full moon (11th Sept) I read news through the Net and Haaretz that now a group of American Muslims are awaiting a reply from the (rather implacable) Hamas recommending his release. At the time of writing a couple of days later I see no report of reply yet, but what has happened still looks like a major move and change in the Shalit affair.

If we knew Shalit’s birth time the situation might be clearer, but though I trust things will now continue on through to release, I hope it will do so reasonably quickly as otherwise the subject might get lost to other concerns. The lunation at the end of this month is tense and tricky for Israel and if hostilities were to break out either the Shalit issue could be dropped or it would get resolved another way – the IDF simply managing to take him as at the beginning of the year it was saying it would make efforts to do.

The coming lunation (27th September) is still helpful to Shalit with its semi-sextile to his sun, but the current fortunate and helpful transit of liberating Uranus to Shalit’s difficult and imprisoning natal Saturn even when making that promising aspect is still a bit hampered by the current square of the power games Pluto to this Uranus factor. (And Shalit is caught amid power games!). So….. the best I can see without a birth time is that either Shalit will get out this month with the transiting fated nodes conjunct his natal Saturn, or, perhaps more likely after what has now happened, following some coming and going and negotiations, around the beginning of November. Jupiter will then be fortunately trine his sun and the previous lunation has made opportunity aspect to his natal sun.

LOST AMID PSALMS

I am not sure what ought to be the Joseph-in-Egypt type Shalit’s psalm, but I have been somewhat lost amid psalms since return from a trip to China in July which however memorable was a knock out for health. I was given a cornucopia of antibiotics in Hong Kong just to be able to fly back to Australia on time as I could hardly speak or stop coughing for the effects of Beijing pollution. That apart, the trip was very interesting even though it was disappointing not to have been able to visit Tibet as planned due to the fact China (fearing a version of Arab spring, it's thought) suddenly closed the region to foreign tourists for the end of June and most of July.

The changes of plan have nevertheless been helpful for the swirl of ideas I have had for religion, art, mysticism and so on, and not long back from China I started on a book. The tentative title is The Great Circle: Asia, David and God Consciousness. It feels like the most exciting thing I have written, there’s such a wide range getting explored including the latest on how the brain reacts to types of spiritual practices. It will also be the last major book I intend to undertake, the effort is too great, the reward too little for the trouble and after this articles I know I shall be content suffice. Also with this subject matter I shall have come full circle from the first published and critically successful, The Expansion of God in 1982 which was about cultural problems of Christianity in Asia.

My writing is one of the reasons I have not been attentive to this Blog and I shall probably not be so again until at least until I am finished in hopefully a few weeks at which time the next thing to put out is my Puer Poems. Currently we are working here on a few problems of the cover. Issue of the collection won’t represent another example of a poetaster’s vanity publishing. This will be more like the belated (years late) issue of a literary scandal. The state of non publication, was effectively a form of arts community pre-censorship directed upon work highly recommended by people whose opinion would normally be respected in the area. I give the shocking story in the Introduction.

HOW USEFUL IS FACEBOOK?

….Not that I am expecting the interest and support that might be fair and natural in the circumstances. Shocking stories seem to follow me around to the point I am used to them. I have in fact just about lost faith in the ability of even Facebook to generate any kind of proper support or its "Friends" to mean anything in a case like mine. I obtained a number of "friends" to the list and specifically, as I explained to them, in relation to some important forthcoming information that could well be of relevance and interest to them as persons concerned with church history, theology etc. This was all with regard to publication of Christianity’s Destiny, the astrology of Pentecost which as I demonstrate produces the most spectacular and also hard to refute information, the very names and issues for the religion graphically turning up with help from the modern astrology that includes name, place and concept asteroids as they interrelate with such as the Parts like Part of Revelation etc. C.S.Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas, all turn up in suitable places and ways for the total picture. It's information unprecedented in Christian history and I dubbed it a form of celestial wikileaks it's so exceptional.

My writing is one of the reasons I have not been attentive to this Blog and I shall probably not be so again until at least until I am finished in hopefully a few weeks at which time the next thing to put out is my Puer Poems. Currently we are working here on a few problems of the cover. Issue of the collection won’t represent another example of a poetaster’s vanity publishing. This will be more like the belated (years late) issue of a literary scandal. The state of non publication, was effectively a form of arts community pre-censorship directed upon work highly recommended by people whose opinion would normally be respected in the area. I give the shocking story in the Introduction.

HOW USEFUL IS FACEBOOK?

….Not that I am expecting the interest and support that might be fair and natural in the circumstances. Shocking stories seem to follow me around to the point I am used to them. I have in fact just about lost faith in the ability of even Facebook to generate any kind of proper support or its "Friends" to mean anything in a case like mine. I obtained a number of "friends" to the list and specifically, as I explained to them, in relation to some important forthcoming information that could well be of relevance and interest to them as persons concerned with church history, theology etc. This was all with regard to publication of Christianity’s Destiny, the astrology of Pentecost which as I demonstrate produces the most spectacular and also hard to refute information, the very names and issues for the religion graphically turning up with help from the modern astrology that includes name, place and concept asteroids as they interrelate with such as the Parts like Part of Revelation etc. C.S.Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas, all turn up in suitable places and ways for the total picture. It's information unprecedented in Christian history and I dubbed it a form of celestial wikileaks it's so exceptional.

People could get the idea from even just the surprising blurb cited. Two “Friends” bothered to reply to the messages I sent out on release of the promised information and only one of them because I wrote asking why I hadn’t received any reply. Too busy at their studies, too cynical, too skeptical, too incurious, too ungracious, too anti astrology, too vainly fearful of reputation from the threat of unusual subject matter, too unchristian, too just something or anything to be bothered. I feel justly angry. Thanks but no thanks to the greater part of so called Facebook “friends”. You're perverse and if you're Christians you're as blind and unready as the five of the ten maidens of the parable or the too busy people that are condemned in the parable of the wedding feast where nobody invited bothers to act on the invitation.

After that I shall know better than to waste time and effort appealing to any gays to look at the gay interest and issues raised by Puer Poems. (I explained to several gay Christian groups on Facebook the extreme relevance of some of the revelations of the Pentecost pattern. Again no response). I have consistently experienced gays whether spiritual or secular as unsupportive for any important issue I have tackled. Years ago, none of them in the publications field ever helped or showed interest with regard to getting the poetry out, and why should they when almost none bothered about even my world first doctorate on gay spiritualities?

So the case is hopeless and I must leave them to go to their parties and parades. There are other people and things in life than the no “friends” Christians and gays of Facebook and that of course includes prisoners; and as at the beginning of the year I continue to hope that Gilad Shalit and also Bradley Manning will arrive at freedom.

SAID AND NOT SAID ABOUT THE FATE OF POP SINGER CHARLES HADDON

2011-06-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

AGAINST SOME DISINFORMATION

My attention has been drawn by a member of his family to some serious disinformation whose origin I don’t understand as regards singer Charles Haddon. In question is what I am supposed to have written about last year’s tragic suicide of this rising pop star, leader of Ou est le Swimming Pool.

In Temple Mysteries and Spiritual Efficiency I report the circumstances and nature of a very disturbing and vivid prophetic dream I had regarding the suicide….. I nowhere state the death occurred because the singer compared himself to Christ - which he is never likely to have done.

I did state that his next album due to be called - but when posthumously issued not called - Christ Died For Our Synths, was spiritually unhelpful in the case of this sadly conflicted person with whom I argued about life and death in my dream. Charles Haddon’s still grieving relatives already feel hurt enough by “cruel” statements made on the Net and elsewhere about the singer, but in correspondence with a family member my position has been clarified and I think understood. Certainly anything written was never intended to hurt anyone. The text cast no aspersions on the character of the young singer whom I regard as a tragic victim under certain pressures, and I go with eulogies to the effect he was a kindly, sensitive individual.

Since Temple Mysteries has scarcely been available on Amazon – I withdrew it for corrections not long after first issue in January and only recently re-entered it – I am puzzled about what has happened. It looks like some kind of leak or willful embroidery for sensation’s sake must have taken place. Where and by whom and why I currently have no idea. I do plan later to make some You Tube clip on both the just published Christianity’s Destiny and on Temple Mysteries at which time I hope to indicate just what Temple Mysteries is and is not about.

In the reported dream I witnessed a fall of someone I could identify from a kind of tower which is how the sad event would subsequently be everywhere reported. The setting was as per given by pix. A very recent coroner's report has it that suicide occurred by hanging from a railing not from a fall. I obviously can't and don't wish to challenge that point. I would however put as a footnote to this that if future events can be foreseen, as they have not yet occurred they can only ever be symbolically previsioned. So what I saw not only corresponded to what would be universal original report, but if I were to be Jungian about it all (but should one be?), someone on the edge of world fame falling from a communications tower anyway symbolizes what was the case, a losing of the potential or ambition to reach the world.

BEWARE OF WELLINGTON IN JUNE !?

2011-06-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

A MAORI ELDER'S FORECAST

A Maori elder, Kerei Tia Toa, also known as Gray Theodore an historian and retired Anglican priest, released a prophecy earlier this year. It is one that, oddly enough, he has kept to himself half a lifetime but suddenly gone public about. He alleges he was shown “by the Lord” the destruction of the capital of NZ by quake and tsunami. He never reported this in thirty eight years but last year believed he was told by God to inform the nation's leaders. He saw no way of doing this but finally managed more or less accidentally to do so last February at a Waitangi Day ceremony.

It’s not that Wellington like LA hasn’t long been expecting some kind of quake, but the vision if true appears to point to a distinctly radical event, worse than Christchurch and much else. Even houses on the hills were seen to disappear and the parliament house lay in ruins, body bags were everywhere in the streets. The visionary was never given any timing and date except that when it would occur it would be in the month of June. Release of this word after so long presumably implies imminence of the event which if it doesn’t occur this year, or at least within the biblically significant 40 years, would likely be false.

UNDER THE ECLIPSES

I am unfamiliar with the astrology of New Zealand and I gather that - like notoriously America - it is confused by the use of several charts for various treaty and political foundational moments. On the Net one such date is given as January 17 1853 for the Act of Constitution. On any chart an event of the major proportions envisaged would normally be evident not least from patterns at the time of the nearest previous eclipse. We have just had a solar eclipse at 11.22 Gemini. Astrologers see this as a rather weak eclipse, as weak as the soon lunar eclipse is strong.

For the 1853 chart the eclipse has just fallen on the cusp of its 8th house of debts and death; Uranus of the shocks and surprises is degree square the national Mercury (news, communications) while magnifying, hence not invariably fortunate, Jupiter which has quite an association with quakes has been conjuncted to the degree by Mars. I do see a few other things but enough said. Frankly this doesn’t have to amount to a quake because the eighth house also covers national debt and the nation is currently wallowing in issues around that, so perhaps that’s the theme for now and the year from now; but one must be suspicious given release of Kerei's forecast at this time.

In another chart, the Dominion Chart of 26th September 1907, I see that at today’s eclipse Uranus (shocks, surprises, accidents) is opposite the national Venus ruler of the pattern's fourth house of the land which is something one should always look at for quakes. Mars was also conjunct the national moon (general symbol of homes and homeland). But rather importantly, the lunar eclipse of a fortnight’s time which follows today’s solar eclipse falls degree exact opposite the national Pluto in the first house of the body of the people. While ordinarily and at one octave Pluto has a lot to do with finances and tycoons, it does at another octave bear special relation to force majeure and death. Again I suppose one could give the low reading and say that the national finances will be affecting the national psyche and property prices in the immediate and over coming months.

…..But….in view of the given alleged revelation, an astrological case for major disturbance looks as though it can be made. Plus I have checked and seen that using a different type of eclipse analysis, the often correct Richard Nolle lists NZ (though not solely NZ) as one of the places for possible geocosmic stress by both solar and lunar eclipses of this month.

Altogether it would seem advisable to tread rather carefully and be on alert in Wellington if one is living there (it’s a very attractive city to live in), and if one is abroad to avoid travel there if possible. At the first shake it would seem wise to flee to highest ground and not wait for any possible tsunamis. There's a lot of nearby harbour and sea to cause mega havoc!

On a different tack, in a few days, probably the 6th, I will release some special information on Facebook. I hadn’t reckoned to put out any Blog before then, but in view of what has reached me about the NZ forecast, just in case, I am putting these observations up. If any astrologer colleague provides special knowledge and insight re NZ astrology I shall adjust the picture accordingly.

THE NOT SO LIVELY “NEW LIVING TRANSLATION” OF THE BIBLE

2011-05-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

IS THIS TRANSLATION “LIVING” OR DEADENING?

I would like to have liked the New Living Translation of the Bible. Despite this year’s books, films and talks about the King James Bible and its great literary value, the fact is the KJV is littered with errors as any scholar will tell you. I believe in modern translations and the NLT which aims more for intelligent paraphrase than literal translation, has much to commend it for simple clear reading. And even if it didn’t, we must reckon it is becoming so popular it may overtake the current bestselling NIV version of the Bible and popularly outshine the good but too ignored NRSV which I normally recommend. Ultimately however New Living cannot be approved, it’s even the new deadening translation, producing against scholarship not only glaring instances of misinterpretation but almost making elements of the gospel alien and ridiculous.

Since no translation is perfect let’s not get into the occasionally painful features of the NLT like the cringe awful “cologne” for “perfume” in the Song of Songs. Let’s sigh and look the other way (though why should we?) at the almost inevitable evangelical prejudice that produces homophobic translations which have John sitting beside Jesus instead of lying on his breast and “homosexuality” used where the word and concept is simply not the case. (Does modern scholarship count for anything?). Let’s even overlook the innovative but sometimes incorrect use of modern days and dating which too certainly supplies us the pattern of the Easter week which everyone from Colin Humphreys to myself are questioning (see my Testament of the Magi). What is truly unacceptable is the kind of translation that almost makes Jesus and his teaching ridiculous in the sort of area where already sceptics and atheists have some reason to lay charges.

If we don’t quite understand it, or even if we do, what may well seem one of the least edifying statements of Jesus concerns respect for parents in Mark 7: 9-11 which a little knowledge of cultural background but also good translation will be needed to help us understand at all. Jesus charges that the Pharisees cancel out the Torah through their traditions. These allow them to declare “corban” to responsibilities to their parents. Corban entailed putting money, (if need be only symbolically and for the course of one’s whole life too) to the Temple. This way nothing needed to be put to care of parents. Jesus reminds his hearers that the Torah declares the person who curses their parents should be put to death. But if that’s the standard to draw attention to by comparison and we can't simply take it as what is called argumentum ad hominem one is tempted to exclaim with the Irish bardic poet Philib O’Huigiann, “Oh Jesus, you left even your mother distraught”!

One only has to think about it - but Christians don’t and one can read commentaries that land into the evils of Jewish traditionalism - that despite declarations to the effect the Law “is not too hard for you”, one can appreciate Jews might wish to have ways round it even though as regards corban we must concede that in pre welfare state days it could be shocking and cruel indeed to walk out on one’s own parents. Even so, what sort of a deity does Jesus represent, and why would he cite his Father (who feeds the birds though we are of more value than they), wanting people executed (and for what they might merely do under stress of financial difficulty or whatever!). What sort of Law executes children and is then called the “Word of God”, especially when no overt safeguards are present as regards abused children? Mark's Jesus as the bible traditionalist is hardly the Jesus the liberator of modern imagination and preaching if these are his sympathies! Before proceeding with translation issues here I shall make a brief excursus on this question of the seemingly difficult Jesus and/or God the Father more widely.

THE PROBLEM OF COSMIC FATHER

Translations apart, it was this kind of problem around the God of Mosaic tradition that underlies my book Cosmic Father. Rather exceptionally for reported religious experience, and perhaps even completely so today, I don’t just record being struck by sudden contacts with God in 2006 but seriously examine them. When Christ appeared to the young Sartre he reports (in Les Mots) turning away and saving himself from God by his disgust. I certainly wasn’t disgusted but my subsequent reactions were more analytical than is normal from people making anything like the kind of claims I make. I started to ask myself, almost like an anthropologist, just what I felt it all meant and how others, like atheists and unbelievers, might take it.

Very well, God the Father might seem and feel benevolent, but how kindly is he really? I needed to ask myself, as I felt others might ask, is this the same God of hell and of various laws often felt to be objectionable to modern and Christian minds? How much do critics like Jack Miles (God: A Biography) have it right or wrong about deity? So the book is very much an inquiry into how God “thinks”. It is outside present scope to treat of the various and sometimes original conclusions arrived at, but as might be expected I did insist that an element of historical development affects revelation with God a pragmatist in relation to people and society. And in relation to any laws regarding execution of offspring (which Jewish society has virtually never practiced) this must be seen in the context of ancient society more generally including “civilised” ancient Rome giving absolute right of life and death of the father over members of the family. And because the Torah, whatever its date, at its core is more ancient than the world of Golden Age Athens which gave us “philosophy” as we know it, one could say the laws are considerably “utopian” or pre-philosophical. The system declares through dos, don’ts and punishments the ideals people should follow. To say something deserves death doesn’t necessarily and automatically mean death is always due, it’s also the way of saying something is totally unacceptable.

As regards cursing, in the ancient world there was little by way of curse which wasn’t understood as invoking death. Cursing your parents would be as good as to declare you wished them dead and, whether or not they would actually die, belief of the times would assume they might very well die as a result of being cursed. To propose that those who curse their parents be put to death is like saying - and probably for all practical purposes does and did mean since there isn’t a record or executing offspring - let the curse return upon the person who made it. Jesus is proposing there is more than one way of cursing. You could as good as kill your parents by leaving them destitute while still hypocritically claiming to be a pious Son of the Law.

THE WORD OF GOD PROBLEM

In Jesus’ time expressions like “every jot and tittle” “The Law of God” or “ the Word of God” were commonly directed upon such scripture as existed, rather as especially evangelicals today use the term for the Bible. Strictly speaking, Christians should only use the expression "Word" [of God] for Jesus himself who declared in effect we search the scriptures in vain if we don’t find him there (Joh 5:39). Jesus, not scripture is the Word and some distinction between scripture and Jesus-as-Word appears to be made by even the way Jesus can refer to Moses. “Moses gave you this law” when he could quite simply have said God gave you this law, (or even “I gave you this law”). There is some idea of the human filter or messenger here; not every word necessarily does come directly or wholly from God. And we may reasonably doubt that some parts of the Torah like executing offspring did so! (And even if every word did come from God, according to St Teresa agonising over some words of St Paul, as Jesus told her, he was not pleased when people used only one verse as a principle and did not try to combine the ideas of scripture). At most the Law is what God permits or regulates at a certain level of culture and understanding. I think we need to understand this or we risk bringing the things of God into disrepute. Having made these very general points I can return to the New Living Translation.

NOT QUITE CURSING

As traditionally rendered, and even in the NIV, Mk 7:10 has it that “Moses said....anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death”, though the NRSV does allow “speaks evilly of” since kakologeo can be to curse or speak evilly, which in ancient society where the power of the mouth to bless and curse meant something, amounts to much the same thing anyway.

What does the Living Translation do to this? “Moses gave you this law from God......anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death” . The whole verse is at once both artificially strengthened and weakened. Granted the previous verse had referred to “the commandments of God” – the commandments were universally conceived and spoken of as nothing less; but where perhaps Jesus then hints against common assumption at some degree of disjuncture between God’s very word and scriptural record of it, none is allowed by enlarging into “Moses gave you this law from God”, while at the same time the rest of the verse supports a now more foolish sounding law. Whereas cursing parents could really mean serious things and situations especially in ancient society, we now have merely talking disrespectfully as meriting the death sentence! Kill everyone! There’s not a person alive who has not been disrespectful of parents sometimes.

It’s all a matter of psychology. While I don’t believe in cavalier dismissive treatments of scripture one can’t approve merely insecure ones determined to make scripture more definite and absolute in authority than it can ever hope to be. And because even fundamentalists read selectively (how many of their women cover their heads in church to please St Paul?) they must then aggressively defend their position to cover over the cracks. It can’t work, and though there is an easy freshness about the NLT it needs some radical revision (which perhaps means new attitudes). Unless and until it has this I can only hope atheists, gays, and uncle Tom Cobbly and all outside of the more blinkered evangelical spheres don’t get to read and use this bible, as it can only mislead.

THE WILLS/KATE WEDDING: THE GOOD NEWS AND THE REST

2011-04-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

THE WILLS/KATE WEDDING: A VERY FATED PICTURE

Predestination is not a popular word, so it can be shocking to realize that since time began and before planets and asteroids were named or seen, it looks to have been all perfectly laid out that a certain prince would be awaiting his bride in London at 11 am on 29th April 2011 for a ceremony that would be a world event. Also that a certain person named Ferguson would be absent, while the bridegroom’s mother Diana would be - sort of - present, present in spirit as the prince hopes. I am not trying to sensationalize. The relevant event pattern is a fact; so before anything else let me clarify how some of these basics are so transparent.

At 11 am in London on the 28th April, 1 degree of royal Leo rises in the heavens conjunct Elizabetha at 0 Leo – yes. it’s a royal event, you’ll be seeing the reigning monarch – but at the Midheaven (astrology’s “this moment”), at 7 degrees Aries is asteroid Prinz (German for Prince) almost conjunct it as 6+ degrees. This Midheaven is itself conjunct the nearly 10 degree Venus which is any love or marriage, especially as this Venus is fortunately making close trine aspect to Nymphe, (Greek for Bride) and in favourable opportunity aspect to Boda (Spanish for Wedding) too. All this takes places in a London on which the world media is trained so that suitably the moment shows Mercury (any news and media) at 13 Aries in direct aspect to asteroid London at 13 Virgo, a bit of a difficulty aspect - it’s a mammoth operation to manage! It’s a massive celebration on an international scale so Mars, ruler of the destiny moment’s Midheaven, conjuncts fortunate and enlarging Jupiter, and at just 21 Aries this Mars directly aspects 20 Taurus which carries Universitas (Latin for world). Actually, the rather unexpected emphasis upon Mars and Aries is to do with this also being such an intense police operation.

The Prince’s late mother Diana at 10 degrees of Cancer, the sign she was born under, is sort of, if with difficulty, present to the event from the house of the hidden, the unconscious and the beyond from where she makes tense square aspect to the elevated marriage Venus at its almost 10 degrees. William has hoped and thought Diana would be “happy” with the marriage and somehow included in the event through his spouse wearing her ring. Undeniably Diana is within conjunction of the Part of Happiness at 12 degrees. Indeed, happy at last there one might say as now Diana is not (by usual rating for asteroids) in any close square to Camilla at 6 Aries, the person with whose asteroid she was in close difficult conjunction at William's birth where the pair must have been like an argument in his mind. Camilla herself is very present at the ceremony right near its Midheaven and Prinz. (There is no Charles asteroid to make any aspect to her). The square of Saturn from the base of the chart to both Diana and Happiness simply marks that Diana is not physically present (Saturn is any material reality) and the sadness people feel that she is not.

Overall, Saturn is disappointment, loss, absence, distance, the cold shoulder etc. So who should be conjuncting the moment’s Saturn in Libra (sign of marriages) at 12 degrees but asteroid Ferguson at 11 degrees? Sarah Ferguson as Duchess of York is after all the bridegroom's aunt by marriage and was a friend of the late Diana, so her absence is a strange and inevitably much commented feature of the event. But Fergie seems altogether caught in a bad moment with Pluto painfully square her natal moon and the day's Jupiter/Mars opposite her sun.

Though not conjunct Saturn like Ferguson, related to it by exact degree aspect is Danmark (Denmark) reflecting there has been report of some kind of issue around whether specifically Denmark and its Australian born Princess Mary and Danish others would be invited. (It seems that finally Queen Berthe, but not Princess Mary who wanted to go and had William at her own wedding, has been). Instead, various others from autocratic rulers of Africa and the Mid East to footballers, hairdressers, butchers, bakers and former lovers of both parties have made it to the church and party lists. Between who’s in and who's out this whole wedding is a bit different, slightly offbeat or ultra modern in some way, which means we would need to see Uranus prominent which it is – it’s elevated for the event conjunct Venus which is the whole marriage thing. Disruptive Uranus is conjunct Harmonia so this wedding event and its subsequent union can perhaps only keep itself afloat and happy by doing the unexpected, not by pleasing just everyone.

AN UNUSUAL UNION

The entire union has been not just very predestined but a little peculiar from the first. It is fated because in the birth of William asteroid Kate was always in his seventh house of unions and at that within its Leo portion, indicating that this Kate might be more keen and destined than some to be royal. The relation was nonetheless definitely different, not just in terms of Kate’s commoner status but the “waity Katie” theme which came to be attached to Ms Middleton over the nine on-and-off years of courtship. This itself was implied from birth by the fortunate, easy trine of Kate to the often separative energies of Uranus. Kate, a Capricorn with doubtless some of that sign’s determination and ambition, was willing to wait but if need be also break up and keep distance too, prepared to keep things casual and to assert her freedom. She has said William was lucky to find her, her social status clearly meant little in this very Uranian/Aquarian sort of relation.

At the wedding, since Kate will be degree exact conjunct Neptune at O Pisces and as Neptune rules here she will be the image of the fairytale bride and the attendant glitz, glamour and probably also music will prove memorable, but there is a bit of a mystery here. Why is she on the degree of Neptune, a rather difficult position, at all? (But it's in the eighth house of public support). Is it possible that there are things she doesn’t quite know or understand? Neptune is liable to see through mists. Perhaps it’s religion is a problem, a not inconsequential point when you’re marrying a future head of the Church of England. It’s only last month that Kate was hurriedly confirmed by the Bishop of London so as to be able to take Anglican communion. I notice an exact tension creating T square of Kate’s natal Venus to Jupiter to Church. Whether this owes more to her own feelings about religion or some church leaders’ feelings about her – various comments about her living arrangements –I don’t know, but some kind of problem seems indicated, though of course not the wedding day itself.

Interestingly, the Jupiter which has a lot to do with church and beliefs at 21 Aries is in exact aspect to Canterbury (the Church of England, denoting Anglican ceremony) while interestingly too a touch of fatedness enters, with Williams, for the Archbishop presiding over the ceremony, is in the degree of the nodes (at 24 Sagittarius) at 24 Capricorn. But much must be crowding in on Kate. I incidentally half wonder if a square aspect to Kate/ Neptune on the day from an odd asteroid called Gorin isn’t astro-speak within the pattern for Goring and the Goring Hotel where Kate will overnight and await her morning summons to the car for the Abbey. The square aspect bespeaks suitable, inevitable tension.

One reads the celestial picture for the marriage event because it provides clues to how the relation will go even apart from the natal patterns which it can supplement and clarify. The pattern assumes interest especially as it cannot be said that William’s natal chart is as strongly activated as it might be for the event, even though last December’s lunar eclipse did hit his marriage house cusp indicating something must occur within 6 months as regards unions, while at the marriage itself the fated nodes will conjunct this natal point. But conventional factors, like Jupiter through the marriage house, are less in evidence. One imagines this could be because the marriage is more a legal and social event than anything, the relationship side of things probably having been largely been sorted out and decided long ago. The couple have been together for years and following other attachments, which is perhaps why the picture with the moon in the ninth house is almost more like a pattern for divorced couples and second marriages. By now the event is something to enjoy as far as such a nerve wracking event could ever be enjoyed. At any rate the Part of Marriage conjuncts the Part of Pleasure and the Part of Worldliness.

This doesn’t of course mean the couple are not in love, all the indications are that they are, nor that the ceremony is frivolous, indeed the position in the pattern of Saturn in Libra points to a rather traditional and serious service. Yet there are some puzzles in the picture like the lack of lunar aspects which including from discretion I prefer not to stress, especially as it’s too easy to be wrong using data like asteroids and Parts which however meaningful in their way one cannot know the background for. But one or two points can’t be wholly ignored like where all this is leading – to a throne, a republic, retirement or what?

There is no William asteroid to apply to the event, but astrologers believe either Wilhelms (which for the marriage event is suggestively up in the destiny tenth house on display like Prinz and not unsuitably conjunct media Mercury) or Wil which is on the traditionally regal 29 Leo degree for the marriage. It looks like both will serve. Also, though Kate Middleton’s birth time is apparently unknown, that Wil would somehow always be important to her in some way as a Capricorn is mapped by how Wil manages to be stationed for her at the 0 Capricorn World Point which also means directly opposite William’s own birth degree of the sun, thus at least making any Wil/William in her life a predestined challenge. Yet neither William asteroid is in strict aspect to Kate unless you count an out of sign opposition from 29 Leo to the 0 Pisces which Neptune and Kate conjunct. This element of separation or distance (which possibly has always been between the pair - recall that Uranus factor) is then apparently duplicated by the way that Venus (general symbol of love and all marriages) is moving towards and loosely opposite the marriage’s Saturn.

This might just mean there will be a lot of work and duties keeping the couple periodically apart. But it’s possible the disassociation that Sarah Ferguson will doubtless feel from the event could one day find some echo within the relationship. I am aware various astrologers looking at natal charts and perhaps sensationally have offered some rather doom and gloom scenarios including such themes as childlessness, which I doubt. I would choose less to make forecasts than ask questions. And I think the main one is will William become king? My suspicion – and it may cover for all and any negatives in the marriage pattern – is that "Waity Katie" will be left waiting very long to become queen or just not become it at all.

ROYAL PROSPECTS

Regina (Queen) does not aspect Kate. It’s in the twelfth house of loss at 19Cancer square the prevailing destiny Mars of the event. As to William, the royal asteroids Rey (King), Konig (King) and King do not aspect the Wil asteroid a bit lost on the traditional royal degree and not in aspect unless opposition to Kate. As to the destiny house, Wilhems at 15 Aries, if we count that, it is in square to Rey at 16 Cancer and it could be a denial rather than a struggle square since we are talking about a destiny house name being squared and a factor in the house of loss. The Part of Kingship is perfectly square Prinz which is strange. It might seem to be contradicted by the Part of Kings trine the Midheaven but as this, strictly speaking marks the moment and ceremony itself, it could just mean that royalty is present at it. Things aren’t wholly negative; the moon in Pisces that times and considerably describes the event at 26 Pisces is in opportunity aspect to Konig (German for King) at 26 Taurus. This describes what people expect and which is always possible, but Piscean moons especially in their late degrees aren’t famous for delivery and can be a bit of a mirage. As to the Arabic Parts I have used, I am insufficiently familiar with the reliability of all of them to be too sure all this is right information, though I have found them descriptive and apparently working in some of my research work.

I have not said much about Kate partly because there seems to be no birth time to help guide commentary, and partly because I have recently been quite busy with other research and writings – if you think any of this striking it’s nothing against what I have been dealing with my study of the Day of Pentecost for the past and future of Christianity, Christianity's Destiny which should be out and available early June. Over Easter due to the hype around his latest publication you may have heard or read about Colin Humphreys theories about the year and date of Christ’s death which relate to his long expressed beliefs about the true date of Pentecost too. I shall only say he is wrong and it will become clear there is only one possible Day of Pentecost and it provides nothing short of impossibly accurate data and a whole celestial WikiLeaks.

Reverting to Kate, speculation is that she has a Libran ascendant giving her glamour style and interests not automatic with the often workaholic Capricorn sun (though of course there is the case of Cancer rising Carla Bruni!) plus she has both Venus and Mercury in the more free-wheeling Aquarius which is all in the spirit of the mentioned trine of Kate to Uranus in the birth pattern of William. Basically, whatever precisely is their fate, the couple have a strong level of understanding, better than between Charles and Diana, but that at least one doesn’t need to read astrology to know.

WORLD DISASTERS AND ASTROLOGY’S DIFFICULT SUPERMOON WEEKEND

2011-03-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

A SUPERMOON FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Anticipating this weekend’s difficult supermoon full moon left me troubled. On the one hand I wanted the supermoon effect to be proved and on the other I didn’t want it proved at the expense of more trouble to thousands.

Super moons are full moons at perigree, nearest to earth. This month’s super full moon, the strongest in 18 years, was exact a few hours ago and according to its chief exponent, Richard Nolle, storms, hurricances, seismic activity and disasters are more likely to occur then or 3 days either side of it. Nolle, a particularly gifted astrologer often right about many things, has even written a study published by the American Federation of Astrologers proving the correlation over centuries between supermoons and especially climatic disasters. Evidently journalists at AP news don’t know of it because last week Yahoo news issued an article from them, commenting on the gone viral reports of the coming supermoon popularly derived from words of Nolle, The article dismissed astrology as a non science, a quaint belief system from the medieval times when amazingly society believed in such things.

Because people don’t understand astrology or just don’t read what people like Nolle actually say, some people have already claimed that his supermoon was responsible for the Japanese quake. This wasn’t the case at all, and he hasn’t claimed it, though the idea helps save astrology to half believers if this super moon produces nothing. People like New Zealand’s MoonMan, whoever he is, have been one of those on a Nolle bandwagon making their own nostrums and a couple of months ago he forecast widespread destruction for this time. New Zealand’s sceptics set a party for yesterday (before the full moon) to celebrate nothing happening. But what has been happening and what may yet do so?

ASTROLOGY AND THE JAPAN QUAKE

For several months now I had been saying I awaited the time when Uranus (shocks, surprises, upsets, accidents) would hit the World Point of 0 Aries. Uranus was at the very end of the last degree of Pisces (itself deemed a danger degree) just on the border of entering 0 degrees when the quake struck near Sendai.

I don’t study the chart of Japan so I looked it up to see where and what Uranus could be doing to have the effect it did on this nation and not others. The matter was immediately evident. The foundation moment of modern Japan in 1952 which gives the chart’s ascendant is itself another World Point, namely O degrees Capricorn and it was suffering direct affliction square from Uranus. And we have to remember that the rising sign for a nation is the image of the people and the people themselves, the body of the people. Clearly the body or bodies of the people were being violently hurt at the transit! I don’t say this is all that’s involved – transiting Saturn at the midpoint of Japan’s Saturn/Neptune conjunction would be serious - but the rest need not concern us as the Uranus transit was plainly the main, most powerful trigger and there is no connection at all with any supermoon.

The fact that the season – the rest of this month anyway - belongs to Uranus on the world point and Uranus is the unpredictable along with the shocks, could mean, and unfortunately so for Nolle, that what is normally true of supermoons may not on this one crucial occasion manifest. However....

A SUPER FULL MOON EFFECT IGNORED

We also need to recall that a) not all strong disturbances under super moons are as extreme as mega quakes or Hurricane Katrina anyway and b) that from time immemorial full moons and not just supermoons are believed to engage a disturbance factor at other levels than just climate. Policemen on the beat know there’s more crime under full moons, nurses that patients are more disturbed. We do therefore need to look at the socio-political scene.

When we do this we may realize we are already under the supermoon effect whether the earth shakes more or not. Quite simply the Libyan crisis has suddenly heated up this weekend. All the talk and delay seems to have suddenly evaporated. The nations which just kept talking and whom nobody thought would ever get round to taking some action are finally doing so with no one can be sure quite what consequences, but they could be decisive and extreme - in short war.

There may yet be seismic or other material effect from the supermoon period but it is more likely the effect will have been the political/psychological. Astrology is basically true, but one must be sufficiently open and flexible to appreciate its truth. A lot of people from scientists to the people at AP talking about the supposed non science of astrology (in their great wisdom the AP people of course have never acknowledged or considered news I gave regarding findings on the astrology of Christ)are just blinkered. They are little removed from the more radical fundamentalists who get stuck on a single text literally read and applied and out of context. We must get past this.

A SIGN IN THE MONTH OF THE ANTICHRIST?

2011-02-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

THERE MAY BE MORE TO THE ENIGMA OF EGYPT’S GREEN HORSEMAN

Not every divine sign need be, or is, a miracle or vision. The classic example is Yahweh “showing” Jeremiah an almond branch as a sign of what God will do. A sign can be a metaphor, neither true nor false from the purely literalist standpoint, but more or less relevant and valid according to time, place and context..

This may be how we need to treat the peculiar and spooky images, widely discussed on the Net since their first appearance to puzzled comment live on the Rachel Maddow show via MSNBC news. Footage of Egypt’s demonstrations apparently showed - but it could be a trick of lens reflection of fires - a ghostly green horse and rider that made many think of the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, he who on a pale horse brings Death and Hades in his wake. (The “pale” of average translation is chloros, which can mean pale green). One can "explain" the image, yet as one of many Net comments puts it, "The image of the horseman leaves more questions than answers."

But I do have one answer, and I shall draw attention to some unique information I possess which makes for striking tie-ins to what’s been getting reported and speculated, coincidences I can’t overlook and perhaps nobody should amid the somewhat distracting arguments of true/false claims.

AN ANNIVERSARY SIGN FOR THE ANTICHRIST?

The footage was recorded on the 2nd, was released on the 3rd and doesn’t appear to have gone viral on the Net till last weekend, the 5th/6th, when it was into the press, a date range to be borne in mind as we shall see.

Months ago I had wondered what this February might bring - just in case. The fact was that February 3rd’s lunation was due not only to hit near enough to the natal sun of the Antichrist if that person of the late seeress Jeane Dixon’s visions of the Antichrist exists, but the full moon must also fall right on his - for an Aquarian - ruling Uranus. This natal Uranus moreover conjuncts the regal, fame giving Regulus AND the Achristou asteroid which one only needs to test charts like those of Satanists to realize has to be the significator for the Antichrist and any Antichrist related issues.

It’s a potent combination any trained astrologer would recognize, and whether Dixon was right or wrong, especially if one adds information from the descriptive asteroids to the alleged timed birth for her False Prophet, the pattern is at least cumulatively suggestive.

It is so in ways Dixon herself decades ago would never have known. Thus in this person’s natus Saturn restricts Church by denial square, Mars opposes Israel, his moon opposes Isa, the Jesus asteroid (Isa is Arabic for Jesus), the Temple asteroid aspects three of his planets, while the position of his Christ asteroid almost perfectly conjuncts the messianic Jupiter of Jesus’ birth in 7BC – see my Testament of the Magi - as though he could be a candidate to overtake the messianic role).

CHURCH AND ANTICHRIST

I am just finishing a book that I should have onto Amazon within weeks called Christianity’s Destiny and which is unprecedented in the study whether of a religion’s history or astrology. It's based on the data for Pentecost – if you know the year Christ died the relevant Pentecost can be traced and the Bible gives the approximate birth time – and using hundreds of name, place and concept asteroids and descriptive so-called Parts, the history and issues of Christianity can be graphically traced and timed to this day. It can be so in ways non astrologers can grasp, provided they are willing to accept (on the basis all time and thought is one) that the asteroids are trans-historical and trans-lingual and thus work for data long before they were even sighted and named.

In this birth chart of Christianity the Achristou (Antichrist) asteroid suitably turns up in the house of Christianity’s open enemies in Aquarius .

Conjunct it is Green in Aquarius.

In tension aspect to it is Caballo (Sp.horseman) and Graves (which can function like a glyph for Death itself) and Vipera (Viper). “Oh grave where is your sting?”, asks St Paul. And it looks to be at least symbolically here in the super-tongue of the Pentecost chart.

There is no Hades asteroid but also in degree exact aspect to Green is a point in the heavens employed by the Hamburg School of astrology called Hades.

These planets and points were then triggered by Mercury (any news) in the first days of this month as Mercury passed over the early degrees of Aquarius hitting Pentecost’s Green over the last weekend that Mercury was bordering Green and the news getting into the press on the 5th, the birthday of Dixon’s figure of alleged vision.

I doubt all this is completely accidental though admittedly I have another nagging suspicion affecting my judgement here.

FEELINGS FOR A SEASON OF DREAD

In the second week of last November, on two afternoons I was suddenly overcome by what seemed to be a prophetic sense of dread. I felt I knew (and I felt in my stomach and not my throat where I usually feel nerves), that some terrible evil would soon fall upon the world. I didn’t believe that meant before the year was out; I believed it meant sometime this year.

Australia has already suffered enough from flood and cyclone and now, at the time of writing there are bush fires, so that altogether, I could well claim the prophecy has already been fulfilled. Perhaps so. Yet I rather doubt that it has been and feel it is more likely something else, truly some mega disaster or something like the emergence of the Antichrist, would better fulfill this. Accordingly I am unable and unwilling to dismiss what at this time could be a peculiar omen of things we are yet to see that will shake the moral and spiritual order.

TWO OPINIONS ON THE "PALE" HORSEMAN

I can conclude by quoting two contrasted opinions about the Green Horseman which could both contain their own truth.

……."In reality it's just a reflection of a burning car, and because the reflection is upside down, the flames are seen going downwards. u can also see at the end of the apparition, two spots of light on the left side of the image, moving the same way the "knight" is, those are street lights."
I have to say, after looking at the video again, that this seems to be the most plausible explanation, especially given the fact that the strange image moves at a speed proportional to the speed that the camera pans at.
Added: Sun, 06 Feb 2011 18:13 CST
Metaphor
By: Woodsman

Well, I can see the same shape of the knight in the flaming object on the mid-Left of the screen, and the image tracks in time with the camera pan, so it looks pretty clearly to be a lens effect of some sort. But that's not the point.
Our physical universe is, as I understand things, a consciousness projection, a living hologram, thus anything which we perceive is in some manner a creation of a mind to which we are all linked. All reality is like one giant Rorschach test and we're living in the middle of it. So if we see a spectral horseman on a battle ground in Egypt, it would pay to take note even if it has a 'mundane' explanation. (That regular flames and regular lenses and a regular camera-person's chosen position and decision to pan in that moment all lined up perfectly to create such an effect on such a program, perhaps one of the only voices in the Christian West where a tiny bit of truth has a chance of sneaking out through the megaphone of Big Media. . . That says something.)

THINGS NOT TOLD ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN FLOODS

2011-02-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

THOSE PREDICTABLE FLOODS

However much mismanagement like building on floodplains played their part in the scale of January's disaster, the Queensland and Australian floods were not unpredictable. If no astrologers saw the problem that is their failure, it's not a case of what the patterns failed to show. I myself, who am not a mundane (i.e. political/national) astrologer had not been looking at the chart of Australia for a long time, but in the circumstances I could wish I had done so.

The Brisbane area, main focus of the floods, was founded 28th September 1824 at 10 am. In the great floods of January 1974 when the waters rose higher than in 2011 but caused less damage as the city was smaller, Pluto (any destruction) was in classic danger square to the natal Neptune (any water and floods).

In January 2011 Pluto had come to conjunct the same Neptune. More of the same or worse was aimply waiting to happen.

As regards the Australian chart

Before Christmas 2010 a lunar eclipse hit conjunct Australia’s Neptune at the same time as Uranus (shocks, surprises, accidents) made dangerous square (90 degree aspect) to this Neptune. Also if one takes as one should 1 pm, the beginning rather than later in the foundation ceremony on Jan 1st 1901 in Sydney, as the birth time, then the Part of Catastrophe natally sits on the 26 degrees of the 12th house of loss in watery Pisces. When Uranus (shocks accidents) was on this part the rains were on their way.

On Jan 4th there was a solar eclipse conjunct Australia’s sun itself loosely conjunct an asteroid Flood showing floods are a perennial danger for Australia, but only under certain conditions. The conjunction to Australia’s sun was one such condition with the other factors involved. The floods were now guaranteed.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

It is quite possible more is to come. Mid 2011’s eclipses are difficult. On July 1st a solar eclipse challengingly falls opposite Australia’s Flood asteroid even more than opposite its natal sun. Both lunar and solar eclipses will be difficult for Brisbane. It is possible there will be more floods or recovering from the present ones will take longer, be costlier harder than assumed.

THE NATURAL DIASASTER/ JUDGEMENT DEBATE,

In the shadow of an approaching Cyclone which threatens to be the worst in Queensland’s history, the Premier of Queensland, atheist Anna Bligh, has said it would be easy to think someone "up there" had a grudge against us, but we have to reckon on disasters in our extreme climate.

At the other end of the belief scale, Pastor Danny Nalliah, mentioned before on this Blog as a not fully reliable prophet, has been appealing for prayers against the floods and disasters and seriously claims it has been the prayers of the faithful have insured flood levels did not reach levels anticipated by the scientists, though overall he does still see a judgement message. And a certain Kenyan prophet, Dr David Owuor with a better record than Nalliah, (but sometimes opinions as eccentric), can be viewed on You Tube and his own website specifically forecasting the Australian floods last July.

I am not going to get into the pros and cons here. In fact, I am writing up about these issues in a book I am just completing, Christianity's Destiny, but sufficient to say, astrology, dismissed by scientism and fundamentalism alike, reveals the element of fatedness in events in relation to which both natural and supernatural opinions of events need to be considered.

THE RITE REACHES CINEMAS.

Meanwhile..... my Temple Mysteries and Spiritual Efficiency has been issued and is available on Amazon. It is very topical including relative to a film premiered in America last Saturday and starring Anthony Hopkins, The Rite, based on a well received book of the name by Matt Baglio which (non fictionally) examines modern Roman exorcism. Reading that study I discovered that there are a lot of questions we can legitimately ask and I offered some genuinely original and I think perspectives in a chapter on exorcism. It’s not that the demons are necessarily a figment of the imagination, but the knowledge and technique being applied to them may not make for the spiritual efficiency which is a leading consideration of my book in a time of spiritual crises and scandals. I don't for example consider exorcisms which go on each month for years like so many therapy sessions to be the true item.

Book blurb and excerpts from the book are on a section of my www.rollanmccleary.com website at this address

http://www.rollanmccleary.com/temple-mysteries-spiritual-efficiency.html

HAPPY 2011 TO TWO PRISONERS: GILAD SHALIT AND BRADLEY MANNING

2011-01-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

TWO DIFFERENT PRISONERS

For whoever and whatever 2011 will be important - and the year promises to be eventful - it looks guaranteed to be memorable for two persons: Gilad Shalit, the Israeli army corporal, a prisoner (but effectively prize hostage) in Gaza since June 2006, and Bradley Manning, the army private held in a Virginia army base since July 2010. Both these prisoners are more or less stuck in solitary confinement. Both are also quite young, (one born 1986, the other in ’87) almost too young to be where they are and to know what they were doing when they managed with such consequence for themselves and everyone to arrive there.

It’s high time and beyond it that Gaza’s number one hostage since ’06, Shalit, was freed, but there are good chances he will be. And it is to be hoped that whatever happens Manning will at least be able avoid the rest of his life in jail and/or under the kind of physical abuse of which US prisons are too full since if and when Manning gets out of solitary it could be an “out of the frying pan into the fire” situation for him.

Although the lights of the Colisseum in Rome were dimmed for Shalit on his last birthday (Aug 28th) and protests within Israel have been widespread and passionate, the fact is there has been a scandalous lack of protest internationally seeing that international law and rights have been insufficiently observed in this case. The superficiality or cryptic anti-Semitism of leading nations and their leaders is so strong that it is not being sufficiently protested that Shalit has not, so far as we know, been given the medical attention he should receive – though at his capture wounded in hand and shoulder by shrapnel he has never even received the Red Cross visits that are his right under international law. It is not convenient to his captors to let the international community know where he is, so law is simply waived in this case.

Apparently Shalit has been kept in solitary confinement and from light of day for years; a note released in '08 reports frequent depression. People should have the common sense to realize it is just this lack of will to play by the rules and the deficiency of humanitarian feeling wherever it suits Muslim radicals (Hamas in this case) that is at the back of Israeli distrust of almost anything and everything their neighbours propose and claim. Full of sympathy for “poor” Palestinians, the world indulges or turns a blind eye to just how dangerously implacable with the hatreds it will carry for generations if need be the relevant cultures and societies may be – it takes cases of injustice to women as in Iran for the liberal West even to be able to see it.

GILAD AS THE ARCHETYPAL JOSEPH

The fate of Gilad Shalit is not just tragic but haunting for the archetypal issues of which it is redolent. Quite simply this soldier is a sort of Joseph in Egypt, the youth handsome and talented brought low, at the same time as he is the Jew as eternal victim and at that not without having a touch of Christ association with it (his sun, moon and Jupiter are in the same signs, his Jupiter to within minutes of a degree of Christ’s Jupiter at birth according to the data for that birth I treat of in my Testament of the Magi).

Everyone seems agreed that Gilad, even if not quite the Balm of Gilead itself, is eye candy - even Australia’s Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, recently assured his parents their son was handsome. But he’s handsome in a certain Venus in Libra way assisted perhaps by an education in France, of which he is a dual citizen, that has left him the style and appearance more of a male model or artist than a soldier. Except that everyone in Israel must do their military time, looking at some photos of Gilad it is almost surprising to think he was ever in the army or at any rate forced himself to take part in the combat mission from which his low medical reading could have excused him. It seems he just wanted to be with his brother. Even so, what vague guilt or sense of obligation, what near masochism kept him to this to his ultimate misfortune? I suspect for starters the Virgo sun which is always ready to be its own best critic and feel obligations that others more extravert wouldn’t have. There is a sense one must always serve. Being in the army is itself called “being in service” and it’s a more Virgoan kind of self-sacrificing occupation than many realize.

The role of martyr, the depression and experience of serious testing is mapped in Gilad’s natus (28th August 1986 in Nahariyya, Israel) by especially the aspect of Sun to Neptune and then the serious and close square to confining and depressing Saturn. Mars (the soldier and war) is more or less unaspected unless you count a very wide trine, too wide to be really helpful for either good fortune or action, so that it probably does little but add to the sun’s exaggerated sense of obligation to act where it is not strictly necessary. Gilad’s is a seriously afflicted and unusual birth pattern with even the moon opposite Uranus which is probably involved with the tough, unhomely conditions of Gaza jail and while the Uranus aspects add to the odd and unusual destiny and perhaps character.

HOPE FOR GILAD SHALIT IN 2011?

It is my speculation the birth time might have been around 3 pm so that late Sagittarius rises. If that’s the case, the heavy hand of Pluto would have been on the ascendant (the body) when the bodily seizure of the capture took place in June ’06. Sagittarius rising would make “lucky” Jupiter rule the pattern which hardly looks to be the case for Gilad, but given Jupiter’s afflictions in this chart this Jupiter factor is not working in normal ways unless to create the kind of optimism and over-confidence that encouraged military involvement in the first place. It’s the same kind of feature which is likely to influence in the case of Manning, the Jupiter ruled Sagittarian who evidently hoped for a bit too much and pushed his luck to the extreme.

Will Gilad finally make it out of jail in 2011? This time it won’t be the butler will be the instrument of divine providence, but it might be the army, which has just said it is doing its own thing for him. So the army might achieve what the politicians can’t or won’t. At any rate on Jan 4th a solar eclipse falls nearly to the minute of a degree on Gilad’s Mars – he’s called a soldier and the army want to help him so Mars is these kind of associations. The eclipse certainly suggests more will to activity on his behalf - God forbid it doesn’t mean only danger - but while something could happen in January itself, real developments are more likely to occur some time over the year from then. Liberating Jupiter in Taurus, which enters that sign only in June, is more helpful in its indications for Gilad’s chart than Jupiter through Aries during the first part of the year. The hoped for liberation if it occurs this year could well hang fire till the second half of the year. Late August’s lunation falls right on Gilad’s birth sun and then the full moon of September is right on his messianically placed Jupiter in Pisces. That combination really ought to register and one can only hope that it does. If he’s already out by then that is the time the books and media are coming his way.

THE MORE COMPLEX CASE OF BRADLEY MANNING

By contrast, Bradley Manning (born Oklahoma 17.12.'87) can’t quite be spoken of as any Joseph in Egypt and unlike Gilad he doesn’t believe in God. He has been put on suicide watch in jail and his hardly inspiring reading requests have included atheist Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene and Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Sagittarians love philosophy, but Kant is no easy read even for philosophy students, so one can only imagine the former bright child who was cracking codes when other kids were playing normal computer games, wants, if not to improve the golden hours, to make them pass cracking the Kant code! Obviously the gay identity, which his largely absent father disapproved, affects the attitude to religion and faith (God as Father is the automatic enemy!) though obviously not all gays are unspiritual or even Lady Gaga fans like Manning. One wonders how Manning ever arrived in the army rather than the natural Sagittarian home of the university. One can only suspect it could be involved with the inadequate family as well as peer support which it has been suggested is a clue to his whole character, the need to draw attention to himself and also to be somewhat avenged.

When I wrote the last article I didn’t know Bradley Manning’s birth date but remarked if his data were known it would be striking. In effect it is. Uranus the planet variously of anything gay and anything intellectually brilliant, and which for Manning is strongly emphasized just as imagined, is locked into close conjunction with the sun and Saturn. Manning’s total identity (the sun) is tied to his brilliance and gayness at the same time as everything in the realms of tradition, authority, duty and the father (who doesn’t ever seem to have been helpful) repress this and stand in its way.

Because “lucky” Jupiter in Aries trines Manning’s sun there is a high dose of optimism that things can work out and risks be taken, but the feeling around, or from, people is cold and the world not kind. Venus is debased in cold, Saturnian Capricorn and even the moon (the mother and everyday emotions) is in Scorpio, a bit hidden and murky – it was with his mother that Manning went to live in Wales. Whatever this moon might reflect for the mother-son relation, it is certainly a connection to Julian Assange who shows the same feature. Both Manning and Assange could be said to want to prize out people’s secrets that are the business of especially Scorpio. I suspect Assange appears to Manning like “family” or some kind of parental figure. If so, the imprisoned private likely stands to be disappointed by the roving civilian. There could be a fair dose of the narcissist in Assange, a psychological type known to use and abandon people. There is utter confusion (or is it Scorpionic secrecy?) over whether funds have been or will be given towards the legal costs of Manning’s defence by Wikileaks). I take it as quite possible, even likely, that Manning’s birth time was before dawn with Scorpio rising (he was short as a child and is blue eyed and somewhat fair) and with this difficult Scorpio moon locked in the imprisoning twelfth house, so that he could be on a see-saw between a Scorpio moon that hides and is alone, and a rising Sagittarius sun that is all for being out there showing and telling it like it is. Out and proud too because then gay Uranus would rise. However this is speculation.

Undisputed is that Jupiter is natally in Aries. This surely has to be the reason Manning’s optimism and ambition went so improbably out towards things military and/or militant (and also towards Dawkins, Dawkins being an Arien who might even be perceived as another substitute father guide in preference to more Saturnian figures offering their various credos). In the absence of a birth time it is interesting to note that the late Jeane Dixon, who would class Manning, born on December 17th, as a Sagittarian 8, regards this date as relatively unfortunate for those concerned in contrast to the more outgoing, fortunate, life path of other Sagittarians. This is the frustrated, restricted Sagittarian who needs to tread carefully and who can only hope for slower and later personal fulfillment in life. Jupiter in aspect to Manning’s Saturn and in retrograde is limited of the Jupiterian expansion for him.

Even a right wing British paper unsympathetic to Manning recently observed that American justice can be “relentlessly vengeful” to those it decides to dislike, so that at worst one fears Manning could actually finish the rest of his life in jail, much of it in solitary (Sun conjunct lonely Saturn). Even if Manning has done wrong and was risking lives as the person who reported on him believed – Manning himself felt, it seems with some justification, that he was exposing corruption and torture in the army in Iraq – he does not deserve the worst of verdicts. And something should be taken into account as regards his background and youthful inexperience (which possibly Assange exploited). What’s certain is that with the total lunar eclipse of June right on Manning’s Sun/Uranus/Saturn combination much is likely to be heard or decided concerning him from then on while Jupiter through Aries and across Manning’s Jupiter during the first part of the year, if it doesn’t give false hopes would probably raise his spirits and encourage reasonably positive thoughts towards him in others in a way helpful to his case. Obviously to know the time of birth would supply a clearer, more detailed picture. All one can presently say is that it is not wholly negative one.

OTHER FORECASTS FOR 2011

I have been too busy to give thoughts to prospects for 2011, but not irrelevant to the comments on Gilad Shalit and in light of recent media declarations that it is not a case of whether Israel will be at war again but when, then I should say February, following the lunation on the 3rd, is more likely than during January as the first of the possible whens. There looks like some distinct aggravation to Israel’s chart in February.

There’s also some aggravation to my own chart, though I am not expecting to go to war unless more metaphysically. The latest regarding my book, Temple Mysteries and Spiritual Efficiency is that its PR will be issued on January 19th. Since the book is substantial in ideas and length as well as provocative I guess it is unlikely any response to the launch would be till into February and I think my pattern is maybe showing that.

THE BOY WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST: JULIAN ASSANGE.

2010-12-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

CYBER SPY OR AUSSIE LARRIKIN?

Unless you’ve got the objections of someone directly in the firing line it’s perhaps difficult to arrive at a sure, clear and fair opinion about Julian Assange especially if you’re Australian. Australia has a certain sympathy for larrikins, rebels and anarchists – the whole Ned Kelly syndrome – though Wikileaks’ “ethical hacker” Assange is also a bit of “tall poppy” too by national standards. He's so obviously bright and pushy in a way Australians mostly disfavour. Like many people in and out of Australia, Assange’s style doesn’t exactly charm me. And I can't like the security risks he may be presenting to people like Afghan civilians which if such is the case is selfishly presuming of him. At the same time one feels at least some of the exposure has its value and is even long overdue, a kind of purgation. Sure it’s probably a bit illegal, but not too extremely so; and the most incredible injustices regularly get hidden behind a veil of apparent legality by those who govern us.

I would like more perspectives and background on Assange. They are however not going to be provided, as some imagine they might be, by more facts about Sweden and Stieg Larsson even though Assange has spent quality time in Sweden and Iceland. And despite the resonances of his life and gifts with elements of Larsson’s famous fiction, Assange has at least gone so far as to satisfy curiosity by admitting he never met the late Larsson. (He’s only and nothing more than the boy who’s kicking hornets nests in cold old Sweden far from the heat of Australia’s Townsville!).

ASSANGE AS A HOMELESS, SLEEPLESS CANCERIAN

It’s part of Assange’s love of masks and secrecy that he has refused to give out any birthdate, but due to Interpol claims upon him this last week it has finally come to light. It’s 3rd July 1971 in Townsville, Queensland.It seems however that much of Assange's upbrining took place at the hippie/new age enclave of Byron Bay in northern NSW. There he was home schooled because his mother wanted her son to receive none of the indoctrination by "authority" she assumed schools inculcate. It seems rejection of all conventional authority has been a principle more than well learned by Assange.

With rebel, revolutionary, eccentric Uranus in affliction square to his feeling Cancer sun, he is a driven and in his way emotional Uranianly brilliant rebellious eccentric. The story of Assange’s troubled childhood has included years in hiding with his mother (a Cancerian core issue!) and lack of any real home (another Cancerian issue) and in recent years he has often stayed no more than two nights in one place, often sleeping in airport lounges or trains. It’s the whole Uranian theme of potential homelessness or alienation taken to the utmost extreme. Since at another octave Uranus is also technological and rules computers he’s all about computers too. (Assange’s never completed university experience was in maths and physics). More positively, Uranus is futuristic so that what Uranus is doing in the life of Assange, and through him to everyone, is modernizing. It is simply no longer possible for governments to be quite so privileged in terms of secrecy in the wake of the information revolution that must be assimilated and adjusted to, not merely opposed or persecuted when people realize its advent.

There will nonetheless always be limits. For this Australian hacker extraordinaire a lack of the normal sense of borders due to an afflicted Neptune is a problem where any law, custom and tradition is concerned. Neptune is closely opposite his Saturn (any authorities or politics) in informational,jourmalistic Gemini. This tendency to mistake or ignore borders is assisted by the Cancer sun because Cancer is so tribal, so public, it wants everything out in the end. Typically, “people’s princess”, the Cancerian Princess Diana, “exposed” royalty as never before.

Sometimes an afflicted Neptune aspect can lead to various addictions or to bisexuality. Gays are usually strongly Uranian. Obviously Assange isn’t gay as he has clocked up woman problems both in Australia, where he had an illegitimate child by his live-in, a child over which he lost custody, and in Scandinavia where he has obviously had various fleeting relations. He may well not be guilty of rape and molestation – a Pluto issue – it’s just that you can rather easily be had for “rape” in Sweden if you have consensual sex without a condom. So, a flighty sex life may be the pretext to try and nail someone for more political reasons; but as he's so wily it's actually possible that if caught and tried in Sweden Assange may yet make the sexually liberal Sweden look a bit mean and ridiculous and perhaps merely at the service of America.

Assange has a contentious, aggressive Mars in Aquarius which in itself is a position of Mars which runs the risk of one’s becoming an outsider or even sociopath and it would facilitate his huge and admitted cynicism. But Assange is very radical group and world related all the same. It certainly helps his fame and public support base that he has the fated nodes on a world point (15 Aquarius) and Venus at 25 Gemini, namely on an axis with the Galactic Centre in Sagittarius which is world connective and destiny-invoking. Though Jesus wasn’t born with it, Jupiter conjunct Neptune gives Assange a bit of a savior complex - he thinks he can teach or save the world with his revelations – and Jupiter favourably aspecting Pluto gives him some degree of power and influence to do so.

Presently, and despite everything, Assange feels, as he has stated, “fulfilled” and he is quasi-protected by Jupiter aspecting his natal Jupiter in specifically Scorpio – luck with anything secret and hidden especially as he has his natal moon somewhere in Scorpio too depending upon birth time. Very public though this Cancerian is at a certain level, Assange still prefers to know other people’s secrets more than letting them have his. Due to his theatrical mother’s influence he has learned to be a bit of an actor and uses many costume and style changes, constantly disguising and reinventing himself. The love for this kind of thing comes from I’m not sure what, but it’s possible a birth time would supply us a theatrical Leo ascendant or Midheaven.

The open attack upon especially the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, whom he says should be arrested rather than himself, is involved with Assange’s exact opposition of his Mars to Clinton’s Saturn (her career and reputation). And I do have to wonder if Assange’s attack on especially America is not to be seen as signaled and predicted by the degree exact square of asteroid Julian to America’s Mercury (all its national information under Julian's attack). To be precise, the relevant asteroid is Juliana, but early asteroids were all registered in the feminine even if the reference was male so this is in effect asteroid Julian, and doing its dangerous and also undermining work from the 12th house of the nation chart (if you accept the Scorpio rising chart which I believe to be the most accurate amid disputes over precise inauguration time).

Assange, who on his own admission is ”extremely cynical”, is obviously completely godless with it too. He was swept out to sea and nearly drowned, but in fact was swept back and narrowly escaped. His conclusion was nonetheless that this proved the universe is entirely hostile. Others might have felt differently. It didn’t occur to his type of bleak scientific/mathematical mind that he might be grateful or had been saved for a purpose or that God was speaking to him, warning, calling him or whatever. His reaction is a reminder of how much it's the case that we believe what we want to believe.

The fact is nonetheless that from a religious perspective it is quite possible Assange is a proverbial “man of destiny”, one who fulfils a prophetic role by default and unconsciously because others won’t do it. The person then becomes like “Assyria, rod of my anger” (Is 10:5). They may not acknowledge God and they may even be enemies of God, but they still fulfill a task because “even the wrath of man will praise you” (Ps 76:10). There is a fascinating opposition of Theotes (Godhead) to Lucifer across 8 Leo and 8 Aquarius in Assange’s natus and Uranus (anything to do with computers) aspects both these favourably from 9 Libra so that by what he is doing Assange can, however unconsciously, serve either party depending.

I cannot offhand recall the source (actually more than one) but earlier this year I know there were one or two prophecies to the effect that God was going to bring about changes in government and expose many things within it. How would that happen? Well, certainly the Assange intervention is one way of facilitating it! And where information is concerned we perhaps really did need to know that while the world increasingly calls Israel a danger and aggressive that in fact various Arab nations would have been pleased if Israel had simply gone and bombed Iran. And we rather do need to know that Russia is a virtual Mafia state and that China has been arming North Korea. And if Berlusconi is a bad joke to various leaders, well, who cares, we partly already knew it, but it needs to be said.

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
The Lord has them [the nations] in derision (Ps 2:4).

It’s good to respect authority and allow some privacy of dealings to leaders or else society can hardly be well organized and continue in existence. It’s also good to have a proper suspicion of those in authority and not to respect them unduly. There’s a fine line to be trodden here and I am not sure that Assange and his immediate supporters are best qualified to do it.

We have entered upon the long period of Pluto in Capricorn (politics, establishments, traditions) and the Plutonic transformations, and judgements will not leave them untouched. So to some extent what is happening was and is simply meant to be, especially as regards America whose Jupiter (its honesty, its beliefs, its faith) are currently being directly opposed and challenged by the probing, secrets-unearthing Pluto. In fact, what is taking place is even all part of the gradual decline of America on the world stage which the long transit of Pluto is going to see through, like it or not. We may not warm to Assange or enjoy much that his actions have triggered, but we are witnessing some history in the making all the same, just as way back in the 1500s when Luther posted the 95 theses, the Catholic establishment was served notice of reform. That was a Pluto in Capricorn event, so it’s all happening as the world turns….

BRADLEY MANNING. DOWNLOADING SECRETS TO THE GAGA BEAT

But really perhaps it’s all happening, or stopping, where gay soldier, Private Bradley Manning is now in solitary confinement awaiting court martial after accusations he downloaded much of the American information Wikileaks is using while lip synching to Lady Gaga’s music. It was all so fantastically easy and so fantastically like something out of Batman too. No astrological insights about this 23 years old, also of troubled background like Assange, and rather more bent than Assange on some kind of whopping payback. His data don’t seem available but would surely be interesting.

[I do now have and will comment later on the birthdate]

Manning is little short of everyone’s, including perhaps most gays’, gay nightmare they don’t like to be unPC enough admit to, someone plain Uranian brilliant round computers but so flamboyantly “out” in every way (including his lover is or was a drag queen) and living to the disco beat it’s a wonder he ever entered the army and was admitted to intelligence in the first place. Will the US army want to be more liberal around gays after this?! We may suspect the whole world of “men in uniforms” had as much charm for Manning as men in drag. Smiling under his army hat worn almost like a Tam o’ Shanter, “military” becomes like a fashion statement for him).

Being raised between Wales and America and divorced parents, feeling at home nowhere and bullied at school for his difference, Manning’s own brand of cynicism and alienation is more colourful, youthfully inexperienced and in its way innocent despite its enormities in trust and loyalty terms, than those of the secretive Assange. The latter doesn’t like judgements of Manning’s background - doubtless because he doesn’t want to consider how much his own background has moulded his own disaffection! If Manning hadn’t constantly boasted and gossiped like a drag queen needing an audience until an associate felt he couldn’t in conscience allow the massive deception to continue, Manning might have got away with his feat of info theft.

Manning is really rather awful, a clown, a performer, an enfant terrible, if ever there was one, thinking and boasting he has been acting heroically for the whole world and all history. Even so......I hope he won’t spend fifty years behind bars in satisfaction of a peculiarly American type of political and religious spitefulness (it wants Assange shot) not least traditionally against gays. Send Manning to a disco, where as in Wales he belongs and forget him and let him forget himself! It would however be interesting to have his data, though we know in advance it will be even more strongly Uranian in its pattern than for Assange or the average gay.

TEMPLE MYSTERIES AND SPIRITUAL EFFICIENCY

I planned and had stated on this Blog that the book of the above title would be issued before Christmas. However, I have been advised that timing would not suit its PR (and anyway any astrologer should beware of launching something on the potential muddle of the Mercury retro which oversees much of this month!). So, my book of which there are now a few excerpts on my website, will be out late January or early February. Among other things this will correspond to the time (28th Jan in the USA) of the premiere of The Rite, a film starring Anthony Hopkins and based on the book of that name by Matt Baglio and already considered perhaps one of the best accounts yet of the exorcism phenomenon. The book is good and the film might be, but I have challenging things to say about this whole subject in a chapter on exorcism and that’s only one of the many controversies of this - though I say it myself - one of a kind book which will be on Kindle as well as Amazon.

DA VINCI SHROUD FORGERY: A DIFFERENT EVIDENCE

2010-10-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

ON THE TRAIL OF LEONARDO AND THE SYMBOLIC

The case for Leonardo da Vinci creating the Shroud of Turin is a plausible one. Even Ian Wilson, a prominent believer in the authenticity of the Shroud, at one time seemed to concede something to it - though like numbers of people he has rather gone back and forth on the evidence. In the wake of ABC 1’s belated showing in Australia of a British docu Da Vinci’s Shroud, I got round to reading Picknett and Prince’s closely argued, updated version of their book/thesis on the subject. Turin Shroud: How Leonardo de Vinci Fooled History (2006).

I shan’t attempt to summarize the thesis. It expertly covers innumerable, often technical points from carbon dating and early photography to the politics of popes and the House of Savoy, who likely commissioned the fake, and anomalies of the Shroud like its gigantic size with its measurements back and front out of harmony, the dislocated head out of proportion with the body and so on.

Curiously, however, though the impetus given the authors to pursue the trail leading to Leonardo originally came through a tip off from a figure in Europe’s occult underground, they did not look for any added confirmations of the more symbolic kind in the occult fields they associate with the artist. We have Leonardo’s birth details as records were kept during the Renaissance, not least for precisely astrological purposes. These can well be read along with the rest - especially now that we have name, concept and place asteroids for remote dates to fill out the picture. Asteroid Leonardo, conjunct the fated nodes, rises in the first house of the artist's chart. The person is already suitably indicated and as for all the rest, at least cumulatively it surely amounts to something.

There are four places to look for clues and confirmations.
1) Leonardo’s natal chart
2) Christ’s natal chart (which I claim to know and maintain works for Christ issues to this day – see my Testament of the Magi
3) The charts for the Crucifixion and Easter
4) A chart for first display of the Shroud as we know it - Good Friday 1494 (it was made in 1492 if Giovanni, Picknett and Prince have got things right).

In the following where I cite asteroids it must be understood the rule accepted by astrologers who use them, and do so because they find they seriously work, is that that they will signify trans-lingually on a sound/sense basis (with affinities almost for Finnegan’s Wake one feels!). Thus Tempel, which is German for Temple, will work for Temple. Prinz equals Prince, and until recent times asteroids were registered in feminine form so that Nelsonia will signify Nelson, Christa equals Christ etc. This means that in the restricted lexicon of the skies, the only available word in any language that could possibly signify Shroud, and which I have found does, is the name Sinden. This equals Sindon (an alternative spelling of the English name) while Sindon means linen cloth in Greek. Also, perhaps because at some level all time is one, though asteroids have been named only since 1800, in the same way as they work trans-lingually they will significantly work for all times too.

1) LEONARDO’S CHART – correctly timed.

First it must be understood that Picknett and Prince supply the birth date of April 15th 1492 at 10.30 pm and I have worked on that. This corresponds to “3 o clock of the night” according to Florentine time which counted from sunset, so that 15th April is still 14th April. To this date one then adds 9 days to arrive at NS Gregorian date 23rd April which is what one normally sees on charts for Leonardo. Astrologers normally use 9.30 or 9.40 pm which supplies early degrees of Sagittarius rising. This could well be correct, but back in those days the given time could well be something like half an hour out. Both an early 6 degrees of Sagittarius rising or a later mid degree 16 degrees could have significance in this particular case.

The time as given is nonetheless relevant enough. It sets the Midheaven angle (career, reputation, destiny) in late Virgo near to conjunction with a visionary, artistic Neptune in the house of the career on a world point at 0 Libra. This does sound like an artistic Leonardo who, besides, can produce a great deception as any afflicted Neptune can produce confusion. Leonardo's Neptune is in close affliction aspect (quincunx) to the register of truth in any chart and the general planetary symbol of philosophies and religion, Jupiter. This artist could produce a memorable religious deception. An element of fantasy favouring deception along with urges towards the mystical and etherial is in any case also assisted by a natal moon in dreamy Pisces in which even such as the Mona Lisa partakes.

Many people have Saturn in the 10th house of career like Leonardo and it can be helpful for their long term advancement, but this Saturn is in Libra where it favours a career in the arts. Although Saturn like all planets and unlike asteroids is symbolically polyvalent, at one level it is significator of any tombs and shrouds. We have no reason to imagine that this should be relevant to Leonardo's natal chart - except for one rather crucial thing. Saturn in specifically Libra and in the career house for the artist is quite likely to relate not only to art - it just so happens that this Saturn is in opportunity aspect from the career house to Sinden, our shroud asteroid!

If it should happen that Leonardo was born a bit later with 15 or 16 Sagittarius rising, then this same Sinden is not even hidden away in the secret twelfth house. It would be conjunct the ascendant which is body, face and persona – a closer identity of Leonardo and his appearance with this shroud?
There certainly looks to be such an identity. The ascending sign filters or modifies whatever the sun sign gives and it will affect the face, body and persona. If the Salvator Mundi portrait of Christ attributed to Leonardo is a self portrait as Christ and linked to the Shroud, then it must be admitted there is something Sagittarian of a distinctive type about it. It has something of the bold featured and flamboyant yet effeminate kind of gay Sagittarian male who has a penchant for drag, and whatever his personal style it is generally accepted that Leonardo was gay while the true gender of Mona Lisa has been disputed.

However, even if it is not the case time-wise that Sinden is on the ascendant, and it may well not be, nothing alters that this Sinden asteroid at just 16 Sagittarius stands in close, direct opportunity aspect to Leonardo’s workman’s Mars in shocking, surprising Aquarius. Since Leonardo’s natal Mars is at 15degrees it is somehow significant by being on another of the world points. This allows for doing something rather famous and extraordinary such as a piece of workmanship that is almost an attack on religion. And according to the astrological theory of trans-historical sensitive degrees and the inter-relation of chart patterns it necessarily is so, because at the foundation of Christianity at Pentecost in AD 30 we find the Christ asteroid is at 15 Aquarius.

We have no notebook revealing work on or negotiations around the Shroud, but a notebook of Leonardo’s bought by, and lost by, the House of Savoy could be assumed to detail any controversial issues in relation to it. Work on the relic is believed to have been done in 1492 at the behest of the House of Savoy but Leonardo worked, according to Picknett and Price’s theory and to Giovanni (their occult underground contact), the unscrupulous Pope Innocent V111 who authorized the forgery.

A new fascination with the blood of Christ had begun with Innocent’s immediate predecessor Sixtus IV who wrote a treatise On the Blood of Christ. It is the blood marks on the Shroud which sets it apart from the earlier Savoy owned Shroud thought of as a representation or painting. Leonardo, who exceptionally for his times dissected and examined corpses could provide realistic injuries and blood to any forgery. (Blood should however not be still flowing from a corpse as portrayed and of course since presumably Leonardo did not kill off someone to make the forgery its head had to separate from the injured body used). What if any is the astrology?

There is no asteroid for Pope, or Sixtus, or Innocent, but there is one Vaticana (read Vatican and hierarchy). Assuming a correct birth time it is surprisingly strong for Leonardo by being angular, challengingly and suggestively opposite Sinden too. Fascinatingly, and as though to point to illegitimate papal interest in the Shroud, Vaticana conjuncts an asteroid Trueblood which means that Trueblood also opposes Sinden in its secretive hidden place. (It should be noted that Trueblood in this chart is not related to this same asteroid in either the natus of Christ or his crucifixion for both of which they are expressive, and under the rules we should expect to see a connection if the Shroud retained anything as important as traces of Christ’s blood from the crucifixion itself).

LEONARDO AND VATICAN ENDORSEMENT?

Vaticana in its partnership position for Leonardo betokens some measure of agency and patronage such as we know was the case. The Church, despite Leonardo’s heretical opinions, could still act as some kind of agent/benefactor for him. Leonardo’s personally pained, alienated feelings towards the Church are reflected in the direct difficulty square of his Church asteroid to Chiron (the wounded healer planetoid). This Chiron and the Vatican in conjunction do so in double-minded Gemini so Leonardo can be in two minds about his patron the Church and the Church authorities represented by Vaticana, be in two minds about him in turn but they can and will cooperate.

The data is thus:
Church 19.23 Virgo, square Chiron 19.25 Gemini
Chiron 19.25 Gemini, conjunct Vaticana 17.31, Gemini
Conjunct Trueblood, 15.47.Gemini opposite Sinden at 16.00 Sagittarius.

Can the chart tell us how Leonardo might go about his approved fakery? Picknett and Prince, or rather two Princes, writer Clive and photographic expert Keith Prince (remember this Prince emphasis) maintain the shroudman figure was achieved by an early form of camera obscura photography. The body photographed is supposedly that of Christ, or shall we say Jesus? Astrology offers us two asteroids here, Christa which works for Christ and Isa, the Arabic, Koranic name for Jesus. I find Christ works more for faith issues, Isa is more like “the historical Jesus”, Jesus’ body, and that is what the Shroud points out. So…..

LEONARDO, “PHOTOGRAPHIC” FRAUD AND THE PICKNETT PRICE CONNECTION

Asteroid Photographia challengingly opposes, exact to the degree, Isa/Jesus in Leonardo’s ninth house of religion. (And we know Leonardo’s religious views incline to the whimsical, mystical or unusual because his only planet in the beliefs house is mystical Neptune, but very strong on a world point so making for fame and influence at 0 Libra). Photographia is, besides, emphasized by being in Pisces, nowadays deemed the sign of photography itself, while Isa is emphasized by being in Leonardo’s religion house and suggestively placed within a degree of the position of Jesus’ natal sun – the challenge (opposition) of Photographia and Isa being to capture the historical Jesus, however deceptively. Asteroid Church conjuncts Isa so that the Church at large is liable to be taken in by the forgery, even desires and reveres it even if some of the hierarchy, Vaticana, know the truth.

Who is going finally to see through this challenge to Leonardo’s reputation and art? Venus is a key planet for Leonardo because it rules his Taurus sun and his Libran Midheaven of reputation/destiny. His Venus, (itself in Taurus so further strengthened) at 25 Taurus, is directly opposed by Prinz at 26 Scorpio. This signifies the two Princes working against his reputation to mine his secrets, while although there is no Picknett asteroid there is one called Lynn.

Lynn interrupts the Photographica/Isa opposition setting up degree exact T square to it – in short, makes difficulty for the secret of the work by seeing through it. The reason that finally the Savoys never paid Leonardo much could include disappointment with the Shroud image, faint from the first due to its “photographic” basis and thus not so impressive to them as it would be to later, more scientific generations who could examine it.

The Picknett and Prince Shroud thesis is that Leonardo had unusual, probably hostile attitudes towards Christ. This does seem shown by the Christ asteroid at 21 Aries in tension square to heretical, or at least very different, Uranus at 22 of Cancer. His alternative belief is said to be the Johannanite one that the Baptist was the Messiah – the Shroud is even suggestively housed in Turin’s Cathedral of St John the Baptist. This theory is however less clearly shown, unless negatively as a major deception after the manner of Neptune afflictions, and so I note that Baptistina (the Baptist) at almost 0 of Cancer, a world point, is in tension square to Leonardo’s 0 degree Neptune in the religion house.

I should like to have found the asteroid Lie intervening in what I have so far detailed, (Lie conjunct Sinden would be ideal!) but perhaps it’s not necessary. I do note that for Leonardo Lie conjuncts the south end of his fated Nodes axis of which, as said, the positive North axis conjuncted his name, a placement that would assist ambition and fame. The south axis by contrast is believed to be what we do easily and habitually. Lie in this position is not too flattering and suggests a person who had few scruples doing whatever suited him, the Shroud deceit being only one among several!

2) CHRIST’S CHART.
This reveals a very close conjunction of Leonardo with of all things The Part of Misinterpretation. This is pretty much what Leonardo is offering the world especially as he is found in Christ’s fourth house of origins and endings, hence anything to do with the grave place and burials.

If work on the Shroud was indeed undertaken in 1492, it is interesting that during this year, Saturn would have been back and forth across Jesus’ reputation Midheaven angle. Polyvalent planetary symbol, Saturn, can at one level refer to any issues regarding graves, burials, shrouds if relevant. More typically it can be whatever hinders and restricts, even if for specifically Saturnian people it could advance their career. It can however only be negative in the case of Christ - it’s no use having believers revering falsehoods around your person!

3). CRUCIFIXION AND EASTER
Obviously Leonardo was not present then, but the astrology of these two events is astonishing because it reflects not just what was happening but the beliefs and theology that would derive from them. Hence, if there was a shroud from the time of Christ’s death that has been getting falsely attributed to Leonardo (or anyone else), or if Leonardo’s influence would intervene in Christian beliefs in some fashion, that should be shown. On both days Leonardo conflict squares the sun of the day placing him in some kind of disharmonious relation with events. He is not connected at all with Sinden at this time which plays its own role and is aspected in suitable ways for the given record.

It can however be observed that Leonardo conjuncts Masi (Ar. Messiah) at this season. Conjunctions are very for or against something and the Da Vinci Shroud thesis is that Leonardo, through hidden symbolic features of his art, promoted belief that John, not Jesus, was the Messiah. (Despite this I remain to be convinced that Leonardo is rightly regarded as completely anti-Christian. Before his death he did ask to be instructed in Christian faith and took communion which suggests he had been lifelong religiously indifferent and/or opportunistically went along with and promoted those traditions he knew. It has been suggested he inherited Cathar views and habits like his vegetarianism from his mother who came of heretic line. He anyway moved in heretic underground circles in Florence).

4) FIRST DISPLAY OF THE SHROUD AS WE KNOW IT
(after a forty year disappearance and before which the Shroud was widely understood to be a painting or representation and not this new more realistic if faint image).
The chart is set for Good Friday, 1494 which was 28th March Julian, (6th April Gregorian – Astrodienst, a source for remote date asteroids, works on continuous Gregorian). As I can’t know at what time the Shroud was displayed a chart must be set like many political charts for noon but time doesn’t affect the most salient features which shows something like success for Leonardo’s ruse.

Coincidences are always possible, but the pattern does appear suggestive. The Leonardo asteroid at 16 Leo fortunately exactly trines the sun at 16 Aries at the same time as Lie in Cancer squares this Sun. The relic may be a lie but Leonardo’s forgery carries the day even if the sun’s opposition (to his 17 degree Libra) Midheaven hints at the possibility of slow recognition of what he has done and some undermining with it. Likewise supporting success for Leonardo’s work in the immediate, the shroud asteroid Sinden positioned in mysterious and intriguing Scorpio, the death sign, exactly and fortunately trines Mercury (news/information) in dreamy Pisces making for easy acceptance of the implied information.

To the extent a symbolic noon day chart is valid, the moon at 26 of religion sign Sagittarius aspects both Sinden and Moon but it conflictingly squares the moon (a significator for public feeling in such charts) suggesting as Moon square Mercury often does, wrong information and feelings. Charts interact over centuries and some degrees are deemed sensitive. One could speculate about the relevance of Neptune, so prone to illusion, this day being on the same degree of Mars as on the day of crucifixion. An illusion is created about the marks and nature of crucifixion?

A HORARY NO

Way back in January 1987 influenced by a press article speculating on future findings for the relic, I cast a chart I regret having lost which was a horary (question chart) “Is the Turin Shroud Genuine”? My reading distinctly followed accepted rules for this and which declared a resounding NO. I felt relieved as personally I can’t stand the Shroud image. Indeed I am constantly amazed that believers are so attached to it. Even granted that Christ’s beauty is understood to have been marred by the crucifixion, it looks odd for a Messianic figure and rather, horsey - horse sign Sagittarius rises in Leonardo’s chart and it doesn’t in Christ’s! - and anything but attractive and sacred. Today if the question chart could be retrieved it would be fascinating to see where Leonardo fell in it, but I had no access to such information at the time – nobody did. Rather laboriously I worked out against houses, rulers, aspects, Parts, etc that it seemed as though some underground group like Templars or Masons must be behind it. I am accordingly not surprised that Picknett and Prince should be encouraged to pursue a lead given them by someone from the occult underground.

In a way, I am not too surprised either that I should fall across this information at the time I have done and it’s likely to amount to something. Only after I had started on this did I tumble to what should be an obvious point for an astrologer, namely that the last lunation has fallen at 14.24 of Libra. Leonardo’s rather crucial reputation house Saturn falls at 14.04 of Libra, a very close conjunction. Not only that but the transiting nodes on their 19 year cycle are hitting the Leonardo/Lie axis. It’s a good time to discover, explore and say anything about Leonardo’s aims and intentions.

TEMPLE MYSTERIES

Actually, I only did veer towards this and made a point to watch the docu for its relation however uncertain to what I have been working on – namely my book for which I await proof shortly and which should be out in December, Temple Mysteries and Spiritual Efficiency. (More on this here and on my website later). This truly is a different and surprising work (even to me) ranging over everything from aspects of the new Temple theology, Masonic theories, Jung’s Red Book, gay issues, theories of creation and evolution and much more, but the Temple is central and it was thoughts on Temple and Templars had temporarily led me towards the Shroud and Leonardo. After all, Leonardo perfectly aspects the Temple asteroid in my natus. How could I miss it? A case of Leonardo on my mind but my admiration for the genius a bit diminished.

DANNY NALLIAH’S FALSE DREAM OF JULIA GILLARD’S LOSS

2010-09-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

Pastor Danny Exceeding his Spiritual Remit Again

With the narrow Labour win confirming Julia Gillard as Australia’s first woman Prime Minister, finally and thankfully, Danny Nalliah has been caught out. By now notorious for his dreams, especially of '09’s forest fires declared to be divine judgement for permitting abortion in Victoria, Nalliah, a one man Aussie version of the American Right with dramatic visionary input, had a vision of “godless” Gillard ceding defeat before media. He has also been telling people to pray she would lose this week and has been wrong. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nalliah will now declare the Victorian floods are a judgment for endorsing Gillard and that Christians should be repenting they didn’t pray hard enough to fulfill his dream which expressed less prophecy than God’choice and intention. There are interesting questions here re prophecy (does it exist?) and divine will (can it be known?).

Personally I am delighted with today’s close result which is likely to force Australia into a more consensus politics and a whole raft of reforms the Independents have successfully bargained for. I also feel enormous relief and justification as someone who myself lays some claim to prophetic insight and had reasons to doubt Nalliah’s dream as soon as I read it. Recently recovering from the shock of a disturbing prophetic dream that proved true (but which I didn’t rush to the press or even my Blog to discuss though it is covered in a new book I’m editing) I believed God had told me all one needed to know the night before the election.

DANNY NALLIAH, A HEALER WHO SHOULD GO EASY ON PROPHECY

But I’ll say first, despite his eccentric streak, unlike some people I don’t consider Danny Nalliah bad or mad. He is well intentioned in his way and I think he has real gifts for especially healing. I also believe he did Australians a good turn challenging anti-vilification laws for which he suffered a long drawn out court case defending his right to free speech as regards ability to criticize Islam. But when it comes to prophecy, which is supposed to be gift and a vocation, the healer and rights campaigner exceeds his remit and brings himself and religion into disrepute.

Yet even as Nalliah rushes in where angels might fear to tread, he is slightly more correct than church leaders who currently have nothing more "prophetic" to say to their congregations on the fate of nations and leaders than that atheists can be good persons. That’s hardly the point, especially if there is any kind of divine fate, will or “choice” at all involved in leadership - a tricky subject raising questions about the absolute as opposed to merely permissive will of God. Conservatives like Nalliah believe God always has a “choice” for leadership we should discern and pursue. The belief ignores that while undeniably God is depicted as choosing such as King Saul - who serves God’s purpose of driving back Philistines but is otherwise useless - he is “chosen” only after Yahweh has democratically conceded to Israel’s decision to have the monarchy God doesn’t want. Also Israel is covenanted to God and other nations aren’t.

On August 31st Danny Nalliah put out a message that in a dream he had seen Ms Gillard conceding defeat. The message was meant to be definitive as it was accompanied with a list of other supposedly true dreams - we were informed, once again, he had foreseen the Victorian bushfires – he left out how he had seen prior shooting mayhem in central Melbourne that never occurred. I have questions about one or two other vision claims but we can pass over that.

A couple of days later Nalliah was not quite so convinced by his dream as not to issue another missive telling the faithfu how he had felt physically sick and been up half the night beseeching God to prevent the horror of a Labor/Green alliance giving Australia into the hands of a sinful atheist and “a practicing homosexual” (Bob Brown). He wanted fasting and prayer to prevent this disaster and on the basis that what we bind on earth can be bound in heaven (Matt 16:19). He even perceived the political situation as direly similar to when (the supposedly Christian) Bush narrowly beat the New Age Gore in Florida, through the power of prayer allegedly. (As it was a matter of narrowly disputed vote count this might have been like asking God to cheat numbers in a Republican interest).

NALLIAH TRYING TO BIND AND LOOSE EVENTS

Nalliah’s position makes no sense. If you believe that anything you bind on earth can be bound in heaven by prayer, how and why did early Christians suffer the evil and persecuting emperors St Paul so controversially said must be accepted from God as part of the authority that is his will? If your stomach is too weak to accept an atheist and “a practicing homosexual” in power, how would you manage emperors at orgies or Christian kings throughout western history openly living with mistresses?

While obviously God would not approve the likes of Nero, God is still understood to support organization over anarchy (which even the imperial systems can represent) and democracy or at least what reflects the people’s mind because:
a) as per Ps 115:16 “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings”. So humans must make their choices and,
b) because as per Mk 12:17 we are supposed to accept the division of church and state basic to democracy and thus render to Caesar what’s his and to God what’s God’s.

Granted this might make it seem God has no will as regards rulers (unless for covenanted Israel) or that all things can’t work together for good as St Paul insists (Rom 8:28). But this is to be unaware how things may always be working sooner or later for God’s plan as indicated presently. As to believers “binding” and “loosing” things, this has more to do with healing and exorcism. It’s not carte blanche to organize national politics for unbelievers. What Nalliah believes can be claimed for nations is based on OT statements made in the context of Israel being covenanted to God in a way Australia isn’t (even if some people do believe Australia is or should be “the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit”). If Nalliah thinks otherwise then it’s close to the Dominionist heresy of some American churches which assumes Christ can’t return until all nations are under laws instituted by a politicized Christianity.

With and without visions, Nalliah regularly treats current party politics as though a presidential race built on personalities - “ungodly” Gillard, versus “godly” Abbot - not whole parties with their mixture or believers and unbelievers. Like Abbott, he also regards politics as confrontational, not realizing what Australia needs and which the present crisis may help precipitate, is a more consensual, flexible system.

GOD AND GODLY POLICIES FOR AUSTRALIA

Granted there are policies to consider and – marginally - the Coalition has represented more specifically Christian positions especially re chaplaincy for schools and prayers in parliament. But not only did Gillard’s atheism concede to chaplaincy, no matter how important such matters regarding faith might be, other matters like reform of health care, hospitals and schools, issues from homelessness to broadband do count. Also it was Labour not the Coalition that said the necessary “Sorry” to Aboriginals. It hardly serves God if one arrives at the equivalent of a “Tory party at prayer” situation, good for organized religion but little otherwise than big business or the cities. Though Christ is neither left nor right, a parable like the workers in the vineyard ( Matt 20:1-`16 ) is basically socialist.

I don’t say that as a committed socialist – I tend to be a pragmatic swinging voter -and in the recent difficult poll have suspected with the eccentric Bob Katter the decision may be between “the lesser of two evils”. And I do think the Left wastes money. The fact remains the Coalition has been very conservative by modern standards. The regions have been ignored, welfare has been below European standards under the Coalition, higher education half killed off under it – the religious studies dept where I obtained my doctorate and which was once deemed one of the best in the world, now shares its reduced curriculum with several other depts due to radical cuts. The mind of the people, if one thinks it counts for anything, was not being expressed on many things under the Coalition. That includes gay marriage on which the Greens may impel Labour to a conscience vote.

This leads me to mention three subjects to which Nalliah and conservatives are hysterically opposed but on which it could be that they don’t have the mind of God at all.

1). If they increase electricity charges by four, I agree the Greens would be unmentionable, but for the Christian Right and Nalliah are unmentionable for other reasons. They regard the Australian version of Green as controversially godless which it seems to be (though the movement itself was founded in Canada by a Quaker) but we need to recall that saving the threatened Barrier Reef is a policy priority for Greens. Supposing it were an important issue for God? As mentioned in my Cosmic Father, I had been shocked to be told by God to pray for the seas. It has taken the Gulf oil disaster for anything like that idea to cross most Christian minds.

2). Gay Marriage. “Godless” Gillard doesn’t support it, but may be forced to a conscience vote by the Greens. Regardless of various contemporary theological and psychological perspectives on the gay subject, if one were to argue solely within Nalliah’s framework, one can well ask what if God might actually want gay marriage passed? Married gays are less likely to be involved in unsafe sex. God doesn’t want gays dead of AIDS; the longer they live the more time to change their ways and beliefs. Health and soul surely count for more than the formality of whether marriage belongs solely to straights or not. And Jesus’ bride, the Church, is composed of both sexes. If Nalliah can’t and won’t see that simple point, then perhaps privately he’s like the Ugandan churches that want gays jailed or executed under the law. Like many religious conservatives I doubt Nalliah is completely open about his position on this subject or just doesn’t know what it is but has knee-jerk reactions anyway. Just to see Bob Brown embracing (not even kissing) his partner made Nalliah feel ill and rushing to God in distressed prayer. Ever heard of homophobia?

3) Abortion. Nalliah’s position is the Catholic one - it’s all always wrong. Doubtless there’s too much of it and late term abortion will always be controversial, but the negative position doesn’t enjoy the unanimous agreement of even early Christians. Tertullian believed the child must be sacrificed to save the mother’s life. (One of a list of reasons writer Anne Rice recently rejected Christianity was after a Catholic nurse in Arizona was excommunicated for recommending abortion to save a mother’s life). Augustine refused to say early stage abortion was murder. It is this intransigent refusal to countenance any grounds for abortion, and the indifference to the often difficult situations into which doctors are put – would Nalliah like doctors fined and imprisoned in Victoria for using their discrimination? – that has put Christians outside the pale in most people’s discussion of this subject and been a pretext for secularism to argue for abortion on almost any grounds.

DID GOD WILL “GODLESS” GILLARD’S ELECTION WIN?

Can we hope to know God’s will in these matters? Would God, contrary to Nalliah’s assumptions, “choose” an atheist and should we? The answer is a provisional yes, it’s perfectly possible.

First, let’s remember God does as he wills for his purposes and “even the wrath of man will praise you” (Ps 76:10). Without compromising human will God can oversee events in a way that will assist the larger picture in the long run. There is some scope for individuals to do wrong and make evil choices, but they cannot fully go against the tides which will force correction later if not sooner. Ecclesiastes famously writes of a time to break down and a time to build up, to plant and to pluck up. (Ecc 3) What does this and more of such statements signify? It means there is a hidden cyclical factor which the rabbis knew of and it’s the cycles of time and astrology that religious conservatives reject as the abomination of divination Jews don’t understand it to be. It’s a reason astrology could feature in even Christ’s birth. I have often said that Christian prophecy and prophets could well be checked for probability and accuracy of claim against it. The more egregious errors could be avoided by this means.

The fact is Australia is in a cycle which requires it to change and what is now happening will help propel it towards that. Gillard herself was always going to make it. I will concede that I wouldn’t have cared to forecast it, astrologically at least, before last weekend when finally I discovered Gillard’s birth time and even then it was still difficult because we didn’t know Abbott’s to make comparison. However, when I saw that tomorrow’s lunation would be conjuncting Gillard’s Midheaven (her career/destiny) it seemed sufficiently unlikely she would lose for me to start writing this article ahead of the announcement. Now that I know the result and its timing and can see the full birth pattern, it is devastating just how fated transits and Gillard’s pattern are for her stepping into history. She was always fated to win. It is most unlikely Danny Nalliah or anyone’s interventions would not have stopped it and Abbott was always fated to lose too. The prior eclipse, always a good gauge, had been negative to his pattern.

There is much more one could say about these patterns, some of it quite technical, but my main religious point is that these tides and cycles reflect God’s will. They exist and can be traced because they parallel God’s will. Elections have never much concerned me religiously or in any other way, but this election was confusing, tightly fought and potentially historic, so that for once on the night before polling I put it before God, trying to clear my own mind. I still remember the strange sense of relief and wonderful clarity that overcame me when the message I received was simply to pray that Julia Gillard would “make the right decisions”. It wasn’t a forecast, but it might as well have been so because if it was decisions she has had to make and will be having to make and they will be difficult ones, so I did suspect I had been told the answer. Why would her decision-making matter if she would shortly lose? Even if she retired tomorrow or the consensus won't work already she has made many decisions with the Independents which will help change politics here and redirect some needed attention towards regional Australia.

We need to remember that Christians are told to pray for those in high positions (1 Tim 2:2). That is the task under any circumstances. Trying to influence voter patterns by prayer is dubious and if you think that kind of thing is right, then perhaps you will be rewarded with false visions.

I hope this election is a wake up call to Danny Nalliah who is not a person easily persuaded from his position on anything. I have several times written without response from him or his secretary and as this included paragraphs in a book of mine which mention him, clearly he is not a man to hear anything but what he wants. Contrary views come from the devil, I fancy. I shan’t be trying to contact him again. I just hope what he is gifted for is not damaged by his vainly getting into what and where he is not meant to be. I haven't made this an open letter but I would say: Leave it to others who may not have the spotlight you are given and possibly seek, but who now and again may know more.

PS. DANNY NALLIAH'S SEMI-RESPONSE TO ME

Following the election result Danny Nalliah put out an invitation to send "thoughtful" responses to the puzzle of his Gillard vision. (His own opinion is that he must still be correct, but that he got the timing wrong). Although I said I wouldn't be writing to DN again as he just won't reply, in the circumstances I did send the address of this site and article. Amazingly, within around 10 minutes of emailing it I actually received a reply, pointing me to all the positive responses to him on his site that would disagree with my position (People were indeed writing in to assure him he is inspired and must be right really).

If thoughtful responses were required then considered replies to them would be appropriate. It is impossible my article had been read, absorbed and replied to in such a brief interval. In fairness, since the article wasn't written for or to Ps Nalliah, the opening wasn't too flattering, but the rest was more fair and deserved his consideration. I imagine he read the opening lines and not desiring the negativity of criticism just dismissed it. This recalls to me some of the correspondence sent to this Blog about my false prophet articles. They mention prophets in California living in unreal worlds where their every word is hung upon and admired, every success built up, the failures ignored.

I still believe Nalliah has gifts, even if prophecy isn't their prime feature, so I just hope he won't now be spoiled by his followers turned from a pastor to an infallible guru buoyed up on an revivalist roll. It's also the fact that according to St Paul,(Rom 11:29)the gifts or God are irrevocable, and thus it is quite possible that even genuine divine gifts can continue to manifest even when the person has developed some wrong attitudes and policies in relation to them. The big problem with Danny Nalliah is he is narrowly opinionated on a whole slew of political and ethical issues and because God's gifts seem to accompany him (most recently the papers have reported he has raised a dead woman) followers feel obliged to imitate his every view, rather than seeking out the truth for themsleves.

Finally by a bit of Net research I now see Nalliah misforecast the 2007 election likewise, though this time blaming people for not praying enough to make the prophecy a certainty. See
http://www.hnlc.org.au/rensford/resources/Nalliah_election_false_prophecy.pdf

However I also see there seems to be some kind of Toronto Blessing and similar connection where Nalliah's Catch the Fire ministries is concerned. That should make anyone suspicious of his gifts and just what he represents.

WILL NETANYAHU BOMB IRAN?

2010-08-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TIME

Will Netanyahu bomb Iran? It’s a big question and perhaps rather urgent. At least according to today’s Australian, and former US envoy to the UN, John Bolton, PM Netanyahu of Israel has 3 days to do the deed if he wants to get in before Iran is finally set up for things nuclear at its Bushehr plant. The world, or at least Pakistan and Russia, is already in a dreadful state reflected in the ghastly life-and-death style Saturn/Pluto square in the heavens (Pakistan was born under the conjunction of same and now this aspect is arousing negative potential).

But are we on the edge of terrible things elsewhere and in the Middle East? The slow forming square is perfectly exact this Saturday 21st Aug, itself incidentally the day of Australia’s election, which given events so far is a power struggle that may be expected to have a close finish and perhaps a confused, indecisive one too with Mercury just going retrograde. (I hope recounts won't add to the joys).

ISRAEL ON THE LINE

I’d been wondering what Israel might do this month when I saw the lunation of the 10th of this month hitting right at 17 degrees Leo on Israel’s Saturn at 16 degrees of the sign in its destiny and leadership house. Heavy decisions for the leadership certainly, but perhaps delayed action, or loss through delay which is an outcome Bolton seems to imagine.

Mars (war and aggression) at the time of lunation didn’t and doesn’t strongly point to the action that evidently some deem (more or less) advisable. On the other hand, the alternative pattern for a nation is always its leader’s chart and this is heavy for Netanyahu. The lunation was conjunct his Pluto – really heavy, potential life and death issues - plus at the time his Mars was conjunct his Neptune. He could act with stealth (he would probably need to!) or receive confusing unhelpful advice during this period.

There are two sides in a war, so it would be useful to know just what the chart for Iran should be, but if it’s the one some give out for the return of Ayatollah Khomenei with all that has involved for the shape of Iran ever since, we could be looking at significance. For this pattern the last lunation fell in aspect to Iran’s Pluto at 19 Libra (its sextile is the element of opportunity for the plant) while Saturn opposed its Ascendant (the body/people of the nation) and bellicose Mars was opposite its rising moon, while transiting Pluto affects its leadership/destiny axis. This could signal a nation about to be attacked – unless (since free will does exist) it simply reflects a nation that fears attack and takes the kind of definitive action towards going nuclear that it sees as defensive and it seems determined to pursue at this season. And the mentioned sextile to specifically Pluto (much associated with the nuclear)signals that.

Frankly, if it weren’t I don’t see Mars seriously significant as a clincher for Israel at the last lunation (but maybe for the shock and surprise factor and global effect politically of attacking a nuclear plant one ought to be looking rather at, say, tr. Uranus on the world point) I would say there’s little question something dramatic will happen shortly. But it’s known people have said Israel could strike in August or later. November has been suggested. I don’t find the last eclipse (the broad framework for all action) too significant for Israel either, except that at the time of it Venus (ruler of Israel’s enemies house) was in a position degree exact opposite the position of this month’s full moon on the 24th. And full moons do tend to bring things to a head. Perhaps crucial events will take place a little later this month than expected and Israel will refuse to be hurried.

AN EARLIER STAR OVER PERSIA PROHPECY

Among Christian prophets Timothy Snodgrass is a bit more reliable than some and he also makes the kind of national forecasts few venture into. He certainly foresaw the 2004 Asian tsunami. In February he reported a horrendous vision of a star falling over Iran and bombs and explosions of such force he was much alarmed and even maintained he wasn’t allowed to say all he experienced in connection with this event. There was no timing as he seemed to believe what was implied was not 100% inevitable, but I take it the general implication was something would be happening this year.

It’s a pity prophets can’t be like the Magi of Christ’s birth and work with astrology. Snodgrass is always citing eclipses and stellar events without understanding their possible meaning or relevance and sometimes there’s none at so that he makes himself sound too vague or over dramatic. If prophets could work with astrology they might be more precise and able to overcome especially the old problem of timing events. However as in this case astrologers themselves would like to know just what the true birth data for Iran are.

PS. It was more astro analysis than prophecy, but I think the most recent declarations from Obama world with the White House celebration of Ramadan last Friday and the defence of the mosque to be built near Ground Zero, endorse the astro profiles of Obama I have given on this Blog. If he isn't a Muslim he might as well be so.

ANNE RICE’S SENSATIONALIZING DECONVERSION

2010-07-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

A FACEBOOK ABOUT-FACE ON CHRISTIANITY

This week Facebook has been theatre to best-selling author Anne Rice’s grand About-Face. Sensationally and rather self indulgently Anne Rice, the atheist reconverted to Catholicism in 1998, has now declared herself “in Christ’s name”, out of Christianity and no longer calling herself Christian. Since she refuses to reject Christ about whom she has written novels in recent years (in '02 she was in a mood to declare she would write nothing more unless on Christ) and then in view of the list of her objections to “Christianity” it might have been more appropriate to have declared herself no longer Catholic. She could then perhaps quietly have gone somewhere more Protestant where she could have been allowed her broader views on women, contraception, gays etc. But some people, particularly a type of American star personality, can’t do anything quietly. Gestures must be extreme and absolute, the whole world must hear and hopefully sympathize too.

Unfortunately, because of Anne Rice’s vast influence in many languages, it's quite likely that many will be as influenced by this about-face and make “I’m not Christian” statements as trendy in its way (and go further with it and more literally) as they once did with the Goth morbidity of her Vampire novels.

My disappointed reaction to Rice’s announcement agrees neither with those who simplistically and sympathetically buy into “poor” Anne Rice’s siding with Christ against the unpleasantness of his religion and its adherents, nor with those who say she was just a bad Catholic who should never have returned on the terms she did. These reactions are missing what I sense is the real, more hidden point and which my own minor, brief dealings with Anne Rice had led me reluctantly to suspect so that I'm not surprised at what has happened and at a propitious moment for such shocks too. (It comes in the wake of an eclipse that set up an affliction to Anne’s Mars and at the time of a portentous Grand Cross of stressed planets in the heavens that oversee such major problems in America as the wikileaks and of course Anne is making another info leak of sorts).

ANNE RICE’S HAUNTED MIND

Anne Rice is a person carrying a lot of emotional and spiritual baggage, a person still prey to her inherited demons and for this reason, whether reconciling with or renouncing religion, she risks functioning as a negative spiritual influence upon the masses. For a start, I do feel in light of things I’ve read about vampire cult in America in all its morbidity and which Anne Rice’s fiction unquestionable helped to popularize, a deep conversion would surely have made her more keen to renounce her previous writings than has been the case. If publication of earlier work could not cease for contractual reasons, she might have given away the proceeds of it.

It doesn’t seem this has happened and if she had concerned herself a little more with,say, the poor and disadvantaged, her incredibly petulant and judgemental view of Christians as nothing but a 'quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group" might have been modified. Many of us might agree to be sickened by such as impossible Catholic hierarchs, bombastic tele-evangelists and some testy, eccentric evangelical homophobes, but some Christians do actually roll up their sleeves and do some good work. Despite covering herself by refusing to renounce Christ, in fact Anne Rice has done so. She is as "out" as she claims to be, since Christ is explicit that loving him involves loving his brethren for whose feelings Ms Rice doesn't appear to care much, just as she doesn't seem to care about the effect of her words in the world.

If one doesn’t burn one’s boats more than the 100 million copy best-seller author has done, and show gratitude to the deity she said she was grateful to for bringing her out of the swamp of atheistic pessimism, then one merely keeps one’s old problems and demons alive for oneself and everyone. This kind of thing concerns issues of spiritual efficiency which is what I am writing on at present.

Clearly Anne Rice and her spiritual advisors have not given much thought to anything remotely like so-called “deliverance” ministry for which under the rules she would almost certainly qualify in a major way. The author went through years of depression and is the child of a problematic family overseen by a seriously alcoholic mother. She recognizes within herself something like a dark drive to hurt and destroy – her Called From Darkness memoir includes details like how she mused upon throwing someone over the stairs. The sort of life patterns she describes is the sort of thing needing real healing and banishment.

MY OWN EXPERIENCE OF ANNE RICE

Because it is so hard to reach “stars” or else to get them to reply, I was initially impressed when Anne Rice wrote to me very nicely a couple of times in response to my comments on both her own chart and what I told her regarding my work on Christ’s birth data. She admitted it was fascinating, but as her writing on the Christ fiction was well advanced she couldn’t or wouldn’t let it influence her at that stage. I and most people can’t admit a birth date as early as 12BC that she was working on.

Having given her some indication of things I was engaged on, in more recent times (last year) I wrote and asked her to look at my Cosmic Father book because it could interest here given the way it included a grappling with problems that specifically had been concerning her. I also suggested, given her issues around the church and gays, that she and/or her gay writer son might look at my groundbreaking study of gay spiritualities. This I hoped wouldn’t seem mere vanity or presumption on my part. If the book can lay claim to be a world first in its line and has had some media attention and the person I am addressing is having problems with the church, including round attitudes to her gay activist son, it seems to me only reasonable to contact as I did and one would hope for reply….if there is a sincere will to deal with the issues in the first place rather than just explode against Christianity and Christians about them. But is there?

In fairness to Ms Rice, we are all busy and one can’t reply to everyone and everything (I wouldn’t myself) but she had written to me before and there were other things I won’t go into it, things she was saying or blogging about her reading and thinking which suggested to me she was somehow not quite rightly spiritually on the right path. So if I felt a bit offended, I was not entirely surprised to receive no reply either. I had strongly felt I should write and I will always feel Anne Rice was wrong not to reply. I see it as all part of her faltering spirituality which seems ready enough to tell and confess in the dramatic, revivalist American style, but which in reality is perhaps not telling and confessing enough. Anne Rice’s Facebook About-Face marks not just a crisis in her own life but is symptomatic of one within American religion itself.

RECENT FORECASTS FOR 2010 ANY ASTROLOGER COULD HAVE MADE

2010-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

WHEN PROOF STARES OUT

If you want to prove astrology and yourself as an astrologer you should get a few forecasts correct. And on the global front I feel I missed some golden opportunities to do just that recently. This was not because I couldn’t read the signs, but because, a) I didn’t want to seem too sensational and b) I was too preoccupied (and still somewhat am with writing a non-astrological book from which I’m taking a rest), so that I felt it didn’t matter too much. But perhaps it did. You get weary, but also you just get used to having astrology trashed and ignored to the point you wonder whether it’s worth commenting and predicting anything at all.

Here are things I was expecting to happen and that did and how and why one would have to read the signs this way.

STELLAR SIGNS OF AMERICA’S BP DISASTER.

Though I wouldn’t necessarily have predicted a big and ongoing American disaster in terms of specifically an oil rig, that America was going to be hit damagingly hard from April on was pretty much shown by the fact that…

The lunation for mid April that preceded the explosion of the 20th was degree exact in what’s called affliction aspect (a square) to America’s foundational Mercury. One could then see this danger signal was well certified because it would be followed up by a full moon smack on America’s ascendant angle (I use the Scorpio rising chart) showing the population could be seriously affected. But then this lunation was guaranteed by every rule of astrology to deliver the trouble implied because the all-important scene-setting previous eclipse had opposed the same afflicted point, warming it up so to speak. Also, and very bad news, Pluto whose cycle is a 248 years one, is/was transiting opposite America’s Venus/Jupiter conjunction meaning that it is opposing the nation’s goods, resources money and just good fortune generally (nothing in astrology is more fortunate than Jupiter/Venus).

With all this joining together (and other factors we can pass over here) it was “elementary my dear Watson” that something had to give. Foreigners would likely be involved too because national Mercury is in the 9th of the overseas and it rules the eighth of shared resources. This points to an outsider involved with the national economy – at this moment in time, BP, making the mess. Mercury in water and the seas sign, Cancer, was a hint of possible damage through the seas. But frankly the picture is just drastic. This is a big, ongoing long term disaster with all sorts of consequences and it’s hardly surprising to learn it’s being found to be worse than initially thought.

America from now on could be in for a lot of bad news and if truth were told, with Pluto due to oppose the national Sun in 2014, it’s not an unreasonable speculation that around that time America could even cease to be world leader. Decline of power could be quite rapid. Pluto transits are hugely associated with the rise and fall of empires and super-powers. America is finishing its empowering Pluto cycle and there’s much reason to suppose the great days are over and there is plenty now to reckon with and get used to.

A DEFINITE FORECAST OF GAZA

How could anyone miss it? Israel was in for big trouble in recent days. The May 14th lunation prior to the flotilla crisis fell at 23 Taurus 09. This means it was significantly conjuncting. Israel’s sun is at 23.41 Taurus. Plus martial Mars has been transiting in Leo, the sign of Israel’s sun (and other planets) so that it’s also a regular trigger point for upsets and situations of aggression. The national sun falls in Israel’s seventh house of open enemies which is why it’s constantly so challenged by just about everyone (despite some deranged persons like a Turk on the streets of Ankara protesting to SBS news that Israel is dangerous because “it persecutes the whole world”. The whole world? That has to be some kind of paranoid psychological projection but which with a Seventh house sun a nation risks suffering).

It’s easy to accuse Israel if one is determined to, and plainly some are, because Gaza is an appalling, suffering mess. But while Israel is not guiltless there, much of the problem is caused by endemic corruption, suffocating bureaucracy and internecine fighting by political groups bent on power there while the people (though not the unfortunate children) are to some degree victims to problems of their own making, hating Israel but still half glad to be martyrs in conflict with the “pigs and dogs” nation they don’t wish or really intend to come to any real terms with.

Apart from being plain busy, the only reason I didn’t post alarm signals here about Israel’s situation was because I was worried about getting the level of manifestation right. It didn’t seem to me the month promised quite the all-out war that many in Israel had been expecting and still do for this year, or that some wilder Christians of the American prophetic school had been forecasting – Iran blown to smithereens or the Gog Magog war itself perhaps! I didn’t quite see that….not yet anyway. It seemed almost better not to fuel further speculation which, if anyone even bothered to listen, would almost certainly only get exaggerated.

I’m not keen to speculate further about Israel in any direction, but I’ll say I don’t much like the look of the August lunation conjunct Israel’s Saturn, though that could be more about leadership problems and disputes with Obama and America than outright war. (Saturn has been and soon will be for the long haul in Netanyahu’s sign, Libra. He has his work cut out and plenty of serious decisions!). Israel, a bit like America, is caught into force majeure Plutonic problems given Pluto back and forth opposing its Venus. Since Israel’s Venus rules its open enemies house in which its national sun sits besides, this has all sorts of potential for foreign foes and increased challenges. But Israel will outlast the America that may abandon it under Obama, if Obama stays around long enough. There are no Plutonic oppositions to Israel’s sun coming up as there are to America’s. Iran needn’t be too sure of wiping Israel off the map. In fact, it won’t happen. Israel will survive us all. There will just be trying and dangerous times for it.

THE MCDONALD’S GAY AD AND A URANUS HIT TO THE WORLD POINT

I simply knew that when Uranus would hit a World Point (this time 0 Aries, perhaps the most important of the six points) the world would see and hear something controversially gay within a short while. It did. Uranus entered the point on the 28th of last month, but May isn’t the Gay Pride month like June. So whatever date the ad may have been launched in France (it looks like the 26th May two minutes of a degree off Uranus entering the world point ) it first reached international media as a hot topic on June 2nd with the moon broadly timing the event in suitably shock-staging, and alternative Aquarius.

In France it has been seen as a joke, (by everyone but gay leaders who have long been on bad terms with McDonald’s and now feel exploited and angry for obscure reasons) but in sections of America it has been seen as further inroads of gay “agenda”. Some even proposed no Christians should ever eat in Mac’s again! Clearly everyone is having a great time accusing everyone else of something, though those moderates who actually like the ad find it, however unintentionally, educative and almost poignant.

I must admit I had thought Uranus on the WP might be more about the Vatican and the Pope who was actually born with Uranus there and who, (since conjunctions can swing either way and be very pro or anti something), is very against anything openly gay and officially opposed to gay rights. We know, or perhaps we don’t, how the Italian press regards Benedict, but anyway the Pope has so many Uranian shocks and surprises round him that surely something else gay related around him could scarcely register by now - though one never knows. But anyway….Mac is going gay. In France anyway and whether outraged gay leaders there want it or not. And the guy of the ad’s fated gay teen role at least seems representative enough of France - traditionally given by astrologers to Virgo - by looking distinctly Virgoan. Quite likely the anonymous “snowflake” as some call him, has his sun, ascendant or some kind of planetary emphasis in the sign.

Except that I don’t eat at Mac’s, I took the matter half personally when I belatedly discovered the news because I’d just come from writing something about France in the new book. I also happen to have Virgo rising and there was a shock of recognition. When I was in my teens, though I do have brown eyes and wasn’t the spitting image, heaven knows I was close enough in dress, expressions (that sidewise glance) and general appearance including to being very pale and having just that haircut. And heaven does know, since confirming I’m not too far off here, a temporary signature any astrologer would recognize was present – my viewing time for the clip had the moon exactly favourably aspected my ascendant (appearance to the world).

I finally see why when I travel internationally there are people determined to address me in French, unable to think I could be other than French. And yes, to pile up data, this current Uranus is presently directly aspecting my Jupiter in Sagittarius, planet and sign of anything foreign, suitably triggering delayed realizations; including that maybe I should have prolonged my youthful working life in Paris indefinitely and got spotted and celebrated for something or other….. But….. I realize a lot of people don’t take these stellar signs as registering anything at all.

GAY SCEPTIC, TONY PITMAN, DOESN’T LIKE ASTROLOGY

Documentary film maker and gay activist, Tony Pitman, is now back in Australia following years in Latin America and doling out sceptical theories on everything under the sun on Monday night’s Reality Check show for Joy Radio in Melbourne. Recently and for three weeks it was astrology took the whack. To everyone their opinions, but I felt the subject was taking too great a beating and being just misrepresented or misunderstood and it was time for some check mating of Reality Check. To overcome an objection about vagueness in astro interpretation, I described Tony’s chart with significant name and place asteroids which when added to the picture pretty well describe his life itself, why he was in Mexico, in Paris, how he won the Lionel Murphy award and so on, including that his birth name, originally Anthony, was rising over the horizon in its Greek and archetypally gay form of Antinous at his birth.

There is a place to send your comments for the Tony’ show. In the months since the show started there had scarcely been a comment. My own was never printed. As the studio told me, Tony has the legal right to refuse. Which I wouldn’t question, though it is/was a pity for astrology. I said however I questioned the moral right. Tony Pitman has gone further than almost anyone in Australia in opposing the principle of censorship, putting on street demos about it to the point of risking arrest. “It takes all sorts to make a world” but TP is determined to be a distinctive type among the “all sorts”.

AN ANCIENT PROPHECY OF UGANDA VERSUS THE GAYS

With Uranus on the World Point I wasn’t too surprised to hear on the news Uganda’s exceptionally draconian and internationally criticized anti gay laws might go ahead in some form or other soon (though I wonder if things might not be delayed till there’s some Saturnian input that’s due). Whatever precisely happens and when, it would be hard to describe just how disgusting the proposed laws are and the people who support them and put ideas into the nation’s heads in the first place (including some stars of the lunatic fringe of American evangelicalism like the creepy Benny Hinn, though the tabloid Ugandan press is not so favourable and loyal to him not to have alleged gay behavior by him in their country with a leading evangelist - just possibly it's the real grounds for the divorce petition whose pretext remaina a mystery to Hinn fans in America). Whatever….McDonald’s ads and snowflake boys keep your distance from the African heat, Uganda’s New Jerusalem has no room for you! Even to say a word in favour of anyone’s gay rights and even not to report someone you know is gay could have you in Ugandan jail if the fanatics get their way. Actually, just be and do something gay yourself and they’d like to have you executed or jailed for life, though that at least the international community seems likely to be able to prevent.

“From a distance” as the song goes, God is watching and the Ugandan church had better beware. The finger is pointed in their direction. Almost in defiance of human belief (but if you work enough astrology you begin to get used to miracles), on the Pentecost day of the Church’s foundation two thousand years ago, what only in our times would be named the asteroid, Uganda, was conjunct of all things, Antinous, name of the great gay archetype. I said above that conjunctions can go either way. This shows us that Uganda simply cannot deal with homosexuality, and its being anti-something to a monumental degree is what historically will have most (un)distinguished it. I’ll not go further and deliver further surprises about Uganda on this subject – they can be included in a chapter of the book I’m writing, but I’ll simply declare something is terribly wrong and was always foreseen to go wrong in that country.

ASTROLOGY, THE FORBIDDEN MODE OF PROPHECY

So here we go again, or at least here we are. Whether it’s gay Antinous, Anthony, or just plain Tony Pitman and/or or the big world beyond his Reality Check sceptical purview, the fact is that serious, (as opposed to parlour game) astrology’s endless PR problems can be expected to meet us from every side. If people, and I mean especially media and publishing, don’t like astrology, end of story. Here’s one of the reasons I couldn’t even be bothered to expend the energy amid other concerns to forecast things I quite plainly saw coming. I am sure many other competent astrologers would tell you exactly the same thing.

SID ROTH: TRUTH AND ILLUSION

2010-06-01T02:17:00.000-07:00

HOW WISE AND HELPFUL IS SID ROTH??

Whether or not Sid Roth will ever start growing younger as one of his guests prophesied he would, he is not the kind of person in imminent danger of growing wiser with age. In fact, he risks increasingly making a fool of himself and the eager flock that follows him; and if it weren’t quite so sad and serious, in some instances it might be almost amusing.

I am not about to say, (as some keen to trash American media religion would doubtless wish), that everything that has reached Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural, show is nonsense to be dismissed and avoided. At least some of the themes and guests have given real grounds for reflection and the books of two persons interviewed I have recently cited in something I am writing. But two recent broadcasts epitomized for me the negative side of Roth’s quest for “the naturally supernatural” and left me appalled. Plus it’s just hard to excuse Roth too easily in light of correspondence and testimonies I have been receiving.

Way back in September ’08 I put out two Blog articles about false prophets and prophecy. For some reason, presumably linked to the dearth of critical treatment of the theme on the Net, these articles have attracted more attention than others I felt were more important. I still regularly receive correspondence about them. I can’t and don’t publish most that gets sent (and obviously I don’t include those irate messages which tell me I’m blaspheming the Holy Spirit for even questioning their favourite prophets!) and some of the correspondence is anyway to me personally, not for Blog comments publication. But...I’m aware by now I’ve hit a raw nerve. There are people either personally suffering or seeing people and churches rent apart by some of the individuals put on a pedestal and uncritically accepted and promoted by media religionists such as Sid Roth though clearly “inwardly they are ravening wolves” as the gospels would tell us.

Of broadcasts which appalled me in recent weeks one featured a certain Katie Souza and another featured film maker, Darren Wilson, whose latest offering once again included something of his friend, the spiritual “equipper”, Jason Westerfield.

KATIE SOUZA: EX CAREER CRIMINAL ASCENDS TO HEAVEN AND BUSTS CLOUDS

Katie Souza got introduced by Sid as a virtual Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde, a career criminal. There isn’t much this hyper-active, super-resourceful person hasn’t got up to and engaged in around Hollywood, from vehicle theft and gun shoot outs, to drug pushing and making – she set up her own factory to increase income. When finally caught and locked in the slammer for thirteen years reality suddenly hit and she turned to Jesus – again. (To gather from her site she had apparently been converted years before but let slip). We are supposed to be impressed by her story – Sid is overwhelmed as usual - a sort of grace abounding in the chief of sinners tale. But something doesn’t quite ring true, especially the way Jesus supposedly gets Katie out of prison real fast and even tells her the exact date of release in advance.

We no longer live in a Christian world that talks penance especially if we’re not Catholics, but if Souza was truly converted one feels that like "Son of Sam" Berkowitz who, though exorcized and converted, mindful of his crimes has refused to ask for parole, Souza might at least have taken her medicine and slowed down a little to examine herself. Did she stop to mourn the lives of those she may have ruined through especially her drug dealing? St Paul who called himself chief of sinners and least of the apostles for having persecuted the church, retired to the desert for years before emerging with his new message.

Souza hardly waits to take breath. She starts reading the Bible and rather more. Influenced by the controversial David Herzog, (another of Roth’s highly dubious favourites), she’s off like a shot on her spiritual motor cycle and working inside Herzog’s “glory cloud” to produce miracles on the quick rather than wait, as others might need to do, for years. She even has material out that Roth is happy to promote which supply you techniques to get what you want from God - fast. You ascend to heaven like Jacob on his ladder - did he do this when he saw the ladder? - and you sort things out at “throne room level” with God. You may be given a sword to cloud bust, demon dragon kill or whatever, but you’ll get what you and others want and need. Apparently the farmers of Oklahoma only had their harvest last year because Katie ascended and sorted the weather out with God, the angels and a sword. Oh how feeble of all the Christians and saints of history not to have got their God techniques sorted out!

Please note too – though the undiscerning Roth who these days feels the power of God in the studio almost at the drop of a hat, can’t – that the glory cloud talk is nonsense. There is none. The divine glory is God’s presence which is fire hidden by the cloud. One doesn’t “work” in or with any cloud like so many Christian magicians. Katie has (heretically) learned from Herzog that creation itself was somehow effected through the Glory and she has even decided that because Jesus looked to heaven at the feeding of the five thousand, it’s a sure thing he was drawing on the Cloud and we should do the same. I mean.....anyone can just read up on it all in her book and CD! One can also listen to her final benediction on the show and be blessed. “In Jesus name” may our finances be increased, may we be given our needs etc......There was no reference in conclusion that was not purely material. If God cares for our needs God cares for other things too, and any genuinely spiritual person will remember that.

DARREN WILSON WITH ANGELS, WITCHES AND JASON WESTERFIELD

Now back one show before Souza to young film maker, Darren Wilson’s latest offering, Furious Love though that requires I mention an earlier production. Wilson’s original investigation into charismatic miracles, Finger of God, also featured by Roth, had supposedly received some of its impulse from an odd angel who kept repeating, “Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready?”. (Weird angel that can’t say what he means!). Near the beginning there is a group of people under the Toronto Blessing aegis – a warning sign in itself for deception and charismatics become virtual witchcraft as it’s the Holy Ghost laughing, barking and roaring movement triggered by Howard Rodney Brown who threatened God with suicide if he didn’t come with suitable blessing and who actually calls himself “The Holy Ghost Bartender”. Heavenly manna appears and that trendiest of miracles, gold dust has arrived. This time in an odder than usual way. An elderly man is lying helplessly on the floor under the anointing with gold dust on his trouser crotch making it look as though he’s peed himself. With people peering at the man’s crotch because gold dust’s there we’re informed the Lord must have “a killer sense of humour”. Really?

Incidentally, Sid Roth just loves the gold dust and heavenly jewels miracles. Kathy Walters, one of his guests, keeps getting dusted, so much so that prophet Bob Jones (who takes friends to heaven just by holding their hands) has assured her “it’s God kissing you”. The craze for gold dust (what biblical prophets ever knew of it?) started with the late half-crazed (or possessed?) Ruth Ward Heflin, Herzog’s guru, who was so eccentric she believed if she could dance in jet airliner toilets over certain areas of the world that helped to insure revivals in those areas!

Wilson’s latest film thankfully doesn’t include gold-drenched Kathy (who once told Sid the angels invite her to ride in chariots around the universe – as her natural Christian “inheritance”!) but early on, and then by way of grand finale, it shows (teleporting, astral travelling) Jason Westerfield’s supposed miracles. No, it’s not one of his visits to the White House and other centres of power to overhear high level meetings, but involves Jason almost forcing himself in a park upon someone with crutches whose limp, injuries or whatever, Jason heals. True, it’s done in Jesus’ name, but the recipient of healing never gets beyond being puzzled and declaring, “It’s cool”. Something doesn’t feel spiritual about the episode. It’s not exactly the Book of Acts on film with the power of God being experienced by the one healed, it’s more an episode in the general feel good ambience that Westerfield’s showbiz background easily conveys. The film concludes with a street drifter being pepped up and cured of a limp and back aches by a friendly JW. Again the event feels unspiritual, almost staged, (though I’m not charging Wilson with that).

To gather from clip of the latest film, Westerfield features again and oddly so in a way that should send out danger signals. For this docu Wilson’s group seeks to “confront” the dark side and the occult - they want exorcisms presumably. They travel to Salem to a witches’ meet. Nothing happens despite prayers all day – they probably don’t hear because they shouldn’t be where they are or doing what they’re doing. But suddenly Westerfield is moved. He approaches a witch, a black male, puts his hands on his shoulders and stares at him and just loves him and loves him in Jesus’ name. The warlock stares back slowly lowering his hood. Jesus has apparently loved the witch “furiously” and successfully. Job done, point made.

But what point? There’s a similarity here to the situation described in a controversial Jesus novel I once reviewed in which Jesus doesn’t really drive out any demons. He so intensely loves them they get uneasy with his love vibe and depart. It was an idea I wrote at the time was interesting and imaginative but which I couldn’t accept. Which I can’t. It isn’t what Jesus’ war upon the other realm is about. It suggests a forgiveness for the evil spirits which is not divinely permitted to them in the way it can be to mortals.

It’s not clear to me quite what Westerfield is about (some of my correspondents would say money – he lives in some luxury - others can only see a saint). He appears loosely affiliated with the New Mystics line in prophets. Chief spokesperson for this trend/group is the unspeakable John Crowder of the Drunken Glory Tours and Sloshfests. He converted to Jesus during an LSD trip and seems to imagine one can “toke the Ghost”, (pretend smoke or inject the Holy Spirit like the latest drug of your fancy). I can’t be bothered to decide where Jason W belongs on any New Mystics spectrum because wherever it is I don’t regard him from his odd conversion story onwards - he originally knows nothing about Christianity but some being/angel? visits his room so he starts reading up on scriptures – as representing any adequate form of religion.

JW is regarded by charismatics a la Roth and Patricia King of Xtreme Prophetic (who helped launch the disgraced and disgraceful Todd Bentley onto the world) as an exciting channel for wonders and spirit force and the mentioned clip looked to me like a lower spirit force recognizing a higher one. Which isn’t the same as to say it was necessarily God. Otherwise surely the hoped for exorcism would have taken place. And exorcism can only in rare instances take place without consent of the possessed. So, if the witch didn’t want his familiar spirit(s) to leave, what is all this about?

There are simply too many questions here and all I can say is I feel Wilson and Roth have no business to let this kind of thing so un-discerningly through, promoting it as though it’s somehow either notably supernatural or Christian. The Roth promotion is always that if someone is “walking in the supernatural”, producing healing (whether medically attested or not), it simply has to be good. And followers will assure any critics that it’s nothing but jealousy, faithlessness or demonic opposition if you question things. (Love of Truth is not a possible motivation, it seems!) But I insist if Roth and Wilson can manage to accept some of the evidence they do (even if mixed with good evidence) then they risk becoming like those who offer “strange fire” mixed with the offering in the book of Numbers (Num 3:4) or even the absurd Pentecostals of Kenya who welcomed Benjamin Creme’s Maitreya as a visitation of Jesus. See my February Blog article “How Real is Maitreya?”

SID ROTH’S TRICKY STARS

When in doubt blame others. Despite his evident hunger for the magical, Roth is on something like his moral high horse if anything like a borderline subject, say, astrology, is mentioned. It’s occult! It’s forbidden! It’s divination! It’s evil! This, despite the fact astrologers came to Jesus’ birth, the Essenes sought signs of the Messiah in the skies and the Talmudic rabbis had plenty to say about the astrology that was never understood to fall under the “divination” rubric that American fundamentalism has invented for it and pursued with its usual fanaticism. But then of course, wicked astrology can supply disagreeably awkward facts.

Number one for Sid Roth is that the conjunct Sun, Mars and Mercury of this typically communicating, media-savvy Gemini (born 30.5.1936 according to Wikipedia) are under what is called direct square “affliction” from Neptune - text book stuff giving a strong warning that Roth risks being either himself subject to, or else conveying to others, a degree of illusion. Belonging to the aspect is all his too frequent “sensing God’s presence” or angel presences in the studio and all the concomitant wiping the floor to people with some kind of “power” but too many personal and financial ambitions beyond it that bear no kind of connection with traditional prophecy.

Real prophecy if anything is more involved with abuse, failure and rejection. One doubts that Jeremiah would easily get into Roth’s studio (or many another religious programme). These days with media religionists few can get an honest word in. I am only writing this article publicly because I can’t write a message privately and hope to have a meaningful response or trigger any conversation. It’s just not the way big religious concerns in media or publishing function today. If God sent a message from heaven tonight, it would be largely blocked by the manipulative, very worldly American religious system drunk on celebrity names, money deals and agency (what’s your church? who’s recommending you? who’s your agent? what’s your CV?) and which even often has the insolence to request positive feedback only to websites or 100 word messages to fit office convenience. Many have the minds, in short, of what St Paul called “men pleasers” (Eph 6:6). Accordingly if anyone is offended or embarrassed by such as myself being public in open letter style it’s not my responsibility. It’s the fault of the system which American religion creates, then bows to.

SID ROTH’S INTERNATIONAL AMBITIONS

Sid Roth’s less than purely prophetic concern with miracles, healing and the supernatural appears to have an insufficiently examined basis in his Messianic (Christian) Jew desire to reach Jews. It’s an impulse that has heated up and increased recently, including controversially in Israel where rabbinic warnings have gone out against him, especially for the contents of a book, They Thought for Themselves, which Roth is trying to have distributed everywhere and appealing for funds to manage to do so. You can read a free version of the book on the Net. And it’s of genuine interest with perfectly fair comments from its contributors about Jewish backgrounds, rabbinical ideas and so on.

I am not seeking to oppose what it’s Roth’s perfect right to do, namely to try to teach and persuade others if he wishes or believes he should. Mission has always been a Christian imperative and Roth believes that years ago he was “told by God” to write and distribute the book. So, fair enough. But that was years ago and situations and persons change. Today, if what Roth once had was a genuine vocation it stands to be undermined by his current lack of discernment and possibly a touch of vanity or megalomania that by now seems to underlie the ambition to change a whole nation via media. And with gold-drenched Kathy diving under a table because she sees the archangel Michael turning up in Jerusalem to assure her Sid has a special mission for Israel, one ought to smell something more suspicious and less exquisite than the supposed heavenly aromas from the miracle worlds of Bob Jones and X-treme Patricia King.

For a start, Sid Roth believes he must produce or promote miracles because that’s what will, in St Paul’s words, “provoke the Jew to jealousy” (Rom 11:11) and belongs to the signs that Jews want 1 Cor 1:22). What’s getting overlooked amid this is that St Paul disapprovingly mentions that the Greeks demand wisdom and the Jews signs. Miracles are important, but belief is not meant to be founded on devastating people with the supernatural where they should be practicing faith. Jesus even tried to hide some of his miracles to avoid falsely based belief. Surely one of the reasons the Jews desire signs is because few people among traditionally religious peoples could be considered more sceptical and closer to sheer atheism than the Jews. If Sid Roth seriously imagines that the average Jew is going to listen to some of his supernaturalism as opposed to question or laugh at it, he is again seriously misled.

What Sid Roth’s change-through-miracles programme panders to is partly his own weakness for sheer magic, the same weakness that drew him years ago into the New Age and which he claims gave him the familiar spirit that finally so took over his life and terrified him that he converted to be rid of it. But the hunger for magic hasn’t disappeared and just possibly its spirit or spirits have not completely departed either – ironically one of the more solid personalities Roth has featured, exorcist Don Dickerman, controversially warned about instances of perfectly sincere believers remaining semi-possessed or at least obsessed by their original spirits. It’s hard not to believe the grosser errors of some prophetic stars of the charismatic heavens come under just this category especially when there are histories of long term prior involvements in drugs or occult practices. The Holy Spirit, if star performer charismatics really do have the Spirit, is a bit too near some other spirits for comfort.

SID ROTH: ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

I can only say to Sid Roth and those who follow him, beware! Or at least start using some discrimination if you want to influence people meaningfully and with integrity. Christians are told “to try the spirits” (1 Joh 4:1). Roth and his team plainly like a good story, and it’s doubtful they’ve seriously done too much testing of the spirits if it interferes with headlines stuff. I realize the team says it does everything “under guidance of the Spirit”, but they need to remember that if you’re stubborn for your ideas you are warned that God will answer you according to your idols (Ezek 14:4) and the idols here risk being signs and wonders. And the extent of the wonders is no measure of their validity. The gospel warning against those who say “Lord, Lord” but don’t belong to the kingdom is nonetheless made against those claiming the extreme, to have prophecied, to have cast out demons and raised the very dead (Matt 7:21,22) and all in Christ’s name.

Despite all I’ve said, I believe that Sid Roth is basically well-intentioned and not a mere deliberate fraud, and I repeat that some insights can be drawn from some of the people and themes he has investigated. It’s just that for the kind of tricky areas he deals in, an area where truth can mix with illusion - and there’s no lie like a half truth - something more than just good intentions may be needed.

AFTERWORD ADDED FEBRUARY 2011

SID ROTH AND IT’S SUPERNATURAL THROUGH THE TOILET DOOR

For me the final straw with Sid Roth is the ridiculous promotion of “supernatural travel”, or transportation by another of these never to be trusted advocates of “The Glory”. Sid interviews a certain Bruce Allen (who looks a bit like Wikileaks’ Julian Assange) who has been “led” to promote this "mantle", the Christian’s inheritance of supernatural travel. Bruce learned of this when the Lord supposedly began cutting down his driving times across Washington State after he prayed over a car bonnet. It turns out that we all need to learn, and we all can if only we have faith, to travel and conveniently disappear or even go transparent as in a supposed photo of Bruce dematerialized during a church service. Jesus is now teaching this branch of the miraculous because when, soon, believers will be persecuted or the Mark of the Beast is imposed, they will need to have safe place getaways. Just walk through a supernatural portal into glory power - apparently it’s God’s own shield against your martyrdom! (Wasn't the most recent teaching that believers would be raptured before there was any Mark of the Beast?)

It gets worse. The travel idea came to Bruce from a friend telling him of a friend Richard who, to serve the Lord’s will in evangelism turned up at Kenya airport with no money or passport but knowing he must leave on a plane. God commands him to enter the third stall of the men’s toilet and to start praising the Lord. After five minutes (did occupants of the washroom hear all this praise?) he opens the lavatory door to find himself in France.

One wonders how Richard then managed if he didn’t speak French. Perhaps he spoke to the cyncial French in tongues?! But then how did he manage without cash, did it materialize like manna from heaven? How did Richard return? Even enthusiastic Sid asks that, but Foss lamely admits he didn’t ask his friend that. Didn’t ask that most essential obvious question? Didn’t ask lest the fantasy be blown away? It’s only the toilet connection remains to such tales. When Bruce himself starts travelling it’s to Sydney, Australia (he just knows that’s the place after shooting through the stars and passing through a door of light), but when he asks the Lord how to get back, God, who won’t let him see the Sydney he was so lifelong crazy to see, has to return through the bathroom door of the Sydney office high rise he’s in.

SID ROTH SHOULD AVOID BATHROOM ANGELS

I would advise the incorrigible Sid Roth to avoid all bath and restroom stories. This former New Ager who perhaps never quite got rid of his old gods and needs to have them washed out if not in a washroom, might as well belong to the god Pan for addiction to magic.

I recall how one of the modern doyennes of the occult centre of Findhorn worked her way and the organizations’ way to power via communications with Pan in the toilet. There’s nothing wrong with toilets except that they’re not kosher, they have been co-opted for the material realm. I have forgotten which guest it was some months back who mentioned but didn’t dwell on what struck me as a nonetheless bizarre point about angels who are so keen to accompany you around they are grinning at you in the bathroom or waiting at the toilet door as you exit. I suggest these aren’t angels. In the same way another guest, or perhaps it was the same one, had a tale about being in Mexico on a healing mission to a blind person and meeting a Jesus who got doubled over with helpless laughter. This wasn’t Jesus any more than the bathroom angels were angels. Nor is there real travel…just some psychic projection, if that.

Bruce promises to demonstrate his travel on this week’s show. Sid who can't wait to get moving admits he didn’t “travel” when Bruce seized his hand and concentrated on God and had found himself in some restaurant opposite where Sid had stayed in Jerusalem and perhaps sees or meets some waiter who works there. God has supposedly commissioned this bit of psychic trickery or just plain suggestibility to help the church. It’s all either illusion fit for party tricks or it’s demonic, one or the other, but it’s not of God.

I notice Sid began by saying he had been “freaking out” when he recently arrived in Mobile Alabama and was told at the hotel front desk he had been there in the same clothes saying the same things though Sid had never been to Mobile before. Of course it could be, and likely is, just mistaken identity; but if it truly is the spiritual phenomenon the would-be travelling Sid imagines, then he really had better start freaking out because the spirits are playing games and Lucifer is having the last laugh at quite so much undiscerning stupidity offered to the world in Christ’s name……for of course a “gift” of x dollars to have the latest book CD, course or whatever to get you travelling in the Glory. But of course if you suggested to these people that C.S. Lewis's Narnia which is reached through more enchanting doorways, was good reading for children they would protest you were as good as corrupting them with magic. The nonsense and the hypocrisy is almost more than sincerity and intelligence can stand.

ICELAND’S VOLCANO: ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS AND PROSPECTS

2010-04-17T01:52:00.000-07:00

ICELAND’S ASTROLOGY

There’s not much doubt Iceland is in some trouble and has the capacity to be a source of trouble for the world. The heavens are speaking rather clearly on this one. I didn’t know Iceland’s horoscope and a pity not more of us did, as it might have given us some clues and warnings.

Modern Iceland, I gather, was sworn into being on 17th June 1944 at its capital. It’s a Gemini sun country (divided like the twins between fire and ice?) and of stunning mythical beauty too so that suitably enough dreamy, mythical, arty Neptune at 1 Libra conjuncts its ascendant (rising angle) at 2 of Libra, the beauty sign. Although the first house of a national chart has most to say about how the people regard themselves, this Neptune at 1 Libra also reflects the nation is in the middle of the seas like few places ever are and you travel far to reach it or to get away from it, a reason too, especially in a land so strongly secularist, that Iceland’s 9th house of religion, but also distance travel, is so strongly tenanted. You make virtual “pilgrimage” to Iceland which is what the early Irish monks did.

THE SOCIETY AND THE TERRAIN OF ICELAND EXPLODES

Iceland’s is a tough, harsh land to manage, so tough that Capricorn, "ruled" by harsh and demanding Saturn, is on the fourth sector of the native terrain. Uranus of the shocks and surprises is presently making affliction square to Iceland’s natal Saturn at 29 of Gemini and that is one of the immediate triggers, or just reflections, of what’s going on, along with transiting Saturn’s conjunction with the natal ascendant and Neptune (the people are affected, Neptunian floods are in evidence, huge ice blocks the size of houses are falling down the mountain), but it’s not all.

Transformative, volcanic Pluto has been crossing the base (IC) of the chart during the last year or so, opposing the native Midheaven (the destiny, the reputation, the government). That has had something to indicate as regards the debt, governmental problems and power struggles that have plagued the country in recent times.

But now Pluto’s movements are quite simply shaking and rocking the land itself. Pluto is presently at 5 Capricorn near the IC/Midheaven which is at 3 degrees. And perhaps that’s not good news since the question arises, will it do much or little and more or less on a social or physical plane when it actually hits that point again due to retrograde motion?

ASTEROIDS VULCANO, EUROPA AND LUCIFER

I’ve never used, tested or read about asteroid, Vulcano, but it looks to be part of the picture. Transiting Jupiter was conjuncting this asteroid (at nearly 19 Pisces in the natal 6th house) in the days leading up to and beginning the burst which really came out with the new moon last Wednnesday. Symbolically Jupiter is as hot as Saturn is cold, so this is like the warming up of the Volcano while it’s well known that at another octave Jupiter is anything to do with distance travel. Today (17th April) far travelling Jupiter is nearer to exactly afflicting the asteroid Europa at 21 Gemini (an air sign) reflecting the problems that specifically European airways are having through what has taken place and the disruptions to travel generally.

That despite its remoteness and small population Iceland has always had and might yet have, the capacity to impact the world in some way as it is now doing is conveyed by the fact that its Mars is on 15 Leo, a world point, and deemed the least fortunate of these six points amid its rather spectacular and dramatic (and fiery!) potential via Leo.

FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR ICELAND

I am not a forecaster of mundane (political/national astrology) so can’t and won’t be dogmatic but I have already indicated I am not too happy about what might happen when Pluto get to the 3 degree base of Iceland’s chart.

True, no one should put too much stress on a single aspect or transit even when it has the kind of strong potential that Plutonic transits regularly demonstrate. What is concerning is that in July/August when Pluto is hovering around that danger point there will be more of the same as regards the positions of Saturn (first squaring the 29 degree Gemini almost 0 Cancer Saturn -. another world point degree) and then square the natal Neptune.

And this will be happening at the same time as accident prone, shocking Uranus gets onto 0 Aries, another of the world points to oppose the natal Neptune and square the natal Saturn). Will Iceland and the world undergo more and in terms of volcanic eruptions rather than just economic and political issues? It’s certainly possible. And let me not be superstitious, but we are talking about a country which though irreligious is known for widespread belief in local devils....I know that asteroid, Lucifer, is an important asteroid - it certainly has its role in the chart of Christ I always claim to possess (see last December’s article) – and the fact is that Iceland shows Lucifer on the 0 Aries, world point. Could it be that with Uranus on his point this year proverbially “all hell will break loose” where the landscape of Iceland is concerned?

.....You can always pray not! But it looks like it might be wise to take a few precautions inside Iceland and to be prepared for some dust and ashes and perhaps travel delays outside it.(I would particularly distrust the period around the full moon of August 10th which is exact square the natal moon). Whether more radically what is happening and may yet occur will finish by altering whole weather patterns as intense volcanic activity has the capacity to do, I wouldn’t choose to speculate.

(A periodic apparent retrograde of Mercury starting Sunday 18th, a period which regularly corresponds to problems with communications, general transport and schedules seems consistent with emerging reports that the volcano is not immediately abating and hence plane schedules could be disrupted for some days. They probably by now would be even if the volcano completely subsided very shortly).

OBAMA AND JERUSALEM ON HIS MIND

2010-04-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

OBAMA: FROM SPIRITUALITY TO POLITICAL POLICY.

Whether or not Obama will be falling backwards like the Eli of my last article, I am now going to make some biblical points about Barack Obama, his ideas and policies. I am however less sure about comparisons with specific biblical persons such as I made with regard to the Pope and Eli. Nor am I quite so sure as some people that Obama is in some kind of immediate danger.

According to a Malaysian correspondent of mine last year and now according to the often correct Richard Nolle in America and apparently too certain Hindu astrologers, somebody else who might be falling backwards or just falling in some way is Barack Obama. He is supposed to need extra security later this month and in May.

I don’t know how these people can be so confident of a correct chart in terms of time and place to begin offering these forecasts, but from just the pattern of the birth's date I could never be too confident of Obama the man, starting with the afflicted, deception prone Sun/Neptune aspect. Ideally no strong, really trustworthy world leader should have it, nor, among other things, such as the dangerous Lie asteroid conjunct his sun. This even lends some weight to those negative psychological assessments which speak of narcissistic problems (and, yes, Narcissus does conjunct Obama’s Saturn, the problems planet, as though to register a problem along these lines – and if President Sarkosy of France now thinks Obama is a bit “aliene”, a bit mad, then he may actually be so!).

But I am not about to join silly choruses that make out President Obama to be the Antichrist or claim that everything he does is wrong. Doubtless he’s sometimes right. But although if I were an American I would reckon to vote Democrat and also support moves towards the universal health care I consider any country should have, I could never have brought myself to vote for Obama. I don’t believe he is who he appears to be; a master showman, I think he’s inexperienced, shady and even dangerous for international politics, not least Israel which plainly he doesn’t like.

No matter what he says in order to keep some sections of the public happy, there’s no way it is possible Obama could begin to like Israel and it's beginning seriously to show through. Even if he believes he has reasons to disapprove Israel on some points at this time, something is wrong when the same man unwilling to bow at Buckingham Palace but prepared to bow to the King of Saudi Arabia (usually symbolically taken as having implications for submission to Islam )is prepared via a nobody to admit Israel’s President through a side door of the White House only, to a waiting room rather than the Oval office, and all without the ceremony normally accorded even to minor nations, and then leave his guest sitting in limbo while he arrives very late at his convenience. This kind of theatrical arrogance towards specifically and uniquely Israel belongs somewhere with the world view of Rev Jeremiah Wright whose church Obama attended for years. There Judaism could be dismissed as “gutter religion” or words to that effect – the precise beliefs and words are disputed, but not the basic anti-Semitism. I am not about to make Obama out to be the Bible’s Haman (an early type of the anti-Semite from the story of Esther) but spiritually and otherwise I believe he’s still bad news for Israel, religion and the world beyond it.

OBAMA AND THE CALL OF THE MUEZZIN

This last Easter Obama’s Easter address took a decidedly multi-faith line - or some might say un-faith line since he wanted it to embrace people of no faith too. And doubtless one part of him does like to be and seem infinitely open and accepting just as his always peculiar sense of what’s honest has caused him to affirm to the world, what isn’t strictly the case, that America “isn’t a Christian nation”. True it may not be a “good” Christian nation and obviously many minorities aren’t Christian, but the fact is that the nation is predominantly Christian and it’s to manufacture truth to propose otherwise. What personal or political motive would Obama have to maintain otherwise? Perhaps plenty.

While it’s doubtful that as critics and enemies have maintained, Obama is outright a Muslim, (even if in his Barry Soetero childhood in Indonesia he was registered as such) there’s little doubt that despite the occasional (politically required?) church attendance his affinities, sympathies, and also hopes for political appeasement lie principally with Islam and its nations. In real terms, Obama may be more like a universalist Sufi, Theosophist or Unitarian (he has anyway said all faiths lead to the same place) but his real and deepest feeling is for the path of Islam whose exclusivism he chooses to ignore.

A YouTube feature devoted to proving Obama Muslim shows him making the slip, “my Muslim, I mean Christian faith” and declaring the prettiest sound in the world to be the muezzin call to prayer, and that the Koran, which he always carefully refers to as “the Holy Koran”, is a repository of wisdom, a book “revealed” etc. It’s a reverence for the scripture which looks to be signaled by the perfect easy trine in his birth chart from religion sign, Sagittarius, to Obama’s independent Uranus of the asteroid, Koranna (It’s an asteroid I’m still trying to decide about – originally asteroids got registered in feminine form). As in Obama’s Egyptian speech in praise of all things Islamic last year, you can’t help feeling it is less conviction than hurt pride and outraged narcissism in relation to his heritage that is fuelling his assertions. Like people who want to believe themselves aristocrats, really, Obama couldn’t have less than the best when it comes to religion and culture to back him.

OBAMA’S PRIDE OF WHICH PATRIA

Obama’s Kenyan relatives are all Muslims and at his birth Kenya conjuncts Patria (homeland), a strong hint that even if Obama was not born in Kenya (as he denies but some maintain - the Kenyan Press once supposedly referred to “our Kenyan born Obama”) certainly his truest affinities all lie there and that includes with the Islam of which he imbibed plenty while at school in Indonesia where he even won a prize for Islamic knowledge.

In parenthesis on this issue of origins, one gathers a case regarding his eligibility for presidency is posted for June 3rd - though one can imagine it won’t happen – as there’s the additional problem one can’t be born of dual nationality and run America and it appears Obama’s father was registered as a British citizen. I note that astrology’s Father asteroid (Abbe) in Obama’s natus directly opposes his Jupiter (register of truth and also anything foreign) a hint that again something is “wrong” or unclear around his origins. It’s not fashionable or just not reassuring to allow that Obama’s background might be the subject of lies and any major deception – Democrats who wanted him in obviously won’t hear of it and most of all the rest don’t want to realize they could have been gypped in a truly unprecedented way by an actor who likes to play big parts on an international stage - and yes, this theatrical Leo has Actor trine his Mercury. Watch his words, watch his mouth!

So…the birther case is liable to be dismissed as right wing rumour mill and resentment. Which it doubtless sometimes is, but one would still prefer to see cooler attitudes and more stringent policies prevail towards this whole subject. Whatever Obama’s true origins, I see no reason why he should ever have refused (and been allowed to refuse) to produce his original birth certificate – a record of live birth is not the same thing and it could be fiddled. If it would keep a restless section of the public quiet, why not produce it rather than pour money into legal fees putting stops to inquiries and cases around this vexed issue of a candidate’s background? Is transparency too much to ask?

……No matter the truth about Obama’s biography, I feel the case for his ongoing Muslim affinities is now sufficiently made and is rather bolstered by the way in which as soon as Obama has been finally released to international affairs from health care battles, first in line of fire has been Israel whose position on Jerusalem is getting challenged. And it’s being so basically in harmony with (mostly late developed) Muslim notions about possession of that city. Whether you agree with that particular claim or not, the fact is that now Palestinians, encouraged by Obama’s position, have been making stronger demands than previously about terms for peace talks and have been difficult this last Passover about the Temple area. Israel’s Netanyahu insists that Jerusalem is “not a settlement” and that is true enough because even if you don’t accept what looks like Israel’s rather obvious historic claim to the city, it’s quite normal for territory won in war, especially war in self-defence, to be retained.

If the nations of the world won’t and can’t accept that in Israel’s case, then they are making an idealistic exception they don’t reckon to apply elsewhere and the Palestinians, even if one concedes something to their complaints, are not by any standards good losers in the war game. If they are not, that’s at least partly involved with the fact that engages the religious issue the liberal west doesn’t care to admit or believe, namely that there is an assumption that wherever Muslims have once held land they should retain that land. It’s a claim or assumption that goes rather beyond the somewhat similar but obviously more long standing Jewish claim to Jerusalem. (If you don’t believe any real religious conflict is involved, and it’s nothing but a human rights thing, then perhaps you had better read the understandably recently best selling Son of Hamas).

In connection to these claims and by way of introduction to the next observations, let’s note this most peculiar and striking of points. In the foundation chart of modern Israel, the asteroid, Jerusalem (at 3 of fixed Taurus, the eternity sign, is contested by being in the 7th house of open enemies, but is conjunct of all things, The Part of Bequest. Bequest is how it and for that matter Israel more generally is biblically regarded, as a place and land to which the Children of Israel are more the guardians under God than the owners in the usual sense.

OBAMA AND JERUSALEM THE BURDENSOME STONE

With so much complexity of opinion and human inflexibility involved, this is perhaps why, and prophetically too, the Bible’s book of Zechariah looks towards a time when specifically Jerusalem will become a “burdensome stone” for all the nations of the world which will eventually come against it. Israel’s battle for Jerusalem is perceived as ultimately a spiritual one because God’s “Name” (the Temple was originally called the Temple of the Name, Ha-Shem) dwells in Jerusalem forever making it the most sacred place on earth. The Satan is seen as challenging this and in Zechariah’s vision, the Lord says “The Lord rebuke you O Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem” (Zech 3:2).

Oddly, unfortunately, or however one sees it, it tends to be mostly rather noisy and sometimes merely fanatical evangelical Christians who know or emphasize this theme since Catholics read the Bible but little while even modern Judaism has become Torah orientated at the expense of even the prophets. This notwithstanding, the Jerusalem tradition is biblically so strong it would probably be more protested by Jews and Christians if it were more known and accepted. In fact, and rather incongruously, even Jerusalem’s Temple Mount area is currently under Muslim supervision to which it was accorded by the (secular) Israeli government almost as soon as Jerusalem was re-taken after millennia in 1967.

I am always claiming that with overwhelming proofs (see last December’s article on Broadcasting and Censoring the Bethlehem Star)I possess the true data for Christ’s birth, and certainly this same data dramatically reflects the just mentioned Jerusalem issue. On the chart’s world point (15 of royal Leo) there is Shaim (variant of Shem, the Name of God). Beside it at 16 degrees is Jerusalem, and beside Jerusalem at 17 degrees (conjunctions are very pro or con something) is Lucifer, placed there rather as in Zechariah’s vision challenging "the Name" and the Jerusalem where the Name stands for all peoples of the world (Shaim on the world point). Then in exact affliction aspect to Jerusalem is the asteroid, Stone, reflective of the prophecy of Jerusalem becoming “the burdensome stone” that Jerusalem will become to the nations of the world.

Jerusalem’s 16 degrees of Leo is plainly what astrologers call a sensitive degree of the kind that carries across centuries. 16 Leo is the position of Saturn, traditional symbol of restrictions and of any weight and whatever falls, in the birth chart of modern Israel. This Saturn is a linked, alternative way of symbolizing the ongoing Jerusalem problem which is all of a dramatic, mega-sized Leo one. And into this great potential for material and spiritual problems comes the fantasist Leo leader, Barack Obama, formerly Barry Soetero, that star performer ready to take on any part or sign to any name (as said, Actor trines his writing and speaking Mercury exactly!).

SHADES OF LUCIFERIAN POLICY?

Barack Hussein Obama’s Leo sun is at 13 Leo and conjuncting it on that degree is asteroid Lucifer while at nearly the 15 degree world point he has the dangerous asteroid, Lie. Well, we do all have to have Lucifer and Lie somewhere in our natus and let’s not speculate on how much Obama may have been pulling the wool over the eyes of Americans on some things! But even being as generous as possible, we can’t quite ignore Obama’s Lie is close to the sensitive Shaim/Shem of Christ’s data. Even this we might ignore if the dangerous potential were not backed up by the distinctly noticeable close opposition of Obama’s natal Jerusalem to his Pluto. And I don’t think there’s the slightest doubt that in Christ’s chart, in modern Israel’s chart, and even anyone’s chart, the highest octave meaning of Pluto is quite simply as symbol of God. So Jerusalem is especially where Obama faces divine issues.

From the biblical/prophetic standpoint, to tamper with Jerusalem can finish by doing Luciferian work which, with Lucifer conjunct his sun, Obama is perhaps more liable than some to do – though of course we all have Lucifer somewhere in our charts! – and which needless to say puts one in bad relation with the divine generally. Once again there’s a hint of just such a potential in Obama’s pattern through supplemenatiojn of the core message through the affliction square of his rebellious Uranus to Bhagwat (Hindu name of the personal side of ultimate deity little stressed in Hinduism) and the affliction square of his Theotes (Godhead) to his natal Venus.

Even if you dismiss all of this, what can’t be dismissed is that currently the Obama policy, is very largely an appeasement, almost a flattery of some Muslim nations (who don’t favour him due to his continuation of the Iraq and Afghanistan offensives), while it takes a firm line with Israel which he hopes makes up for what doesn’t please people elsewhere. This will do nothing and nobody any good and thinking Christians, who should perhaps never have voted for Obama in the first case (or in the case of Hillary Clinton consented to work for him as she is too compromised by it), ought to recognize that they are supporting a rather vainglorious individual who, if one could see behind the veil, can only help precipitate problems in the Middle East, encourage any “burdensome stone” scenarios and, however indirectly, take on God.

WHY POPE BENEDICT IS LIKE THE BIBLE’S FAILED PRIEST, ELI

2010-04-04T03:05:00.000-07:00

THE POPE AND THE ELI CONNECTION

No one is using it, but there’s a clear biblical parallel against which to assess what is happening in and around current Vatican sex abuse scandals. This non use is testimony to the lack of spirituality in the relevant church circles and to biblical illiteracy in the world beyond the church. The situation contributes to the unbalanced, unhelpful judgements being made. According to these, either Pope and Vatican are virtual criminals, or the Pope and Vatican are being persecuted as virtual martyrs. Amid a situation of real crisis, it’s all nonsense, alarmingly and seriously so for religion and society alike.

The first book of Samuel (the second, third and fourth chapters) supplies us the story of the prophet Samuel’s mentor, Eli. The elderly Eli oversees the religious life of Israel because he is guardian of the Shiloh sanctuary which holds the Ark of the Covenant prior to the building of the Temple. In short, he’s the equivalent of the country’s Pope, at any rate he’s its religious leader. Eli is a good man who advises Hannah well and mentors Samuel well and he’s disposed to listen to God. He nevertheless has two worthless sons. They abuse the rites of the shrine priesthood ritually, and for years they take advantage of their position to have sex with any women who come to “the House of the Lord”. In short, the ritual and moral integrity of the religion is being abused at its centre and the rot is spreading. Being righteous, Eli rebukes his sons; he says he’s heard the bad report (i.e. complaints) about them. But he does nothing. It’s all talk. Basically he’s loyal to his sons against whom he takes no real action.

The matter goes on for years while Samuel grows up and finally a prophet arrives to declare doom against Eli and his house for its sins. Later Eli, now in his nineties, upon hearing the Ark has been captured and his sons killed, falls backwards from his seat in shock and dies.

The problem and the relevance is that, by normal standards, Eli is a spiritual enough, kindly old man, certainly not evil. Likewise, one could hardly read Ratzinger’s Jesus of Nazareth and consider the Pope unspiritual or evil. Yet Eli’s false loyalties and inaction were polluting the life of the national religion at its centre, and abusing the “human rights” of which there was little concept at the time. This could not be overlooked and the Lord intervenes. After all….The first commandment is to Love God, and the second is to love one’s neighbour as oneself. The same two principles are enunciated in different form when Jesus declares those who love family more than him cannot be his disciple (Matt 10:37). The message is clear enough to apply here. The loyalties of people who “love the church” its priesthood and its peculiar ways (highly secretive in the case of the Vatican) over and above God and human kind generally, aren’t worthy disciples; and even if they’re not bad they’re not good enough because their outlook engages idolatry and dulls compassion…..

BENEDICT’S VATICAN IS A HOUSE OF SHILOH

Defenders of the Pope insist he has acted, and more than his predecessor, against reports of abuse. Within limits this may actually be the case – when he assumed the papacy he did at least act against the long notorious Macial Marciel one of whose victims I knew in Mexico. But the bottom line is surely that the Irish bishops claim not to have gone to police about serious cases because they understood Benedict had meant they should not do so, albeit the Pope denies they were told this (it seems excommunication could follow upon breaking Vatican secret dealings with the pedophilia cases).

To whatever extent the Pope really has concretely taken action during the last decade undeniably he has more recently spoken, apologized and criticized. But again it’s not really near enough. It’s basically just words, just as Eli spoke to his sons, but inconsequentially. And if you are prepared to assume rather extreme titles like “Vicar of Christ on earth”,then you do need to live to rather high standards! Indeed, part of the problem is precisely that with the Papacy so highly placed and extremely described, many are unable or unwilling to admit that “the unfailing rock of the holy Church” as Cardinal Sodano’s Easter sermon had it, could do wrong and then the faithful become so emotionally invested in looking to their ‘Holy Father” any attack upon him is perceived as an attack upon all faith and even upon themselves, deeper moral issues regardless. And it's this idealized picture that Benedict consents to. It was noticed he smiled at the Cardinal's "rock of Peter" statements and after the sermon he embraced him.

In all recent declarations Pope Benedict has spoken chiefly from the standpoint of protecting his own interests, and that of others in high places and that of the Church's image (or at least the Papacy's), as a paragon. But the church, even at its best is still supposed to be a company of sinners and beyond the obvious need for purposes of healing to dismiss seriously erring bishops quickly, it would have been more appropriate to have made dramatic dedication of the Easter season to masses on behalf of victims, or to have declared a whole period of penitence for past mistakes. But no. The Pope has too many secondary loyalties including to the immediate circle of “Pope’s Men”, like Cardinal Dolan of New York who for Palm Sunday in St Patrick’s cathedral, and in words shockingly abusive of religious imagery and common sense, declared "a crown of thorns" is being daily placed on the Pope’s head. Really? (And a full congregation then gave Dolan a standing ovation for this. One wonders what religion some Catholics are following and imagine they understand). Good Friday's insanity, this time from inside St Peter’s, was talk that the Pope is being treated to something like “the more shameful excesses of anti-Semitism”, words from the Pontiff's Preacher from which even the Vatican has thankfully chosen to distance itself. None of these responses have affinity for any authentic Christianity, it’s more like religion as politics and in-house dealing.

Did any of these people read and absorb the serious cruelty and evil of the abuses in Ireland where children were starved, made to lick vomit off the floor by sadistic monks and nuns and do other things there’s no need to rehearse here? It’s as bad as if the Inquisition were still with us. And if it’s really true (as the dissident Swiss theologian, Hans Kung, alleges) that Ratzinger has to have been fully aware for the last twenty years of the abuse that has been going on, what can one say? Where is the prophetic outrage, where the deep moral concern, or just spontaneous human compassion? Instead there is, when not silence from the hierarchy, almost insolent responses like talk about heroically ignoring and in Christ’s service, “the chatter of dominant opinion”, or suggestions that abuse of the nature involved is a problem in the wider society too. As though the church didn’t have special responsibilities, AND as though the gospels, which don’t mention regular Vatican obsessions like homosexuality and abortion, didn’t appear to consider the abuse of the innocent (“these little ones”) to be one of the most heinous and damning crimes Matt 18:6).

Far from recognizing this rather vital point, the Pope is well known for reserving his stronger condemnations for precisely such as abortion and gay relations - indeed he believes good Catholics in privileged positions are even supposed to be willing to become modern martyrs in opposition to various gay rights seen as the downfall of civilization itself! And now the Vatican is protesting it is because of its stand on abortion and homosexuality that it is being attacked and Judas betrayed by the world over pedophilia!

This situation only makes some kind of mad sense in a church which is not listening to scripture and the prophetic tradition in any meaningful way but rather is still overly attached to “tradition” and with it natural law theories from medieval philosophers of the kind which made sodomy worse than rape because it was “natural”, i.e. produced fetuses. But ultimately, what we are hearing is the product of people and attitudes that “love the church”, its ways, its rituals, its organization first and who from their false loyalties keep things quiet, a situation liable to generate evil and prevent healing even while, technically, those involved cannot justly be called people of immoral lives or evil intent.

LIKE ELI,POPE BENEDICT WILL FALL BACKWARDS

Plainly the Vatican’s intention is to ride out the crisis, to brazen it out we might say if the Vatican was a secular institution. It will mostly continue to be silent or trade accusations. And the Pope, a head of state, won’t be resigning. While this policy may temporarily succeed it will not succeed in the long term because the issues at stake are by now too serious and the spiritual effects too strong – many will simply leave the church in anger and total disillusion as many have already done. Again, if only for the spiritual health of all concerned the mea culpas, at whatever cost, should have been attempted.

The issue of child abuse is one of the major secrets of deeds done in secret that as the gospels have it, were waiting “to be declared from the housetops”. It’s interesting that in the standard chart for the founding of the modern Vatican in 1929, Uranus, planet of shocks and surprises, is found in the sector of sex and secrets opposite the asteroid, CHILD! That Child is moreover in the sign of the laws, Libra, itself a promise that this will become a legal matter and a costly one (placed in the second house of resources). Last December’s eclipse in tension square to both CHILD and shocking Uranus promised that in 2010 the Vatican would no longer be able to hide from the extent of the pedophilia problem. But to some extent it will try, and is trying.

THE HEAVENS DECLARE: THE RATZINGER FINI MYSTERY

When crises of this magnitude break out, and in this case involving the very future of Christianity itself, normally one might expect – as the Pope doesn’t because he questionably believes all revelation ceased with Jesus - some prophet would make declaration in the way that happens in the story of Eli. But while no prophets have as yet arrived to declare anything, it’s possible we can and do already know something in relation to this embattled pontiff and his Vatican enclave.

There is a serious double mystery about Joseph Ratzinger and towards solving the mystery I can and wish at this stage to say no more than that I believe he represents the end of something. Hopefully he just marks the end of privileged Catholic cover-ups, but it may be more. The double mystery is this. First, there’s the simple fact - like it or not and believe it or not, and I realize the prophecy is much disputed - according to St Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes, Ratzinger is the last Pope in power before the Antichrist. In which case, according to at least the forecasts of the late Catholic seeress, Jeane Dixon, he could even be assassinated because she alleged a vision of the assassination of whoever would be the last Pope. This was an event which back in the sixties she didn’t regard as too far off, though she supplied the disaster no date. There was at least an attempt on the Pope’s life last Christmas at the Christmas mass.

Second, I offer the following point, namely the three times repeated Ratzinger Fini mystery which could be connected with the foregoing. Yes, it could just be a coincidence, a fluke and no more, but anyway it’s this. I have long insisted I possess the Pentecost chart for the birth of Christianity in AD 30 and that it is highly descriptive for persons and events and works to this day. Its data includes an odd close conjunction of asteroids Ratzinger with Fini (Finished) in the shocks and surprises sign of Aquarius. While not in conjunction, the same two factors are in aspect at the birth of both Ratzinger and the modern Vatican (while in the latter, Ratzinger at 5 Leo is even conjunct, but perhaps too widely for real significance, with the Vatican's Part of the End of Things at 8 Leo). It is as though the heavens are warning he is in some sense a harbinger of the end, the one who finishes the religion in some way.

Whether or not Ratzinger really marks the end of the church as we know it, somehow I feel that, like Eli, there will be a day when he “falls backward” so to speak and it won’t be a good day for anyone.

Indeed, and ironically, even the radical atheist, Richard Dawkins, is now beginning to fret about the possible breakdown of Christianity given its potential to leave the world exposed to “worse”, by which he means the fanatics and bombers of another major faith. For myself, I am more interested in aspects of Obama’s role in world affairs and I do find some biblical connections here even though I can’t so easily define him as a player in events through biblical parallels as regards personalities like that for Pope Benedict with Eli. But this matter will be my next article soon.

THE GOOD MAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL PUBLISHER(S)

2010-03-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

PHILIP PULLMAN’S EASTER SURPRISE

On April 1st in time for Easter, Scotland’s Canongate Press is publishing flamboyant atheist, Philip Pullman’s, inevitably controversial and controversially titled, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. The novel’s supposedly original theory (but in scholarly terms as old fashioned as the nineteenth century and the Tubingen School) is that St Paul created belief in Jesus’ divinity and invented Christianity as we know it. For Pullman, Paul is the most influential person in history at the same time as the religion he founded is essentially a delusion. As Western Christians are super tolerant or just weak, that there won’t be protests even faintly reminiscent of the Mohammed Cartoons crisis is a forecast safely made, just as we can also predict it’s only Christians, not Muslims, that modern publishing, presuming on a Christian sweetness, will continue to offend.

But there are many ironies to this April Fool’s Day publication not least that Pullman, the militant atheist, may finish serving less his familiar hoped for secularist, anti-Christian aims than some increasingly popularized Islamic ones. After all, it’s Islam deems Christianity to be mainly invented by Paul - inevitably so since the apostle’s theology, strongly influenced by death and resurrection themes, is fantasy if you maintain Jesus never even died on the cross which is basically the Islamic position.

THE HEAVENS DECLARE….RE EVEN PHILIP PULLMAN

It’s another irony for me personally as someone who controversially maintains I possess the true data of Christ’s birth, that against the natal chart I can “see” this latest bit of public sensation. Jesus' birth data register for controversies around him across history to this day (they were even very notable for Elton John’s recent gay Jesus statements). Accordingly, the negativity Philip Pullman is issuing is exquisitely reflected in especially four unmissable factors for April’s Fool’s Day …..These are:

Jupiter (traditionally any issues of religion, “truth” or publishing) strong that day on a “critical” degree in exact opposition to, of all things, the asteroid, Paul in Jesus’ natus (likewise on a critical degree),
then,
Restrictive Saturn, arrived at the world point at O Libra, conjuncts the gospel asteroid
then,
The Church asteroid is nearly conjunct a sensitive degree in Jesus’ pattern, namely the degree of Lucifer
plus
There’s that factor continental astrologers emphasize and I was always taught turns up whenever something unfortunate or negative is afoot. It's a point in the heavens called Dark Moon Lilith, which will be degree exact on Christ’s destiny/reputation Midheaven angle.

Such data may sound a bit specialized but the message is clear enough. Paul is getting presented as purveyor of supposedly false teachings and (depending how you use and interpret Saturn traditionally seen by astrologers as a devil figure), Pullman and his enthusiastic publisher, Jamie Byng, whether they realize it or not, are engaged in a negative work, restrictive of truth and real spirituality and challenging to the meaning of the Church itself. In harmony with the darkness of Lilith expect the spiritual pollution of all the easy profane references (since the book's title is such a mouthful) to publication of "Scoundrel Christ". Jamie B nonetheless trendily describes himself as “a spiritual person”, a declaration which in his case tends to mean little more than a periodic disposition to question deep issues briefly and rather opportunistically. Pullman’s latest book is major in Byng’s view because it “strips Christianity bare, exposes the Gospels to a new light……[his book] throws down a challenge and does what all great books do, make the reader ask questions”….

PULLMAN FICTION: GENUINE QUESTIONS OR OUTRIGHT ATTACK?

….This is publishing spin nonsense. What great books including the Bible chiefly do is teach, inform and inspire. Of course it’s good and legitimate, with or without books, to ask questions - where there’s some basis to ask and answer them. The reality in cases like this is that society has rarely been so biblically illiterate and so doesn’t know how to deal with many of the “questions” experts throw at them.

That’s if the experts are even experts and/or reasonably objective with the facts they deal in. Thus, as regards the divinity Pullman has Paul inventing, even where this is not explicitly claimed in the gospels it is often implied. We find it in such as Jesus’ forgiveness of sins which was a divine prerogative or even in statements like “Peace be Still, I AM, an evocation of the divine name. Granted many rationalist scholars do assume that belief in the divinity evolved late because the assumed first gospel, Mark, has little about divinity in comparison to the assumed last gospel, John. But again there is no longer universal agreement among scholars that Mark was first and John last written - it has even been suggested John had priority. However the average person knows next to nothing about this.

It follows that in real terms the great literary “questioning” experience may amount to little more than skeptics accorded heyday to confuse the undecided or minimally informed about what a given faith claims to be about. (Byng himself according to one of many interviews doesn’t know “however many bloody books there are in the Bible”). And if the writer’s purpose is simply to demolish faith at will and for entertainment (as there is some reason to assume in Pullman’s case it is - one thinks of the strongly atheist messages aimed at youth in the His Dark Materials trilogy), then this belongs to what Christ in one of his severest sayings would have regarded as one of the most heinous and unpardonable of sins, a profoundly spiritual one.

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Mt. 18:6). And needless to say anyone who makes themselves party to such agendas, especially if they do it for what St Paul would have called (in the old translation) “filthy lucre”, is truly despicable.

JAMIE BYNG: PUBLISHING’S MINI RICHARD BRANSON

It’s pretty clear Jamie Byng, publishing’s new Richard Branson, is not bothering about Truth where Pullman’s theories are concerned any more than in all preceding cases where religion has been centre stage. For him, profundity begins and ends with “questions” or maybe just shocks and surprises. It first began seriously in 1998 with the Pocket Canons series, individual books of the Bible commented by a variety of persons almost all of them apart from rock star, Bono (who introduced the Psalms), non Christians, some of them atheists. Blake Morrison took on John’s gospel and found Jesus “self-assured, pushy and somewhat dislikeable”. Will Self commented Revelation and dismissed it as a “sick text” and atheist Louis de Bernieres, lacking the subtlety of a Jung in approaching Job, almost predictably decides God is “a mad, bloodthirsty and capricious despot”. The Dalai Lama was more serene treating the book of Proverbs. As Jamie Byng described things, it was “exciting for the Bible to be published in this way” though he decided once started not to cover Leviticus and all 60 books or “however many bloody books in the Bible there are”. All this was undoubtedly postmodern and countercultural in line with JB’s initial Red Ink series in the realm of fiction, and this is about the best one could say for it though he might add it was profitable.

Like Branson, Byng is a Cancerian, a mostly energetic, restless, “cardinal” sign - Byng is said to work 18 hours a day. Making cash and promoting vigorously (JB began at Canongate as an unpaid publicity agent) is what Cancerian people and nations (Scotland where Byng resides and America, whose president Byng is publishing, belong to the sign) seem best at. Byng is not totally materialistic and success driven, he describes himself as “evangelical” in his desire to find writers their audiences, and he experiences delight in being “original”.

JAMIE BYNG’S PUSH-OVER STARS

Where Jamie B (born 27.6.1969) is concerned, a trine of Venus to Jupiter/Pluto says it all for fame and fortune (Jupiter/Pluto is the easiest way in Who’s Who). Likewise a Sun/ Uranus affliction square says much for “originality” taken to the point of eccentricity or perhaps in-your-face offence. Uranus is, besides, on the 0 Libra world point - more fame - the same point Saturn reaches for publication of Good Man Jesus. Even so, in Byng’s horoscope I see none of the more obvious signs of opposition to God, Christ, Church etc that one can usually see rather clearly in people for whom God, faith and religion are their Aunt Sally, people like Dawkins. Or even Pullman who shows an odd struggle of the Lucifer and Christ asteroids in spectacular Leo conjunct fame giving Regulus, a signature that leaves one unsurprised his spiritual contentions get worked out before the world. The most suspect note in Jamie’s birth is the easy trine between Lucifer and Jupiter (the latter deemed symbolic of anything to do with religion and publishing and at Canongate Jamie is into both with a vengeance). So perhaps….but let’s not jump to conclusions…. Give the poor Scot-by-adoption laddie a chance!)

But not too much so as he doesn’t give God much chance and as second son of the 8th Earl of Stafford and son in law of Sir Christopher Bland, a former director of the BBC and of British Telecom who helped fund his original publishing ventures when he bought out certain houses for an itself failing Canongate, he’s always had plenty of chances himself. Being Christianly “born again” is what Jamie’s brother is supposed to be, but Jamie himself has his own re-birth, reinvention capacities. Born and raised in quiet Hampshire, England, and originally wanting to be a tennis star, Edinburgh and its university where he took Eng Lit brought out the long haired rebel Jamie has remained, the player of Funk and Reggae. If Jamie weren’t into books he’d be in music, but the way of books is paved with gold even while his publishing house is said to be run like a smoke filled anarchist’s commune. Once upon a time there was talk of drugs but what’s more certain is that it was puffing on a conventional cigarette that Jamie came up with the idea of the new Myths series within which Philip Pullman’s novel is the latest offering.

The Myths series follow on from the Pocket Canons. Ancient stories get retold, like the Odyssey from Penelope’s point of view in the Penelopiaid by Margaret Atwood, or the Atlas and Hercules myths in Weight by Jeanette Winterson. Then in 2008 there was the legend of Prometheus re-told as The Fire Gospel by JB’s favourite author, the stateless, Dutch born, Australian educated, Scotland resident and altogether himself mythic Michel Faber. In the course of this re-telling a Greek academic discovers a manuscript which turns out to be a fifth gospel. Its author, Malchus, attends the crucifixion at which Jesus’ last words are “Please, somebody, finish me off” before he urinates on Malchus’ head. It emerges Jesus was no Messiah but a potent symbol for some difficult perhaps drug taking disciples. The book is a satire on Da Vinci Code type fiction. One blurb assures us this is “Wickedly provocative, hilarious and shocking by turns, it is a revelation of storytelling”…. which is a bookseller’s way of saying it’s a revelation of nothing but profanity as entertainment.

MODERN PUBLISHING ON RELIGION: IF IT SMELLS IT SELLS

It’s been said of much journalism “if it bleeds it leads”. It could be increasingly said of much in publishing especially on religion that “if it smells it sells”. …..I became interested in Byng and his spiritual mindset partly because almost any man in publishing is interesting (over more than two decades I seem mostly to have had dealings with women) and because of the larger problem of publishing Truth, Religion and Spirituality at all today. When I read of the Pullman publication I vaguely recalled how years ago in my extreme naivety I had made a proposal to Canongate about a book on the Creed that hadn’t received the courtesy of a reply. While that was hardly surprising and I’d know better another time, questions are raised all the same. What’s involved in “trendy” religious publishing when it occurs is two factors, a measure of greed and an unacknowledged agenda. I can illustrate the first point from an almost absurd recent experience.

A writer very successful with a work on religion which, however, had been excessively difficult to place due to the sometimes extreme prejudice today among houses and agents (especially in Australia) against even looking at religion and spirituality manuscripts, recommended me to an agent. She agreed to read me. When I made contact to ask how to send the material and how much, I was abruptly informed I needn’t send anything as she only wished to deal with books that would sell widely. But as at that stage she knew nothing about me or the book beyond my name and the book’s title, it was too painfully apparent this individual, apart from being unreliable in keeping her word, possessed some greed for gain which she assumed no book with any religious title would quickly satisfy. Yet in reality, at least in America, some of the biggest sellers are precisely religious. And an agent is supposed to be generally well informed about the business. If she or he isn’t then perhaps, as some maintain, they exist mainly to collect whatever they can from authors. Be that as it may, anyone appreciates honesty and reliability. And from experience I know how much it can lack in the publishing world. One publisher had to be reminded of his contract several times before paying me once - the only time he ever did so - another publisher I had to take legal advice to break from due to failure to keep to contract. I am weary and wary of the whole shoddy treatments of which I could tell more.

But even where reliability is minimal, agenda appears to be at the max in at least the more ideological end of publishing I’ve had to deal with over the years. It’s no accident that amid all the fiction, satire and spoof about “fifth gospels”, regular publishing isn’t too interested in anything of the kind. Even to mention you dispose of something original in relation to Christ is to invite another dismissal (“Oh, not that subject [Christ] again” as one bored and cynical publisher said to me). Even as a doctor of religious studies I suffered the rude or indifferent dismissals of publishing for years and I’m not just speaking from sour grapes but in light of an acknowledged and real problem where ideas, religion and publishing are concerned.

PUBLISHING AS SATAN’S LITTLE HELPERS?

The situation has got even worse than when I and others were warned some years ago at a Society of Authors seminar that no author not a token Christian (like a TV bishop, Regius Professor of Theology at Oxford, Billy Graham etc) should attempt to write on Christ or Christianity. We shouldn’t because the agenda of publishing is skeptical or in relation to Christ, Gnostic/New Age. Because I assumed my information and perspectives were so original and, frankly, sellable, at the time I listened with half an ear but my experiences and what I hear from others mostly point to this conclusion. The son of even a quite celebrated theologian told me his father was heartbroken that he might die without having published what he considered his masterwork in the line of his lifelong expertise. It’s not just what sells or who has a name, important though these things are, but what the great modern Church of Publishing, wants today. What should be published in and about especially Christ and Christianity just isn’t being. Meanwhile there’s room for common blasphemers to help make some houses their profits in an industry quite often run by women whose worldviews often don’t reach much beyond Cosmo style values (I was told to expect nothing from one agent as she was too busy with love in the afternoon) and/or atheistic feminism…..or even just plain Luciferian “ideals”.

No kidding. Lynn Picknett, published with Simon and Schuster for The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups about the Life of Jesus, a book about theologies which concludes the Baptist was the true Messiah, in her The Secret History of Lucifer published by Constable and Robinson in UK, concludes her introduction with “Hail Lucifer and to hell with Satan”. She concludes the book itself with an invocation to the light of Lucifer. This is in line with her belief that Lucifer and Satan are not the same entity, (a point which incidentally my Christ data unexpectedly and rather clearly reveals to be mistaken) but that Lucifer represents the truth we all need.

THE BIBLE, JAMIE BYNG AND SCATOLOGY

When Jamie B’s Canons began appearing there was inevitably some sales-helpful controversy, people protested and one of Canongate’s staff felt morally obliged to quit the house when they finally learned what they hadn’t been let in on. Inevitably, too, the house was inundated with hate mail of a kind Jamie dismissed as unnecessarily “apocalyptic” and “fundamentalistic”. Doubtless some of nastiness was engendered by understandable frustration at being under-represented and denied voice about faith in Britian when such as the loopy Archbishop of Canterbury colludes in the secularist situation proposing atheism could be taught in schools via Pullman’s fantasy fiction. Even so, and though I can imagine that books like The Fire Gospel and its advocacy could encourage people to start saying it’s JB, not gospel writers, who needs the urinating over, abuse is never attractive. It’s not really appropriate from Christians either, though in some instances thoughtful condemnation could be. That’s if condemnation could serve any useful purpose - which in cases like the Canons or Good Man Jesus with so much profit and publicity involved it probably can’t.

Scripture might advise people to “answer a fool according to his folly” and so pass on. And yet I do wonder. It’s an interesting question how believers should react. For example, in a period of increasing natural disasters it could even be argued - and I fancy the prophetic tradition would do so - that the as good as satanic principles increasingly embraced by sections of publishing, the cynicism, the porn, the blasphemy, make for spiritual pollution and situations in which perhaps the very land begins to “vomit forth” the people. In astrology, since they are supposed to represent higher ideas and mind, both publishing and priesthood belong to same house issues. With that thought in mind and before an Easter that Byng and Pullman effectively profane, I suspect the prophetic words most nearly relevant would be given by Malachi addressing his society’s priests in almost scatological condemnation. (Malachi’s normally more Christmas associated ideas have been on my mind ever since I discovered how exactly, and almost amusingly, a distinct celestial pattern formed to “speak” them at Christ’s birth, Levi washing and all).

You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say “How have we spoken against you?”….
If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name I will send the curse upon you….I will rebuke your offspring and spread dung on your faces…. And I will cast you out of my presence….”

To which I don’t doubt protest immediately arises that God wouldn’t utter such words nor prophets mean them and it's all O.T. I deal with these tricky and important issues in Cosmic Father. However, given the principles and situations I’ve been describing, publishing isn’t interested in that no matter how remarkable some of my claims or my qualifications to make them might be. (The book is available on Amazon).

In the post-Big Byng universe people like me should step aside for Lynn Picknett to invoke Lucifer, or Mary Daly to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, or Michel Faber to portray a Jesus who wants "finishing off". This is the more ideological end of modern publishing I’ve had to deal with and which - in my own experience at least – is for the most part a hell’s kitchen of cheats, liars and thieves that exists in an atmosphere in which an honest person can scarcely breath, a godless gutter world of the curse… A happy and blessed Easter season to those who can accept it. Otherwise I fancy you’ll need to go sing with Byng.

HOW REAL IS MAITREYA?

2010-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

THE MAITREYA MYSTERY GEARS UP A NOTCH

Maitreya, aka, the Christ, the Madhi, Krishna and whatever Messiah you’re looking for to arrive or to return if you’re looking, represents for his forerunner, Benjamin Creme, the greatest of events. Now for the first time in history “the Master of Masters” has appeared to millions on TV and the Internet. But if so, when? And where is he and how real is he following the official announcement to the world by a moved but tired looking Creme on Jan 14th?

After 30 years of waiting and preparation and reported appearances to exclusive circles, finally the mission of Maitreya (name of the last Buddha) is officially declared to have begun. The “Master of Masters” has appeared – under an alias for the time being – to “millions” of TV viewers in America and on the Net, talking about sharing, justice and changing things. Now it seems we can play guess the program and hunt the interviewer (was it Oprah herself, or Larry King?) as no one quite knows what’s going on or can claim to have witnessed what, if only they knew it, was the opening salvo in a campaign march towards complete Emergence. This is now set by Creme for between 12 to 18 months time when the currently anonymous prophet/avatar will make his “Day of Declaration”.

ALIAS BROADCASTING A LA MAITREYA

Since this Declaration will operate primarily at a telepathic level over the airwaves I’m not beyond wondering if what is now said to have been voiced on media really means - in fact or just Creme’s mind - that at certain times when someone talks on TV there are moments when the public is being irradiated and influenced in a way not previously operative or that an ordinary speaker is being overshadowed to speak M’s word. Or perhaps it’s just a case that someone speaks M’s opinions for him, is the official face of the movement until such time as the true source chooses to declare himself. Whatever, there are people willing to claim, most notably the retired US diplomat, Wayne Peterson, in his Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Beings which I haven’t yet read, that he and other people in high places have all met Maitreya in person but presently remain quiet about it, awaiting the day. It’s long been rumoured both Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela have met Maitreya – when Mandela says Christ visited him in jail, Maitreya is meant.

Among saucy Net suggestions is that the recent Maitreya of media must have been George Obama, the President’s brother, looking stoned on the Larry King show but spouting idealism for the peoples to hear. That comment is spawned by the fact most people’s broadcast search range has so far tended to be 13th and 14th January on the basis that presumably Creme wouldn’t make the announcement he did from London and send out press PRs on the 14th if the big event hadn’t occurred in the US on the 13th or 14th. But, hey,…..perhaps it happened on the 1st or 2nd of Jan. Maitreya is all about the surprise and the unexpected, so anything’s possible! I must agree with those who find the best candidate so far for the fated interview to be the well placed and connected, economist activist, Raj Patel, who was interviewed on ColbertNation and Democracy Now on the 12th. As shown by M hunters on You Tube he actually talked on the right kind of M themes and his strange unblinking eyes got to me (they reminded me of a Maitreya pic). Still…Patel is a British born American of Indian extraction born 1972 (mother Kenyan, father Fijian). He does stutter and he’s not a media virgin. So, despite the ideology he doesn’t fit the bill - unless the overshadowed theory has merit and he’s knowingly or otherwise like a temporary mask or broadcast station for the real M yet to declare himself!....Next guess, please!

FROM MAITREYA’S OWN “BETHLEHEM STAR” TO “EMERGENCE”.

There have been false starts for the Tara Society, now Share International, most notably back in 1982 when it was maintained the “Day of Declaration” was imminent, but wasn’t and perhaps because – if Maitreya is at least whom some imagine - a relative expected to die and leave him successor to a Caliphate position didn’t do so. Whatever, such problems have left the press cynical and hostile so that it’s almost a miracle of the M movement that it has sustained any credibility, kept going and enlarged its constituency amid so many failed or veiled promises. Delays have been mostly explained by the fact M is democratic and cannot strictly appear before he is sufficiently welcomed, desired and expected in order for him to take the world with him to the new and higher order anticipated but that only he can establish. M is thus about “critical mass” mysticism one might say. And finally the world is more ready. This is due especially to M’s version of the Bethlehem Star appearing in the heavens and engaging the needed expectation and announcing his Emergence. It’s a star of various changing colours and shapes widely reported across the globe during the past year. Also it was always forecast M would first seriously emerge after a stock market crash. There have been more than one of those recently and the economy is simply losing steam gradually rather than outright crashing but over the last year or so there has been some crashing if you see it that way. So….

Now is the psychological moment for an Emergence without compromise even though the Bethlehem star side of ‘09’s Emergence signs unlike its historic forebear doesn’t really announce any birth, isn’t astrological in terms of the uniqueness and specific fate of an individual. It’s more a sign in the heavens that keeps transforming itself and which you’re more likely to see if you think about it – even Creme regards it is similar to UFOs as a manifestation. A figment of imagination, then? But people have photographed it and it has its following whatever precisely it is (Creme says it’s really four centres of light converging). Significance was felt to climax last December with “Star Gate”, the aquamarine spiral of light over north Norway baffling to scientists (though some say it was a failed Russian missile test) but claimed by Creme as another, even supreme sign of M’s imminent advent. If anything it looked like a crop circle design etched across the heavens which reminds me that Creme has stated that the reason such circles, though internationally reported, are more frequent in England is because M resides there (and perhaps we shall hear next influencing souls from his mosque by force of vibration?!). It’s of at least sociological interest that 230 London schools mostly in the inner areas are reported to have ditched the broadly Christian assemblies traditionally required by law in favour of multi- faith services or just outright Islamic assemblies with Koran reading to suit growing immigrant populations for whom the varieties of assimilation aren’t high on the agenda.

THE THREE POSSIBILITIES FOR MAITREYA MEANING

So what is all this about? There are only really three possibilities:
.
1)Maitreya is a stunt, an all-time super-hoax, the purpose and profit of which to whom is simply not yet clear.
2)Maitreya is real as an illusion in the mind of its prophet, Benjamin Creme, and international followers from Brazil to Japan for and to whom Creme is forever travelling to proclaim his new gospel.
3)Maitreya is in some sense real in ways yet to be defined. Currently and officially he’s said to be a spirit or “Master” living in a London mosque who periodically manifests in the flesh to devotees around the world, most notably on June 11th 1988 before thousands in Kenya, an African nation. (It’s said to be Africa where Maitreya will be first and most recognized). Perhaps it’s a case that Maitreya represents something like a familiar spirit possessing an individual since it’s been suggested by a former Creme follower (see below) that the London Maitreya is a real person called Rahmet Ahmed, great grandson of Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement who proclaimed himself a or the Mahdi which means his successors are regarded as Kalifs (Caliphs) by those of this sect of Islam. (In the West the Ahmadiyya movement is most famously involved with claims Jesus died in Kashmir and his tomb is there while in Pakistan it is persecuted and has a status not unlike that of the Bahai movement in Iran, hardly a good omen for success on the global stage). That Creme recently insisted M is “about peace” could be a clue the flesh and blood Rahmet Ahmed is Share International’s and London’s own M because the Ahmadiyya movement officially opposes traditional and now radical Islam’s belief that Jihad is about war.

Yet there is insistently believed and claimed to be some other M more akin to those shadowy figures who feature as Masters in the life of Mme Blavatsky and Annie Besant.

PENTECOSTALS AND CHARISMATICS FOR MAITREYA?

The biggest claim for a Maitreya figure - as spirit - dates back to the just mentioned 1988 event when – well reported in the Kenyan press and with photos to prove - Maitreya “suddenly” appeared at a Nairobi church which featured the healings and miracles of preacher, Mary Akatsa. For her congregation of thousands she had anticipated in her spirit a special appearance of Christ that day (as had celebrated evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, who goes on record as forecasting in advance it would be June 11th that Christ would manifest). Mary ecstatically announced that Jesus himself had appeared and the whole stunned congregation seemed to believe it. The driver who later escorted this spirit Maitreya away from the meeting records he simply disappeared into thin air after he got out of the car.

Whether it was a pre-planned event, a mass hallucination or genuine spiritual manifestation of whatever kind we should be impressed that this biggest, most open of all the reported Maitreya happenings prior to this year’s alleged secular media broadcast, occurred at the Bethlehem Independent Pentecostal Church. This should make one still more wary of some of the holy freaks and ghouls like teleporting Jason Westerfield or “living in the glory zone” David Herzog who get interviewed on the well-meaning but gullible and undiscerning, Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural. Or again some people on GodTV one of whose founders, Wendy Alec, shockingly mis-forecast that Jesus would bodily appear at the infamous Todd Bentley’s rallies in June ’08, a prophecy thankfully lost amid the mounting scandals which closed the crusade. I’ve discussed some of these louche people in my two articles on False Prophets (Sept ‘08). These people like to take the “Bible believing” high ground with everyone else, but they themselves are on the front line for all manner of deceptions. (I’d like to give Sid Roth and Wendy Alec the talking to they deserve and once one perceives the M links with Akatsa and Bonnke, it’s interesting to see the trail of deceptions, the false prophet, faux healer connections that join Bonnke with such as Hinn, Copeland, Rodney-Browne (“the Holy Ghost Bartender” for heaven’s sake!) etc. These all certify one another and lay on their “impartations” big time like a sort of (Gnostic) apostolic succession.

Lacking any real alternative guide amid all the elusive information I’m going to consider not signs in the heavens a la Norway’s recent Star Gate, but – pace all those not so orthodox “Bible believing” believers - some basic astrology which proves a bit more suggestive and revealing than might be imagined.

LOOKING BACK: THE FIRST DAY OF MAITREYA’S MANIFESTATION

I’m going to take the earliest day of Maitreya’s alleged reported manifestation. This was July 8th 1977 when following centuries of spirit life in the Himalayas having assumed human form M came among mortals to board a plane in Karachi, Pakistan that took him to his home which ever since has been an Indian and Pakistani Muslim corner of London, Tower Hamlets. The Muslim/Sufi connection incidentally makes one feels M should be called principally the Mahdi rather than Maitreya. The more Buddhist emphasis through his name is perhaps due to the (half Jewish) Creme’s associations with Theosophy, with avatars, and the “Masters” of Mme Blavatsky, the Rev. Leadbeater and above all Alice Bailey’s channeled teachings. In the absence of a fixed time of manifestation I shall do what astrologers usually do and set a chart for noon of the crucial day in London. The moon degree can be wrong and the houses are uncertain but the other planets will be correct enough to permit something to be said. I shall also look at Creme’s own certified birth chart (5th Dec 1922, 8.45 am in Glasgow, Scotland). This is immediately striking and it can be seen that something’s here and something appears to be afoot. To mention only three points:

Creme’s Mercury (what he will communicate) is in degree exact aspect to M’s transformative and strong Pluto in Libra (sharing - indeed “Share International” since asteroid, United Nations, a favourite M and Creme theme, is conjuncting the Pluto).

Creme’s Jupiter (his philosophy, religion and beliefs) is conjunct M’s Uranus, i.e. what links M to the Aquarian age and the futuristic, surprising ideas that Creme says M is all about proclaiming.

Creme’s Sun (his will and identity) conjuncts M’s Neptune (dreams, ideals, but negatively deceptions and illusions).
The negative possibility might not be quite so striking – or dangerous – if it weren’t that asteroid Benjamina (i.e. Benjamin due to original registration of asteroids in feminine form) was at 13 Gemini at M’s manifestation. This provides a fated link since M owns a Benjamin directly opposite his Neptune that is bound to influence Benjamin C. The potential for deception of Benjamin C is heightened. M could represent a real illusion for B, yet someone or something perfectly real in his or its way even while not what Benjamin C imagines. (When “overshadowed” by Maitreya, Crème is said by some in the audience to be surrounded by a golden light).

Anyway, I am disposed to believe that Creme believes what he says and is thus currently convinced either that M has begun to emerge or that it’s such a now or never matter that he should do so that he’s prepared to force issues through press and media as never before. How can I tell this? Basically from the following fact that surprised me.

A MAITREYA ECLIPSE TOO?!

It was always stated that the first interview would be shortly succeeded by remarkable events – whatever precisely was imagined by this any first appearance round the time of the Haiti quake (Jan 12th) would more than satisfy some believers for that side of things! But announcement of M’s first interview was made on 14th January. This means it was also in the shadow of the solar eclipse of the 15th and this was a remarkable astronomical event. Its length alone will not occur again for over a thousand years. However, more astrologically I could also note that this eclipse fell at 25 Cancer, the identical degree of Mercury (communication, news) of M’s manifestation back in 77. It would indeed be sensed as the time for Maitreya to communicate his ideas as never before. (I’m also bound to note, and it could be relevant to what I mention shortly re Christian perspectives, that at 25 Cancer the eclipse falls on a degree area I specially point out - in Chapter 8 of my Testament of the Magi - as being for various reasons super-sensitive to issues around anything associated with endings and apocalypse).

Moreover, at the time of the recent eclipse Mars (action, initiatives) was right on a “world point” at 15 Leo. This means astrologically that it was touching off M’s own Saturn on a world point (his international career, destiny). So this time, unlike others, if M exists he ought to come forward to advance his career and Creme will either believe he is doing so or that he ought to be doing so. Recall too it’s in 12 to 18 months from now that Creme says the “Day of Declaration” is likely. That figures. It’s next year that transiting Saturn will both return to Creme’s natal position of Saturn in Libra (such returns are always significant) and then conjuncts his Midheaven (his destiny, reputation and career). So at that time the birds will come home to roost for Benjamin C - or they won’t! He will feel justified in the work of a whole cycle of Saturn. Or he’ll feel it’s all been in vain. He is in any case in his eighties so he’ll want to see some fruit and perhaps stop the travels and let M take over at last. Right now he looks as though he could do with some supernatural injection of energies, he looks exhausted if not sick.

It’s hard for all but the most devoted followers (who think M appears to them in various guises) to believe that Maitreya actually exists. Ironically, some of the stronger believers are if anything M’s Christian and apocalyptic naysayers who are perhaps getting duped listening to Crème’s more dramatic stated doctrines and hearing the forecasts (like an end to the Vatican and so on) and so finish declaring M to be the Antichrist. This seems like a misreading since if M really exists and is as reported a spirit who comes and goes assuming different forms and performing miracles then logically he surely ought to be more like the Antichrist’s prophet who makes the world believe in him due to his miracles (Rev 13:12) and thus functions like some Holy Spirit of an infernal Trinity. Whatever, if it is part of the M plan to present “the Master Jesus” to the world (a figure for Theosophists who is at once Jesus and an assumed later incarnation of same, Apollonius of Tyana) then Maitreya would hardly be the Antichrist who would need to be another Jesus figure - presumably.

Except that they won’t hear of astrology and don’t like the memory of Catholic Washington seeress, Jeane Dixon, Christians determined to track down Antichrist themes in the M phenomenon might do better to see them reflected in various odd stellar facts, perhaps just coincidences, that their fixed prejudices are missing. I think of how at the birth of the Jeane Dixon’s alleged Antichrist what I have long designated the Antichrist asteroid, Achristou, falls at 28 Leo (itself conjunct the fame orientated, royal star, Regulus, in turn conjunct Uranus the ruler of the AC’s chart) conjunct the same asteroid at 27 of M’s chart. That at least would make a powerful link between two figures being assumed to fulfil prophecy. I have read on the Net that back in ‘85 Creme even lent some credence to Dixon’s vision though like other New Agers interpreting it differently. This acknowledgment is probably at the root of a confusion launched by former Tara Centre worker and New Ager turned Christian, Troy Lawrence, who once had access to many details and files related to Maitreya. Believing the Maitreya is the mentioned Ahmadiyya Caliph and a flesh and blood person he has elided Dixon’s figure and Maitreya (which I would regard as an ex New Ager’s theological error among other things – see below) and decided Maitreya was born in 1962 in Pakistan – Dixon insisted he was born in the Middle East.

A JOEL RICHARDSON ENDINGS AND ISLAMIC SCENARIO?

It seems safe to say everyone has their apocalypse as everyone has or will have their identifying name for Maitreya. But if M is as real as some suppose and with genuine relevance to Christian “last times” then these times probably wouldn’t work out to be the typical American kind popularized in Left Behind fiction with its revived Roman Empire through the EU etc. It would need to be a bit more like Joel Richardson’s The Islamic Antichrist picture. Richardson’s scenario imagines features of the Islamic apocalypse as more able to fulfill the prophecies of Revelation and with a revived Caliphate as its basis including because in Revelation the Beast’s empire punishes by beheading - Islam’s still sanctioned mode of execution). The Islamic scenario that Richardson imposes upon Revelation and which in its novelty has recently shaken the traditional world of Protestant dispensationalist apocalyptic, would require a self-proclaimed new Jesus arriving to support the Mahdi and assure the masses that what the Bible teaches about him [Jesus] as divine etc was always all wrong. (Islam signally denies God could or would ever have a son). So this “Jesus” may discover a new testament. He is also supposed to discover the/an Ark of the Covenant somewhere.

For what it’s worth again one can do no more than look at the astrology and while I wouldn’t at this point in time, and given the elusiveness of M care to read too much into the following there are some unavoidable points of contact with precisely the more negative of Christian assumptions both about M and Richardson’s assumptions concerning our future. They are these:

If Maitreya is to introduce “the Master Jesus” to the world then we should expect to see something about Jesus somehow prominent in his arrival/”natal” chart. Actually we do because Isa (Arabic name for Jesus) directly conjuncts M’s Mercury (what he will communicate and proclaim) while his Mars is opposed to the Christ asteroid which could mean being opposed to all Christ-messianic claims. (In the doctrinal, quasi-theosophical world of Creme, Jesus and Christ were never united but rather the historical Jesus was a person overshadowed by the Maitreya/Christ force so that Jesus is always inferior to the Master, Lord Maitreya. A Jesus made secondary to the Mahdi is how things would be if one lends credence to Joel Richardson’s apocalypse assisted as this is by Islamic (and rather more Sh’ite), images of last times. Jerusalem would be up for grabs along with Israel (radical Islam denies certain covenantal prophecies about Israel) so suitably we find a conjunction of Jerusalem and Israel in direct aspect to transformative Pluto. There could therefore be plenty of issues, Muslim and other, around defining and claiming the Holy Land. (Another geographical point of interest. Asteroid Kenya exactly aspects M’s important Mercury and it was in Kenya in 1988 that the first main public appearance of Maitreya to thousands was recorded while Africa conjuncts M’s Pluto and it’s Africa is anticipated to be first to accept and believe in him most strongly).

MAITREYA AND GOD

From available data the M picture, whether deemed biblically and prophetically relevant or not, is not in any obvious way God-driven or a revelation of the divine as commonly understood. One might say it belongs more to the type of non-theistic, meditation driven traditions that precisely such as Theosophy and Buddhism represent. One can’t run to the other extreme and state from the data that it’s obviously satanic since Lucifer rising in an untimed chart is not automatically significant (though the other devil asteroid, Malin, in degree exact aspect to the important Mercury - what’s communicated - might be perceived as tricky). More pertinent, the two deity asteroids are afflicted. Bhagwat (Hindu title for any personal conception of God) is degree exact in affliction square to M’s sun (his will and identity) at 16 Cancer, while Theotes (Godhead) is square to Wounded Healer, Chiron, and is near enough focus of a T square with Chiron and Uranus. Creme’s own Buddhist-style alienation from notions of deity seems rather spectacularly evoked by the way in which, Buda (Spanish for Buddha) and Theotes, otherwise unaspected, oppose one another, across the world points of 0 Cancer/Capricorn while Bhagwat is quite unaspected. As noted on Wikipedia, Creme has been in trouble for saying sufficient good words for Lucifer (as a world ensouling angel, not the devil) for some Christian circles to claim that Creme’s M beliefs are satanic. His favourable view of Lucifer nicely belongs with Lucifer conjunct Saturn in Creme’s ninth house of religion and beliefs.

Most essentially Creme’s religion is one of “The Masters” of which Maitreya is chief. (It could be a point of passing interest for students of the asteroids to establish if the asteroid, Masterman, might serve, astro-speak style, as significator for “the Masters” of Theosophy who are master spirits who appears as men. Undeniably Masterman trines almost to the minute the Masters dominated Mme Blavatsky’s Neptune, while at nearly 23 Cancer Masterman is opportunity sextile M’s Mars at 23 Taurus and is more broadly conjunct his Mercury at 25 Cancer. It’s also opportunity sextile Crème’s Jupiter (his beliefs).

ASTROLOGICAL EVIDENCE IS CUMULATIVE

Suggestive though all this is, coincidences do happen in astrology so we need to be cautious. And, in a sense, the value of astrology when applied to difficult cases like the Maitreya mystery and special events like Haiti’s quake considered last Blog is cumulative and comparative. It helps reinforce and clarify. The heavens less predict a quake than warn of heightened risk times regarding them. Someone wrote to me (personally rather than to Blog comments) re the last article that in fact a geologist, Prepetit, had last year been predicting that in Haiti, and specifically at Port-au-Prince a quake was due and he kept telling a heedless government to make adequate preparations. If this and other unheeded warnings from scientists in Florida could have been set against transit factors to Haiti’s chart then things might have seemed a little more convincing and clearer for people generally.

Allowed wider additional perspectives like those of astrology the Haiti case could have been similar to one I mention near the end of my Cosmic Father book where a Christian prophet made a very telling prophecy of the last Israeli war in Gaza. Basically correct his claims could nonetheless have used being further certified and his timing corrected by a needed few days given what I saw astrologically. Such perspectives are nonetheless not even likely to be acknowledged and perhaps especially not by Christians because they have mostly decided astrology must amount to “divination” and “abomination” biblically or else it’s scientifically unacceptable anyway. All this is rather blind, silly and a loss and with regard to the truth about the Bethlehem Star truly an incalculable loss at especially this time. In fact, with Maitreya cult claiming to produce a new Christ heralded by a new Bethlehem Star it may never have been so important to get the picture right about just who and what these were and what they meant. On this however one currently finds so many Christians as indifferent or asleep as the five foolish virgins of the parable.

COULD THE HAITI DISASTER HAVE BEEN FORECAST?

2010-01-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

HIDDEN SIGNS FOR CATASTROPHE?

So far as I know, none of the astrologers or prophets of note foresaw the Haiti quake. But could and should it have been foreseen at least by some? Here’s the conclusion, surprising even to myself and with at least some clues to the issue of fate and questions around the alleged curse of a satanic Haitian pact etc that have cropped up amid reports of this ghastly, tragic disaster.

There are several “world points” in astrology, the most cited being 0 Aries. Another is 15 Leo. On January 12th violent Mars was bordering this point, and since there were other negative signs in the heavens at the time (like Saturn coming to station and dangerously squaring Pluto) it was a real possibility that there might soon be something particularly heavy for the world to hear about. The question was where and who might be affected? The little known horoscope of Haiti should have given at least some people more than usual cause for concern in relation to a long troubled nation. Haiti's nodal (fate) axis, and notably the traditionally “unfortunate” southern arm of this axis, conjuncts the mentioned world point that was being touched off.

A leading expert on national charts, Nicholas Campion, believes the most definitive pattern for Haiti is for its independence from France, Jan 1st 1804, and, lacking a certified time he sets this for 12 pm (traditionally most nations used to be signed or declared into existence at that time). Campion is likely to be correct because the pattern appears to work. On the last day of ‘09 a lunar eclipse hit within one degree of the base angle of the chart, the factor involved with a nation’s land and a possible harbinger of any disturbances around it, and the same eclipse was directly opposite (i.e. challenging to) the national sun in the nation’s destiny/reputation sector. So Haiti might be in the news not long from that time; plus it seems to be the case that quakes are rather more likely to occur near to new and full moons which means near to eclipses when they occur.

Haiti itself gained independence under the sign of Capricorn and has all of its Mars, Sun, Mercury and Venus in the sign along with the expressive Wounded Healer planetoid, Chiron. The latter point seems symbolically expressive of the national suffering. It also seems like one of the factors within the total pattern reflecting the national tilt towards poverty rather than wealth which under Capricorn can be a matter of extremes - like poor India(on the way to wealth) and fabulously wealthy Saudi Arabia. Haiti would be made and kept poor by the crippling burden of debt the departing French placed upon it - it was not paid off till 1947 by which time Haiti was far behind in the race to anywhere. Significantly, again supporting Campion's chart, asteroid Poor aspects the national sun exactly from the eighth house always associated in political astrology with national debt.

For Haiti, violent Mars is natally at 3 Capricorn with suffering Chiron conjuncting it at 4 degrees. That’s not a healthy combination at any time, but now on Jan 12th 2010 and following an eclipse with potential to start something we find (transiting) Saturn at 4 Libra coming to station at maximum strength and in affliction to this national Mars and Chiron combination. This pair was and is being presently conjuncted by the devastating death and transformation force represented by Pluto. That a quake might well be involved in the extreme tension gathered around the nation through the Saturn/Pluto aspect was arguably hinted at by the fact Neptune “the earth shaker” and often significantly placed in quake patterns and presently in shocking Aquarius, is closely square to Haiti’s natal Neptune. Something had to give….but how much? "All hell”?!…..The transiting Neptune is conjuncting Haiti’s national Hella asteroid (i.e. Hell because all early asteroids were registered in feminine form). The Hell asteroid, interestingly enough, is directly opposed to the national Part of Religion and Faith!

GOD, FATE, THE DEVIL AND HAITI’S QUAKE

In his usual unhelpfully sensationalizing way, tele-evangelist Pat Robertson has rushed in to remind media that Haiti is under a pact with the devil so that in effect the unfortunate people have more or less got what they deserved! The people are under some sort of curse. (But what about the children if so?). First let’s get the facts straight. While apparently some kind of rather dark pact is part of local history it was not necessarily overtly satanic - but then voodoo is never too overtly anything in belief terms - the Catholic saints cover for a whole mass of spirits and deities (loa). In 1791 in order to free Haitians from the French a group of revolutionaries met at Bois Caiman. A priestess was possessed there by the spirit, Ezli Dantor, who received the sacrifice of a black pig and this seems to be the ceremony subsequently regarded as the pact with Satan.

Whatever it was the pact was felt to work except that everything went downhill to even worse poverty after the French departed leaving their financial exactions and threatening to return if they weren't met. Church groups in Haiti and Christians internationally went to lengths in 1997 to revoke the curse of the widely believed in rite and its assumed influence. Alarm was however expressed when in 2003 the controversial and corrupt president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, declared Voodoo an official “religion” of the nation, a declaration which some felt partially restored the old pact and was problematic as it gave practioners the right to baptize infants.

The religious scene is complex. About 85% is at least nominally Catholic many of whom practice Voodoo at least now and again (over 50% of the population is believed to practice it). The rest is either evangelical some evidently fervently so (there have been clips of people singing praises in the ruins after 3 days without food or water), or French style atheist like Reni Polvard who when he heard someone declare the "miracle" of a rescue shouted "There is no God, there's no miracle. How could he [God] do this to us?". It's nevertheless Voodoo which seems to overshadow the culture and outlook of the general population and it has been associated with the horrors of the murderous rule of President Papa Doc Duvalier who called himself Baron Samedi (a leading death associated deity of the cult) and the sadistic Tonton Macoutes who spread crime and violence everywhere.

The heavens never lie though astrologers can miss their messages. I must be honest. The fact is that the alleged pact looks as though it might even be inscribed in the heavens at Haiti’s modern foundation. For years I have been insisting on an empirical basis and as written up in my Testament of the Magi (see last Blog) that the planetary symbol of God (biblically) and any issues around God is Pluto. Sure enough, at Haiti’s foundation Pluto is shown opposed to within minutes of a degree to asteroid, Lucifer, itself well within conjunction of the national moon (habitual and inherited ways of thinking). And, albeit loosely, the Part of Vocation and Status could be said to conjunct this moon and Lucifer.

We know moreover that, whether or not the national Voodoo outright acknowledges the devil as such, Haiti is seriously obsessed with this cult, with witchcraft, spirits and the dead. This seems exquisitely shown by the way that asteroid, Hekate (ancient goddess of the witches) is found in the hidden and mystical twelfth house of Campion’s chart in “mystical” Pisces making close easy trine to Neptune in the house of secrets in the sign of dark secrets, Scorpio. Also, by sign and house the dead; and Haiti's Voodoo is celebrated, even unique, for its zombie cult of the living dead. There's no asteroid for Voodoo as such nor the related zombie but asteroid Zomba angular and in affliction square to the national Sun looks as though it might be an example of what's called "astro-speak" for a missing word or concept, especially as this asteroid is itself rather suggestively conjunct Orcus(Hades)

HAITI: A CATASTROPHE/CURSE SIGNATURE?

Even in addition to what I have just said the following must be acounted at least peculiar. If we apply the so-called Arabic Parts to Campion's chart the following emerges. The national Mercury in the destiny house is disaster prone to the extent it is conjunct at the same degree with The Part of Catastrophe. In unfortunate square to this degree is The Part of Widowhood at 19 Libra and at once opposite this and again square the national sun is the Part of Heavy Place at 18 Aries. The national ascendant for Campion's chart is 13 Aries. At 12 Aries is the Part of Death of Brothers and Sisters. I don't swear by fate or the Arabic Parts, but it must be admitted that together this looks like a hint of disposition to tragedy and loss in the basic set- up of the whole nation even if one wouldn't care to call it a curse as such or regard the situation as beyond redemption. (Astrologers might wish for a new date and time of constitution to introduce a new pattern! - if America now took over more than the airport it might not hurt!)

When quakes happen either nobody is blamed because it’s all a matter of what Mother Nature does (and obviously some quakes must happen in the order of things) or else God (Reni Polvard style) is blamed because he ought to care more and stop it. The truth could be more subtle and otherwise. As I wrote in Chapter 3 of my Cosmic Father (available on Amazon) believers and unbelievers alike today almost stubbornly refuse to accept, or ignore or don’t realize that the New Testament is rather explicit that the devil is god and ruler of this world (the devil even offers the world to Jesus at the Temptation). Esoteric groups privately teach this. The theosophist, Madame Blavatsky, taught Lucifer rules the world. The mission of Christ is/was opposition to this fact, a reclamation of the world. I can’t hope to work out all possible implications of this kind of doctrine but it will tend to mean that bad things must often happen in this world and at most we can ask for and receive some degree of protection against them. If individuals or nations positively invoke the forces of evil divine protection can’t and won’t apply. The universe is set up by God on a democratic basis and we must accept the consequences of our decisions which may even be the most awful consequences.

HAITI: FORFEITING DIVINE PROTECTION?

I’m not saying that a quake in Haiti wouldn’t have happened. But I must allow the possibility that it could have been a less extreme event (and not only if housing standards had been more applied!) if the people were rather more God than spirit aware and devoted. One of the reasons I allow myself this tricky critical thought is because despite all the suggestive stellar negatives I have pointed to I still wouldn’t automatically have expected a quake and I wouldn’t blame astrologers for not seeing it. (I think we all suspect more trouble this year and next under the afflictions of Uranus to Pluto, again some of it on a world point).

Admittedly I make no claim to be any expert in reading quake charts, but when I set up what is called an Event chart for the time of the quake I was a bit surprised. For one thing the classic indications like so called angularity of planets was not present. And I think Saturn against Pluto is not the most typical or automatic indicator just by itself. In fact, as I recall from past reading, the usually fortunate Jupiter and the shocking Uranus are said to be much involved in the patterns. So I feel that the quake needn’t have been as bad as it was. BUT, the highly stressful Saturn/Pluto interplay does have resonances of a God (Pluto) versus devil (Saturn, traditional devil symbol in astrology) conflict. I maintain Saturn/Pluto was even involved in the crucifixion and certainly Saturn “rules” Capricorn, Haiti’s birth sign. And in passing let's note that Baron Samedi a presiding spirit of Voodoo, the Spirit of Death and identified with by Papa Dox, means Baron Saturday and Saturday is always traditionally Saturn's day.

For such an obviously spiritually engaged nation, (if negatively so), the national pattern does look rather spiritually engaged. I have therefore to admit the possibility that something demonic is a factor (one factor, I didn’t say all) in the disaster that has occurred. Even transiting Neptune conjuncting Haiti’s Hell asteroid is like if not a symbol of hell’s payback then a symbol of hell’s irruption onto the scene. So it’s possible that without a hidden divine intervention the disaster could have been even worse than it was, a sheer wipe-out.

Whatever the precise truth, and I can't hope to know it, I do believe it would repay us all if astrology received more respect and was studied to see what warnings it could give. It can rarely tell us a quake will happen but it can be used to pinpoint times of heightened tension and danger. Meanwhile we must hope that rescue missions to Haiti will succeed. That there would be much goodwill and as much assistance as possible is reflected in the close aspect of Jupiter to the national Venus at the time of the quakes, a positive aspect amid the gloom.

BROADCASTING AND CENSORING THE BETHLEHEM STAR (AND MORE)

2009-12-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

LIGHT OR BLACKOUT OVER BETHLEHEM?

I shall first review this week’s Australian ABC1 broadcast of Britain’s Channel 4 production Star of Bethlehem: Behind the Myth and mention a few common, but misleading, approaches to the whole Christmas star theme. I’ll then offer some perspectives in light of controversial experiences I've had in treating this sensitive subject over the years and now in more recent days faced with virtual censorship on communication of remarkable new facts and data concerning the birth and life of Christ.

Something of the scope and revolution of what I’m claiming, (necessarily one of the more remarkable finds of Christian history if true and with unprecedented insight into Jesus’ mind and intentions) can be gauged by copies of the ignored News Release and refused author’s Op Ed material pasted below in conclusion here. My Testament of the Magi was published two weeks ago, but as a doctor of religious studies I’m already compelled to ask who reckons to own and/or block access to the subject of the Star and related vital issues around Jesus. The problem (since the material is not intellectually opaque) is arguably a profoundly spiritual one for especially self-declared Christians who have been caught unawares (and perhaps found wanting!). This whole issue - like “no room at the inn” itself - amounts to one big but largely hidden scandal.

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM DOCUMENTARY

The Atlantic Productions' documentary was commendably wide-ranging. It was also fair, though I question the title’s implications. There is no “myth” to get behind, rather there are certain religious and scientific prejudices to overcome that have too long obscured the picture and stopped anyone reaching the firmer conclusions needed and now possible. The feature never went beyond informed speculation. There was strong and sensible argument for the star being a planet, though towards the end also speculation I would deny, but reasonable, that a nova in 5BC could have summarized other earlier and mainly Jupiter related phenomena so as to be the Bethlehem star for brightness. (The star as comet got rightly dismissed - comets were traditionally deemed unfortunate, not good news).

Astronomer, David Hughes, whose line I endorse, was given more time than I expected to explain phenomena of 7 BC in Pisces and the association of such phenomena with Israel, something which by contrast Michael Molnar (whose popular views are now regularly repeated every Christmas) either denies or is unconcerned with. Molnar emphasizes the sign of Aries for Israel and again Jupiter, his interest triggered by a coin from Antioch showing a Ram and the moon and Zeus/Jupiter on the other side. (I didn’t gather why alleged Christians commemorating Christ’s nativity would stamp coins with Zeus on it!).

Though astrology was acknowledged as indissociable from ancient astronomy hence of some symbolic importance to consider, its wider significance was ignored or else denied in favour of “scientific” explanations for the star. It was hoped science and an ever better scanning of ancient skies may yet reveal what the original secret was - if by now "the mystery" is not better and more potent than the truth! Most participants, even scientists, nonetheless assumed the Star did represent a truth to discover, though one Canon theologian of London's St Paul’s Cathedral was content to accept it might only be a symbol for the greatness of the Christ event. Ironically, it was the Magi finished the most knowable, revealed datum of the inquiry. Almost certainly Persians, we can know how they dressed and that they probably rode on horses not camels. The feature’s bright kaleidoscope of facts could neither inspire nor offend in its inconclusive nature. Normally, theories both mentioned and ignored in the BBC feature are more strongly defended and contested. Here’s a brief criticism.

THE ERROR OF SINGLE FACT AND OVERLY ASTRONOMICAL BETHLEHEM STAR THEORIES

Some BS theories, most notably those promoting Jupiter/Moon occultations or Jupiter/ Regulus contacts (Michael Molnar and Rick Larson respectively), or Jupiter/Venus conjunctions in 3 and 2BC (David Reneke, Ernest Martin, the latter popular but ignored in the docu), no matter how scholarly in certain respects, are not well rounded. And they are not necessarily well informed either - Jupiter occultations in ancient astrology indicated a king's death or conditions of shortage, certainly no birth to celebrate! These theories satisfy little more than conservative Christians. The latter want their signs to be bright heavenly spectacles, not the full blown astrology and destiny patterns which Magi dealt in and which get conceded to, if at all, in only the mildest possible way i.e. just Jupiter or Regulus or zodiacal sign Leo are allowed to signal something royal and even then more or less independently of the rest of the celestial patterns within which they occur.

The fact is – astrologically – the Jesus of the gospels simply could not be a Messiah or King of Israel born under conquering Jupiter in Aries aspects or Jupiter/Venus aspects that looked good or bore loose association with things regal. Such aspects would mean Jesus was born, or must become, the conquering hero some hoped for, or be another glorious Solomon, but not any tragic or spiritual Messiah. It’s notorious that Jupiter/Venus aspects incline to lifestyles of the rich and famous or even accompany natal patterns of lucky devil criminals!

I have already mentioned the Jupiter occultation error, but in any case the related sun sign of this thesis, Aries, bellicose sign of the outgoing era, is very much what Jesus was never about even if one concedes there’s some evidence that Aries enjoyed associations with the Jews among at least the pagans of the West if not stargazers further east. Texas lawyer, Rick Larson, who has issued a popular, much promoted DVD on the Star (it is directed by Steven McEveety who directed Gibson's The Passion of the Christ) wants those seeing and purchasing his film to contribute to his Star Project for ongoing scientific research into the Star! (He hasn’t replied to my comments). Meanwhile Michael Molnar proclaims in Net interview that his theory seems to be the best yet, and is as good as incontestable according to those who have reviewed him.

Most theories, even when apparently comprehensive, tend towards a one fact bias, the trump card approach. One or another phenomenon is deemed the birth star because it fits with the fact Israel was symbolized a certain way, or else kings were, or because Herod died a certain year, or a census was one year, not another, or Jesus wasn’t “about thirty” when he began his ministry if born in 7BC (there’s a special and important answer to that problem I supply). Given the limits of our information both biblical and historical it’s always possible to make one fact fit, or fault a theory by stressing how another fact doesn’t tally. So it is
a) The greatest all-round level of agreement must be taken into account
b) The stellar information likewise should offer all round, not giving single factor sense, i.e. one will take not just a planet for Israel, for kingship or religion but read an entire planetary picture. The pattern should also work for the last week of Jesus’ life and work to this day for Jesus issues too.

This is what I can dramatically demonstrate and in unprecedented detail but which is not being examined or in effect not permitted to be so. Those who know little about astrology or theology are telling those who do what the picture should be, and various prejudices of religion and science are allowed to prevail. And beyond that limiting situation one then perhaps has to convince communicators like TV production companies who these days need to be approached before the TV channels.

[An interesting footnote to this section which emerges via comments I see posted to the latest seasonal You Tube promotion of Larson's DVD is the following observation which I paste:

This guy (Larson)is a lawyer. Which may be why he was careful to tweak the info he lifted from Ernest L. Martin's book 'The Star that Astonished the World' (free to read at ASKELM-dotcom) just enough so he couldn't be accused of plagiarism.He basically switched September 11, 3 BCE from being Christ's birthday to the day of his conception, which undoes layers and layers of rich, meaningful symbolic and prophetic fulfillment as the late Dr. Martin showed in his scholarly book back in 1991.

Obviously I deny the Martin thesis too, but I'm interested in the promotional side of things. There are by now vested interests which make inquiry more difficult].

UK PRODUCTION COMPANIES AND THE BETHLEHEM STAR.

During much of ‘06 I found myself subject to a bewildering sequence of demands for reports and plans, with promises to me both made and broken regarding a docu with links to my claims re the astrology of Christ and related issues. The company’s contact didn’t want me applying elsewhere but in exhaustion I finally did so to more helpful, realistic responses. In two cases religion and history had just been dropped as company themes otherwise, I was told, I would have been taken on. One company advised me to skip the double problem of dealing from Australia by applying direct to Acquil Ahmed, who would supposedly be either interested or able to direct me to who would be. AA is the Pakistani born Muslim who formerly ran religion at Channel 4 and to some controversy has since been appointed head of religious broadcasting for the BBC. Over around 3 months, no amount of emailing or phoning to his UK office and done in light of the recommendation given me, produced one word or line of response. Later and while in Hong Kong in ‘07 I received calls and inquiries about contributing to a proposed British docu on Christ (rather than celestial signs as such) but this got refused at Channel 4.

After all this… I’m interested and to a degree happy that any broadcast from any perspective on the Christmas Star has got through the hoops; though again I say without compromise I have decidedly more information both conclusive and significant than is offered by existing theories that enjoy more promotion. TV however is not the sum of media, there’s also the press to convince.

THE NO MAGI ARCHBISHOP AND HIS NO MAGI CHURCH TIMES

Some Christians like the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, have decided the Magi are probably myth. The prelate spoiled some people’s Christmas in ‘07 when his unnecessary scepticism hit the headlines with a privileged ease contrary report on the subject can’t obtain in times when scepticism is trendy. Oriental Magi were a standard if controversial feature of the Roman empire until the emperor Constantine banned them after the Church was established. It’s extremely unlikely the very Jewish Matthew would put such disapproved pagan people into his birth narrative without much reason to believe they were somehow associated with Jesus’ birth. But people believe what they want to believe. An editor of the Church Times, organ of the church Williams oversees, controversially dismissed me a few years ago (when I was less advanced with my researches but had been reviewed by CT for another book so felt it could feature something on the Magian theme) with the words: “We know all there is to know about Jesus, we don’t need to know about the Magi”. But, they do need to know because otherwise they may miss things they need to understand about Jesus today!

THE NO MAGI CLONES AT RELIGION NEWS SERVICE

Following in the Archbishop’s footsteps, to help spoil some Americans’ Christmas for ‘09, one of the writers of Religion News Service put out a feature in America Today highlighting the book, The First Christmas by Marcus Borg and John Crossan of the Jesus Seminar. The authors’ position is basically the birth narratives are just introductory poetic flourishes. I had given my PR notice to the Religion News Service who couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge. Since I am published in religion and a doctor of religious studies and have compelling information it would be hard not to feel censored especially as I then wrote to the editor to check material was received. Again no courtesy of reply.

NO ROOM AT THE INN AT UNHELPFUL, CHRISTIAN TODAY.COM.

I’m not Jonathan Swift, so not wishing to be merely vindictive I won’t list as I could all those outlets and persons to whom PR re my Testament of the Magi findings were sent and who didn’t respond. The silence of some is anyway almost more odd than rude like Time magazine seeing I was several years ago listed as an expert whom they might consult. However….I do rather identify with the Jesus of Revelation wanting to spit lukewarm, indifferent Laodicean Christians from his mouth when I recall Christian Today, described as the biggest British Net purveyor of religious news. I rang from Australia to discover the best way to approach them. Plainly the hard to understand receptionist wasn’t interested in any unique news nor willing even to let me speak to anyone about such. I must send email to an address given me. Receiving no acknowledgement to this and made aware of a temporary email and server problem I rang to certify if anything ever arrived. No, this couldn’t be dealt with. Email the press room - to which I was categorically refused permission to speak. The mails were now working but in view of the communication problems and the singular subject I specifically requested as a Christian courtesy to have acknowledgement even if it was only negative. I’ve never received reply. This isn’t good enough. Religious organizations should improve on the indifference of more secular organizations devoted to more material ends.

ANOTHER CHRISTMAS LET DOWN BY THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER

Some years ago when working at the more traditional, technical version of the Star theory that became my published Signs for a Messiah, the late strange, (some said pedophile) priest, James Murray, then religion editor for The Australian newspaper, put me to considerable trouble and even expense towards a colour supplement feature of my work. It was cancelled for vague reasons at the last minute and I felt Murray wasn’t too honest with me about it. It has left me feeling The Australian might kindly owe me a little space on my theme. I did mention that point and also this week’s broadcast in offering an author's Op-Ed on the Star theme for to the Opinions editor who had nothing more to say than “Thank you I can’t use it”. With or without religion as theme Australia can be shockingly rude and indifferent to its authors and intellectuals. Now if I were a footballer…!

IN PARENTHESIS: ASTROLOGICAL CURIOS OF THIS SUBJECT AT THIS TIME

Astrologers believe in what are called “sensitive degrees” observed to repeat and connect across time. The following might not mean too much to non-astrologers (who can skip it if they wish), but the other day I noticed, as I should have done earlier, that the late Ferrari D’Occhieppo (1907-2007), ultimate source of my and David Hughes'line of inquiry which radically develops from the thesis Jupiter was the Star of Bethlehem, natally has his crucial
Jupiter at 13.30 Leo
(his career/destiny linked Saturn is also conjunct the Bethlehem star)_
Hughes who popularized D’Occhieppo’s views for the English speaking public adding some some views of his own, has his own name asteroid,
DavidHughes at 14.44 Leo (i.e. within Jesus natus - Hughes doesn’t supply his own date of birth).
Rollan McCleary who has cracked the code the scientists missed and worked the despised astrology of the relevant theses natally has,
Pluto at 14.53 Leo
Mars at 15.48 Leo (i.e. on a world point)
All three of us are therefore opposed to,(i.e. can be challenged by), the degree of Chaldea (a name traditionally associated with Magi and Eastern mysteries at
Chaldaea) which is at 14.03 Aquarius in the natus of Jesus

THERE’S NO PROOF OF THE BETHLEHEM STAR WITHOUT A RELEVANT HOROSCOPE

I shall now wrap up my comments before concluding with copies of the ignored and rejected media directed messages. The Magi were astrologers seeking and following signs. Though they may not have cast a horoscope for Jesus, such were cast in the era for prominent people. Astrological signs work across-the-board for events, for groups of people (like nations) and individuals. Therefore any signs betokening the birth of a Messianic king must do so in meaningful, personal terms on a personal horoscope. It would however require a near revolution in consciousness for many Christians to accept this point since they have decided that astrology is a biblically verboten form of divination although the rabbis of the Talmud and the Essenes never saw things that way.

THE DUTY AND CHALLENGE TO EXAMINE THIS EVIDENCE

As I’ve been insisting, the findings I possess are objectively some of the most remarkable in Christian history if true. If untrue – attempt to beat the odds to disprove them! – then they are at least a remarkable statistical anomaly, an interesting curio which in the normal way of things it might be expected would be taken up at this season. To ignore the possibility I could be correct, to dismiss and disregard all evidence is a censorship and unworthy of at so-called Christians and arguably finishes less an insult to myself than towards who and what is represented. This needs to be considered.

COPY OF PRESS RELEASE MESSAGE ON CHRIST DATA (unacknowledged by all press and media religious and secular approached).

MODERN REVELATION OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS: New Christ data exact as a fingerprint.

That Jesus never existed will become harder to sustain. Questions around Jesus like who he descended from, when he died, if he married the Magdalene, what he believed, are resolved in an unprecedented revealing study from a doctor of religious studies issued at the end of this month.

Enlarging upon a respected line in historical and astronomical scholarship, Dr Rollan McCleary knew years ago he had cracked the Magian code and discovered Christ’s true birth data and the dating of the Easter week. But proving it to sceptical laypersons and non-astrologers seemed impossible. Now, especially with ability to apply to remote dates the same kind of detailed, but little used kind of micro-astrology of names, places and concepts that if applied to, say, Prince William’s natus reveals asteroid Kate in his relationship house, a wider, more obvious range of information emerges.

Jesus’ house of origins actually names notable ancestors in his messianic line. The heavens produce a super-conjunction of his names. His disciples are meaningfully placed like Peter conjuncting his brother, Andrew. The patterns are so repeatedly, consistently exact they can only belong to Jesus at whose death one even finds Lucifer opposing Peter in tension to Hahn, i.e. the cock associated with the denial. The data work across time. An eclipse opposite Jesus’ Magdalena preceded the modern burst of publishing on all aspects of the Magdalene story. The patterns are doubly remarkable because the asteroids were named in modern times so apply retroactively and trans-lingually implying time and language are ultimately one. The study employs 430 asteroids and many so-called Arabic Parts like Part of the Father in their unique positions and inter-relations.

Testament of the Magi: Mysteries of the Birth and Life of Christ is a virtual fifth gospel taking readers as never before into the self-understanding of Jesus. The book is being released from November 28th and direct onto Amazon for a reason. Increasingly houses and agents are refusing to consider religion projects so the writer risks waiting through the 36 houses needed for even Roy Williams’ now successful God, Actually to be accepted. A Transworld editor did deem Testament “fascinating and groundbreaking”, but recommended it for another major house which refused it without explanation probably as inconvenient to their promotion of a title at variance with Testament’s evidence. With “no room at the inn” threatening the project it seemed best to release material without further delay. This Christmas it can be known when the real Christmas was, what it meant and much else about Jesus.

Rollan McCleary holds dual Irish and Australian nationalities. He is a doctor of religious studies from Queensland University, Brisbane, and a qualified astrologer. Published in mainly religion his first main publication, The Expansion of God in 1982 on the relations of Christianity and Asian cultures was a critical success. His A Special Illumination: Authority, Inspiration and Heresy in Gay Spirituality (2005) caused some controversy internationally.

COPY OF OP-ED refused by The Australian newspaper Opinions section with just “Thank you I can’t use it”

THE BETHLEHEM STAR IS NOT A MYSTERY:

At the end of the Introduction to my Testament of the Magi I remark that much of the book was written in a state of surprise and perhaps can only be read that way. The same advice might apply for this article. I will try to convey here the confronting claim we can finally know beyond all reasonable doubt when Jesus was born, when he died and much more about him. Those who care to argue must now beat some major statistical odds to do so since nothing more convincing than I show is likely to be produced – ever.

In 1977 astronomer, Ferrari D’Occhieppo’s Der Stern der Weisen opened a scholarly path towards discovery of Jesus’ birth and in 1980 astro-physicist David Hughes' The Star of Bethlehem was published. Mid September 7BC was their general target area. But where was the horoscope? Could and should there be one? Such proof (on which the scientists weren’t keen) wasn’t forthcoming. Ever since 1987I have known that, enlarging on the path opened up, I had cracked a code the scientists missed and found the only possible working data for Jesus, (a pattern which responds to Jesus issues to this day). But popularizing the case from technical data would be hard especially given the hostility of religionists and scientists to anything astrological, a hostility requiring you need to be overwhelmingly obvious and precise even to be heard. Now with recourse to a micro-astrology especially of name, place and concept asteroids made available for remote dates the irrefutable case can be made.

First a few words about asteroids. They work. And perhaps because all time and language are one they even work retroactively and trans-lingually from their modern naming. Australia's Schapelle Corby imprisoned in Bali shows asteroid Bali conjunct Saturn, traditional symbol of sorrow and confinement. Prince William shows asteroid Kate in his relationships house while asteroids Camilla and Diana battle it out in conjunction between two painful planets. Now apply asteroids and Arabic Parts to a correct birth time for Jesus remembering that to establish house divisions and use Arabic Parts like Part of the Father you need time accuracy. The late Gwen Stoney, Australia’s expert in modern techniques measuring fate/death patterns most astrologers avoid, early encouraged my researches once convinced the birth time was extremely correct for the assumed date of Christ’s crucifixion.

I can hardly convey the wealth and intricacy of detail derived from 430 asteroids and 70 Arabic Parts applied to the itself suggestive root planetary pattern; but some things can’t be missed. Jesus’ “house” of family and origins produces names of leading messianic ancestors along with some creed-like flourishes like asteroid Paradise. The chart’s Midheaven (reputation and destiny) produces exact conjunction with Licht (light) and Shabas (Sabbath) in the sign of originality and the masses, Aquarius. It’s suitable for someone uniquely called “Light of the World” and self-called “Lord of the Sabbath” especially as both asteroids form degree exact aspect to Logos (Word) in astrology’s traditional religion and doctrine sign (Sagittarius). The death pattern is as remarkable as for birth, with many, often very theological details but also an unforgettable opposition of Lucifer to Peter in affliction aspect to Hahn, the cock of the famous denial.

At times I’m left with questions. Why are Adam and Eve beside a viper in a pattern of symbolism I won’t describe but which bespeaks the Edenic prophecy? One could explain the primal pair away as figures in Jesus’ mind (which I claim is revealed as never before); yet can I likewise deny Kate Middleton exists when she’s in William’s unions house? Sometimes there are borderline cases I call “astrospeak” where the skies seemingly give muffled echoes of something from the limited available lexicon like (also in Jesus’ origins house), Patria conjunct Betlem – homeplace Bethlehem? Also in an improbable super-conjunction of Jesus’ names Christ is Christa because early asteroid namings were in the feminine – Nelsonia, etc.

Compelling though all this is “No room at the inn” haunts this subject with archetypal force. No PR notice on the theme this season has been taken up - even by the religious press. I imagine reaction was akin to a church newspaper contacted while writing the book: “We know all there is to know about Jesus, we don’t need to know about the Magi”. But missing the Magi you may miss things about Jesus and the future too. The data remains sensitive. An eclipse opposite Jesus’ Magdalene asteroid preceded publication of Susan Haskins' study of the Magdalene which unleashed the torrent of speculation on this individual.

It’s ‘No room at the inn” in publishing too. Despite its sensational nature and my being published in religion my book has been released direct onto Amazon because, with a singular exception at Transworld, I have not been able to interest publishers or agents to look at the project. “It wouldn’t fit our programme” “We don’t take religion or spirituality”. Couldn’t they make an exception? No! Too busy like the wedding invitees in Jesus’ parable? It’s a fact everyday arrangements can finish more important than life and truth themselves!

So, there’s something here of the Christmas story in its raw form. But that same story is also a foundational one for the West which is increasingly dismissing it. However the Bethlehem star and the skies against which it appeared still hold messages to guide us and which it would be unwise to ignore.

A NEW REVELATION OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS

2009-11-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

JUST WHEN FINDING NEW FACTS ABOUT JESUS SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE…

My Testament of the Magi:Mysteries of the Birth and Life of Christ available shortly on Amazon (the end of this month I’m told) is definitely different. It’s different from anything I’ve yet written or that you will have yet read. Not a mere exercise in speculation but in development of already respected research, Testament offers genuine and uniquely new data on Christ and takes the reader closer to Jesus’ psychology and self-understanding than is usual.

I call my data exact as a fingerprint for Jesus, so exact it couldn’t possibly be for anyone else. And simply to draw attention to the surprising nature of the book and the element of fifth gospel attaching to it, on my website and when preparing promotional material I have emphasized my use of a micro-astrology of names, places and concepts and how the names of leading ancestors appear in Jesus’ house of origins while his birth produces a super-conjunction of his names. However….. though such facts are remarkable and statistics-defying, much of the wonder of what I demonstrate (through extensive commentary and 22 diagrams) arguably exists elsewhere. It is something more psychological and theological as one begins to see what Jesus believed and expected and how he would have experienced such as the crucifixion for which the most dramatic and unmistakable patterns emerge….

Data for this event include even Lucifer in opposition to Peter and both asteroids in tension to the cock of the famous denial. But again, this decidedly eerie fact does not belong with the more psychological and theological picture amid which it stands and which would seem as much and more important. I devote a whole chapter to just the data for the crucifixion whose details, diagrammatized, should be more accessible to the average reader than if I had dealt with it only via the details and methods of traditional astrology and the Event Chart.

The first part of the book is (readably, accessibly and differently) astrological in emphasis while the second part, much less astrological, is about three disciples, the Magdalene, John and Judas. They are the figures who seem most to provoke interest and controversy today and whose precise relation to Jesus is under the spotlight and subject to much renewed speculation. Readers of Testament of the Magi may never read the gospels in quite the same light again and they should certainly never again be in doubt about the dating of the beginning and end of Jesus’ life. They may also realize too how the data for Jesus is still working for Christ issues to this day.

TESTAMENT OF THE MAGI, THE PUBLIC, AND PUBLISHING.

Despite being several times regularly published in religion, including with critical success, the book is being offered directly on Amazon. Not uniquely among writers in religion today (but a little more controversially given the exceptional subject matter), I have had to contend with a marked indifference, occasionally hostility, of regular publishing to even looking at the project. One editor at Transworld who exceptionally did see something of it declared it “groundbreaking, fascinating and publishable” but for certain reasons recommended it for another large publisher which promptly lost the ms then found it and refused it without explanation. Overall, publishers and agents are increasingly liable to inform a writer they “don’t take religion or spirituality” (which often means won’t look at anything Christian) or if they do, their list is already filled, or that the theme wouldn’t suit some apparently inviolate “programme” for the year you’re applying. Obviously this can finish a sort of modern “no room at the inn” situation where no effort, dispatch or respect will prevail for the genuinely exceptional or sacred.

Some authors like the now successful Roy Williams suffer through the publishing long haul such as took his God Actually through thirty six houses and many agents before achieving acceptance. In the case of the ideas in Testament, not only have I anyway waited very long, too long to want to wait further – I knew the core the data and the general thesis twenty years ago even if the new information and the micro-astrology of the book is precisely new – but this time round in conscience it has not felt completely right to take begging bowls to the heedless when offering the virtual grail of astrology itself, the final solution to a millennia old mystery. So, some independent action seemed appropriate.

KNOWING THE KAIROS (THE RIGHT/APPOINTED TIME)

Truth is often hidden. Sometimes it even needs to be so as the gospels assure us and it must be conceded there are a few limits to how much should or even can be revealed of the subject matter I’ve been – periodically - engaging with over the years. But it’s in no one’s interest that there should there be a ban or pre-censorship on it and one feels that some people (I include people in the churches and astrology) who might have known better, have contributed to keep things in this area hidden too long from a wider audience on the lamest of pretexts. Not wanting to burn the page I won’t speak of certain astrology writers in America and Britain, but the words of a feature editor for a leading religious newspaper who I suggested might feature what I was doing are rather classic: “We know all there is to know about Jesus, we don’t need to know about the Magi”. One wonders if knowing “everything” means knowing about the kairos – supposedly the gift of true Christian perception!

Whether revelations of Testament will finish known by many or few isn’t my moral and spiritual responsibility though I do believe the time, the kairos, is right to know some of the facts I deal with due to issues that exist and may be expected to emerge around understanding of Jesus.

It’s been very difficult to get to this stage! Living where I presently do in the country and not being an expert in computer and graphics, getting the cover and diagrams done, and going through the whole publishing process without the usual benefits of editing advice and technical assistance, (though I have troubled helpful local friends for some of the latter) has been a terrible marathon. Even if I yet make a few corrections and additions (even now I’ve seen a few more relevant stellar factors along with some dropped commas since I stopped!) it’s still time to go ahead so that the larger picture can be known and even just the fact of having the knowledge is known. Having made the discoveries and regardless of their reception I feel relief finally to have done what’s necessary and released the information even if it’s not with the fanfare of big business promotion but somewhat more of the quiet, scarcely announced arrival of the Magi themselves.

See excerpts on my website of Testament of the Magi: Mysteries of the Birth and Life of Christ, and more extensively shortly at fReado

GERMAINE GREER, MRS SHAKESPEARE, ROBERT PATTINSON AND THINGS I KNOW

2009-10-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

GERMAINE AND OTHER SPECULATIONS
Germaine Greer’s attempt to shed light upon dark corners of Shakespeare’s life and marriage in her Shakespeare’s Wife (2007) concludes with the observation “there can be no doubt that Shakespeare neglected his wife, embarrassed her, and even humiliated her”.

I have a special interest in the fact that it is precisely Germaine Greer and no one else, even among feminists, who has written the study she has done on Anne Hathaway’s world and drawn the conclusions she has. It helps confirm a piece of research I made way back in 1991 and which people have continued to appreciate or cite - much to my surprise as it was issued as an article “Getting Shakespeare Right” in a little known Australian magazine that somehow or other some people have even read in America. (I don’t find the article on the Net). On the other hand, I believe I managed to make a very special and needed discovery that some have recognized as such.

I set out to discover if a horoscope for Shakespeare for the given day of his birth in Stratford could be found to work for traditionally accepted facts about him and thus prove the Bard was himself, not Marlowe or other contenders for his crown. I found that a pattern which describes and works for Shakespeare (i.e. for first publication, son’s birth, father’s death, etc) exists and will supply him a birth around 11.20 am with 19 degrees of theatrical Leo rising. The Bard was himself and no other.

To mention only a couple of relevant life and character points in relation to the finding, the proposed Leo rising places Shakespeare’s Saturn in Cancer conjunct his theatrical Jupiter in Leo behind the ascension point in his twelfth house. This agrees with his originally being a thespian who didn’t shine (12th house is hidden) but who performed character parts the best of which were of elderly men (“elderly” Saturn conjuncting the Jupiter). Then, shocking and surprising Uranus placed in his fourth house, (which is involved with one’s home and last resting place) and in religious Sagittarius is eloquent for the Bard’s odd ecclesiastical last resting place with its attached curse and even the fact he had died rather suddenly.

SHAKESPEARE AGAINST HIMSELF

So, as I say, things agree and time well. But back in ‘91 I wasn’t using the micro-astrology of asteroids so that today almost the weakest link in the whole pattern might seem to be asteroid, Shakespeare, itself. Instead of falling in the usual way of name asteroids in some meaningful and obvious place like conjunct an angle or in the career and reputation sector it’s hidden away in the poet’s sixth house (work issues) and in affliction aspect to his career house Neptune so important for his art.

I decided to read this as indicating how Shakespeare didn’t like being known for what would make him famous much as he wasn’t too enamoured of the scene of his triumphs, London, putting up with it for work purposes – asteroid London likewise falls in his working sixth. In line with his era Shakespeare felt that it was a bit beneath him (the sixth house is work and the working classes) to be on stage even though asteroid Actor was suitably conjunct his fifth house cusp (the main zone involved with theatre and performance). Also in relation to the afflicted Shakespeare, consider there’s some doubt about Shakespeare’s name – there have been up to ten different spellings of it - and even his identity has been disputed and aligned with Marlowe, Bacon, de Vere etc. a meaningful effect for an affliction square to the often deceptive, confusing Neptune. There’s no Marlowe asteroid we can refer to, but it’s at least suggestive for the long established Francis Bacon thesis that asteroid, Bacon, is closely opposite Shakespeare’s Venus, ruler of his career/reputation Midheaven and also square to his Pluto). Even back in ’91 I could see that in 1767, the year the Bacon thesis was launched, confusing Neptune had been directly conjuncting what I had become convinced was Shakespeare’s reputation Midheaven.

THE BARD’S ODD MARRIAGE

But assuming I have finally obtained the right chart, what might this say about the Bard’s marriage? Well, with Leo rising his partnerships and marriage cusp is necessarily the opposite sign, Aquarius, which can describe an unusual or surprising marriage, one that may even end in separation and divorce - all of it like Prince Charles’ marriage to Diana as Charles likewise has Aquarius denoting his marriage issues.

The rulers of Aquarius are Saturn and Uranus and for Shakespeare with Saturn in his twelfth conjunct his Jupiter his wife could indeed remain hidden away from the world, sacrificed to his Jupiter in Leo theatre interests plus with Uranus in the fourth of home, Anne Hathaway just stayed at home while these interests were pursued. And since independent/separative Uranus also loosely opposes the Bard’s Venus, general register of love and relation but for Shakespeare’s also ruler of his career Midheaven, love and career could clash or make for a degree of separation - as we know occurred. Moreover, as Uranus enjoys gay associations there are hints that while absent from home, in the style of the sonnets and theatre life of the times, same-sex attractions might feature.

Germaine Greer may overstate the case, but generally Shakespeare probably did, as she assumes, somewhat resent Anne as representing the shot gun union of standard biography. He was probably also glad to be periodically away from his wife and was a bit grumpy around her because he had the classic sharp or grumpy towards women Moon square Mars aspect and at that involving a Mars alien from itself in moody, feminine Cancer and squaring an artistic and mirror-like moon in Libra. The Libran input nonetheless likely helped keep him basically polite and restrained amid it all so that it’s doubtful he would outright humiliate his wife as Greer supposes. The same Mars/moon aspect would contribute within Shakespeare’s pattern not exactly to homosexuality but the disposition to a bisexuality which famously emerges in especially the sonnets. Libra seems to be the most bisexual of signs.

YOUNG SHAKESPEARE AND A ROBERT PATTINSON SYNDROME

Why did Shakespeare pursue and get an older woman into trouble and why would Anne let herself in for a tricky marital future with this person having originally such poor career prospects? With restrictive Saturn in Cancer, the mother sign, it’s possible Shakespeare’s mother was not too motherly and her son would seek to compensate this, feel victimized or challenged by older women. Greer is probably correct that Shakespeare would have been the wooer rather than merely being seduced by a designing woman, (the sort of seductive Cleopatra or insistent Venus his works present?) even if Shakespeare would like to perceive things that way.

It’s rather clearer why Anne would be vulnerable to the young poet who apparently wrote no verse about her…unless she was the inspiration for Venus and Adonis itself which is possible given Venusia (the things of Venus) trining his marriage cusp. And this could be the secret of the awkward marriage. Shakespeare was no libertine but he was all of a sexual romantic (he had Pluto in dreamy Pisces in the sex house but no corresponding planet in the marriage house so it was chiefly eros would periodically fire any relation, perhaps to Anne’s modest disquiet). Whatever, Shakespeare would be irresistible to a woman, especially in the case of Anne, a woman of an age to be getting nervous she wouldn’t make it up the aisle. In recent years there have been a couple of flattering man-about-town portraits that experts are claiming represent the young Shakespeare. Whether genuine or not, they surely tell us something like the truth. The modern comparison for what the young actor Shakespeare was like is…another actor and Everywoman’s dreamboy and heart throb, Robert Pattinson. They both in their different ways could be considered incarnations of Adonis. Adonis conjuncts Shakespeare’s arty Libran moon and it trines his Venus (“Venus and Adonis” is anticipated) and if the birth time is rightly known (see below) Adonis exactly trines Pattinson’s reputation Midheaven.

It’s true that modern Robert lacks that super-quick Mercury in Aries in the ninth house of classic writing; but like Shakespeare this Taurean does have planets in Taurus, in Cancer, in Pisces; he even has Shakespeare’s Venus in Gemini (at 20 degrees instead of the Bard’s 13 which is where Pattinson’s Chiron falls) but again a Venus opposite Uranus; and then, where Shakespeare’s Uranus falls, Pattinson’s Saturn conjuncts). To judge from reports about Pattinson staying at home and not much liking Hollywood and suspicious of friendships there and not himself wanting to destroy women’s lives and being terribly romantic, one begins to hear echoes of those reports about the Shakespeare who preferred to stay at home and wouldn’t “be debauched”.

And I really wonder what Shakespearian themes Robert Pattison might be cooking up in his mind though not writing into immortality. Kristin Stewart, allegedly the only reason he auditioned for his celebrated vampire part, is plainly the Juliet to whom he wishes to be the Romeo. (Juliette conjuncts his sun so Juliette plainly names RB’s Jungian anima and he’s looking for her - unfortunately for analysis there’s no Romeo asteroid to conjunct his sun or anywhere). Anyway, with Shakespeare trining Pattinson’s Venus I’m unlikely to be too far wrong about what sort of impression the young Shakespeare gave out.

ROBERT PATTINSON’S BIRTH DATA

In passing, I should mention that though astrologers say Pattinson’s birth time is unknown, I gather that the Twilight website claims it’s 8.32 am in London on 13.5. 1986. This could actually be correct. It doesn’t supply Shakespeare’s Leo rising but it does place asteroid, Kristina, exact on Pattinson's 5th house cusp of theatre, drama and romances and aspecting his seventh house unions cusp. That would chime with how he’s romantically obsessed with Kristin and apparently wants to marry her despite the gay rumours sparked less by gossip around his life than by his taking a strongly gay role as Dali in Little Ashes. (With Venus opposite Uranus and asteroid Gaily conjunct Pattinson’s ascendant and trine his reputation Midheaven the gay image will always pursue him and this situation may be the modern Pattinson version of the Shakespeare sonnet games). Plus for the 8.32 birth time there’s the suggestive astro-speak for any Vampire actor of asteroid, Vampilov, falling at 16 Cancer near to the image-giving ascendant at 14 Cancer. Also note that if the birth time is right there’s an interesting semi-sextile (the meeting and connections aspect) to asteroid Dali at 14 Leo, artist Salvador Dali being the gay role RP plays in the film, Little Ashes, opposite the poet Garcia Lorca.

LILITH ON THE ATTACK

But back to my point of departure which was Germaine Greer’s Mrs Shakespeare. Quite simply, as an Aquarian Germaine is more likely (fated?) than most to zero in on the Aquarian style marriage of Shakespeare. Perhaps she even imagines herself as Shakespeare’s wife. Certainly it’s Aquarian to be concerned with the real or imagined limitations upon the human rights of oneself and others. It was another Aquarian, Virginia Woolf, who wrote A Room of Her Own, which introduces the theme of women’s limitations in the arts and the possibility of a Shakespeare sister. So I wondered would my chart show Germaine’s sun conjuncting the Bard’s marital seventh cusp or inside his union house? Actually, at 8 degrees it doesn’t and anyway marriage never was Germaine’s thing. Germaine’s contact is rather of her Dark Moon Lilith with that asteroid Shakespeare - they are both at 4 degrees of Aquarius.

It’s a wonderful promise of how Australia’s most individualistic feminist would let loose some venom and blame upon the Bard. Dark Moon Lilith, (a sensitive point in the heavens rather than a planet), is widely used on the continent but little by English speaking astrologers. It/She seems to turn up significantly in the pattern of many misfortunes and marks a difficult place in any natal chart. In Jewish myth Lilith is queen of demons, Adam’s first wife, then Satan’s favourite wife. Rage and revenge are her business. Feminist spirituality has tried to appropriate or reassess mythic Lilith but to all practical purposes she’s somewhere beyond redemption. Shakespeare who, despite his grumpy, woman-suspicious Mars, shows a Lilith in perfectionist Virgo conjunct his victim of unmerited revenge, Desdemona. She makes opportunity aspect to his Saturn. So, taken as an archetypal force, the Bard would have exerted patience and will towards Lilith as perhaps demonstrated in The Taming of the Shrew; but Germaine’s Lilith in her own sign goes straight for the jugular of the Shakespeare name.

In fact, if this pair had met they would not have got along too well. The sparks would fly despite a modicum of attraction and/or sense of obligation between them. Shakespeare’s 12 degree Taurus sun is surrounded by Germaine’s 10 degree Taurus moon (which would link them in its way) and her closer, rebellious 13 degree Taurean Uranus. The poet is besieged by her and also opposed – born at 6 am with Aquarius rising, Germaine Greer reverses Shakespeare’s self-and-other Leo/Aquarius axis as far as relationship is concerned and so would tend to demand all of the attention and more that she imagines poor Anne never enjoyed.

A professional relation would have worked rather better than a personal one. In effect, academically, it somewhat does so, since Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama is Greer’s academic specialty and for studying and knowing his work she does have her Pluto (any research) in degree exact conjunction with the Bard’s theatrical Jupiter while her Saturn more loosely conjuncts what’s all-important for Shakespeare’s writing, namely his Mercury at 16 Aries. Sensitive degrees work across the centuries and are what allow us to study and connect with long dead persons. My own Shakespeare asteroid is in degree exact fortunate trine to my Uranus (anything to do with astrology) an indication I would be on the front line to prove anything astrological about the poet. I could certainly connect with his work. The feminine of my name (asteroids were originally registered in feminine form like Nelsonia for Nelson) conjuncts the Bard’s nodes, a connection point. And perhaps, dare I say it, the reason that I don’t find it too excessively difficult to write along Shakespearian lines could be involved with the ruler of my writing house trining a certain Aries Mercury and my Jupiter trining a certain Jupiter. A complete poetic drama of mine was performed by the ABC because it was said I had written in modern English the closest one could approach to the style of Elizabethan drama.

PUBLISHING THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS SHORTLY

Be that as it may, the real point I want to make here is that the asteroids, rocks in space between Mars and Jupiter though they are, do speak and reveal and very accurately so. Another point is that though it’s satisfying to be able to certify Shakespeare’s birth data it’s more important to be able to settle for once and all time the birth data of Christ. I said I would probably not be writing again on this Blog until I was published on that theme which I am not yet but soon will be (there has been a bit of delay around the cover). Some of the exhaustive information I will supply will include regarding the micro astrology of asteroids – 430 of them are used and 70 Arabic Parts.

All being well, my Testament of the Magi: Mysteries of the Birth and Life of Christ, should be on Amazon around mid November. There will be many surprises because this book seriously claims to be a picture exact as a fingerprint for Jesus. Unless you discount astrology, current scholarship and the Magi narrative entirely it will seem perverse against the statistical improbabilities presented to deny this could be Jesus’ data and that he never existed - or, if he existed, that he never died on the cross. Also the material will take us right into issues of our own times because it is still working today.

HERE COMES ISRAEL'S TEMPLE

2009-08-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

THE ALTAR BRINGS A JERUSALEM TEMPLE NEARER

They started building the Altar of Sacrifice for the Jewish Temple last Thursday 30th July at 5.30pm. It was the 9th of Av, a major day of mourning in the period of mourning that commemorates the destruction of two Temples and many disasters in Jewish history which uncannily manage to cluster around this time of year.

Work on many features of the Temple from its ritual implements and items including the Menorah and Table of Showbread to the High Priest’s garments have already been completed, but building the altar can be deemed highly significant. Obviously it's central to the whole point and purpose of the traditional system that the Temple Institute aspires to restore.

The altar is made from undressed stones - by ritual Law no iron must touch them, apparently because iron represents death and the stones represent the creation and life against which the sacrifices representing death are offered. The huge stones mostly from around the Dead Sea have to be welded together with special sand, clay, tar and asphalt and the special melding and heating process has been learned at a glass making factory.

AND THE SKIES ARE REFLECTING IT

Since the time that the work was to begin in Jericho was given as 5.30 pm, I was interested to examine the pattern which doesn’t disappoint. Asteroid Tempel (Temple) is suitably on an angle (the Descendant - the same angle it occupied when the Temple area was taken back in 1967, while another angle (the destiny Midheaven angle) is in Libra, sign of the Laws, the Torah itself. Then we look at the ascension sign and the moon. These are commonly regarded as the two most immediately important, revealing factors in any Event chart.

Rising is the sign of Capricorn, sign of any stones, which this issue is about, and absolutely also of any goats. It is the goat which is sacrificed at the main ceremony of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Chosen by lot one goat is for the Lord, and one for sending to Azazel, a fallen angel/devil figure in the wilderness that the book of Enoch makes more sense of than the Bible as such. Suitably again, the planetary symbol of any stones which is also the “ruler” of the ascending Capricorn sign, namely Saturn, is conjuncting the cusp of the 9th house of religion as work on the altar began.

Astrologically the house of any rituals, sacrifices, purifications and healings is nevertheless always the sixth, so in parenthesis I should add we find placed there both Mars and Venus - Mars the killing, cutting planet and Venus the Shalom and Peace planet which is precisely what traditional sacrifice is about: making: peace through blood and sacrificial death. The moon of this event is in late Scorpio, the death and transformation sign, which again is what this whole ritual establishing event and its aspiration is about whether viewed as something affecting atonement or something about rebirth of Israel’s traditions.

However, this moon is effectively what’s called “void of course” making no regular aspect before leaving the sign it’s in, though it is making what’s called a quincunx (150 degree aspect) to Venus and, as normally interpreted, meaning “adjustments have to be made”. And we may imagine such will indeed have to be the case. There will be problems around this entire venture and in fact I see rather more in and about this chart, some of it suggestively prophetic, but which I prefer not to go into at this time.

TAKING A SABBATICAL?

One of the reasons I won’t enlarge on things that I see is I would prefer to have some work and ideas relevant to all this out and published and I do aim to have my Testament of the Magi, issued for Christmas which means out by October. It is in fact one of the things keeping me busy and preoccupied at present and I might, depending on swine flu and other problems, also be voyaging overseas. So, altogether I am not reckoning to post on this Blog for perhaps 3 months unless I find I finish up very leisured or just force of events positively constrains comment.

And that might happen. It’s not just would-be prophets but respected trends analysts who suspect that things in especially America could become really serious around late August or early September, more economic crisis, possibly even a bank holiday. Whatever, I myself had a few questions astrologically about that period as potentially difficult as I indicated earlier this year when I critiqued a line in forecasts from popular flamboyant preacher, David Wilkerson - he sees riots, New York in flames and heaven knows what else "soon" this year, but I feel he's slipped up too much with forecasts before to take him too seriously. I said I questioned he was right, but if there was anything to what he was saying, around late August might prove more potent than some other times to realize a few nightmares. I can’t and won’t so easily dismiss the trends analysts because I recall how early last year I posted some material from them to a very financial person in HKong while I was still living there and it contained some really correct warnings about last September. So maybe again this time they'll be right.We shall see.

MARCELLA ALTHAUS-REID: THEOLOGY’S BISEXUAL SHOCK JOCK AND QUEEN OF OBSCENE

2009-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

MOURNING MARCELLA AND MISSING THE POINT

When the self-professed doyenne of “indecent”, no knickers theology, the Argentinean bisexual, Marcella Althaus-Reid (1952-2009) died in February, flags were lowered at Edinburgh university where she was its first female professor in theology. There was a major thanksgiving service for her life, obituaries, encomiums described her as a woman of “deep Christian convictions”, a “mystic”, “a star” of modern theology whose disruptive insights and vital influence could well impact for centuries. Certainly she had become something of a bestselling celebrity on the theological circuit of the West and these days there are studies expounding her theories along with those of the new school of “body” theologians like Lisa Isherwood and J. Carrette

Althaus-Reid’s early demise (from apparently cancer at the Marie Curie hospice) is obviously tragic and one dislikes to speak ill of the dead. In the interests of truth I nonetheless feel obliged to raise a dissenting voice in what is effectively less a Blog entry than a full essay of assessment that needs to be written but would be unlikely at this time to be easily accepted anywhere. Almost more a quirky philosopher than a theologian I will propose that Marcella’s very distinctive combination of feminist theory with a Queer theology, strongly coloured by what’s called postcolonial theory, is the purest modern instance of the emperor’s clothes principle played out upon academe and society whether gay or straight.

In reality, Marcella Althaus-Reid constitutes one of the strangest phenomena in the long and diverse history of Christian thought. To judge from her published works this lecturer in “Christian ethics” who dismissed the Ten Commandments as “a consensus” reflecting “elite perspectives” (2003:163) was less a spokesperson for the “indecent” or disruptive she is supposed to represent and that might have had it uses, than an unusual kind of atheist and blasphemer whose written wit and reportedly frequent laughter in person barely disguised the extent of the game she must have known she was playing. Within the increasingly effete, too often irrelevant world of theological and Queer studies she found opportunity. Her admirers, and in her last years she had them on an international scale, have been deceived or perhaps never really understood what she wrote - whole chunks of it admitted to be dense, difficult, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary based. Those who truly understood might have to be considered infidels towards the religion they profess.

MARCELLA ALTHAUS-REID WAS MORE THAN “INDECENT”

For those who know nothing about Marcella Althaus-Reid and to whom my claims could sound merely extreme and insensitive I will start with a few examples of Marcella-speak. Some of her titles for the divine include “God the Whore”, “God the Sodomite” “God the Drag Queen” and “God the Lobster” (the latter in imitation of theories of the atheist, Gilles Deleuze, for whom the lobster was like an event horizon where meanings coalesced – Deleuze was influenced by Spinoza’s conception of the wholly impersonal God of natural laws).

Marcella, who maintained theology in South America was “an overvalued penis” (2000: 173) wrote of the need for “the indecent exposure” of God, to speak of “God in the name of Vulgarity, Impurity and Horror” (2003:36) (basically because she was interested in a Queer “holiness” imagined in the style of the Marquis de Sade). She thinks of Trinitarian doctrines as “God the Orgy” (2003:143). Referring to any notion of God the Father as a form of “oppression” she proposes we should “undress the father of power and glory and leave God sitting in the cold while the Queer community occupies the Trinity” (2003: 62). God meanwhile could however usefully be given fishnet stockings and boots as Marcella wants God kinky and theology “incoherent” with the incoherency of sex rather than the imperialistic coherence of traditional Systematic Theology.

It’s however specifically the Holy Spirit within the Trinity whom Althaus-Reid suggests should be made Queer and ambivalent; she says we could think of him as akin to “the hidden third man in many heterosexual marriages where the husband practices rough trade or the lesbian lover of the wife” (2003:.58). This is supposedly fitting for God’s many forbidden desires and she thinks “our beloveds (lovers) are like holy ghosts” (2003:58). One could put the Antichrist inside the Trinity because he’s a true Trinitarian identity, namely a real sexual identity, in fact he’s like a tell-tale blouse stuck in the theology closet (2000:59).

All this barbed and bitter jesting around the God of traditional theology’s “imperial sex act” along with suggestions like the smell of bodies and sex could well accompany our prayers is made possible and quasi-acceptable in especially academic circles via a type of postmodern philosophical jargon laid on like too much lippy and face paint. Plus the fact, I believe, Marcella never really believed in God anyway. But I justify that idea presently. First, a little background, and a least a few positive words because, sadly, Marcella could have more usefully explored and developed ideas and life experiences that in her hands finish becoming merely part of a trendy intellectual box of tricks and a pyrotechnical display of sensations.

BUENOS AIRES BACKGROUND: THE FAILURES OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY

Whether by accident or Queer design (as per a stated aim to be “nomadic”, fluid, changing and a theologian “with many passports”) little is known of Marcella’s background - I gather there were problems even establishing her birth year. Her various religious/ideological affiliations remain to considerable extent a mystery. Marcella Althaus (the hyphen Reid got added, Spanish style, at marriage so that the paternal Althaus line probably represents German immigrant descent) was born in Argentina in Rosario, or, was it, Che Guevara? (Marcella perhaps wanted to re-christen the city because one of her heroes also saw the light of day there). Apparently raised Catholic in Rosario Marcella appears to have lived many years in Buenos Aires. Later, when training to be a teacher she was, or had become a Methodist - perhaps in the hope as a woman of arriving at something nearer the priestly career she’d wanted since childhood - and she obtained a theology BA at Argentina’s ISEDET Protestant university. Later she became, either in Argentina or Europe, a Quaker, and then or simultaneously, a member of the gay MCC (Metropolitan Community Church) though when living and working in Scotland she attended the Anglican church. She disliked to take communion anywhere though MCC sometimes persuaded her - she dismisses Mass similarly to eschatology as akin to masturbation (2003:137) and/or the “supplément” that masturbation represents according to the anti-philosopher, Derrida, whom later in life she was uncharacteristically embarrassed to meet.

Marcella trained in especially (Catholic) Liberation Theology working with the famous Basic Ecclesial Communities for the poor that some liberationists formed (and others disapproved) within South America. After leaving Argentina she pursued feminist and philosophical studies in Scandinavia, Germany and Scotland where she lived during her last and successful years. Her life was nonetheless indelibly marked by her supposedly slum poor origins in Argentina (where she claims to have been once hospitalized for malnutrition), by life under the often nightmarish oppressions of the Generals and by the postcolonial legacy of South America more generally as this still makes for exploitation and cultural confusion - Marcella has much to say, postmodern style, about breakdown of “Grand Narratives” in Latin America – and the various moral/spiritual accommodations unimaginable to most Europeans.

Sometimes one wonders how much the Buenos Aires of Marcella’s memory was real or imagined like the Santiago of Isabel Allende’s youth which the latter admits to have blurred sometimes in her autobiography, My Invented Country. Was it true young women needed to avoid men masturbating and ejaculating over them in Buenos Aires public transport (2000:75) or that Marcella suffered the reported confessional problems related to whether she knelt in the sight line of where a priest’s penis would be, an issue on which several paragraphs of The Queer God seem unnecessarily wasted? (2003:13,14)

Fortified by the controversial claim of Aquinas that God is indescribable, the Marxism of Latin American Liberation Theology is intensely materialistic, often assuming that God, like some Hegelian Geist, cannot be known outside of historical happenings or, as theologian, Luis Segundo had it, God is simply “society”. This was Marcella’s radical and religiously sceptical starting point, leaving her lifelong interested in mainly praxis, not metaphysics or mysticism. Christian doctrine was, or had become, a mere species of evil capital that rich, privileged nations and people could use to exploit lesser nations. So, among the liberationists Marcella realized churches must address the poor and be dissociated from capitalism and colonialism completely if possible - she will tend always to critique Christianity and any kind of mission on its part as nothing but colonialism. But she also realized liberationists need to engage, as she complained Liberation Theology signally failed to do, with the urban poor (rather than just rural communities) and with the sexually marginalized. The latter represented the new theology’s conservative blind spot. Even radical liberationists addressed nothing but idealized Catholic wives and mothers, not girls raped by fathers and brothers in the slums or forced into prostitution by poverty or gays and drag queens bashed in the streets. But to achieve greater charity and relevance Marcella believed theology must become “bisexual” in style and feeling, and like bisexuality itself, be hard to pin down.

Althaus-Reid was herself bisexual with a yen like that of theologian, Paul Tillich - but a yen rather more indulged - for S/M (sadomasochism). She even seemed to fantasize leading God by a dog collar (2003:46). Evidently she had a history of odd affairs with clergy and, in what may be the tragic clue to her entire psychology and theology, (namely that God got early confused in her mind with an absent father and abuse by men on the prowl) she admits: “..I am not keen on elderly divine figures looking for sex (such as God the Father) due to some bad experiences I had with men in my life including such as bishops” (2000:48).

It had been part of Marcella’s rebellion against life under the generals that she chose “indecency” in Argentinean terms refusing marriage to instead set up home with a gay man. Theologically, however, “bisexual” for Marcella means a thinker who leaves behind the “dyadic” thinking of heterosexuality and Christianity which last has even arrived at a Trinity of two (Father and Son), for a more fluid, dialectical or both/and Trinitarian thought mode. Undoubtedly something of the kind has long been needed and the challenge of a statement like “the problem is that universal contractarian ethics cannot deal with sexual differences” (2003:21) should be accepted. Yet one surely wouldn’t need “to lead God astray” to remedy the lack, nor in order to improve things do theologians need to be “voyaging vaginas seeking to kiss God’s lips and bite her nipples” (2003: 49) – the kind of definition to which one imagines theologian, Karl Barth (and his allegedly long term live-in mistress) would doubtless have shouted a resounding Nein. But Marcella was decidedly radical and considered doing the real, fluid, Queer style type of theology as “baring behinds” (2003: 149) .

LA CONSCIENCE DANS LE MAL OR JUST ETHICAL ANARCHY ?

Though it’s hard to imagine how the exploited, marginalized souls Alhaus-Reid highlighted and defended could be helped by her often remarkably convoluted, dense writings, (a sort of Queer “speaking in tongues” that owes a lot to the also recently deceased Eve Sedgwick and her impossible 1990 classic, Epistemology of the Closet) undoubtedly many of Marcella’s themes were deeply meaningful. Before the “Christian” and theoretically monogamous conquistadores arrived, raped and enslaved the local women and threw homosexuals to wild dogs, South America was mainly polygamous. It is a fact, not just in South America but in Africa, that the ruthless imposition of monogamy by missionaries upon non or newly Christian societies would often make not for virtue and justice but corruption and injustice – in Africa it’s notorious the determination to dismiss polygamous wives wrecked families and swelled the numbers of prostitutes as women were left abandoned and homeless. And this occurred at the behest of the religion, whose OT at least, has stories of heroes like Gideon who had seventy wives or Solomon his thousand.

A likewise disastrous scandal for Christianity that Marcella, whose frame of reference is obsessively Latin American, didn’t consider is how Christian missions in Japan were wrecked by “saints” like Francis Xavier who called Japanese nobles lower than animals, inhabitants of Sodom because of existing warrior attachments that David and Jonathan might have understood. This and more does make a case for the evil of what Marcella calls “T-theology” (Totalitarian theology and ethics) and a need for the more flexible and eros-friendly treatment long called for. It’s also true as Marcella affirms, that sexually marginal people can be strongly spiritual and have their own stories to tell that shouldn’t be excluded, a principle akin (though she doesn’t mention it) to Baudelaire’s “la conscience dans le mal” and more recognized in Catholic countries where casuistry is not automatically a bad word. Though she never proposes as much (in line with the fact the Bible figures minimally in her considerations) no doubt this hidden spirituality of the marginal would be relevant even as regards some of the prostitutes with whom we are told Jesus associated. Even if classically repentant it’s unlikely in the context of their times most would have been able to re-enter society and abandon the lifestyle many would have entered through poverty in the first place. So, as they plied their trade, would we say if we met them that their faith and experiences meant nothing? Then, what about the divorced and remarried? Is one to propose they cannot pray, or can pray but never be really heard or experience God, something the church may not say but perhaps implies? (Divorced remarried Catholics are refused communion lifelong).

The list of the marginal could be extended and can include gays. But however long the list it’s still a big step to pass beyond suggesting life and religion have grey areas that require more grace and possess more meaning than normally accorded to proposing a) that “God” exists, or can be actively sought, within the experiences themselves that compose the grey areas so that we could even have “a theology of mistresses” (2003:133) and deem adultery “biblical and godly” really (2000: 140) or b) that popular cults and religions arisen often from sheer ignorance of Christianity, lack of pastoral care from or instruction in the faith by the religion’s leaders, should enjoy equal validity. As regards a) we even find Marcella taking the side of the pornographic philosopher, Georges Bataille, endorsing the notion that, like a character in one of his stories, we could indeed find “God” in a hag prostitute’s revelation of her pubis in a brothel – Marcella then offers a section headed “Pubis Liberation Theology” (2003:97,98)! As regards, b) we find Marcella endorsing a variety of quasi Christian cults like the Santa Librada (a crucified virgin type favoured by transvestites and various marginal peoples in South America). It’s the kind of endorsement which begs the question would Marcella approve the perverse death cult of Santa Muerta in Mexico? This oddly demonic saint takes the side of thieves and drug pushers that the church understandably doesn’t and can’t acknowledge. But perhaps she would. Certainly she feels adultery has spiritual insights to offer and we know that drug pushers of the Camorra clans (see Roberto Saviano’s Gemorrah p. 226) believe they can perform rites to honour Mary and appease Christ as they make and store their drugs.

MARCELLA ALTHAUS-REID’S NEW SEX(Y) GOD

If it isn’t to be described as a savvy career decision, it’s almost a mystery that Marcella believed in “God” at all - or did she really ever? No trace of a notion of Creator crosses her work and she sneers at belief in any unique personal deity asking would such an entity (imaged as She) want to lick her fingers? And she protests “what love and friendship can be had with masters?” (2003:143). I suggest the reason Marcella doesn’t dismiss God entirely is because she could reduce deity to the idea “God is always potential” (2000: 109), a human potential, and because (unlike various feminist influences like, Mary Daly and Daphne Hampson with which last she had falling out in Scotland), the emotional force of what she calls “disaffiliation”, got directed and exhausted elsewhere. It was with Latin America’s Virgin Mary rather than Mary Daly’s God the Father or Daphne Hampson’s Christ that Marcella broke most violently “blaspheming” her with talk about wanting to put hands up Mary’s skirts to see what wasn’t there and much more like it…..in page after page. If it all sounds obscene that’s intended since obscenity will keep us from the evils of “unnecessary transcendence” and is grace invoking (2000:110) and Marcella, dismissing the Virgin, goes in quest of the Obscene Bi/Christ.

I have so far quoted almost solely from The Queer God rather than the earlier Indecent Theology (see below) which is largely a tirade against the historically oppressive role the Virgin has allegedly had for Latin American politics generally and women in particular whom Mary “disembodies”. And, since Marcella’s position is Marxist/materialist and she wants to change less distribution than production, her aim is to remake deity itself. Since however she considers the Bible “fiction” and theology a form of (perhaps necessary) lies anyway (2003:130) the labour of correction and re-creation should be made rather through recourse to literary and philosophical than scriptural sources. (If Althaus-Reid was made professor of “contextual” theology this was almost necessary given the lack of scripture and theology employed in her arguments!).

For philosophy and literature beyond Bible and Marx Marcella’s materialism has recourse to the Transcendental Materialism of the suicidal Deleuze and the Queer theory of the atheist, Foucault, beloved of academic cliques within the gay world. In literature she favours especially the mystical atheists, Klossowski and Bataille (a theorist of the erotic and the significance of orgasm) and the Marquis de Sade. Armed with insights from these sources Marcella’s Edinburgh style “contextual theology” can take flight and does so with weird, anti-credal suggestions like: “The Son gives birth to the Father and both of them originally come from the Spirit” (2003:75). More theologically, Marcella appropriates the biblical doctrine of kenosis (the self emptying of God in incarnation) to assist God to come “out of the closet” to realize himself and let we ourselves find him cruising around “in dark alleys”. We, it seems, can and will find salvation with “the Voyeur God” (2003:39).

Whatever, Marcella is explicit as regards deity that: “This is a God who depends on our experiences of pleasure and despair in intimacy to manifest Godself” (2003:108). This Godself, it seems, is the only true God, one “displaced, theologically speaking, by a God of grand heterosexual illusions….”. Any belief in the incarnation of God is not or should not be about the historical Jesus but rather a belief that God is present in our historical struggles. It’s a liberationist idea, one akin to a line among radical feminist theologians who believe Christ is what continually incarnates in the religious community. However, ever different and dissenting, Marcella speaks less of incarnating the Christ than incarnating and queering the Holy Spirit (2003:127).

That this humanly dependent, community incarnated “God” is more or less just sex is certified by the untranslated dedication of The Queer God to the author’s friends and lovers who, she says, like herself are buscando a Dios en medio de amores (seeking God amid love affairs) an idea further suggested by the book’s affirmation, “bodies speak and God speaks through them (2003:34). When God isn’t sex it’s a case simply of God as concept only, the reason Marcella explicitly states she should be able to say whatever she likes about God uncensored, a claim she stakes when talking about preventing “Premature Ejaculations – God in Transit”(2003:67). It may be only “metaphor” and “concept” but it demands of Christians levels of tolerance way beyond anything Islam and most faiths could begin to imagine and which certainly denies all accepted notions of the sacred.

DOING THEOLOGY IN THE BEDROOM WITH DE SADE

Amazingly, since Marcella considers teaching the Bible in Sunday School is more guilty of promoting sex crimes in the world than all the modern writings on sex (2003:35) she proposes, since truth and justice necessarily go beyond any laws, we should establish our epistemologies like de Sade . We should do our theology in the bedroom and reflect upon the ways of libertinism along with the “no limits” Marquis. Christ and de Sade were beyond limits type people - Jesus died as a “dissolute Messiah” (whatever that means). Love and justice only begin beyond any laws, a god of law cannot even hope to deal justice (2003: 34). The jealous God the Father is an anachronism who doesn’t fit with the actually or potentially “polyamorous” loves of the Trinity (2003:.37) and all he could ever do was sexually harass Mary and torture his son (2000: 109) – Marcella assumes with Mary Daly of Beyond God the Father an identity of Yahweh with God the Father. It’s a point that in my Cosmic Father, along with some other theologians, I seriously contest.

There truly is something outrageous in Marcella’s association of theological schemas with those of de Sade with its talk of Sadean “holiness” and Queer saintliness and you wouldn’t need to be Christian to think so. Quite simply there have been clear links of the Sadean heritage to serious crime (such as Britain’s celebrated Moors murders of tortured children for which de Sade was an inspiration) and a few years ago I recall reading in one of Colin Wilson’s many tomes how this expert on the esoteric came to realize you can’t play around with the Marquis. He set out to read him as an intellectual exercise and found he was struck by horrifying nightmares. The devils came out to play. Clearly S/M practitioner Marcella (she liked to turn up at the all-inclusive MCC in leather) had a strong stomach and expected her readers to have the same.

I have never read The Hundred Days of Sodom, only a few excerpts from a condensed version with commentary. I fell over it one evening while ransacking in his absence the bookshelves of my Sorbonne roommate today one of the West’s leading authorities on Islamic affairs ), shelves which at the time seemed more dedicated to just the sort of lit crit and post structuralist writings that would influence Althaus-Reid than Islamic affairs. I seem to recall somewhere near the conclusion the inmates of Castle Silling get to have some demon linked orgy and are horrifically slaughtering one another. I didn’t later suffer the nightmares Wilson and others record but I did recoil, nauseated, and almost as though I'd received a sudden blast of something like heat on my face. While details of the text escape me I’ve never quite forgotten that odd impression. Whatever, I felt I’d brushed against something intrinsically evil not for contemplation and meddling. But (perhaps in imitation of precisely de Sade’s classic) the brazen Marcella supplies a suitably extreme finale to The Queer God. She wants to appropriate the hell spaces (2003:167) and the demon role, reject “salvation” as capitulation to capitalism and colonialism and generally make queer saintliness into “the ultimate trespass”, a protesting form which disrupts all existing belief and practice. Moreover, “Queer trespass” also has a body somewhere because there are no bodies in heaven but there are some in hell (2003:168) - truly a new doctrine if she doesn’t mean to hint, as her intellectual vanity actually might that there are only nobodies in heaven but there are real somebodies in hell?!

REFUSING SALVATION QUEER STYLE AND WHY GAY SPIRITUALITY MATTERS

In opposing “salvation” Marcella rejects the related repentance including for the interesting and significant idea it would rob us of our past knowledge and sexual attachments - “the solidarity of ex-lovers” (2003:164). To grasp truth between the intellectual games here (I don’t think they’re much else) it’s important to be aware Queer theory and theology are ever “in process” always marginal, changing, disruptive, transgressive, materialistic and so, explicitly or implicitly, follows the atheist, quasi- Buddhist line of Michel Foucault’s ideas influencing contemporary Queer theory that self and soul are as good as illusory. Accordingly, for Marcella at least, it seems one’s only solid grounding would be the memory of what one has thought and done, been and loved (which, however, a Buddhist would say should not be clung to). If follows that to regret or repent past errors, finishes a loss of whoever one imagines oneself to be. Clearly Marcella would make a poor Buddhist, though interestingly her most vocal admirer, ex Jesuit, and MCC pastor, Robert Goss, author of The Queer Christ, happens to be an expert in precisely Buddhist studies. (His understanding of Christianity I’ll pass over!).

Queer theory highlights awareness of a borderline, marginal consciousness that gays may find meaningful as one aspect of being gay. Gay consciousness and identity theory, less academically trendy than Queer, is more essentialist. Essentialism is becoming a verboten concept among some feminists and academics but, practically, it makes for more solidly grounded ideas and is closer to what the gay community actually thinks. Most gays considered themselves “born that way” and hence that orientation and identity, though they may be historically and socially influenced to a degree, are not the choices Queer theory makes them (a belief vulnerable besides to fundamentalist type charges gays are totally morally responsible for being gay). Since among its choices Queer classically won’t admit moral purpose unless in terms of economic policy or activities of the group (Foucault had problems even condemning child sex) and denies spiritual in addition to bodily being, plainly it's easier to incorporate gay theology into Christian thought than Queer theory. This is so including because the individual needn’t get traumatized losing bearings or identity if admitting, as might be necessary, that they had got involved in reckless relationships or inappropriate sexual experiments. One remains gay no matter what one has done and one is freer to come to come to terms with the purely scriptural and even somewhat with the “transgressive” impulse Queer emphasizes, as being something itself spiritual in the way I demonstrate in Cosmic Father when writing on “perversion and the prophets”. It’s the sort of theme Queer would tend to appropriate materialistically to oppose rather than illuminate faith.

Queer can be hopeless to the point of blind relative to spirituality and scripture as parts of the innovative Queer Bible Commentary (2007) to which Marcella contributed make clear. I need mention only its commentaries on Matthew and Mark, the latter commented by Althaus-Reid who believes all Queer commentary must be transgressive so offers no biblical exegesis at all. Basics of gay concern are ignored by her and some other contributors for intellectual “queering” exercises. She merely observes that Mark is the most “economic” gospel and that Jesus’ cry of desolation from the cross (traditionally understood to repeat words of a prophetic psalm) was about “God” in Christ suffering identity crisis and becoming redundant (2007: 523) something which Jesus, forgetting himself, calls for along with oblivion (2007:525)! Mark is thus reduced to the merest pretext to wander on about “faggots” killed in life and literature along with “clever” remarks about ‘cruci-fictions”. There is no exploration of even the Markan mystery of the naked youth in the garden of Gethsemane, which has made for gay controversies since the philosopher, Bentham, problematized it. Thomas Bohache’s commentary on Matthew ignores all the arguably gay positive references as on those born eunuchs, the Roman centurion’s boy, the Sermon on the Mount’s implicit cancellation of the same sex law of Leviticus at the Racah section on anger. It ignores speculations of American theologian, Tom Hanks (resident in Marcella’s Argentina), that Matthew might have been gay. Instead it wanders off on Queer paths about kingdom as a “kindom” and how we might perceive ourselves. In short, the Queer hermeneutics Marcella promoted is a mostly blind alley failing to confront scriptures on their own terms or mainstream Christian issues that need confronting. It concedes to academic trends at the expense of pastoral need or grassroots feeling. Having discussed or read parts of Marcella’s work with persons gay and straight I know it tends to evoke incredulity or even horror.

INTELLECTUAL QUEERDOM: J’ACCUSE

Queer theory’s net extends beyond gays to all marginal people but it’s hard see where it has meaningful impact, spiritual or any other, beyond shocking but impractical discourse and essay in academe. There is thus no record of which I’m aware of Marcella and followers in Scotland, whether with knickers, pants or kilts on or off, taking up the cause of Steve Gough, imprisoned so near them in Edinburgh. No matter how eccentric (queer/marginal?) one considers it and him, the heterosexual Gough has pressed a human right to circulate everywhere nude. If one cares to be theological he’s at least nearer to Isaiah, Micah, and prophets of Israel in the times of Samuel, than queers doing theology in Sadean bedrooms where they ignore the symbolism of nudity and its implications for transparency in social relations. Gough walked all England uncharged but ran into trouble in “Scotland the Brave” where a postman, “frightened” to see him, informed police. In a travesty of justice Gough has subsequently languished 3 years or more in Scotland for the individualism local queers haven’t protested against remnants of oppressive Calvinism.

I can speak against academic queerdom with some justifiable anger as an author on gay spiritualities in A Special Illumination. There were reasons, given its originality and controversies around it, that my doctorate was ever published, but the silence from queerdom with its body theologies and queer “spaces” a la Marcella was deafening. I was never approached, nor was I answered if I wrote, by what is fast becoming a tyranny of exclusive, queer leaning academics and clergy whose sources of inspiration are mainly atheistic even if they themselves pass as Christian. Due to lack of support my spiritualities theme is not one from which I have been able to progress to useful and needed research, post-doc or any other, on such vital and, relevant subjects as gay ethics. Nor will I be writing on this to be ignored by ivory tower queer scholars who set up such as Marcella as experts on “Christian” ethics, or rejected by publishers publishing Marcella’s style of theo-porn and profanities for profit. I know from sufficient experience how secular academe and publishing are organized to waste my energies.

I have so far cited almost exclusively from The Queer God. Before concluding I had better say something about the book that in 2000 truly launched Althaus-Reid and gives the name to her theology, that is Indecent Theology: Theological perversions in sex, gender and politics. The concept of “Indecent” theology is based on a natural enough revolt against absurd, often trivial distinctions, which could be based on even just hair styles, that the dictatorship of the Generals made between “decent” and “indecent” women. But beyond this Marcella’s Marxist materialist “indecenting” seeks to restore a unity to body and mind, or rather reject any body/spirit split. What is called her “hermeneutics of suspicion” suspects (exaggeratedly but sometimes correctly) that traditional theological/philosophical Idealism prevents sex from being properly studied or seen while even our notions of deity may be sex and sexuality coloured mental constructions.

In solidarity with some of the Buenos Aires poor, like the lemon sellers and South America’s tribal women who don’t wear knickers, Marcella’s symbol of indecent revolt, and body/mind resolution will be theology written and experienced sans knickers. She will also go in pursuit of the so called “obscene” which could be just the bodily, repressed and ignored. Much of Indecent Theology is taken up with very technical considerations about the construction of symbol and narrative. Even so, for sheer sensation the overall result is like some theological equivalent unique within Christian writing - albeit the post Christian Mary Daly with her talk about Mary’s “rape” by God probably influences it - of Pasolini’s film, Salo, based on the writings of de Sade.

In its intention to be indecent the book wonderfully succeeds though it would more directly offend Catholics than Protestants. It launches full scale attacks upon “Mary Queer of Heaven, Mother of Faggots”, whom Marcella regards as the horror mother of all political oppression (which, though the oppressive Pinochet was a Marian visionary, isn’t how, especially as Virgin of Guadalupe, Mary is seen in Latin America). Marcella does this at the same time as she maintains Mary probably never existed and it wouldn’t matter theologically if she didn’t (2000:72). A few quotes from the “indecenting” rant dismissing all virginal icons and imagery will give sufficient impression of the whole. As it’s distasteful I choose from what at least doesn’t like some passages refer to God amid four letter words. “Therefore let us consider that Mary is not the woman who conceived by inhaling the smell of Fatherly Semen. Let us think that she is the woman who has had “seven times seven” clitoral pleasure. Let us say she may have conceived by pleasure in her clitoris; by self-given pleasure perhaps…….Was Mary’s sexual encounter with God committed love or a one night stand with the unknown….Did she give God a blow job?” (2000:73) (Copying these words I recall the devotees who describe the plainly presumptuous Marcella as “a woman of deep Christian convictions”).

Though Mary takes the main force of Marcella’s “critique” Christ doesn’t miss out. She isn’t sure whether he was gay, transvestite or just butch lesbian and again it doesn’t matter what he was or if he existed so long as he was revolutionary. However, he wasn’t much of that either, but failed really to attack Jewish Law and was if anything “lacking in historical consciousness” failing in action against Israel’s oppressors (2000:87) (One wonders how, if Jesus wasn’t a historical figure, he should even be criticized for lack of historical consciousness!) For Marcella what’s certain is that if Jesus existed he had something of the sinner and prostitute in him or else what was he doing with such people? Moreover, “we all learn in community, even god/men. It is a historical law” (2000:113). And people like those in Argentina (herself?) “could have taught him a thing or two” (2000:113). Including about resurrection, apparently. Marcella decides, helped by someone in a bible study circle down in sexy Buenos Aires, that “the episode of Lazarus is nothing else but a scene of a physical resurrection in lust”(2000:122). Apparently Jesus “resurrected Lazarus because with Lazarus’ death Jesus himself died of abandoned love and terminal anguish”. This is an example of “resurrection from below”, the resurrection of lust. Marcella admits that among the liberationists resurrection wasn’t a subject. They were more interested in los desaparecidos (those disappeared under the generals) and “not illusory tales of leaving graves”. With these kind of beliefs or unbelief affecting her view of Jesus, whom she decides she will think of as bisexual, “the bi-Christ”, it’s hardly surprising that in wandering and wondering round the dynamics of symbolism Marcella asks could we talk about “Jesus the Moon”? (2000:107). Given a mind and imagination like Marcella’s I imagine one could.

QUEER AND PERSONAL

I’ll conclude my assessments on the personal note that the Queer theory I mostly reject favours and Marcella insisted theology should always include. When I first read the news of this theologian’s death, like everyone I was shocked. I didn’t know she’d been ill – I’d been intending, but put off emailing her a query – and though I could never have warmed to someone of her opinions I was saddened in a general way. Early deaths are always sad and Marcella had had tough beginnings and a hard end and she was perhaps a victim of sexual abuse. Which would explain and excuse much, though not everything. (Others similarly hurt have resolved their problems and helped others victims more). But even if Marcella hadn’t returned right answers she had raised pertinent questions based on experiences not to be ignored. One hoped she might provide better answers over time. The time she would now never have.

But there was something disturbing I couldn’t quite put my finger on, an impression that increased as, when re-reading her - I’d half forgotten and never quite absorbed her ideas - and, trying to obtain biographical facts, I came across the exaggerated, off-target praise surrounding her. I wanted to express a contrary viewpoint but began fretting whether I should so near to her decease, or at all. It was troubling to realize any criticism made would at least implicitly embrace all those who had praised, promoted, published and, employed Marcella. So this was alienating but re-reading Marcella I was confirmed in the view I could never approve her opus. And now, though there was no sensation similar to the one at reading de Sade long ago, I felt I was touching something hugely negative. And if even atheist philosopher, Iris Murdoch, can refer to Nietzsche and theologian, Don Cupitt, as “demonic” writers I won’t deny myself the usage. (I haven’t consulted charismatics about unusual impressions here but suspect they would propose that, assisted by a history of the odder sexual experiences which allegedly attract spirits, Marcella-speak could well have finished channeling everything up to and including St Paul’s “doctrines of demons”).

APPLYING “CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY” TO ALTHAUS-REID

Subjective impressions apart, there are a few purely scriptural references that could be relevant to my or anyone’s negative assessments of Althaus-Reid.

God is not mocked….. (Gal 6:7)

There’s constant unabashed mockery of God in Marcella’s writings. The apostle’s often cited statement accompanies a warning about people sowing to corruption “in the field of their unspiritual nature” (REB translation).

Every thoughtless word you speak you will have to account for on the day of judgement. For out of your own mouth you will be acquitted; out of your mouth you will be condemned. (Matt. 12:30)

The foregoing has relevance for Marcella’s bold claim Queer theology is a first person theology that takes complete responsibility for its/her words (2003:8).

Whoever slanders the Holy Spirit (REB translation) can never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin (Mk 3:28)

Talk that compares the Spirit to the husband who wants rough trade (male prostitutes) on the side strikes one as….well… just slanderous. It may not constitute some unforgiveable sin - something apparently involved with calling good evil and evil good – but it takes disrespect towards the divine to unprecedented levels. And it is unacceptable from those who pass for Christians as opposed to just post-Christian radical feminist God blasphemers like Mary Daly whose recommendation is “Sin Big” and who variously demeans the Holy Spirit.

I will throw her on a bed of pain (Rev 2:21) (REB translation)

I won’t cite the whole passage which is Revelation’s warning to the prophetess, Jezebel, and those at Thyatira supporting her. The text is not one I read, nor need anyone, as fundamentalists on sex might (God like an Irish priest beating lovers out of the bushes). The essential point is Jezebel encourages believers to “fornication” (general sexual immorality) under the umbrella of things divine. Althaus-Reid teaching believers they can discover God, an orgiastic one, amid all and any sexual encounters they might have seems uncomfortably like duplicating the situation referred to or symbolized through the Jezebel name. The more so as Jezebel encourages partaking of food offered to idols and Marcella was willing to defend any spirit cult if it served her sexual messages always opposing any kind of Christian mission/conversion ideals. So was it morbid to note Marcella died “unexpectedly” following a long illness? In the context of her special professions, it’s uncannily like being refused the chance to be shriven after having had sufficient opportunity to attend to those matters of soul Marcella so breezily dismissed along with all beliefs like resurrection.

VALE MARCELLA ALTHAUS-REID

These texts were only potentially relevant. I’m not suggesting God drew my attention to them. At this point however I approach areas like those sometimes broached in my Cosmic Father which includes reflections on what constitutes the forth-telling of “prophecy”. I choose to believe God did put another verse into my mind, one I now consider the answer to the question I wouldn’t have asked, nor expected to have answered if I’d asked it. Driving through open country meditating should I even write this article, almost like a hammer to the head I registered with great force a very different text whose words I hadn’t recently heard or read. I wasn’t so familiar with them that I immediately knew their source. I thought perhaps Deuteronomy but found they conclude Psalm 95. They ran: “to whom I swore in my wrath they would not enter into my rest”. I looked at the immediately preceding words. ”They are a people whose hearts are astray, who do not discern my ways”. This seemed relevant enough to Marcella and those engaging her path of “Sadean holiness”.

Finally I knew why I’d been disturbed about the death of Althaus-Reid. It wasn’t your average death if there’s such a thing, more like the death of a Sartre which makes to ponder. What do such people really represent? I don’t believe in any conventional sense that God has “wrath”, a point considered in some detail in Cosmic Father. Yet in a moment I knew, as certainly one can ever know anything, that this person who took full responsibility for her words, will be taken at her word. She will not have the salvation she declared against…..And with that there’s nothing else to say unless that, just as there is a warning that the supporters of Thyatira’s Jezebel should dissociate from her, those who have aided, abetted and laughed along with Marcella should awaken to the illusion – the emperor’s clothes effect represented. Nor should they disregard such warning because the Jezebel reference is “only” from Revelation. In effect the condemnation “only” agrees with the gospels which declare, what might almost be an epitaph for errant theologians:

Alas for you when all speak well of you
That is how their fathers treated the false prophets
words preceded by “Alas for you who laugh now…”

There’s no accounting for tastes or beliefs, but we should recognize doctrines of theo-porn guru, Marcella Althaus-Reid, were very wrong. Marcella suggested we might need to be forgiven for loving God (2003:1). I suggest people need to be forgiven for loving Marcella in her role of blasphemer.

Marcella Althaus-Reid, Indecent Theology, London and New York: Routledge, 2000

Marcella Althaus-Reid, The Queer God, London and New York, Routledge, 2003

Thomas Bohache (ed) The Queer Bible Commentary, London: SCM Press, 2007

Rollan McCleary, A Special Illumination: Authority, Inspiration and Heresy in Gay Spirituality, London: Equinox Press, 2005

Rollan McCleary, Cosmic Father: Spirituality as Relationship, Amazon, 2009

rollanrm@yahoo.com

THE LOST ARK: MY SPECULATIONS JUSTIFIED

2009-06-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

[On June 26th, against media expectations the Ethiopian Patriarch would only confirm the authenticity of the Ethiopian Ark of the Covenant, denying it would be unveiled to the public. Personally I must admit I have never believed the Ark is in Axum but my article retains validity as regards what it says about factors at work at any time the Ark and facts about it, true or false, would be a public issue]

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT SOON ON VIEW

This Friday at 2pm in Rome the Patriarch of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church will announce that after centuries, even millennia, the hidden Ark of the Covenant will finally be soon open to public display – in a museum and for the time being anyway. Ethiopians believe it must ultimately be returned to Israel as an offering to the Messiah who will rule in Zion. The new policy could thus imply Ethiopian belief the church age is drawing to a close and Christ is expected to return to rule the millennial kingdom. What is all this about? There’s more than one answer.

MESSIANIC SIGNS

In a small corner of an exhaustive study of the astrology of Christ that I should have published for this Christmas I make a very special claim. I propose that something in the data likely points to the mystery of the Ark (recall that Jesus called himself the Temple) but we could only know this for sure at such time as facts (whether true or false) about the Ark come before the public in a major way. Only then would the relevant part of the pattern be exactly affected…. or it wouldn’t. Now that the Ark is suddenly news just what I suspected would be triggered is so - to the day. So, apart from what this may be saying about the Ark itself, events are again proof of having the true pattern for Christ’s birth which is an ongoing predictive tool for Jesus issues across history.

I’ll paste last here the relevant section of my ms, but first some facts about the Ark and whether Ethiopia’s Ark can be considered even genuine.

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT IN ETHIOPIA OR WHERE?

There are many claims and theories regarding the Ark’s whereabouts – underneath the Temple Mount, beneath Golgotha, inside Mt Nebo, put there by Jeremiah and supporters (the apocrypha states as much), hidden around Qumran etc. Ethiopia doesn’t seem too likely especially if one is to put faith in a non biblical story that an alleged child of Solomon and Sheba who became Menelik 1st in Ethiopia secreted the Ark away to avoid Solomon’s paganism. Biblically the Ark appears to have been in Jerusalem well after Solomon and disappeared only before the Babylonian invasion centuries later around the time of King Josiah and the prophet Jeremiah. Josiah assumed the Ark was still in Israel and told the Levites to return it to the Temple (2 Chron. 34:28) from which it had probably been withdrawn during the Temple defilements of King Manasseh; Jeremiah forecast a time would come when the Ark would be forgotten and no longer important (Jer 3:16). Certainly the Ark didn’t get placed in the Second Temple when exiles returned from Babylon and so wasn’t rescued from Mt Nebo if Jeremiah and his supporters ever hid it there. So why the Ark in Ethiopia and is it even possible? It’s just possible in two ways.

It could be that:

a) Jews who fled to Egypt prior to the Babylonian invasion and who made an imitation temple there at Elephantine Island also made an imitation Ark that ultimately went further south,

b) the true Jerusalem Temple Ark fell to the possession of the Ethiopian Egyptian Pharaoh, Necho, with whom King Josiah inexplicably and secretly went to war - perhaps to regain the Ark the Levites never returned to the Temple? – and from Egypt the Ark then went south for protection to the homeland of this Pharoah’s ancestors. There is at least one prophecy in Zephaniah some believe indicates that the latter days will see something precious brought (literally carried as the Ark was carried) to Jerusalem: “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, my scattered ones, shall bring my offering” (Zeph 3:10).

WHAT COULD BE THE “REAL” ARK OF THE COVENANT?

It’s also possible Ethiopia hasn’t exactly got the Ark - which should be an oblong box originally containing the tables of the Law, a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded -but something associated with the original Ark.

No one knows what the Ethiopian Ark is meant to look like and even the imitations found in Ethiopian churches for ceremonial purposes are well covered over like the original. However, a strong advocate of the Ethiopian Ark, Graham Hancock in The Sign and the Seal, says what he has seen of an imitation is a tabot, not a box. This makes him think a table of the Law could be involved. I prefer a theory it could be what covered the Ark, namely the crucial Mercy Seat on which rested the cherubim who carried the glory of the divine Presence. Being all gold this would be less perishable than the Ark on which it rested. The Mercy Seat would be an important enough relic even if the Ark is still under Mt. Nebo or has long since been destroyed.

CHRIST AS TEMPLE AND THE CURRENT RELEVANCE OF THE CHRIST DATA

If Jesus understood himself in some sense to be bodily the Temple and its high priest then the mystery of Temple and Ark should register in his true birth data and it apparently does so. The asteroid, Tempel (German for Temple) is found in his first house of the body and in the same sign and degree it will occupy at the time of Friday’s announcement – an indication if nothing else that, even if false, the announcement challenges Judaeo-Christian belief.

Because the high priest enters to commune with God in the Temple’s Holy of Holies and Aaron was first high priest I long ago suspected that asteroid, Aharon, (also near Tempel in Jesus’ house of the body), held some significance. Exactly opposite asteroid Aharon on the same axis and in religion sign, Sagittarius, I found asteroid, Acacia – the Ark was made of Acacia wood though lined inside and out with gold. I suspected therefore that the axis of 16 Gemini-16 Sagittarius represented an astrospeak phenomenon pointing to the Ark and involving what astrologers call “sensitive degrees” that events can trigger across centuries if need be. Just this happens on 26th June. On Friday as the announcement is made Mercury (any news, and media issues) is exactly conjuncting Jesus’ 16 Gemini Aharon triggering off the sensitive axis.

THE ISRAEL/TEMPLE DATA

Earlier this year astrologers were speculating on what the very spiritual conjunction of religious Jupiter with mystical Neptune and wounded healer Chiron would bring us. It now looks like it includes issues around Temple and Ark. In Israel’s 1948 foundation chart, asteroid Tempel falls in Israel’s sector of the land and what’s inherited and it does so in the sign of shocks, surprises and controversies, Aquarius. The mentioned “spiritual” conjunction presently falls across Israel’s Tempel which is at 25 Aquarius though it’s specifically “wounded “ Chiron that most nearly conjuncts Tempel. An ancient wound and loss of Israel’s coming to light!? But this pair is also conjuncting asteroid Jeremias. Might this be indicating Jeremiah is somewhere too ignored within current claims?

The time of announcement is wonderfully descriptive in more ways than I can describe here but Libra, sign of Laws, rises for the 2pm announcement and at that on what’s called a critical degree, 13 Libra, and one that happens to be very important in Christ’s natus. For medieval astrologers this degree in Christ’s natus would have included The Part of Rumours True and False - which seems relevant enough here.

I am troubled about true and false in this case. The mentioned Jupiter, Neptune, Chiron conjunction because it includes ambiguous Neptune opens the possibility of some illusion. Asteroid Israel from a hidden place in the announcement pattern is in a difficulty aspect to the important Tempel/Chiron/Jeremiah contact. I am therefore forced at this stage to conclude:

Either the Ethiopian claim will be found to be false

or

It is valid, even if perhaps for an aspect of the Ark only, but something to do with especially Jeremiah traditions about the Ark might yet need to be discovered.

But, whatever the case, it’s likely that:

The stress factor to Israel in the announcement pattern suggests the postponed, prevented or ignored quests for the Ark (a hot political issue because of the contested Dome of the Rock area and some Muslim denials the Jewish Temple ever existed beside the Dome or anywhere) will be resumed with renewed zeal. And I think the proposed Third Temple for which all this could be a crucial issue can be considered very much on the way. Remember the current Temple relevance for Israel of the conjunction I mentioned. The day after the first news of the Ark was heard in Rome on 17th June, clerics in Jerusalem launched a debate and plans regarding the re-building the Temple.

MY ORIGINAL JUSTIFIED SPECULATION

The following is what I wrote about two years ago. It’s from a long chapter which considers the position of 350 asteroids in Christ’s birth data, some of the data so remarkable that when I wrote it the following seemed at the time almost trivial by comparison. It’s nevertheless a comment on our times that publishers and agents have been disinterested even to look at any of this controversial research material or will tell you they just don’t nowadays “deal in religion or spirituality”. As a published author and doctor of religious studies I should be given more benefit of the doubt.

(excerpt)
Asteroids Aharon (Aaron) and Aaronson , Acacia and the Ark of the Covenant.
Jesus was not descended from Aaron, Moses’ high priestly brother and upholder of the Law, so we shouldn’t expect vivid connections here and we don’t find them. Aharon is not conjuncting Musa (Moses) while another asteroid, Aaronson is not notable unless in an aspect to Pluto - possibly implying how, prior to Jesus, Israel’s main link to God (Pluto) was understood to be through Aaron and the line of priest sons he represents. Still, the chart is not about Israel but about Jesus for whom Aharon falls in his first house of the body and image at 16 Gemini. Again nothing notable here unless perhaps Aharon’s loose conjunction to the Temple asteroid at 19 whose first house position reflects how Jesus will bodily become the Temple (and is, in his way, high priest identified too). However, materially, Herod’s Temple still stood during Jesus’ lifetime and within the Holy of Holies was a space where formerly stood the now lost or hidden First Temple’s Ark of the Covenant. Made of acacia wood this Ark had contained the two written tablets of the Law (Gemini sign of the Two and of writing), a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod which budded. So the close challenging opposition to Aharon of a suggestively ark linked asteroid, Acacia, and in faith/religion sign, Sagittarius (the challenge of things difficult to believe round Aaron?) is the sort of coincidence to make astrologers suspect astrospeak here and that 16 Gemini/16 Sagittarius could be a degree axis permanently sensitive to issues round the ark. If the ark is discovered, or if the Temple is rebuilt in our times, we might hope to certify if such is the case.