Zero Is The Greatest Number

This is the number of God

Religion tries to understand God.

Science tries to understand the Universe.

Some feel that both can be understood through numbers, or mathematical formulas.

I like the simplicity of mathematical formula. But when I look at the great mysteries of the cosmos, I think there's more there than can ever be proven.

There's been a lot of news lately about the so-called 'God particle', which is just the main stream media's idea of sexing up science so people can actually get excited about it :)

The news is exciting, because it can expand our knowledge of the universe. It may help what is called the Standard Model of Particle Physics, a mathematical formula that explains how the fundamental building blocks of the Universe interact with each other. So far, the model does not explain how particles build up mass, you know, things like atoms or large planetary bodies.

Scientists postulate the existence of an energy field called the Higgs field, that permeates every part of the Universe, even in what is called Dark Matter in the emptiest regions of space. It is this energy field that gives mass to particles, or in other words, creates everything (You see where I'm going with this, don't you? ;)

The standard model does not explain the gravitational mechanics that holds together the Universe, though Einstein's General Theory of Relativity does quite a good job, imo. The genius of Einstein lay in that he could look at a pattern, and see things that formed the basis of his theories. He would sleep, and come up with solutions in the dream state. This process of intuition is one explored in depth by Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of modern psychology.

I'm reading "Deciphering The Cosmic Number-The Strange Friendship of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung" by Arthur I. Miller. Pauli was a famous physicist who predicted the discovery of the neutrino and had a lasting impact on theoretical physics. Jung's psychoanalytical theory borrowed much from metaphysics and arrived at the concept of a universal consciousness, and, synchronicity.

Both were intrigued by numbers, from a scientific and a metaphysical perspective. And in the course of their relationship, both developed an obsession with the number 137, that it was a number at the root of a mathematical formula for the universe. Their reasons were based on 1/137 being a constant in the fine structure of matter, and that 137 had a kabbalistic connection as well. Yet it was Pauli, the scientist, who thought that numbers had a mystical power (they do) which would help him understand the universe, and Jung, the psychoanalytical metaphysician, who looked to science to help validate his mystical theories (I believe his focus on science was a loss to psychoanalysis, which could have developed much further otherwise. Others will now have to continue this quest to develop a better understanding of human psychology) It is a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all the brilliant insights it provides.

But here's the thing. While 137 might well be the number of the Universe, what, precisely, is the number of God? Kabbalists, alchemists, gnostics, have endeavoured to come up with a number, but each assumes that it must be a finite number. I believe the answer is Zero.

I have always known that to understand God we would have to understand nothingness, or, the void.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light": and there was light." Genesis 1:1-3.

So the universe starts out of nothingness, or, the void. And then, out of that energy, comes light.

So, science can explain the mechanics of the universe, with varying degrees of success. It can't explain consciousness, or how that develops in us, unless it also explains a creator :)

Jung got that right, by exploring consciousness, and universal consciousness. He also suggested that the answers lay in the unconscious, and there was a bridge between science and the unconscious that could help increase our knowledge and human understanding.

He and Pauli (it really is a lovely book) started to look at Gematria, the kabbalistic system that assigns numbers to letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So, therefore, each word has a particular numerical value that can also have spiritual meaning. You will see that reasoning in Hindu and Hermetic philosophy as well, and a sequence of sounds, or chant, or saying 'Om', for example, can have effect.

Ah, but to borrow from the song, what is the sound, of silence? And, in deep space, is there sound? It is the absence of sound, of light, of mass that interests me. It is this absence, this nothingness that is the root number of God, which is Zero.

The Buddha got it right. Our religions' attempts to define God are often expressions of our own ego, or desire. He suggested instead, that we try to reach a space of nothingness, without thought or desire. This, too, is God.

So we have this primordial force that creates the many universes. Science attempts to explain it as contained within the three dimensions of space, then a fourth one, of time, but it misses another dimension, of spirit consciousness, and, another: the primal force of the void.

It is interesting that both Jung and Pauli were open to new interpretations of the supernatural, (as am I :) or alchemical symbology to explain nuclear forces. Seriously, all you need to create gold is an enormous power source, but I just want to explain the knowledge for now.

There's a new physics formula waiting to be discovered, called the Theory Of Everything (TOE) which covers the strong and weak nuclear forces, gravitation, electro-magnetic force, and how mass is created. I'm not a physicist, though, so can only explain my theory in spiritual terms.

But first, a personal story. My family knew the late professor Abdus Salam, Nobel prize winner in Physics for his co-discovery of the weak nuclear force. He could have won a second prize for his discovery that neutrinos have no mass, but was discouraged in publishing that by Pauli, who at first could not believe in what would soon turn science upon its head. The prize for that discovery eventually went to others, but the two scientists developed a mutually admiring friendship. I look at their correspondence, between a Muslim and a Jewish scientist, and wish that all our religious differences could so be overcome..

So, a theory: You can plot a line across curved time and space, say in four dimensions. Or, you can have multiple parallel dimensions, each occupying a space slightly off axis of each other, or, spinning at different speeds. So, Time and Space can be measured many ways relative to each other. You can exist across time and space, as I say in my classes. You can also, heal the past, or, visit the future.

The next possibility is that of the ego-consciousness. It is our collective memories, shared from past lives and with each other, that create another force, lets call it Psi. It influences us greatly, but our emotional turmoil blocks that knowledge. Raising our spirit consciousness allows us to go beyond our material or psyche based state into a magical dimension where things just happen.

But in between and within each dimension there is a space. That space, that energy, is called the void, the nothingness, and its number is zero.

This the number of God. Everything else is a number, a value, is created. But God is, and always has been.

Time circles upon itself, and so, God has always been.

There is the individual consciousness, and there is God consciousness. One is created, the other has always been.

The primary numbers, the kabbalistic and astrological archetypes, all have meaning. But when you add zero, or God, it raises them to a higher level. 1 becomes 10 becomes 100 etc, to illustrate my meaning. You can be bound by your archetype, your karma, or, you can free yourself from it.

People can spend a lifetime trying to free themselves from their thoughts. Yet all I do in my healing or meditation is touch them, and they know peace, for I reflect that energy back to them.

Time and space can be transcended. You can be bound by it, or, transcend it. And in the end, we all return to the nothingness.

Satan~ism

The Rudolph Steiner bust of Ahriman

An Italian court has just overturned the conviction of public prosecutor, PM Giuliano Mignini, accused of illegally wiretapping a prosecutor and police he felt were impeding his search for a serial killer. Mignini had been attacked for theorizing that a series of murders in the Florence area were the work of a satanic cult, with friends in high places. And right after that, this headline appeared in Italian news.

"Five arrested over Lampedusa 'voodoo' murder"

"Five people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after more than a dozen illegal immigrants were thrown from a boat in a "voodoo ritual to calm stormy seas," an Italian prosecutor has claimed" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8928738/Five-arrested-over-Lampedusa-voodoo-murder.html

Questions: What drives the belief in Satan, and how is it manifested? Given world events, are we ruled by human beings who chose to be evil, or are they actually controlled by forces of evil? Do satanic groups exist? Or just mentally ill people acting out stuff they read or saw in the movies? Or, again, is all this a manifestation of our psychology? Does Satan exist? As a being, or, a force?

Some say that Satan rules the earth.

Conventional mythology and monotheistic religions hold that this being is a lesser angel, angry at God, and therefore always trying to subvert God's creation, and turn humanity away. Or, an aspect of God. Or, an energy.

Ahriman: Zoroastrianism holds that Ahriman, the prototype for Satan, is the 'destroyer of hope' that must fight Ahura Mazda, the 'bringer of light' . This is a form of dualism that suggests two equal forces. It is a battle that has always been, and will continue to the end times, or, as I like to call it, the beginning times.

Then again, in a now extinct form of Zoroastrianism, we see Zurvan, the original creator god, within which both good and evil are contained. So, Satan could well be an aspect of God.

Mesopotamian texts are the first written history we have of the symbolism of the snake, or serpent, which have since been perverted as symbols of Satan. In ancient times, the snake was the symbol of knowledge. It is still a symbol of healing, in the twinned serpent caduceus. And, it is the symbol of sacred sexuality, all forces that have been subverted by the controlling forms of religion.

Satanic Theology: There must be protagonist and antagonist, or competing forces. There must be apocalyptical struggle. There must be good and evil, and the struggle between them is the basis of this theology.

Shamanism: The earlier spirituality of natural forces and earth energy ended up in conflict with the later sky god religions; yet, even in Mesopotamian culture, it was understood there was a dualism that combined the two energies, the male and female, to make the whole. Yes, shamanism, with its emphasis on blood, masks, and human sacrifice, at times veered into some deep dark spaces the sky religions sought to suppress. Yet the later religions, in trying to put down the feminine, actually incorporated many shamanic practices into themselves.

And Satanism actually grew as a result of this suppression, and a lot of what we consider to be good or evil is often a religious construct, with no basis of justification except as a means of control of a competing model of spirituality. I do not argue that good or evil does not exist, but they happen within what is known as Universal Law, and not religion, which are man made laws. Even the belief in black as the colour of evil is based on this split.

Interesting side note: I use black as a healing colour as it represents karma. Karma is correlated with sin, that there are consequences for our actions...I also see a super black, which is the complete absence of light, as the colour of the Void, the 'nothingness' that Buddhism attempts to get to, that Science is only beginning to understand. Here is also, death and destruction, the chaos beyond ordinary physical laws that help create life anew..

I personally believe in a flow of energy between Sky God and Mother Earth, and that we exist between the two, and bring balance through ourselves. It is only when we are not in balance that we commit evil.

Secret Groups: There have been secret societies since Babylonian times. There are good forces that serve and try to take humanity to a higher level, some that, rightly or wrongly, feel they alone can decide what is good for humanity and the direction it must take, and some that use black magic, or fear, ritual and psychology to control people. For further reading I refer to Pauwel and Bergier's Morning of the Magicians, Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of the Ages, and William Bramley's The Gods of Eden. Rudolph Steiner is also a good source for some of the battles between the different factions of these occult societies. There also is a very strong connection between some of them and the Nazis, far too numerous for me to list here, but I suggest you read about Nicolas Roerich and the Thule Society, and Heinrich Himmler's expeditions to the Himalayas.

Then, there are the Freemasons, about whom more later.

Modern Satanism:

The Process: The first satanic group I met was called the Process, or The Church of the Final Judgement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_Church

Led by Robert de Grimston and his wife Mary Anne MacLean, they were a splinter group from Scientology. In 1966, they retreated from the world to Xtul, in the Yucatan peninsula. There, with the aid of various stimuli and psychedelia, they channeled God, aka Jehovah, then, the later aspects Christ, Lucifer and Satan, and stated we all vibrate according to one or the other aspect, and we must eventually integrate all four. They were much perturbed when I said I already integrated all four. I was a young whippersnapper then :)

Having been born out of the various psychoanalytical therapy movements of the 60’s, the Process was widely influential with Rock Stars and in the counter culture movement. The Process eventually fell apart when it turned out they had influenced multiple killers Charles Manson and David Berkowitz, the 'Son of Sam' and they tried to change direction.

I found it interesting they had a secret, undisclosed belief in long ago UFO’s visiting Earth based on the writings of Brinsley Le Poer Trench, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinsley_Le_Poer_Trench,_8th_Earl_of_Clancarty and http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9923/trench.html and that their ideology had some resemblance with mine. But I saw also elements of manipulation and control I would never be able to live with.

Yet, for all they might truly believe in an apocalyptical world and that Charles Manson was a sign of the end times, there was something beautiful there too, in that even if they got Satan all wrong, they still got God, somewhat right.

THE GODS ON WAR

Robert de Grimston, Process Church of the Final Judgment.

http://feastofhateandfear.com/archives/robert_07.html

Yeow! The reading is a riff on War, and yes it should be read in full, great poetry cannot be summarised but read in its entirety.

But here's the conclusion:

"1.15 Humanity as a whole will not rise above its conflicts. Even if it were to do so it would still destroy all the physical, social and moral structures which it has created, because it would see their total invalidity. But it will not; so the destruction will take place in a chaos and confusion of ignorance, with the vast majority still clinging desperately to their hollow materialistic dreams, even in the depths of their final despair; whilst the few who do rise above the conflicts, will stand aside, separated from the mass, united not within but without the man-made structures of the human game, and linked to a new reality founded not on the laws of men but on the Laws of GOD."

The Process Church reinvented itself as the New Ager Foundation Faith of the Millennium, then as one of America’s most well known Animal Rescue services, the Best Friends Animal Society based in Utah. It pleases me to know that my old friends Brothers Micah and Michael, and Mother Ophelia, who sought so hard in the 60’s and the 70’s to create a better new world, now serve our animal friends. (They were the organization that went in and rescued many animals from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and if they ignored the humans, at least they did good, nevertheless)

I lived through tumultuous times and saw how hard people tried to change the corrupt society they lived in. The assassinations of JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lennon, the Vietnam War, Kent State and anti-war movement, Che Guevara’s execution, the 1966-68 student riots, the music, the films. We were the idealistic generation, and if some choose to drop out and explore the possibility of a beautiful spiritual alternative, then more power to them.

The CIA and Mind Control experiments: After WWII the CIA enrolled many spies from the Nazi secret services. They also took over many scientists who had conducted mind control experiments for the Nazis. See Mark Zepezauer's The CIA's Greatest Hits and Bramley (above) for further references. From Bramley, pg 449: (Re: the Jonestown massacre) "On September 27, 1980, investigative reporter Jack Anderson ran a column about the Jonestown incident. One newspaper headlined the column: CIA involved in Jonestown Massacre? In this column, Anderson refers to a tape recording of Jim Jones in which he refers to a man called Dwyer. This may be Richard Dwyer, the CIA deputy chief in Guyana who accompanied the fact finding congressman Leo Ryan to Jonestown. Congressman Ryan was killed, but Dwyer, unharmed. Hmm.

After the massacre, investigators found large quantities of arms and powerful psychotropic drugs. Also found at Jonestown was chloral hydrate, which had been used in the CIA's secret mind control program MK ULTRA. It is entirely possible that Jim Jones' followers had been secretly administered these drugs to control them. Something I have seen happen in many other groups. Timothy Leary, the LSD promoting counterculture guru, also had CIA links. Was the massacre triggered by Congressman Leary's mission to investigate the group's activities? Jim Jones was known to have distinctive tattoos. Yet the person whose body was found had none.

Modern satanism is, I find, an extension of mind control experiments that were conducted by various secret services from the early 20th century on.

The CIA infiltrated and set up various New Age groups, cults, and psycho-therapy organizations. L Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology had connections with the Office of Naval Intelligence, and Jim Jones, with the CIA. LSD experimentation was conducted on unsuspecting patients in mental health clinics.

And yes, it has been alleged that mind control experiments are being conducted through various satanic fronts, and there is a heavy emphasis on blood, child abuse, ritual sacrifice, and psychological shock on the general population through sensational killings.

http://www.whale.to/b/aquino.html

Lt. Col. (ret'd) Michael Aquino of the Psychological Warfare Division of the US Army is one example of where I believe that 'satanism' can be a front for using trauma as a form of mind control.

It would be a lot harder to prove satanic ritual at work here. The whole process of ritual is to create a mind control matrix so powerful people can be conditioned to do things they never would do otherwise, or, remove inhibitions that previously acted as a check on the deepest urges of their psyche. Such people rarely confess.

It also is very interesting to see occult symbolism in horrific events like 9/11, the London Tube Bombings (7/7/7) and Operation 'Shock and Awe' (Shekinah) Such visual symbology can literally change us..

One can really get sucked into this, but what gets me is the underlying psychology. To me, the real satanists aren't people play acting something they read about, but the torturers of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Bush and Blair, and the Wall Street banks :)

The Masons: They are one interesting group. Their mythology states they are the builders of Solomon's temple, and their outwards impulse is humanitarian and utopian. The craft they speak of concerns the building of a new temple, but also, a new society. They are thought to be behind the revolutionary societies that created the French, American, and Russian revolutions.

It is in Italy, however, that one sees an interesting dichotomy. Italians have a fascination for investigating possible satanic links to serial killers and child sex abuse. The Catholic Church under Pope Paul II reiterated its ban on any Catholic joining the Masons, and this goes back to the time when Garibaldi, the Italian liberator, attacked the Church's power and was roundly criticized for being a revolutionary mason. There is no love lost between the groups, and those feelings run deep.

Yet it was in Italy we learned about a masonic lodge called P2 Propaganda Lodge, which worked with the Vatican and the Mafia, and was set up by the CIA! http://rawilson.com/undercontrol.html They were part of underground groups set up in Europe to counter communism, and followed the already established template of various interlocking criminal/masonic/religious/ military intelligence networks. (See, the Moonies) And, this group was responsible for the Milan train station bombing, the assassination of premier Aldo Moro, and other terrorist attacks to try to destabilise Italian society and bring in a right wing government.

Therefore, I do believe there are such groups, but their purpose is to establish elite control over the population. Satanism is just a front used to hide their real goals.

The Power Of A Curse, or, Voodoo: There are people that believe in such things, and I've been asked many times if they were under a curse of some kind which caused their misfortunes? Of course there are some that practice Voodoo, or Santeria. I used to work for a Government Agency and one day a lady took exception to the way she felt she had been treated. As she left she yelled, "I put a hex on all of you!" Within a week, every person in our department had an accident, thankfully minor ones. I say that of course such power, or directed energies can affect us. We also have the power to NOT be affected by them.

But I say this to you. Such curses always affect the people who make them. Better to be at peace, and let things pass right through you.

And yes, some people practice black magic. Yet you look at Aleister Crowley, who was not only a spy for British Intelligence, but insane. And James Jesus Angleton, the CIA spymaster, was probably paranoid, and he set up the P2 masonic lodge in Italy. Most people practicing black magic just use it to psychologically control others or work through their own psychoses. They try to control entities yet end end up being controlled by them. See my "Angels, Spirits, Demons and Djinn" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/01/angels-spirits-demons-and-djinns.html to get an idea:)

It is a valid argument to say that demonic possession is simply a form of mental illness. Indeed, the ancients used to argue that the mentally ill were 'demon possessed". I, happen to believe that such energies are indeed, real, and whether one is performing an exorcism or a visualization to help people with their problems, it is the end result that counts.

Christ and Anti-Christ: The world's religions create this need to believe in saviours, and the forces that oppose them. I disagree. It depends on us, and the choices we make, and said so here: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/christ-antichrist-and-armageddon-i.html but know that each of us can choose to align with either of these energies, and manifest them within ourselves.

Satan: So, is Satan real? Yes, indeed. As long as you also accept that Satan is a form of consciousness. As long as you accept that Satan, like God, resides within us, and the path you choose is the one that determines your fate, and not, an external force. We are faced with these choices every day, to do good or evil, to accept injustice or not, to allow ourselves to be manipulated by lies or, to find our own balance. We make a decision, each day, to give in to fear and hatred, or, to know compassion, faith, and love.

And, even when we are tempted to make the wrong choice, there always is the path that leads back to God.

Quo Vadis?

The astrological chart of Italy

I thought I had never known any Italian people until we moved to Canada but then I remembered, omigod, MV Asia! We came back from Japan by ship (this was before jet planes) and for a whole month, we were on the most beautiful passenger-cargo ship I have ever seen, MV Asia. It was Italian, of course ;)

In an age when people actually travelled between countries by passenger ship, the post war Italian ships were the epitome of design. The Lloyd Triestino line had seven specially designed ships that travelled the world. From The Ocean Liner Museum: http://www.lastoceanliners.com/cgi/lolline.pl?LLO

"The Italian tradition of luxury and style at sea was never so fully realised as it was with its postwar fleet of liners. Though its fleet had been virtually destroyed by the ravages of war, Lloyd Triestino made a great effort to rise from those ruins, and thus were produced some of the finest, stylish, elegant, graceful and most beautiful vessels to ever sail the oceans of the world.

All this series of ships had typically modern, sculpted Italian lines, which included sharply raked bows, lusciously curved superstructures, tripod masts, streamlined and low funnels, terraced after decks with a pool and lido for both classes and graciously curved cruiser spoon sterns. It was the "Golden Age" of the combi-liner, and the Victoria and her sister Asia were among the most beautiful of their type ever built".

The two most beautiful of them were the MV Victoria and the MV Asia, which regularly travelled the Italy-Hong Kong route. There were about 500 passengers, and the crew, all Italian, so I and my brothers were treated very nicely all over the ship for the whole month it took for us to get back home. And if you have never eaten a meal at sea, or been in a tropical storm, or seen the sun set over some distant horizon, you have not lived.

But pardon my digression into a magical point of my childhood. This is an article about the people of Italy.

Now I confess to having strong feelings about places I have been to and people I have known in lives past. Maybe it is my observation that Italians are just like Pakistanis :) for we are indeed, alike in our love of children and family and food. We are warm and passionate, and what you see is what you get (Just don't mix us up with Indians, please. Sorry :) Maybe it's the kindness I'd received when I was young, or the quality I appreciate the most; the honesty of emotion.

Regardless, I found myself being drawn, once again, to Italy when some Americans, in defending accused murderer Amanda Knox, had to attack a whole country for its perceived shortcomings...Irony abounds.

A while back I was telling all and sundry about an impending clash between right and left wing style governments and that people would peel back from the excesses of both sides and find some balance.

And sure enough, what I said about France and Italy is coming to pass. Sarkozy's turning liberal, almost, and Berlusconi's, out. Their shameful involvement in the war on Libya has a very heavy price that will be shared by their countrymen.

I like to use astrology's language and symbols to describe events that have come and those yet to come, it has an elegance that can't be beat.

I found this analysis written by astrologer Liz Greene in 1999 about Italy's future. The period she covers runs from 1999 to 2009, and describes very well, what might have been. http://www.astro.com/nat/natit_e.htm

"The republic of Italy was born in 1946 under the versatile, communicative sign of Gemini. Pluto, as it moves through Sagittarius, presents major challenges to this country's political, financial, and social structures, offering the possibility of a total transformation of outlook with greater stability and the fulfilment of many cherished social ideals. However, it would seem that this potential, because of Pluto's delving quality, can only be achieved if there is greater transparency and openness on the part of both government and people.

Italy's birth chart reflects the double-edged gift of an intense and enormously creative individuality coupled with a propensity to shroud many things from prying eyes. It is this inclination toward secrecy, reflected in many areas of Italian life and government, which may be challenged by Pluto, and old sores and grievances inherited from the past may need to be brought into the open and re-evaluated so that the innate optimism, idealism and generosity expressed by the fine aspect between the Sun and Jupiter in this birth chart can be anchored in positive changes which benefit everyone.

Uranus, also a harbinger of change and progress, is crossing the area of Italy's chart which reflects its past, and this too suggests that many issues - both religious and social - need to be finally confronted and transformed. Italy's Scorpio Moon, hidden away in the area of the chart concerned with ancestral inheritance, suggests that old wounds linger for a long time, and so does the people's mistrust of authority, whether religious or political. The cleansing and inspirational energies of both Pluto and Uranus could provide the possibility for the healing of these wounds.

Whether or not you are personally in sympathy with the kinds of changes now on the horizon, this is one of the countries most powerfully affected by important planetary movements in the next decade, and the potential for positive change and the expression of each individual citizen's creative gifts is enormous"
~Liz Greene, 1999

I looked at the chart as well, and the following is my own interpretation. Yes, Italy exhibits, quite clearly, the dual nature of Gemini. The mercurial creative side, the hidden spiritual nature. Thus, I say there is a higher side to it, and a lower more corrupt side. (Which is also described by its Scorpio nature)

I am writing about Italy today because many years ago, I had a vision about the death of Pope John Paul I and knew that changes in the Catholic Church would be reflected in changes in the country of Italy. I have long thought this dividing line to come would be described as the old Italy vs the new. Some have said there is no such divide, but they are thinking it's all controlled by vested interests that will resist change. I say it's a battle between the Italy of the past, and that yet to come, which is the spiritual awakening which is yet to take place. And I see also, the end of the Catholic Church, and the beginning of a new one, which will also be mirrored by, a new Italy.

It does look like the next two years will lead to a battle between the old and the new Italy. Yes, the potential for positive change is enormous, but so, too, will be the resistance to change. Interesting, that the planet Saturn, which represents restriction, became exact this November 9-10, when the crisis peaked. It will be exact again from late May to August 2012, when there will be another crisis, change, elections or revolution.

The chart for Italy shows mercurial Sun in Gemini, the very deep 12th house Moon and Ascendant in Scorpio, and not that there are secrets, but there are depths to those secrets. When you see Prime Ministers belonging to secret masonic lodge P2 which was responsible for deep corruption, Mafia and Vatican entanglements, assassinations, terrorist bombings, and financial thievery, you know that there are depths indeed.

Yes, with four planets in the 8th house the Italians are a very sensual people. There is also, financial corruption shown in the 8th house placement. With Sun in Gemini they can also be religious, even, spiritual, even if the planet Mercury can make them er, flexible in their beliefs. It is my hope they will be not only rational and analytical in their choices in the time to come, they will also be, spiritual.

And 12th house Moon in Scorpio again? Secret services, spies. Scorpio can be either of the highest spirituality; or, the depths of the gutter. It was Italian agency SISMI that fed the world the fake Niger tapes that led to the Iraq war, the Vatican is reputed to have the finest intelligence agency in the world ( I can see some better, ISI and MI-6) and Propaganda Lodge P2 and Operation Gladio assassinated anti-Mafia judges and set off bombs in train stations.

But what I see the beauty Italy has given the world. For every Pope killed (John Paul I was the most recent) I see the Sistine chapel and Michelangelo's Pieta. There is the Mafia, and there are Ferraris :) There were the ships MV Victoria and Asia.

Some people, who know only how to measure by political or economic yardsticks, are hopeful the new government of Italy will bring about change. Others, of like mind are more pessimistic, saying the old order is too entrenched.

The economist in me says there some strong fundamentals to the Italian economy. People tend to save more than most other European nations so their banks are reasonably stable. They could buy up more of their debt so they are not too dependant on foreign predator banks and speculators. They have a strong industry and work force, and, they have gold.

According to this article http://seekingalpha.com/article/307336-why-proposals-that-italy-should-sell-its-gold-are-ridiculous Italy has one of the largest gold reserves in the world, and unlike the short-sighted British who sold theirs for $250 per oz or the Germans who store theirs in New York, of all places (!) http://www.abendblatt.de/wirtschaft/article2087049/Deutschlands-Gold-liegt-im-Tresor-in-New-York.html it is the Italians that refuse to sell theirs, which is very wise. Gold has a power of its own; don't misunderstand when I say it is spiritual. So suffice to say Italy has a strong base, and its last 12 years of misjudgement is not fatal in itself. There will be a long period of readjustment no matter what else takes place. But the future brings much more than what ordinary people can overcome.

This is the sadness of being able to see the future. On the one hand you see signs of what lies ahead. On the other hand you know it might be too late. You try to warn friends and the people you love, but what happens then depends on the choices they make.

The answer, for the people of Italy and the world is that political and economic change will not be enough. All we ever get is the semblance of change, without anything real.

Unless there is real spiritual change, things will get much worse, sorry.

The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo

The Nobel Committee Flunked Again

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 is to be divided in three equal parts between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society"

As always in the sorry history of the awards, the story is not who won, but, who didn't. Please understand that my comments are not directed at these women laureates who have done wonderful work in their respective spheres of Liberia and Yemen. They are being honored as symbols of a larger group of women who gather around the world to ask for peace. But at the same time, it is those who were ignored, and why, that is the real story.

One could also say the award has been politicised, with President Obama's undeserved win in 2009, Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu being nominated 21 times, and each time, shamefully passed over, and many other deserving groups ignored for inexplicable reasons.

For the last two years, the Argentinian Grandmothers of the Plaza De Mayo have been nominated for their work, and each time, passed over.

Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo Nominated for Nobel Prize
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/12/headlines/argentinas_grandmothers_of_the_play_de_mayo_nominated_for_nobel_prize

"The Argentine human rights group the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The group started in 1977 when mothers who lost children under Argentina’s military dictatorship gathered to trade stories and provide support. That meeting later spawned the first of scores of demonstrations and actions against Argentina’s military leaders.

The Grandmothers’ president, Estela Carlotto, was joined at a news conference Wednesday by the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón and Chilean senator Isabel Allende.

Estela Carlotto: "What we have done we did over time with perseverance, creativity, persistence, stubbornness, and the great love that we have for the two generations that we are looking for. And we didn’t realize that this could grow in such a way."

They did, indeed grow in such a way, and it is important to honor and tell their story, and all other women around the world who have done such work for peace. That some are ignored because they do not fit a safe mold, or they shame us for our complicity in crimes done against humanity, only requires that we tell their stories again and again, till people listen.

And, speaking of why I titled this post "The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo" instead of Grandmothers, it is because they were the original group. In the 70's the Argentinian military dictatorship killed tens of thousands of activists and stole their children to be raised by rich Argentinians. Then it was their mothers, the grandmothers, who gathered every week to demand the return of their grandchildren. This is the story of all the mothers of Argentina that aroused the conscience of their countrymen and eventual defeat of the military government.

SEARCHING FOR LIFE: THE GRANDMOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO AND THE DISAPPEARED CHILDREN OF ARGENTINA
http://usf.usfca.edu/fac_staff/webberm/plaza.htm

"First we will kill all the subversives; then we will kill their collaborators; then…their sympathizers. Then…those who remain indifferent; and finally we will kill the timid. General Iberico Saint-Jean, governor of Buenos Aires (1977)

Here I can do with you whatever I want because I am the lord of life and death. Colonel Roberto Roualdes, First Command, Army Corps

On October 23, 1975, at the Eleventh Conference of Latin American Armies in Montevideo, Uruguay, journalists asked Lieutenant General, Jorge Rafael Videla, commander in chief of the Argentine military forces, about the fight against subversion. "In order to guarantee the security of the state," General Videla replied, "all the necessary people will die." And when asked to define a subversive, he answered, "Anyone who opposes the Argentine way of life."

"THE MOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO
Among the relatives of the disappeared a group of mothers emerged, galvanized by a woman in her fifties, Azucena Villaflor de DeVincenti, whose son and daughter-in-law had been abducted. Azucena had worked in a factory as a young woman, but after her marriage she devoted herself completely to her family. Her energy and charisma became sources of inspiration for the other mothers. They started meeting in her home to draft petitions, gather information, and plant the, seeds of their future organization. It was Azucena's idea to go to the Plaza de Mayo and to ask for an audience with President Videla to find answers to their questions about the disappearances.

On April 30, 1977, fourteen mothers gathered at the Plaza de Mayo, ; traditionally the heart of Argentine civic life. By meeting there, the Mothers placed themselves in the public eye in a desperate attempt to bring attention to their families' plight. Labeled Las Locas de Plaza de Mayo {the crazies of the Plaza de Mayo), they broke the conspiracy of silence that had permeated the country and found a way to channel their despair and frustration into action. After that day, they and Argentina would never be the same.

The Mothers' marches became a weekly event, taking place every Thursday at 3:30 P.M. Forced to walk because of the regime's orders prohibiting public gatherings, they would walk slowly for half an hour. When the police tried to intimidate them and make them leave, they resisted and affirmed their right to demonstrate on behalf of their disappeared children.

Slowly their numbers started to grow, and they began wearing white handkerchiefs and carrying pictures of their missing children. The women asked their husbands not to join them in their weekly gatherings, afraid that the presence of the men would make the situation worse.

Maria Adela Antokoletz remembers: "We endured pushing, insults, attacks by the army, our clothes were ripped, detentions. But the men, they would not have been able to stand such things without reacting, there would have been incidents; they would have been arrested for disrupting the public order and, most likely, we would not have seen them ever again."

The minister of the interior, General Albano Harguindeguy, finally agreed to meet with three of the mothers. He tried to convince them that their children had left the country of their own free will, and warned them to stop their demonstrations. It was the first time that a high-ranking official had received the relatives. But the Mothers responded that they would continue their marches until they knew with certainty of their children's fate.

Placing advertisements in newspapers to publicize the names of the disappeared was one of the Mothers' main outreach activities. The newspapers requested hefty fees for these ads and demanded the certified addresses of ten of the signers, addresses that they subsequently gave to the police.

On December 8, 1977, at a meeting held in the Church of Santa Cruz to raise money for an ad, an ESMA Task Force broke in and kidnapped nine people. Among them was Sister Alice Domon, a French nun who had worked with peasants in some of the poorest regions of Argentina and who was a supporter of the Mothers. In Buenos Aires, Sister Domon had taught catechism to children with Down's syndrome, the son of General Videla among them.

Another supporter of the group was kidnapped from his home. And two days later-on December 10, Human Rights Day-Azucena Villaflor de DeVincenti and Leonie Duquet {another French nun) were abducted and joined the ranks of the disappeared. Survivors from the ESMA testified to having seen these twelve people at the camp, where they were brutally tortured.

The kidnapping of the two French nuns would eventually become a rallying point of international protest, which continues to this day. The government, which tried to blame the Montoneros for the kidnapping, showed pictures of the nuns under a fake Montonero sign. Sister Domon was forced to write a letter stating that she was in the "hands of an armed group" opposed to the government. In fact, Lieutenant Alfredo Astiz, a twenty-six-year-old sailor, had infiltrated the Mothers group, claiming to be the brother of a disappeared. Blue-eyed, young, and innocent looking, he had gained the trust of Azucena and Sister Domon.

Showing up at the gathering at the Santa Cruz church, Astiz alerted the ESMA Task Force as the meeting was drawing to an end. Azucena's disappearance failed to deter the group. "It was a hard time for us, but we weren't broken. They thought there was only one Azucena, but there wasn't just one. There were hundreds of us," said Aida de Suarez, one of the Mothers. Azucena herself, in a premonitory mood a few days before her abduction, had said: "If something happens to me, you continue. Do not forget it.

Thanks to their determination, courage, and intelligence, the Mothers began to attract international recognition and to receive support from governments and organizations concerned about human rights. Foreign journalists often covered their weekly marches; and on the occasion of the World Cup soccer championship in Buenos Aires in 1978, they focused on the Mothers, providing them with instant inter- national exposure.

The Mothers became the moral conscience of the country and gained a space in the political arena, challenging the notion of women as powerless and subservient to family and state.

Among the Mothers' weekly gatherings at the Plaza de Mayo were also women whose grandchildren were missing. In October 1977 twelve mothers established the Association of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and organized around one specific demand: that the children who had been kidnapped as a method of political repression be returned to their legitimate families. The Association grew quickly as dozens of grandmothers joined the group.

During the dictatorship, nine human rights organizations were active throughout Argentina. Some of the groups-such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and the Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared for Political Reasons-were started by relatives of the disappeared who were pressing the government for information about their family members. Others-Like the League for the Rights of Man, the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH), and the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS)- collected and reported evidence of human rights violations and did a considerable amount of legal work.

Religious human rights groups also arose, such as the Peace and Justice Service {SERPAJ), the Ecumenical Movement for Human Rights {MEDH), and the Jewish Movement for Human Rights {Movimiento Judfo por los Derechos Humanos). These last groups, respectively, incorporated members of the Catholic clergy who were critical of the church hierarchy, Protestant ministers, and Jews. All of the organizations were committed to a broad vision of social justice, and each responded to different pressures and particular histories of the community from which it emerged. They often helped each other and formed various alliances in response to the regime's multiple abuses"

Mothers who represented a moral conscience, a force strong enough to change the world. What a powerful symbol, and what we need to honor today. Be it the women in black, who gather around the world. Women in Israel, who ask forgiveness for those children killed on the Palestinian side as they forgive those who killed their children. Cindy Sheehan, one woman who asked why her son had been killed in Iraq, and camped outside President Bush and Obama's summer homes to protest against war. That people in the US did not support her is their shame.

And it is a shame that we only focus on human rights abuses and oppression in some countries but not our own. For that reason, I honor the Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo. They call for peace and healing, for all of us.

The Joy of Writing

Just let the words come to you

There was an interesting discussion on the subject of Amanda Knox's ability as a writer, and some were er, unkind. It seems there may be a bidding war for her prison diary though that might just be her PR agent spreading a rumour :)

Some compared her unfavourably to the French prodigy Francoise Sagan, whose first novel, Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness) was written when she was seventeen. Others thought her stream of consciousness style compared unfavourably with Beckett and Joyce. And others (in another forum) thought we were just frustrated writers become critics :)

But my interest in the subject comes from a different place. Is writing a declining art? Where is the next great book? What do I tell future generations of writers when it appears that TV, the Internet, and the Twitterization of the young and the navel-gazing of the Baby Boomers has made a vast desert of the field of literature?

I've written about my love of books http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2010/07/books-i-have-loved.html the power of poetry http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/08/power-of-poetry.html the joy of Hafez http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2009/07/joy-of-hafez.html and a poem for Palestine http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/07/poem.html and so yes, this subject is important to me.

Yes, I consider myself a writer, and hope the art of writing never dies out. I also hope no one is ever discouraged from writing (whether they are writing only because of celebrity or notoriety ;) since we all learn from the act of writing.

Some think the Akkadian epic of Gilgamesh is the first written work of literature, from around 2150 BCE. Me, I say we have written since pre-historic times, going back at least to the cave paintings of Chauvet and Lascaux in France. I see religious symbology, but also the history of a people there.

Me, I am only glad I didn't take Literature at University but the road that led to healing and spirituality. It wasn't me, and I thought right away the course would tell me what the formula for writing was, and I'd become a hack.

Yes, I did meet Joseph Campbell in Japan. Yes, I missed meeting Shirley MacLaine; her daughter went to my school the year after I left, and I mention her only in the context of saying, dang! she wrote about past life recall way after I did :)

And yes, I had a choice, go to New York in 1975 and become a published writer (I know I would have been) or go to London and everything I have become since then was because of making, the right choice (albeit a painful one :)

Because London was where I remembered the rest of my past lives, and wrote The Way of Atlan, and got married, and had a child that led to many more things.

I want to tell writers that it helps to love reading, and my mom taught me that by reading comic books to me. (That led to me reading Bonjour Tristesse, Anna Karenina, and Lady Chatterley's Lover when I was 13, booyah!) So of course I became editor of my school paper at 14 and wrote lots, so I suggest that you, too, write lots.

I also suggest you learn the rules of grammar and practice basic sentence construction as much as possible. You can always discard the rules when inspired, of course, but only after you've built the foundations. I never mind the avant-garde, as long as I get what you're saying.

Yes, indeed, genius is like a spiritual lottery, but there is no substitute for hard work. Genius tends to be unrecognized, but hard work brings the bread home.

So why do some get published, and others, not? Is it worth it to make a career of writing? No, of course not! You do it because you love it, and if others love it as well, that is only gravy.

I see the heart chakra as the seat of the creative soul. We live our art, be it music, sculpture, writing or any of a number of arts, and offer it freely. The heart chakra is also the seat of healing, and great art, heals. That is how we know it, regardless of what some might say. You see a great painting, and you feel whole, and good. If the art makes you think, that is great, but it is how it makes you feel that is the judge.

And if you never get published, that's OK. That too is a lottery, and even published writers struggle to pay the rent. You could always self-publish, of course.

I don't mean to denigrate the book industry. They need all the help they can get, and I appreciate the thousands of books I have to carry every time I move (note to self: enough smileys)

But you now have the option of putting up a blog, publishing on the Internet, and, self-publishing. When I quit my government job I cashed my entire pension, and plunked down $25,000 to have Man From Atlan printed. Set up my own imprint, a stained glass artist designed the cover, a computer designer did the fonts and films, an old fashioned print firm did the actual typesetting, printing and bookbinding. Which is the hard way, and now, it's much easier, because with print on demand you can get 10, or 100 printed even, no sweat. Or you can make a PDF file and post it on your site, or use Google Docs or E-Books. Up to you, go for it. As for me, I printed 5000 copies, sold 3000, made $60,000, and have 2000 copies left in my garage I would like to sell. Trust me, that's hard work, and it was worth it. I only want to publish more books.

I have a lot of respect for the work professional editors do. No writer can fail to get better with the support of a dedicated editor who works to make your writing the best it can be. You of course need her or his feedback, and they can be mentor, teacher, friend, and, ruthless cutter of every extraneous thought and embellishment you may have thought to attache to the hull of your craft.

But the good ones pretty much all work for the publishing houses, that can only print a few books a year. I wish they'd do a lot more translations of foreign work, there are amazing writers out there! and it would only benefit us all to learn from them, but also, to find our own voice.

Some years ago a Swedish literateur said the Nobel Prize for literature was undeserved by Americans, and his European condescension literally dripped from his fangs, but then of course the last few years have been reserved for Scandinavian poets I Have Never Heard Of, and we can of course never have too much Scandinavian irony and French wordplay. One has only to say Sartre! Camus! Gide! to think Literature!

Well, sorry, but I think Americans need only to read more, from far and abroad, Latin American to Bengali to Australian aboriginal writers. They need to travel more. They need to experience life, and not just their drug trips. They need to read their own canon, and take a few courses.

If they re-learned the art of penmanship that alone could make them better writers, I promise you. (I type, still very slowly, and make more grammatical and spelling errors than when I wrote my first book at 24, all in longhand)

Learn to rewrite, and speak your words out loud. Does it read right? Get a literary agent. Keep trying. Don't let rejection slips get you down. Don't try to be the next Big Thing or the next Kurt Vonnegut or whoever, be a writer of yourself. You are a unique soul, with a unique voice. If even one person appreciates you, then your work is validated.

So learn to appreciate 'criticism'. Some of which might even be valid, mind you. When I published Man From Atlan a few critics, men and women, panned it unmercifully for sexism or found the sexual violence in it unsettling. (They missed the part about regret, and karma, but their feelings were valid, and I understand that my work, unsettles) But it was reviewed, and sold in a lot of bookstores in Toronto and New York, and I was on television, and a lot of people recognized me in the street and told me how much the book had changed their lives. It certainly changed mine. The critic I remember the most is a judge, who also was a director of the Manly P. Hall Foundation, who said "I can not believe this book was written by a twenty-four year old man. The writing is too sophisticated to accept as such". Gee thank you, I thought it was raw and very rough, so this was the nicest thing ever said.

Writing is a gift we share with others. It is a craft for which we hope to get paid but even that is so we can keep on writing. It is a flow of energy that began when I was very young, and I offer my work to people to accept or not. All we want is feedback.

May you always know the joy of writing.

The Road, Less Travelled

My first ride

My first ride was on a Vespa. That was all my dad could afford at that time in Pakistan. So we would all fit somehow, Dad, Mom, and sometimes all three brothers on it. (We were somewhat little then :)

But this is just a hook to discuss, the road we must all travel. We are on a journey, and yes that journey may seem very difficult at this point in time. I can only help give each person the tools to decide what direction to take.

I sent this out to my Global list in 2004. I hope it was well taken, and want to see how it applies today.

The Road Travelled

Many people have asked for help in determining what their purpose in life was. Was it based on what one did, or strengths and accomplishments, the places one had been to and the people met? Are we meant to follow certain rules, and obtain rewards in this and the afterlife, and those who broke the rules would be punished by whatever means, Hell or Karma, and the consequences would be unpleasant? Must we search in blindness, and do the best we can, and hope for the best?

In the past I have said there is a particular place within ourselves, the part or chakra of dharma, where our path can be determined. But knowing our path is not the important thing, it is how we get to that realisation, the road travelled, that is all-important.

This is a time for reflection, and so I would like to share with you The Road Travelled.

I have had great loves and sorrows, accomplishments, remembered my past lives, saved the lives of others and seen the future. My purpose is to help, but is that all there is? No.

I see men and women who aren't at peace, unhappy in love or their jobs or family situation, looking at their lives and saying is that all there is? Then there are those who find their passion and go for it, but are they truly content, or is there always, some unreachable goal they will pursue to the end of their days?

I see people who are so unhappy they can only live by obtaining substitutes for happiness, and that becomes their purpose. Is life meant to be suffered?

There is one answer, and one only. We must find God, however we may expect that being to be, and whatever form, and if that gives you peace and balance, hold to it. If you do not have peace and balance, search for it. What you do in life or how you do it may be a means to an end, but remember, the chakras I tell you about are just doorways into other dimensions. You must still find the thing you were meant to do. It may even be that all you have to do is love someone, or give in some way, or create something wonderful. You may be the greatest or the lowest of beings, but in the end, it will be how you lived your life, the road travelled, that will bring to you great happiness and joy.

Love,
Naseer Ahmad

7 years have passed and I hope you have found what it is you are looking for. But if not, then what is the direction you must take?

There's an exercise I teach, where if you have always followed a certain route, then take another. If your road comes to a fork and you think you should go left, then, turn right. You may take longer to get to where you want to go, but who knows what or whom you might meet along the way?

If you have always done the same thing, be it in politics, or religion, or any other area of action, then, look at new ways, and look for change. The old ways do not work any more, and I am changing all the rules. Look at your belief systems and reactions, and then, take the road less travelled.

It may be harder; I know mine has been very much so. So many times when I knew I could take the easy road, which is where I would meet everyone else :)

Yet I knew it was the wrong way for me, so I took the road that did not make any sense, until much later. Always.

Now we come to the end of an age. There is no safety anywhere, be it through material wealth or New Age spirituality. Only faith in yourself and the future can help, if you are ready to change, and seek help.

May you take the road, less travelled.

A Psycho-Astrological Perspective on the Relationship of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito

Knox/Sollecito. Are they soul mates? No. Kercher/Knox

I'm grateful to the person who asked this question a while ago: "I'd love to have a psychologist give an opinion of this Amanda/Raffaele relationship. They don't know each other. Media is making it out to be some great story of lovers torn apart. They had sex for a few days" (Referring to media speculation that the two would meet in Seattle over Christmas, much seen as an attempt to rehabilitate their image)

My reply:"Sigh, here I go, being dragged back into this case again. Thanks! Coming up, "A Psycho-Astrological Perspective on the Relationship of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito" But to let you know, it never was a soul mate relationship, more of a karmic one, clearly leading to imprisonment and legal difficulties. They'd do best to stay two oceans away from now on"

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have been found innocent in the first of two appeals trials that will determine whether they are truly guilty or innocent of the crime of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy.

While we wait for the outcome of this process I would like to say that indeed, Astrology can answer such questions about the nature and outcome of a relationship. Whether Psychology can ever get back to its astrological roots is another debate, for another time, of course :)

Astrology, like Psychology, is the study of humanity in the context of time, location, space and waves, or, cycles, of energy. It can draw maps of the relationships of each with the other..

You can have one horoscope for the place where you were born, another for the place you go to, and an innumerable number for all the relationships you have, with people, places, and nations.

And then there are more, pertaining to time and the cycles of energy, which like the tides, ebb and flow.

I have already written about the astrological background, with spiritual insight of course, of the night of the murder in my article "What Might Have Been" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-might-have-been.html

Further background insights may be obtained from "The Criminal Mind" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2011/09/criminal-mind.html and there are two amazing books I recommend as well, "An Astrology Guide to your Sex Life" by Vivian E. Robson, and "Signs of Mental Illness" by Mitchell E. Gibson, M.D. Dr. Gibson was the chief resident in Psychiatry in a Philadelphia medical center and now has a successful private practice in Arizona. He is also an astrologer, with a new technique that identifies the planetary markers of mental illness; and Vivian E. Robson, has written a classic, almost out of print primer on sexual and marital compatibility (and dysfunction)

Their books have informed my own opinion, but the following interpretations are broadly speaking, my own, even if they are solidly grounded in accepted astrological teaching.

I am also grateful to the good people of http://www.astro.com/ for the use of their software to draw up the composite charts shown here. Please support them by ordering their horoscopes, which make great gifts!

There is an astrological technique called synastry where the charts of two individuals are blended into one. The composite chart of Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox show fascinating insights into the nature of their relationship, and, eventual outcome...

Moon Conjunct Neptune: With the conjunction of Moon and Neptune, both individuals should be very careful to understand the true nature of their relationship. They can see themselves as soul mates, but there is a great deal of self deception involved..

Venus in the Second House: Indicates being in love with the idea of love. This being the house of emotional resources, they will always have what they need, and may even be financially successful together.

Jupiter Trine Pluto: Luck, and fate, combine here. How that works out depends on the choices made, but Jupiter in the 12th house of restriction and imprisonment and Pluto the planet of inexorable fate in the 8th house of death shows the pitfalls ahead in this relationship..

Venus Opposition Pluto: This is a warning of danger. The relationship brings up deeply buried emotions that can be overwhelming.. It can either help you to grow, or cause self-destruction.

Sun Conjunct Mercury: You have the ability to understand each other's thinking. You meet through travel. You are alike on a mental level.

Sun Opposition Saturn:
The development of the self (Sun) is constantly thwarted by the fated or karmic circumstances of Saturn. This relationship cannot last.

Saturn in the Ninth House: The karma (Saturn) of the relationship is expressed through the 9th house. The ninth house rules higher learning, the legal system, and publishing.

Jupiter Conjunct Ascendant: The relationship will always have an element of 'luck' and 'friends in high places' that can help in the worst crisis. The relationship can create feelings of exuberance and optimism as long as the chart does not show other stressors.

Jupiter in the Twelfth House: This is the house of imprisonment and restriction. Combined with other indicators, shows a time spent in prison.

Uranus in the Tenth House: Uranus (upheaval and change) in the house of how the outer world sees you indicates you can seem er, 'different'. You try to challenge people's perceptions, but it is your choice whether to bring change in a positive or negative manner. Destructive activities can lead to a fall from grace.

Uranus Square Ascendant: This amplifies the destructiveness mentioned earlier. You can goad each other, and feelings of rebelliousness will be exaggerated in this unstable relationship. This is why I strongly feel the relationship cannot last.

Moon Square Mars: This is a difficult aspect for a relationship. The emotional energies show conflict through bad associations.

Mars in the Seventh House: You have the choice of channelling your energies together for a common purpose, or you can end up being each other's greatest enemy. The seventh is the house of partners and enemies.

Mars Square Neptune: This negative aspect can indicate ego and controlling games with each other. There can be confusion, deceit, and delusion in the relationship, which is often accompanied by drugs. The two can often act against each other's interests.

Jupiter Square Saturn: You have to find a balance between optimism on the one hand, and feelings of restriction. Extremes of mood and behavior can lead to difficulty.

Ascendant in Pisces: You can project an outward, dreamlike quality, and others can perceive yours as an ideal relationship. However, there may be self-destructive elements of your relationship. As long as you find a common idealism, it should work well. Drugs and alcohol on the other hand weakens the relationship. Friends and family find it hard to understand you; there are many levels of deception.

Neptune in the Tenth House: A lack of clarity is what you project to the outside world. People find it hard to understand what makes you tick. Or you can develop your creative, spiritual side to counteract that. (Note: I have this aspect in my own chart :)

Pluto in Scorpio in the Eighth House: Pluto (and Scorpio) rules death and transformation. So does the eighth house. It makes the relationship deep and intense, but can also bring out psychological conflict. There is a deep sexual connection that if utilised properly can lead to spiritual oneness. Or, it can lead to death and destruction. (Funny, but I have this aspect too :) and the spirit's journey after we pass on and the sacred aspects of sexuality is part of my teaching)

Venus Opposition Pluto: This can bring up deep powerful emotions in your relationship, so you have to be careful, otherwise you will not be able to deal with the consequences. (I have this aspect too, and yes I have powerful emotions, but direct it towards healing)

To summarise then:
The relationship chart of Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox shows that in spite of the fact they only knew each other a week, they did have a relationship based on their inner psychological needs. This sort of 'fatedness' but also imbalance, can project outwards and explain why so many people are attracted to and support them, and others, not. And so we project back on to them what is inside ourselves, good or bad, and it is important we step back and examine our own attraction to this case.

And here, so clearly in the chart, we see, motivation, outcome, political interference, and reaction.

The next technique I use is called Astro-Cartography. Moving away from our place of birth shifts the placement of the planets of our chart to different angles that bring out deep rooted conflicts or, where we can be more in harmony with ourselves and others.

Knox in Perugia: Chiron/MC Line: This line runs through Germany as well, where Knox had a job through her aunt which she lost. This affected her perception of herself and goals for her trip. The crisis of confidence that arose from her loss of professional and social standing affected her deeply. Here, one becomes aware of the influence of parents on one's growth, but also brings up feelings of rebelliousness.

Sollecito in Perugia: Crossing Sun/Uranus: This line shows how the quest for personal freedom and independence from a restrictive situation can make one seem even more eccentric and unpredictable. You seek new challenges and experiences. The unusual and the unexpected can happen along this line..

Knox in Seattle: Pluto/DC Line: Not a good place for Knox. Here there are secret power plays and conflicts, and uncontrolled behaviour. Life can run roughly, and one seeks to escape through extremes of behaviour, and then actually, seek to leave this place.. Unfortunately, one takes conflicts along where ever one goes..

Sollecito in Seattle: Crossing Venus/Jupiter: Funny, but he'd actually do very well if he moved to Seattle: Here, he'd find luck, prosperity and happiness; but not, it would seem, with Knox. Fame and notoriety may help, but it also would be an escape from the pressures of home..

But what about Meredith?

I thought this would be it for my article but found myself coming back to the victim, Meredith Kercher. What was it in Knox and Kercher that brought them together? They clearly had a deeper connection, to my mind, than Knox/Sollecito.

This is where the rationalists and I part ways. To them, it must have been a random coincidence, just bad luck, that brought them together that fateful night in Perugia. To me, there was a clear attraction that came from what is often referred to as a karmic relationship. And the map of that lies in their relationship chart, seen above.

I am drawn to the six planets all narrowly concentrated in the 6th house of service and health. Also, the house of mental and physical conflicts arising from the externalization of the ego http://www.astrologyweekly.com/dictionary/sixth-house.php It is clear from accounts that Knox and Kercher had many conflicts in the short time they were together. Published reports only show the petty irritations that might arise from two young women of different background and temperament having to live together. The relationship chart, however shows what in hindsight was clearly a deadly combination.

Note: blue lines show areas of compatibility; red lines, stresses and conflict. The eye is drawn immediately to a red triangle in the upper part of the chart (a conflict that is in the public eye) and connecting the 6th house of inner conflict with 8th house Uranus (jealousy, sudden death) and 12th house Jupiter (imprisonment, release)

Here are some interpretations of their chart:
Knox/Kercher:

Jupiter Square Uranus 8th/12th: It means you must give each other lots of room, and not try to restrict or change the other.

Mars Square Uranus 6th/8th: Personal expectations of each other cannot be met, a great deal of reaction to each other. Can escalate into violence leading to injury or death.

Mercury Square Uranus 6th /8th: Automatic disagreement with the other; psychologically conditioned reactions. This relationship would have broken up very quickly, and one or the other would have moved out. Sadly, this did not happen.

Venus in the Sixth House: The relationship is on the surface, a utilitarian one (a shared apartment) but has underlying nervous reactions that can lower self-esteem.

Venus Square Neptune 6th/9th: Here, I see that Knox was attracted to Kercher, and I do not mean in a sexual way. The 6th house is the house of healing. Knox had deep mental and psychological issues that had never been addressed. Kercher was a bright, focused high achieving student with passion and drive. There was something special about her that attracted everyone. It is my opinion that Knox wanted very much to not only be Meredith's friend, but also, to control her. (There are domination issues in Knox's chart) There can also be an idealized fixation, and from all accounts of their respective personalities, it appears the attraction was on Knox's part. Kercher would have found her the very opposite of her driven to achieve Capricorn character. This aspect leads to great disappointment in the relationship, and yes, I consider jealousy and feelings of rejection to be one of the motives.

Mars Square Saturn 6th/9th: This provokes negative feelings that simmer below the surface.

Uranus in the Eighth House: Sudden and unpredictable reactions

Mercury Conjunct Mars 6th: Speech patterns that can aggravate the other. Constant irritations can lead to physical confrontations.

One of the problems faced by the prosecution and defense has been in trying to determine or eliminate the motivation for this crime. The actual mechanics and physical evidence have been argued and disputed for a long time now but motive, on the other hand, with various scenarios being presented, are all conjectural. We may never know for sure.

But a study of the psychology of the individual, as seen through astrology, can be quite insightful.

Here: The placement of the Moon in the chart explains hidden feeling and emotion so very clearly.

Moon in the Sixth House: This indicates a coming together for the specific purpose of healing. However, this cannot work as there are too many imbalances in the chart, which prevent understanding.

Moon Conjunct Venus: They could have had a great friendship, but they were too opposite, and the squares to Uranus and Neptune indicate that repulsion set in very quickly.

Sun Conjunct Moon: This indicates a great attraction, even if there are too many difficulties indicated elsewhere.

Moon Square Neptune: This relationship has aspects of delusional thinking. It appears that one or the other can project all sorts of longing on to the other, but, when that turns out to have been misjudged, lead to great disappointment. Alcohol and drugs can exacerbate the situation.

Summary: The Moon represents the relationship with the mother. Amanda Knox's father left the family when she was a toddler, and her mother remarried with a much younger man. Meredith Kercher, on the other hand, had a strong, loving relationship with her mother. It appears that Meredith reflected back Amanda's issues with her own mother, whose high expectations (she's a teacher) and Amanda's self destructive patterns and rebelliousness led to a violent outcome.

That the Moon falls in the 6th house indicates to me that her actions can lead to Amanda Knox's eventual healing. It is very clear she had mental issues before she left for Italy, and they are much worse now. I told some people that she would be in a prison of one kind or the other until she was 41 years of age. Karma is a healer; more so than any physical prison.

And in the end, we will always remember Meredith Kercher. I prefer to see her, not as a victim, but the luminous figure (it really was her) who appeared in Kristian Leontiou's haunting music video, "Some Say" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q15O-rRdQM

RIP Meredith Kercher