“NO DOUBT THE UNIVERSE IS UNFOLDING AS IT SHOULD”
     ~ Desiderata

Astrology forecast:  this is the Jupiter Luck cycle forecast. 

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All times/Dates are PDT – Pacific Daylight Time zone. PDT is eight hours before Greenwich England (BDT). For example when it is noon PDT here, it is 8 PM in England – and 4 AM the next day in China. You can Google ‘time zone converter’ for your own zone.

START NOTHING: Before 4:27 pm Sun., 7:31 pm to 7:42 pm Tues., and 9:31 pm to 10:48 pm Thurs.

PREAMBLE:  (There’s also a pretty big AFTERAMBLE.)

On November 8, Jupiter, the planet of great good luck, enters Sagittarius, its “home” sign, for almost 13 months (to December 2, 2019). This will change the luck effect for everyone. It might also indicate that 2019 will be a “bigger” year, with major world-wide expansions or events in many areas, especially politics, world travel, education/publishing, and law. We might see martial frictions flare.

This week’s column will focus on that change in luck for every sign, below.

(Next week, I’ll write “karmic forecasts” for each sign. It’s a powerful “coincidence” that Jupiter creates a new 12/13-month luck cycle, the same day the moon’s nodes change signs. This hints that this winter, and the year ahead, will strike a new destiny or karmic environment at the same time as our luck changes. Expect major events in politics, international affairs, hierarchies [and economic consequences]. The Russia-U.S. nuclear spat is an example… BTW, such major trends as this Jupiter/lunar node often stir up events weeks, even a month or two, before the technical change, in this case Nov. 8/18.)

YEAR AHEAD LUCK FORECAST

ALL SIGNS: The luck potentials described below for your sign, will tend to speed toward results from Nov. 8/18 to April 9/19, then your efforts and luck will meet delays April to August, and then speed to a rewarding conclusion early August to December 2/19. (That middle phase, April to August, is still valuable, as it lets you revise and re-calibrate, to adjust your approach, for a final success-run August to December 2019.)

It will  be a very hopeful and wishful year, this December to next, despite huge international and political developments. (‘Cuz Mars is 11th to its own sign, war-makers will feel a new confidence, an urge to pound their chests.) This optimism won’t so much benefit the economy as boost the presence and glow of certain groups, particularly groups that are in someway associated with war or guns or explosives, or with athletic aims. Macho, dangerous things. Strong women.

The economy? Upward, but much of it faces mists and clearing and then more mists, creating a volatile, reactive market that can blow up on rumour, then deflate with a worrisome report. I think people are anticipating the worst, as ready to run as a rabbit, and this will cause many “feints” up and down… with the chance that a bubble grows somewhere, in some sector, then blows up in a panic. This can add volatility. Still, many people will make money. Wall Street will turn inward, to speculate out of the public eye, and to self-regulate, to begin to build or overhaul its structures and processes, esp. those that deal with security and possession.

So, YOUR LUCK FORECAST:

    ARIES:  March 21-April 19

From November 8, 2018 to December 2, 2019, Aries, your major good luck will centre on far travel, legal and international affairs, cultural and social rituals, education, publishing/media, renown, advertising, statistics, insurance, intellectual pursuits, and love; especially love that leads to weddings. (If you’re a parent, it’s the love you feel when contemplating your children’s overall development, their ideas and life views.) Diving into any of these should result in a happy outcome. You will increase your understanding of world events and of your society, in a way that brings you more peace and a feeling of goodwill and optimism.

Voyages to exciting places are likely, and lucky.

Only one area can hold you back from complete success: a possible secret, a restriction you sometimes don’t tell others about, a government link or obligation, some private burden, even one you love, such as a child. If it takes just a little effort to solve a hold-back, do so quickly. For instance, if you owe a tax penalty that you can wipe out in two pay checks, do it without delay. The less there is in this area of secrecy and gov’t links, the further you’ll soar.

The same effect (hindrances to success) can arise from spiritual practices. In this event, you will make the right choice: trust your shining side, but don’t strangle your primal side either. The primal and physical world is just as important and valuable as the spiritual world.

Your luck in love is more powerful than it seems. Like a light breeze on a bright summer’s twilight, you could mildly and quietly enjoy a new person’s presence without thinking anything else about it. But slowly love, like that light breeze, will pleasantly surround you, then very pleasantly take you away to a place of ecstasy.

Artists, writers, scholars and lawyers should have a great year. Aim for knowledge rather than money — it will follow. (In about a year, depending.) You might be published, or your face could appear on television. In everything you do, think first, speak about ideas rather than facts/details. An excellent year to apply for or enter college/university, to voyage afar or undertake a publishing/media venture. If single, you can meet sparkling prospects in libraries, schools, law offices/court rooms, airports or train stations, and in foreign climes.

   TAURUS:  April 20-May 20

The 13 months ahead (to Dec. 2/19) boost your fortunes tremendously in investments, debt reduction, large finances, tax issues, diagnostics, research and investigation, occultism, surgery, lifestyle changes, depth psychology, intimacy and sexual embraces. It’s time to make a commitment (two large ones) and welcome the consequences, which are almost certain to be  beneficial. Pregnancy is more likely “available” than in most years. Changes that occur now will almost invariably be for the better.

Your subconscious will expand and rise to the surface, heightening your intuition and filling you with an inner light that dispels old ghosts, self-doubts and worries.

Associations you formed in 2018 will now enter deeper zones, where money or assets or your physical and emotional self are shared or pooled. Now, the profit and rewards of those relationships arrives. This goes triple if you formed a deep marriage bond in 2018 — the year ahead opens a whole world of mortgages, babies, home-making, etc.

Your health will tend to improve. Guard your thighs and hips. (And the “good life expansion” on those hips!) Property, family, retirement, nutrition and security concerns will be favoured, but indirectly. One caution: don’t let interfering friends or unrealistic wishes interfere with your deep, serious financial or other progress. Your lucky projects might slow down a bit April to August, 2019 — use this period to re-examine, adjust, etc.

   GEMINI:  May 21-June 20

The 13 months ahead (to Dec. 2, 2019) bring a huge wave of opportunities, new relationships and fresh, bountiful horizons. If single, you face a prime year to meet a life-mate. You are likely to face two prospects, and must choose one.  If married and unhappy, separation could occur. If you’re happily married, your mate will be optimistic, cheerful and “a real friend” — you might renew your vows, or join your spouse (and kids) on a great adventure — e.g., hike the Silk Road or whatever!

Leave stale security behind. The opportunities you face can range from international travel, higher education, publishing/media, import/export, religion, philosophy, advertising, statistics, insurance and science (not “high tech”). And of course, love.

One caution: lucky Jupiter, which brings you all these gifts, can also expand bad relationships. So if you’re at war, expect a conflagration; a lawsuit could expand to new realms and swollen legal fees. You might get into a shouting match with someone who frustrates — and attracts you.

Others hold all the lucky keys now, so if you’re going to succeed, you must initiate and cultivate relationships. Be co-operative, diplomatic, persuasive. Listen to and answer others’ needs and desires. You’ll be fortunate in relocation, contracts and agreements, business partnerships, friendships and new links, dealings with the public — and, for some, fame/renown. People will treat you generously. Be warned, though, those who are luckiest for you now are also hot-tempered, so put away your teasing tongue.

Any partner you pursue now, in love or business, will tend to be forthright, cheerful and honest (and perhaps a bit pompous). Usually under such influences you can trust what people say and how they act — both allies and enemies will be open and honest — but this year (2019) others are also dealing with worries and misconceptions about their security. This can cause changes of mind and heart later, no matter how honestly they vow their allegiance in the present.

This is a superb period to relocate, especially if you are doing so for love, to cement a bond or because you’ve just “hooked up.”

This is the first time in a quarter-century that you are touched with joyous partnership fortune, without a “condition” that says the bond must dissolve. (As happened in 2007.)

   CANCER:  June 21-July 22

This November 8 to early December 2019 brings a year of expanding opportunities in work, health, service trades, machinery, repairs and renovations, and dealings with/support of dependents. This is a splendid 13 months to seek employment. You’ll like the job and the other workers. You might work overtime, or moonlight with a second job. Try to make any advances permanent. For instance, it’s better to gain a permanent step up in your job, than to dive into overtime. The former lasts, the latter won’t.

Co-workers and colleagues will treat you with cheerful generosity. If you’re a boss, this is an excellent time to hire new employees. (Do it before March, or mid-August onward. And check references — a bit of “innocent exaggeration” might be going on.) If you own a business, this is an excellent year to expand or refurbish.

You might buy a new truck or other machine this year, or new appliances for your home. Purchases will be big, solid and fortunate. Work machines you buy now can earn their keep very quickly — e.g., if you buy a backhoe, you’ll get lots of jobs with it. But shy away from buying water/fluid-related items/equipment: hot tubs, hydraulics, sea food, etc. If you work in one of these water-related areas, you could super-succeed, be promoted or watch your business expand!

Take care of your health, as small things might expand if neglected. Proper diet and regular sleep hours will benefit you more than usual.

   LEO:  July 23-Aug. 22

The 13 months that begin Nov. 8, 2018 will boost your luck in love and romance, creativity, self-expression, speculation, gold and jewelry, teaching/raising children, (immediate) pleasure, beauty, theatre, games, sports, art, and luxury goods — everything you’re always good at!

You might fall in love in a deep, lasting way. But avoid anyone who, in your first few meetings, shows signs of a possible problem with alcohol or drugs (or reality). (And, on your part, avoid over-blowing someone’s response to you, whether good or bad. It’s easy to blow things into big balloons that can pop. One more caution: romance and sex might not hold hands, so you might need to choose — choose love, let lust wait.) Act like a winner — for the risks you take will tend to pay off.

If you’re (happily) married, your spouse will glow with new youth, and your children will surprise you with unsuspected talent(s).

Don’t feel guilty about pleasure. Number One, you deserve it; and Two, pleasure now is a form of rest or rejuvenation that will “ready you” for the work, opportunities and relationship   openings of the next 3 years. if you’re single, one you fall in love with in 2019 could become a life mate by 2021. Good things will tend to come in two’s, so you might have to choose between two potential lovers.

No matter what your job or duties, don’t work so hard/long that you skimp on romance and creative or pleasure urges. Knock on a lucky door, Leo! Leave the boredom to others.

   VIRGO:  Aug. 23-Sept. 22

The period from Nov. 8/18 to Dec. 2/19 will offer you a new, prosperous, cheerful, invigorating and honourable place to stand. A place that will become a lasting benefit in your life for at least the next 12 to 13 years, possibly forever. This place can be wholly emotional or philosophical, a place in your soul or in your family. It could manifest as a healing, or as a birth for new parents, or simply a significant renovation of your house; or a move from a shoddy, expensive or uncomfortable rental home to a much better one.

One of the most significant opportunities of this luck trend occurs in real estate. This is a prime period — the best in 12 or 13 years — to sell and buy a home.

Lucky Jupiter could also nudge you to end situations that have oppressed or frustrated you, perhaps for years. It’s a good time — since your evaluation of others will be almost brutally honest — to prune your life’s garden; to get rid of stale relationships and dead-end situations, and make room to plant the seeds of new links and new projects.

However, make sure you’re eliminating wisely. You are in a long [2011 to 2025] phase in which you can be worried/ wondering about one or two powerful relationships because the other person is so illogical, wispy and dreamy that it almost scares you. Yet this type of person is exactly what you need in a partner!

You will be granted large chunks of “R&R” time, intervals in which you can relax and ponder the world. This year will let you pleasantly recharge your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical batteries — which will put you in great shape for the (huge if you’re single) love, creative and speculative opportunities of 2020.

   LIBRA:  Sept. 23-Oct. 22

The 12-13 months that start November 8/18 will bring you many friends and casual contacts, a whirl of travel and new sights. (A new neighbourhood you sail through this year could contain your future home, one you might move to in 2020 — but listen, Libra: DO NOT move into a new home before May/June 2020. Unhappiness if you do. Joyful results if later in 2020.)

You might be snowed under a storm of paperwork, calls, messages and errands. That’s okay — for in these small things one or two gems of opportunity lie. For example, an application for a school that will change your life later, or a chance encounter that might later lead to partnership in love or business. Follow your curiosity — it will add to your knowledge of people, and your inter-personal skills. Pay attention to the media.

Keep things light, flowing and ephemeral. This is not a good year (2019) to commit yourself to any major life stance or action — so avoid mortgages, major revisions of your investments, seeking marriage, etc. For example, if you’re a writer by trade, dive into light, short or quick works, articles rather than books.

All matters involving love, romance, children, creativity and inventiveness will succeed in a light way. Life will offer you two (or more) light, friendly romances. But if you’re seeking the romance of the century, you’ll likely be disappointed. (And yet this “light way” might open a door, gradually, to a significant change in how you experience intimacy and romance — and possibly, with whom. Casual comments, a glancing touch of hands, could spark a deep, compelling bond, though not necessarily a permanent one. For seven years, you will be drawn to secret or private lust situations: be ethical, no extra-marital shenanigans!)

   SCORPIO:  Oct. 23-Nov. 21

All 2018, Scorpio, you have had a chance (or two) to focus on money, and to prepare or launch income (or purchasing) projects that promised big future rewards. Well, that reward time is here. From Nov. 8/18 to Dec. 2/19, your money luck soars to huge new heights! (Read the “intro” above about forward-moving and static luck periods — launch any new money projects before April or after August 10 for to best results.)

Take advantage — ask for a pay raise, boost your fees or prices, increase your efforts in sales or trading areas, sell old unwanted items, etc. You might become a garage sale entrepreneur! The income level you attain this year will tend to last, to form a plateau, for the next 12 years or so. This is a prime, lucky year to gain employment, start a business or expand an existing business with new territory, acquisition or product lines.

You enter this year with more optimism than you’ve felt in a decade — keep, nourish this optimism, for it spells success! It’s also a fortunate time for purchasing large items. Go buy that yacht, or if you’re poor, buy one in terrible repair. You’ll stumble on the kind of bargains that can make a tycoon from a mere mortal. (For example, every once in a while a huge business will be for sale for a dollar [plus debt, usually]— I saw a plywood mill for sale this way. This year, jump on such an opportunity.)

Money and possessions are not the only zones touched by this year’s magic wand. Your memory will expand, surprising even you some days. You’ll receive a boost in rote learning, technical education, and sensual situations. Physical intimacy will come easily. One, perhaps two people will be willing, in a nice, friendly way, to go to bed with you. But emotional intimacy is a different matter. Be honest with a new sexual partner if you don’t feel an underlying passion: pretending will only hurt him/her more in the long run.

    SAGITTARIUS:  Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Wow and pow, Sagittarius, this is YOUR lucky year! The mists and quiet hurts of 2018 will dissolve like morning haze as your sun rises on a bright new year. From Nov. 8/18 to early December 2019, a hurricane of benefits will lift your heart, your eyes and your prospects to dazzling new horizons.

It’s hard to pin down your luck to any specific area as you, yourself, are lucky, and will transfer that luck to almost anything you touch. Because your cheerfulness, friendly approach and optimism will be high you’ll attract many suitors, if single. (Leos, Geminis and Aries stand out.)

If married, you’ll simply be lucky — but your mate might display a new cooperativeness, as he/she realizes that your direction is the right direction. If not, if you get into a disagreement with anyone, remember that you have a quick temper — especially about politics, ideals and principles — and 2019 will intensify your effect on others. Don’t let your temper shove someone away, past the point of return. [For a clue, read Gemini’s message, second paragraph. Someone who argues with you might also be deeply attracted to you.]

Because Jupiter, the planet that’s “causing” your elevated luck this year, tends to expand everything, it can also expand any lawsuit, argument or enmity. Best solution: make no enemies!

Because your personality, confidence and attractiveness expand, this is a great interval to be in (or enter) politics on any level from local club president to national leader. You are also favoured now to succeed in higher education, international affairs, import/export, legal dealings, cultural and social rituals (e.g. weddings) publishing, broadcasting, religion/ philosophy, and business. Expect terrific results if you work in any sales or intellectual field (writer, academic, lawyer, priest, student, etc.).

Break free, Sage — seek new horizons, even a whole new life!

   CAPRICORN:  Dec. 22-Jan. 19

The November 2018 to December 2019 luck cycle will favour your inner world, Cap. You’ll discover a (quiet) treasure trove of benefits in spirituality, domestic comforts, spas and resorts, warehousing, research, closed door meetings, planning sessions, committee/policy meetings, administration and bureaucracy, government liaisons, institutions, social welfare/charities, and therapy/counselling — whether you’re the giver/practitioner or the receiver/client.

It’s a good time to find an agent for your product (including artistic, literary agents). An excellent time to seek counsellors, advisors, psychics, astrologers, etc. It’s not so much that you need immediate advice, but that you can learn things which beneficially affect your long-range thoughts and actions. (Actually, you will also benefit in “immediate” terms, for this year ahead, and the six months following it, will present you with various temptations that you can most easily deal with — and escape the traps of — by seeking another viewpoint.)

Everyone has a secret cave into which they stuff all their old fears, misgivings, lost loves, hurts and insecurities. When this cave gets too full — or too dark and fearsome — we have a problem. It drains our courage and energy. This year ahead, sunny, lucky Jupiter shines throughout this cave, eradicating old ghosts and freeing your psyche for the huge new life that begins in 2018 through 2020. (The bright, freeing part occurs now through 2019.)

To aid this rejuvenation, seek rest, quietude, and contemplation. Reflect, study your path, examine your soul and your emotional connections. Are you being nurtured enough? Are you nurturing others enough? Most importantly, plan your future. Do you need educational upgrading? Could you benefit from a mentor? How can you increase your persuasive skills?

Realize, though your outer or worldly luck might be low, you are planning (and in some ways launching) a major new cycle in your life. (May to December, 2020, will bring that new cycle in a powerful, fruitful way.)

   AQUARIUS:  Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Two major wishes will come true during this luck-filled year ahead, Aquarius (November 2018 to December 2019). You’re the most social sign of the zodiac, and this year will expand your circle tremendously. Your popularity will soar — even more importantly, you’ll feel a new enjoyment in people. Share your hopes and dreams — others will be ready to aid you in reaching them. You can inspire a whole group to follow your lead and/or travel in a desired direction.

You have much to think about or adjust to in terms of your domestic future. The next 7 years aim you toward home and family, security and property, more strongly than in any past interval. You might almost say these are your main future. In late 2018 through 2019 your ability to see, plan and visualize your future is top notch. You might join with the person or group who can bring that future about in the nicest, most pleasing way.

Your optimism and friendliness can bring great practical results — increased sales, new clients, a promotion at work, etc. This is not a year to dive into present pleasure, but to plan future happiness. Organize social outings or concerts, political rallies or protest marches. (In politics, expect shining results.)

DO join new groups, clubs and societies — a circle you join now can affect your life beneficially for over a decade (even to life’s end). You might start a love affair with a friend, one that can last for a long time, especially if you both orient your life around a domestic situation.

Those two wishes? They can come true in any area, but are most likely to blossom in socializing/friendship, romance, and, seemingly by a fluke, money or possessions. You’ll be happy!

    PISCES:  Feb. 19-March 20

Lucky Jupiter will bless and boost your worldly standing this November 2018 to December 2019, Pisces. Ambitions, career, business, parenting, reputation, community involvements and status — these will be touched by a lucky, cheerful wand. This is a splendid year (perhaps the best in over a decade) to launch a business, seek promotion, gain admiration, or otherwise climb the ladder of success. In some cases, your ascent can be rooted in the intellectual, educational, media, religious or travel/international activities you undertook earlier in 2018.

One thing: seek practical associations this year ahead. Don’t seek popularity, party friends, nor even light, flirtatious affairs — these are a trap, like a pothole you can sink into and miss your ambitious mark. For example, if you’re a TV broadcaster, be serious — don’t try to entertain your audience.

For success, launch projects and applications before April or after mid-August.

Your parenting role, or parent/child relations (even if you’re the child) will be blessed during this year. Your parents, as well as bosses and VIPs, will favour your goals, extend a helping hand, give permission, etc. So keep asking, keep thinking up new proposals and schemes to present to them. (This largess doesn’t necessarily pertain in the courtroom; a judge might as well forgive you as pour a bucket of punishment on you.)

Study the hierarchy at work, cultivate bosses and mentors. If you’re in the arts, contact agents, gallery owners and VIPs. If you’re unemployed, this is a superb year to seek work. Aim for positions that offer opportunities for promotion, rather than for the immediate income they provide.

If single, you might wed this year; if so, it will be a “status event”. Whether by marriage or by work, your direction in 2019 is upward!

THE END.

AFTERAMBLE:

Surprised by the U.S. stock markets’ resiliency and buoyancy? The New York Stock Exchange was established March 8, 1817 — a Pisces organization. But the original stock exchange of the U.S. was born May 17, 1792 – a Taurus entity. That’s a puzzle, somewhat.

From 2011 to 2025, the planet Neptune travels through Pisces. Neptune is Pisces’ ruling planet, so it’s expanding, mostly positively, every Pisces’ prospects and fortunes, including the Pisces stock market. So expect the U.S. indexes, especially the NYSE, to remain buoyant for another 6 years. Maybe that’s why I wrote, just before the early 2018 mini-crash, to sell or hold stocks, to not buy, “yet I remain optimistic.”

BUT Uranus has just stepped into Taurus, where it will stay for 7 years. This is an indicator of extreme volatility. Despite the promise of buoyancy, I wouldn’t trust this market.

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TIM’S TEXTBOOK:  (For students of astrology.)

The planet Saturn in the 11th house at birth: this person will have few friends her/his own age, but will befriend and enjoy those who are a generation younger and/or older, throughout life.

Saturn in the 7th: will attract and engage with those older and younger, rather than those of her/his own generation.

Saturn in the 5th house: same, but applies to romance.

(You can pretty well apply this age-bias phenomena to any house’s interests, depending on Saturn’s house placement at birth. E.g., Saturn in the second house: money dealings with other generations.)

(This method can also be used for transiting Saturn — e.g., as Saturn moves through a person’s 7th house for 2+ years, the person will tend to attract “co-operation” or even love from those much younger or older, but experience rejection from his/her own generation — temporarily. This is why many astrologers/writers claim — mistakenly — that Saturn in the 7th causes/ indicates rejection in general. It is only rejection by one’s chronological peers, not by those appreciably older or younger.)

You can use Jupiter (friendship, optimism, good luck) the same way. E.g., if you were born with Jupiter in the 5th house, you’ll be lucky all your life in romance, without “age restrictions.” (Though you’ll be luckiest in middle age.) On a temporary basis, when Jupiter travels through, say, your 7th house for 12 and a half months every 13 years, you will have luck in meeting a new mate.)

People born with the Sun in the fifth house are usually successful, or at least lucky, in whatever things the sign indicates. E.g., Sun in Capricorn in the fifth, successful in ambitions. Successful climber. Or in Sagittarius, lucky in foreign voyages and lands, in the law or academic halls, publishing and such things.

Things grow more complex when the fifth house starts with one sign, but the Sun, while still in the fifth house, is in the next sign. Expect to see a blending of qualities. E.g., the 5th house starts with conservative Capricorn, 15 degrees, and extends to 17 degrees Aquarius. The sun is in inventive, out-of-the-box Aquarius, but practical, conservative Cap rides the cusp. So we get an inventor who runs his own modest company, hires 8 employees, loves a challenge, and runs the local boys’ hardball team. This is more likely than a pure impulsive, head in the clouds idealist or a pure bureaucrat, careerist, whether in gov’t or corporate offices. Ambition.
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Scientists now believe there are two more large planets in our solar system. They’ve named one “Planet Nine,” and believe it is the size of Neptune. One article said it was about 10 times Earth’s mass. Neither planet has actually been seen or located, but astronomers infer the existence of at least one of them (“Planet Nine”) by its gravitational effect on a group of dwarf planets or planetoids nearby, causing them to bunch together.

If there are two new planets, they would “fill in” the present zodiac. For centuries, both Gemini and Virgo have “used” Mercury as their ruling planet, while both Taurus and Libra have shared Venus. I suspect Mercury is truly Gemini’s ruler, and Venus is Taurus’ ruler.

I would assign Planet Nine to Virgo* for two reasons: 1) “Nine” starts with “N,” a Virgo letter, and 2) the character of the signs involved. (It’s existence was announced while the Sun was in Virgo, a seemingly third reason to assign this new planet to Virgo — but it was “discovered”earlier.)

But back to 2) the character of the signs: Gemini is “pure Mercury” — changeable, quick(silver), gabby, quick, scattered — “dual” in outlook and personality (“the twins”). Virgo is also changeable, but is heavy, thick in nature, physical, earthy, and is seldom talkative — one of Mercury’s prime characteristics. So, I would assign some other planet than mercurial Mercury to Virgo, and Planet Nine seems to be in line.

In the same way, we might speculate that the other “not yet seen” planet would be Libra’s ruler. Again, the nature of each sign seems to support this. Venus is the planet of sensual love. Taurus is the epitome of sensual love and intimate pleasure. Libra is also a love sign, but it is cooler than Taurus, and an intellectual sign (whereas Taurus is a practical sign). Libra lives more in the mind than the flesh.

Just as Gemini is the “pure essence” of Mercury, and Taurus the “pure essence” of Venus, so Virgo and Libra are, to the careful observer, not faithful reflections of Mercury nor Venus, respectively.

What amazes me is the wisdom of the early astrologers. They divided the sky/zodiac into 12 pie shapes (though perhaps not for astrological reasons). Until the 19th Century, only 5 planets were known — Mercury to Saturn — because they could be seen by the naked eye. But that meant 10 signs had to share a ruling planet. (The Sun and Moon ruled — and still do — the other 2 of the 12 signs, Leo and Cancer.) Now it seems we might have a unique planet for every sign — but how did they know that, thousands of years ago? Maybe somebody told them.

* Eris, which is larger than Pluto, might be Virgo’s ruler. Eris was discovered roughly 13 years ago. Some astrologers have tried to associate Eris with Virgo, but there is no consensus yet. The trouble with using Eris is that it’s mythological namesake is entirely negative. Eris was a goddess of strife and discord, the sister of Mars. (Earlier called Ares > Aries.)

On the plus side, some ancients thought Eris was “two gods in one” — one causing bad strife, but the other causing good strife — for example, the kind of strife that makes one farmer try to out-grow another farmer, which leads to competition, innovation and improvement/progress. (This double-god thing echoes of Virgo, which, like Gemini, is a “double-bodied” sign.)

Also, we accept strife-prone Mars as Aries’ ruler, so why not Eris as Virgo’s? To some degree, chauvinism lives here: it’s okay for a male god/planet, Mars, to be a fighter, a warrior, an aggressor, but it’s considered repulsive for a female god/planet to be the same. So Mars is called a warrior (honourable, respected) but Eris is called an instigator of quarrels (nasty, unwanted). Ah, mankind!
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