President’s Report - November 2022
Welcome to the November edition of the AANSW newsletter Orbits. The AANSW Committee which was elected at the AGM in September has another new member, Michelle Mravunac, who was co-opted at the October committee meeting. We now have a full complement of committee members again, following the departure of Vivian Huang due to her work commitments. On behalf of the re-elected AANSW Committee members, we wish to thank Michelle for her interest in joining the AANSW committee. We will gladly tap into her social media skills and knowledge to better promote AANSW and its events to the astrological community.
There are still significant numbers of COVID-19 cases in the Sydney area, and with the appearance of a new strain which health experts believe will take over as the dominant strain, we would be well advised to remain vigilant. So to assist in creating a COVID-safe environment for members and guests at Drummoyne Community Centre, the AANSW Committee asks anyone who is feeling unwell on Saturday 12th November or several days prior to please stay home. You will be able to join the monthly meeting online instead. If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask indoors, please follow your own guidance, as one or two committee members and perhaps other attendees may be wearing masks.
If you would like to attend the monthly meeting online via GoToMeeting, please contact Kate Holden through the AANSW website. The deadline for bookings is 12:00 pm (noon) on Friday 11th November and Kate will send the link on Friday evening. Remote AANSW members and interstate FAA members are all very welcome to attend the monthly meeting online.
Our social media presence on Facebook is fairly constant over 100 members, thanks to Ann Leung and formerly Vivian Huang. With Vivian’s departure from the AANSW Committee, Jordan Reed is now assisting Ann in monitoring social media. Penny Walters has created new social media accounts for AANSW including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Page, so join the conversation and add some content or comments. If you experience any problems with our new social media presence please contact Penny at <penny@astrologynsw.com.au>. Michelle Mravunac is planning to interview upcoming speakers and post the interviews online so AANSW members will be able to get to know the speakers before their presentations.
Kate and Anita are currently sharing a roving role as Newsletter Editor, as Ann continues to do a marvellous job compiling the Speaker’s Report. Monthly content updates for the AANSW website are implemented by website developer, Keely Worth, with Anita coordinating our website management. Penny is planning a new suite of photos for the AANSW Committee in November, and Penny and Michelle aim to raise the social media exposure of AANSW.
At the October meeting of AANSW, we finally had an opportunity to see and listen to Penny Walters presenting live at Drummoyne. Penny’s presentation was titled ‘Learning Pathways’ and she examined those sudden, life changing events we all experience that become life shaping. In the corporate world, such unpredictable events are known as ‘Black Swan Events’ and can have major consequences. With the benefit of hindsight, Black Swan events can appear obvious, however Penny suggests that astrology can predict such events, though not necessarily prevent them happening. Astrology can also provide insight into the gifts and lessons that these Black Swan events provide and how they contribute to our life purpose.
Penny considered specific case studies in her main presentation, and in the Astro Chat segment discussed a couple of Black Swan events experienced by members of the audience. You can read more about Penny’s sparkling presentation in the Speaker’s Report in Orbits.
Penny has been practising astrology for 20 years and during this time she created, wrote, produced and hosted the TV pilot ‘The Stars Behind The Stars’, which attracted the attention of an Australian commercial TV network. She has featured on Channel 7’s ‘The Morning Show’, participated in Facebook & Instagram Lives, spoken on a business podcast on the use of astrology for risk management, and contributed to the book ‘Pregnancy Virgin’. Penny has served as a committee member for the Astrology Association of NSW since 2021.With 12 years of experience as an instructional designer, Penny breaks down complex information and expert knowledge into easy-to-understand concepts and converts these into engaging learning experiences. She uses her instructional design skills to bring astrology down-to-earth and make it accessible and practical for everyone to use beneficially. Penny also has a background in film and television, including as the Creative Director of a film and music festival, and has worked in radio as a producer. You can find out more about Penny Walters and her astrological work on the website: https://thestarsbehindthestars.com/astrology-readings/
At the AANSW meeting on Saturday 12th November, we will be treated to a smorgasbord of ideas, with two live speakers presenting on very interesting topics. Firstly, we welcome Marc Laurenson in person, all the way from the Gold Coast, to speak to us on the Opposition Aspect; and secondly we welcome a local speaker, Linda Thackray, to speak to us on Face Reading. This has the makings of a fascinating and uniquely congruent afternoon, as both the Opposition Aspect and the Face present us with opportunities for deep self-reflection.
Our first presenter will be popular speaker and teacher, Marc Laurenson, to present ‘The Natal Opposition – Straddling the Cosmic See-Saw’. In the pre-amble to his talk, Marc has noted that ‘Planets in Opposition’ pose one of our most dramatic natal challenges. Playing in extreme contrast, they can often feel irreconcilable yet are actually the flip side of the same coin. Marc will examine how we integrate these two parts of our psyche that are in dynamic tension with each other, and how we can allow both planets their own space to flourish. In Marc’s talk we will be looking at charts where this balancing act is primary. He will take us deeply into the challenges involved and how, as astrologers, we can help find the higher purpose of these challenges and the optimal potential for growth.
Marc Laurenson is the creator and principal teacher at the popular Sydney Astrology School since 2007, going online internationally in 2017. He is an accredited astrology teacher (AAT) with the Federation of Australian Astrologers. Marc has a thriving consultation business Marc Laurenson Astrology with a ‘wait list’ for consultations. He describes his Astrology style as Evolutionary with a psychological bent, and has a goal of empowering people and guiding them toward more fulfilling lives. Marc is a highly popular speaker on the circuit including the FAA Conferences, the ISAR Conference in Colorado, Breaking Down the Borders online Conferences, Synchronicity University, and OPA. He has also written for many publications including Wellbeing Astrology and the FAA Journal. You can find out more about Marc Laurenson’s presentation in the Events Section of Orbits, and you can contact Marc online at www.sydneyastrologyschool.com and www.marclaurenson.com.
Our second presenter will be dynamic speaker and teacher, Linda Thackray, to present ‘Your Face – Your Road Map’. In her interactive talk, Linda will provide insights on identifying personality traits and interpreting habitual emotional and thought patterns which present in a person’s Facial Features and Body. Participants will be able to apply some of these insights immediately in their interactions with others, and will also have the opportunity to receive a mini reading – Linda will explain the feature she is reading on your face. If you have a facial feature you have always wondered about, there will also be an opportunity for Q&A.
Linda Thackray is a Psychosomatic Trainer / Therapist, Registered Teacher of The Psychosomatic Therapy College, and President of International Association of Psychosomatic Therapists. She worked in Corporate Industry for 25 years before transitioning over a 15-year period to the Wellness Industry. Linda has a passion to empower others by providing tools so they can gain awareness of redundant patterns and take responsibility for the changes they are seeking in their lives. Her years as a Voluntary Telephone Counsellor served as a foundation for her subsequent studies in Psychosomatic Therapy, which she now teaches along with related trainings to individuals, therapists and health care practitioners for personal and professional development. All of Linda’s offerings are aimed at gaining awareness of others and self, identifying core issues, building rapport, improving communication, whilst working with our reference book – the human face and physical form.
Linda is a regular guest speaker and consultant at the Elysia Wellness Retreat in the Hunter Valley and to other professional groups. More information about Linda and her work can be found on her website www.thefaceandbodyinterpreter.com. You can find out more about Linda Thackray’s presentation in the Events Section of Orbits.
If we could read the ‘Face of the World’ at this juncture in world history, I wonder what it would say? Would we see the ‘Grand Opposition’ between Western Democracy and Autocracy, fundamentally between USA and bosom buddies China and Russia? China sees USA as trying to thwart its global intentions (towards world dominance … ) and its ambitions on democratic Taiwan, while Russia sees USA as fighting a proxy war in Ukraine by supplying arms to the embattled Ukraine. Ironically despite the aggression shown by China and Russia in 2022, both autocratic nations see themselves as the answer to all the world’s problems!
President Xi said recently at a summit in Uzbekistan:
China is willing to make efforts with Russia to assume the role of great powers, and play a guiding role to inject stability and positive energy into a world rocked by social turmoil’.
President Putin in return offered support for President Xi’s One China Policy and China’s aggressive military posturing towards Taiwan, and condemned the ‘provocation of the US and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait’ (Ref: Will Glasgow, “Xi, Putin: ‘Together we can bring calm to troubled world’”, The Australian 16/09/22).
Meanwhile, in the divided Korean Peninsula, Communist North Korea is firing missiles as if they are going out of style, and on Friday 4th November reportedly flew 180 warplanes near the border with South Korea to protest against the US-South Korea democratic alliance which has been engaged in annual joint military exercises.
The world is currently in a state of tension not seen for many years. The bold prediction of French mundane astrologer Andre Barbault of a ‘splendid relaunch of civilisation’ at the 2025 conjunction of Saturn and Neptune in Aries seems light years away, when the astrological transformers Uranus and Pluto will be in close, harmonious attendance in Gemini and Aquarius respectively. Yet, there is a historical pattern unfolding, as each nation – Russia, Korea and China – has been at centre stage of the past three conjunctions of Saturn and Neptune in the 20th century – 1917 (Russian Revolution), 1953 (Korean War) and 1989 (Tiananmen Square and Berlin Wall).
With the next Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Cardinal Fire in 2025, perhaps we should have expected a fiery, transformative backdrop to events? And with planetary transformers, Uranus and Pluto in Air, perhaps we should also expect a transformation in thinking that affects the whole planet – in a such a way that sets thinking free, rather than suppressing it? Based on pure symbolism, it appears that the Outer Planets will be ‘voting’ for democracy and freedom of the individual, rather than autocracy and suppression of the individual.
In the midst of this global tension, the ‘Land of the Free’, United States of America, is itself locked in an internal battle of ‘opposing forces’ between incumbent Democrats and opposition Republicans. USA’s mid-term election takes place on Tuesday 8th November, and the polls have swung to the Republicans, in a familiar pattern for mid-term elections regardless which political party is in power. The Opening of Polls Chart drawn for 7:00 AM (EST) in Washington DC shows the ruler of the Scorpio Ascendant [= Government], Mars in Gemini in 8th House [no dignity conferred], is debilitated by squares from Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces, and a quincunx from Pluto in Capricorn. In contrast, the ruler of the Taurus Descendant [= Opposition], Venus in Scorpio, is in detriment and squared by Saturn in Aquarius, however strengthened in the 1st House and snuggling up to the Ascendant [= Government], closely conjunct the 12th House Scorpio Sun which is ruler of the Leo Mid Heaven (a configuration similar to when George W. Bush lost 30 seats in the mid-term election in November 2006). On balance, I think the astrological dialogue favours the Republican Party, hopefully with a more peaceful and harmonious outcome than followed the 2020 federal election.
To add to the tension (or perhaps indicative of it), USA is currently embroiled in a once-in-248 years Pluto Return and a once-in-165 years Neptune Opposition. In the past, hard aspects in the Neptune Cycle for USA’s natal chart have been coincident with ‘wars’ or major internal divisions, the previous opposition in the late 1850s during the lead-up to the US Civil War. The question in each US commentator’s mind is whether Donald Trump will stage a comeback? Perhaps this can be reframed astrologically, ‘Will Pluto make a return?’. It appears to me from the issues emerging since Trump became a political force, that he’s been playing a ‘cameo role’ as Pluto in Capricorn in USA’s 2nd House. We will know soon enough…
Australia for its part is locked in a battle for clarity of mind, vision and purpose; a battle that will accentuate ‘wishful thinking’ over ‘rational thinking’; a battle that will test the nation’s ability to see the way forward and not end up down a costly ‘blind alley’; a battle where compassion could override common sense; a battle which when completed by 2025 may leave us thinking to ourselves, ‘how on earth did we get here?’; ‘why did we not see the obvious?’. Such is the potential in transiting Neptune squares for delusion, confusion, deception, glossing over, belief without validation, ignoring the fine print; not even asking to see the fine print!
By birth Australia’s natal chart has Neptune opposing Jupiter, Mercury and Chiron, and Australia’s innate tendencies towards lack of clarity, inflation, idealism, ideology, fuzzy thinking, virtuousness (i.e. virtue signaling) will swing into operation at times without us even realising it. Transiting Neptune in ‘T-squaring’ the natal Jupiter, Mercury, Chiron in late degrees of Sagittarius and natal Neptune in late degrees of Gemini, will accentuate and expose these innate tendencies, so that the nation becomes ‘more aware’ of the issues to be addressed. One potential problem in this 2-year process as Neptune transits through the compassionate sign Pisces, is that decisions will be made on the basis of emotionality and not rationality.
In the September Orbits, I began to monitor these Neptunian trends in The Neptune Square Watch-List’, and the list continues to grow; in addition revealing a tendency for the new Labor Government to head back to the past; and an increasing number of government positions unveiled which were not revealed to Australian voters before the 21st May federal election.
Updates to the Neptune Square List
The major data leak at Optus occurred under Mercury retrograde, however data hacking and leaks continued unabated throughout October, even after Mercury moved direct on 2nd October. In addition to Optus (10% of customers departed, 56% are considering options), Telstra (30,000 current and ex-staff), Medibank (3.9 million customers’ medical records), Woolworths (around 2 million online customers), a Queensland Real Estate group, a Strata Management company, and likely more companies / organisations have been compromised. The Federal Government has responded to this onslaught of data leaks, promising much higher penalties for cyber criminals and for companies not protecting customer data.
Claims have been made of some doctors defrauding the Medicare system, with fraudulent claims amounting to $8 billion per annum. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has denied this claim and the Federal Health Minister has ordered an inquiry.
Fraudulent claims of Aboriginality by non-Indigenous individuals to gain benefits has been exposed as a major issue, and several universities are now clamping down on a self-identification process whereby individuals can simply sign a statutory declaration saying they have indigenous heritage. Sydney University and TAFE are cracking down on self identification by staff and students to receive benefits and scholarships which are then not available to genuine Indigenous people, whose Aboriginality can be attested to by their communities.
Where does fraudulent behaviour end? A scientific-like calculator has apparently been promoted to school students so they can cheat in exams – accessing notes, making calls, inquiring on the internet! At universities, the level of cheating on assignments continues, and academics say universities are failing to stamp out cheating schemes involving ‘ghostwriters’ – it is virtually impossible for markers or plagiarism software to detect cheating. University of NSW says the level of cheating exploded during COVID-19, up 70% in 2020, 71% in 2021, and it may be necessary to bring back supervised exams.
Some cheating in education may not be intentional, but instead the result of ideology in university education departments. The ‘cheating’ referred to here is school students being ‘cheated’ out of a proper education in reading and writing. The recent NAPLAN results have exposed shortcomings in literacy for Year 9 students who were apparently taught by the trendy (non-evidence based) ‘Look and Guess’ whole language method to learn words. Year 3 students who are now receiving direct instruction using ‘Phonics’ (sounding out letters to form words) are back on track in literacy. This bizarre trend away from phonics apparently began about 30 years ago, and young teachers who learned by the ‘Look and Guess’ method may struggle with phonics. Notably, the excellent SBS Series ‘Lost for Words’ which teaches literacy to adults used instruction in the alphabet and phonics; the ‘Look and Guess’ method which they tried daily in supermarkets and stations totally bewildered the adult learners.
Cheating of another kind may have been going on for several years in the QLD Health Department DNA Laboratory whose long-term practices have been under forensic scrutiny throughout October by one of the star prosecutors of the Banking Royal Commission. The final report is not due for release until the end of 2022, however accusations have been made of whistleblowers being bullied; being moved out of the laboratory; too high thresholds being set for DNA testing; QLD Police being deceived in accepting these standards; many crime samples being ignored when DNA analysis would have been possible; and rusty equipment being used which contaminated samples. Senior managers stand accused of deception in the commission of inquiry and responsibility for criminals getting off in sexual abuse cases.
A new term has entered our lexicon, taking the media by storm during October, ‘sports-washing’, which is not as you may imagine concerned with elite sportspeople having to wash their own gear, but is concerned with ‘virtue signaling’! Elite sportspeople have become very choosey from an ideological basis on who bankrolls their big salaries to play the game they love! Australia’s male cricketers pushed away $40 million sponsorship from Alinta Energy on the basis of climate change, while their captain reportedly is involved in private sponsorship deals to encourage travel and the production of CO2 by airlines! Australia’s female net-ballers objected to the generosity of mining magnate Gina Rinehart (a big supporter of Australian sport) in providing $15 million sponsorship to get them out of a deep financial hole; Ms Rinehart withdrew her cash after all the media dramas. One wonders if the net-ballers have ever reflected on how their mobile phones are made – using metals perchance?
In mid October, it suddenly became clear why the Productivity Commission (an independent government funded-body which analyses and advises government on policy) was not invited to the new federal government’s Jobs and Skills Summit in early September. The government’s industrial reform bill to implement multi-employer bargaining across industry sectors has met widespread resistance from business leaders who claim it will take Australia back to the 1970s when many more days were lost to industrial action than now. It turns out that a Productivity Commission report runs totally opposite to the federal government’s retro-intentions for industrial relations, suggesting that expansion of multi-employer bargaining could give rise to more strikes, supply chain disruptions, cascading wage pressures, and damage to the economy. These were the precise reasons Bob Hawke and Paul Keating got rid of industry wide bargaining, but the Albanese government seems intent on returning to the past of the 1970s. This policy was not unveiled during the federal election campaign.
Another policy initiative of the Federal Government which was not declared in the Labor Party’s election manifesto has been to bring back the so-described ‘ISIS Brides’ from refuge camp(s) in Syria. The Mayor of Liverpool confirmed late in October that the then Labor Opposition had been meeting the families before the 21st May election and had been keeping quiet. The Coalition Opposition has noted that the advice they received while in government was that there could be major national security risks involved, and concerns have been expressed by residents of Western Sydney, where the initial group has been re-settled. One political commentator accused the government of ‘leading with emotion’, which is a perceptive comment given the main leadership team of PM, deputy PM, Treasurer, Finance Minister and Foreign Minister are 100% Water Signs [3 Pisces, 1 Cancer, 1 Scorpio]; the Inner Cabinet of twenty three is 48% Water Signs. (ref: August Orbits). Unsolicited ‘proof’ of astrology?
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is currently attending the United Nations COP27 Summit to discuss lowering CO2 emissions, just as he is contributing to the CO2 emissions generated by a myriad of jets arriving with delegates to COP27! Mr Bowen left for COP27 amidst ongoing controversy concerning the Federal Government’s election promise to reduce power bills by $275 by 2025, as power prices instead are rising significantly, as in many countries around the world. In Australia, major concerns have been raised by multiple sources on the early closure of coal-fired power plants before there is sufficient renewable energy in the system. However, in early-mid October, the Energy Security Board chief effectively said ‘no worries’ – the extension of coal power plants is not required. The ‘no worries’ comment is a concern in itself, and I hope in this ultra ‘Neptunian environment’, Australian government energy agencies are not ‘asleep at the wheel’ or basing their policy on ‘wishful thinking’. Chris Bowen has outlined the enormity of the task facing Australia to transform our national energy production to 82% renewable energy by 2030 – 40 giant wind turbines installed per month, 22,000 solar panels per day, and 28,000 km of new power distribution cables. Several commentators have described Chris Bowen’s energy policy as ‘delusional’, as involving ‘lies and deception’, and it could all end in tears! Meanwhile, the possibility of zero-emission nuclear power, using modern small nuclear reactors, has been disparaged by the government, despite not requiring the very costly installation of power distribution cables, if the reactors directly replaced coal plants. Many nations, other than Australia which has one of the world’s largest deposits of uranium, are planning to install small nuclear reactors. Calls for open discussion of nuclear power are growing. When transiting Uranus in Taurus formed a grand trine to Australia’s Sun-Saturn in Capricorn and Mars in Virgo [2020-2022], that would have been an ideal time to put nuclear power on the Federal Government’s agenda.
One final issue which maps precisely to the ‘Neptune square’ pattern is the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. There continue to be opposing views expressed for and against this government initiative to heal the nation’s past. For example, views that The Voice may become an activist group; that The Voice could overshadow the 11 Indigenous MPs now in Parliament; how and from where will the delegates be elected; what will be the cost to the Australian people; can The Voice be trialled first in legislation before including in the Constitution; what if the High Court interpreted the proposed text differently from the intent? None of these matters of detail has been addressed by government, so perhaps Prime Minister Albanese wants Australians to think less and decide on the basis of feeling? In the 25th October budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers included an additional $50 million for a contingency fund, which has led advocates for The Voice to conclude that the referendum will take place in the 2nd half of 2023. If this eventuates, this timing would be slap bang in the middle of an extended sequence of Neptune transits to Jupiter, Mercury and Neptune from May to mid November [ref: August Orbits]. Just how clearly the Australian public would be thinking in the second half of 2023 is hard to judge – this is not an ideal timing for clear decisions.
Clearly, major issues are continuing to emerge in line with Neptune’s transits to natal Jupiter, Mercury, Chiron and Neptune. In stressful aspects like squares, Neptune can manifest as deception, boundlessness, mystery, delusion, confusion, non-sense. Neptune, applying to Jupiter (optimism, expansion, lawmaking) could lead to false optimism, absurd new laws; with Mercury (communication, transportation, trade, education) to fraud, leaks of data, online deception; with Chiron (virtue, healing, ethics) to virtue-signaling (especially with Jupiter involved); and with Neptune to existential issues for Australia – on truth and reality. We are certainly in the midst of it all, endeavouring to keep our heads above water through to 2024!
AANSW invites you to join with like-minded people at the November meeting in person or online on GoToMeeting. If attending online, please register with Kate Holden by 12:00 pm (noon) on Friday 11th November for AANSW’s online meeting on the Saturday 8th October Doors will open at 1:15 pm and the monthly meeting commences at 1:30 pm featuring Marc Laurenson who will be speaking on ‘The Natal Opposition – Straddling the Cosmic Seesaw’, and Linda Thackray who will be presenting on ‘Face Reading’.
Chris Thomas and Gary Curci have discontinued South Coast Group meetings as members can attend AANSW’s monthly meeting online. The South Coast Group may organise an occasional astrology workshop at Wollongong Library, and for advanced news of future events, please refer to Orbits and the AANSW website.
You don’t have to be a member of the AANSW to attend our meetings… everyone is welcome!
Neil Hair – 8 August 2022
