I think these two events, the announcement of an extortion attempt revolving around talk show host David Letterman’s office affairs with staff members, and the bombing of our satellite Moon seeking evidence of water by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), are in a sense, one and the same, or at least, two reflections of a similar dynamic involving Chiron. Can we call this a ‘hurt to heal’ manifestation of the energies? Maybe, as in Letterman’s case his willingness to speak openly of his involvements took the power away from the extortionist, and though it certainly was hurtful to his new wife, Regina Lasko (but please, she met him while working on the show, over 20 years ago–doesn’t that suggest she knows precisely what kind of environment exists behind the scenes at ‘Late Night’?) it also meant that no one could threaten to ‘out’ Letterman–and for all we know, Lasko may have known about the affairs, and made her own peace with it.

When, on his show, Letterman detailed the threats he’d received, an astute reader asked me if the marriage of Letterman and Lasko hadn’t occurred under some less-than-optimal conditions–and indeed it had. Letterman’s public confession came with a Finger of God formed by transiting energies Mercury and Mars, with apex Chiron–surely an appropriate description of the admission, a kind of ‘Rip the band-aid off quickly’ method of dealing with hurt involving communicating and taking action.

The marriage chart for Lasko and Letterman (19 March 2009 3:00 PM in Choteau, Montana, per Letterman’s own announcement on his show) illustrates that tension may be an ongoing theme, as well as difficulty of the two parties successfully connecting. The Moon (bride) and the Sun (groom) form no aspect at the time of the wedding, but will connect by Solar Arc eventually in sextile–not promising. Juno is also exactly conjunct Chiron, cluing us in to the likely response to a threat of hurt (personal empowerment, taking control of the threat to partnership). The Sun itself is at 29 degrees Pisces, promising unrelenting tension, and Venus (the woman) and Mars (the man) make no contact but will eventually semi-sextile by Solar Arc–again, weak, and add to this Venus in Retrograde–oy! Nothing of a contract or relationship nature should be finalized during Venus’ retreat–we are just too unsteady in identifying our values and what matters to us, if nothing else. And we look at the significators for the Ascendant and Descendant, which also stand-in for bride and groom (designation depends on the personal charts of the individuals, though sometimes it’s obviously related to one or the other), and we see that the Sun and Uranus are past conjunction, perhaps suggesting that the relationship, too, is past its prime contact point (in this case that works out by Solar Arc measurement to have been the conception of son Harry. Sorry, I couldn’t get the chart to reproduce in a readable form–will keep working on it.

Does the wedding chart imply the relationship is doomed? Though I haven’t studied it closely, I think the answer is ‘no,’ as my impression is more along the lines of it being an arrangement–not without genuine feeling, but also missing the compelling spark between two individuals that we typically believe drives marriage today. Perhaps it’s a more practical relationship than we would like to imagine for people who choose to stay together and create a family–romanticism can lead us to over-value sex, magnetism, and one-and-only love while undervaluing companionship and a shared goal (in this case, the raising of their child).

Now what does this have to do with NASA crashing two bodies into the Moon? When it happened, about 4:30 AM 9 October (Pacific coast), the Moon was making a a trine to Chiron. An astute Twitter friend asked me what I thought the bombing signified–and I answered that it was in some way a Collective wound that we must look for the counterpart to in our own lives–but it also may in my opinion signify the kind of insult we’ve been suffering as a Collective for some time, as those who have the power act ‘in our name’ in ways that are pointlessly destructive–am I saying the bombing of the Moon is pointless? I’m not venturing an opinion one way or the other about the validity of the action, since I’m not a scientist privy to the thought process behind this choice–I’m simply saying that, coming right now, this seems to symbolize emotionally destructive actions on a mass scale–an undermining, perhaps, and it’s so interesting that they used a Centaur rocket! I think we meet it best by acknowledging the active Chiron in our own lives–how we may be hurt and hurting others–and the example of David Letterman’s public honesty, no matter what you think of the actions that led to the need for his confession, is a good attitude for us all to take–responsibility, openness, and the courage to own up to who and what we are.

I don’t know what the Moon bombing might stand for, though I was tempted to link it to Obama’s win of the Nobel for Peace. It seems to me a kind of wounding disservice to award someone something before he’s been able to implement so many of his ideas, a way to at once hamstring him (will he be able to send troops where he feels he needs to with the mantel of ‘Peacemaker’ on him?) and to somehow take the glory from the prize–the earning of it, through accomplishment, is where the prestige has always been–and though it was no small feat for an African-American to win the office of President, we need to let him show his stuff–not be in such a hurry to applaud him or condemn him that we don’t listen to his points, support his efforts at reform, and allow him to develop a foreign policy true to what he feels we need–rather than allow this blunting of his reach, by having Europe tell him, ‘You’re the bringer of Peace, now go sit in the corner.” Catch Jude Cowell’s excellent analysis here http://starsoverwashington.blogspot.com/2009/10/obamas-potential-peaciness-to-be.html and here by Dana Gerhardt http://mooncircles.com/blog/2009/10/obamas-peace-prize/

See the latest ‘What You’re Asking’ http://askjulie.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/what-youre-asking-asteroids-and-social-skills/