Charts in the News — Updates

In this blog, I thought it would be fun to follow up on some of the horoscopes from recent “Charts in the News” columns in TMA. It’s amazing that astrology enables us to anticipate events, based on upcoming transits. When something does happen as anticipated, we strengthen our skills and confidence by examining the corresponding aspects in the horoscope.

The well-loved television personality Alex Trebek was born on July 22, 1940.
(All charts are calculated with Solar Fire, using Placidus houses and the Mean Node.)

Alex Trebek
July 22, 1940
11:15 a.m. EWT
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (46°N30’07”, 81°W00′)
Source: AstroDatabank A rating

He is a Cancer with the Moon in Pisces, a combination Grant Lewi calls “a sailboat personality,” that is, utterly agreeable, adapting to the needs and feelings of others. (1) The Ascendant at 28° Virgo suggests that he presents himself in an exacting way; this degree is also made prominent by its conjunction with the Aries Point. How apt for the beloved host of Jeopardy!, the game show where answers must be given in precisely worded questions.

On March 6, Trebek announced that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Transiting Mercury had crossed his 28° Pisces Descendant on March 1, activating all four angles. Then Mercury turned retrograde on March 5, backing over his Descendant on March 9. These patterns describe an attention-grabbing communication about a potential end. But true to the nature of his stubborn and enduring square between Jupiter–Saturn in Taurus and Mars in Leo, Trebek said he planned to “beat the disease,” quipping that he had to, as he is under contract to host Jeopardy! until 2022. (2)

As noted in my column in TMA (June/July 2019), looking to the end of 2019 and early 2020, Solar Arc (SA) Uranus = Mars, SA Jupiter = Sun, and SA Uranus = Jupiter (these are all conjunctions). If his concerns were solely professional, this looked promising for an intense and innovative effort. In hindsight, there was an earlier aspect worth considering: SA Jupiter = Mercury, ruler of his Midheaven and Ascendant, exact at the end of March 2019. It may have aptly reflected the “sudden” expanded focus of a Jupiter-ruled disease (Jupiter rules the pancreas). But it also could suggest a reward.

In May, Jeopardy!‘s ratings soared to new highs, thanks to contestant James Holzhauer’s near record-breaking winning streak. On June 3, with transiting Mercury at 28° Gemini once again activating all of the angles of Alex Trebek’s horoscope, he announced that the cancer was responding well to treatment and was in “near remission.” Let’s hope these upcoming solar arcs to Jupiter (e.g., SA Jupiter = Sun and SA Uranus = Jupiter) will continue to reflect good fortune.

Randy Rainbow was born on July 6, 1981. Although we know the location, this chart is set for noon as there is no known birth time.

Randy Rainbow
July 6, 1981
12:00 p.m. EDT
Huntington, New York (40°N52’05”, 073°W25’34”)

Back in January, with transiting Venus at 22° Sagittarius, song-parodying political satirist Randy Rainbow caught my eye with his seductive take on the Mueller investigation, set to “Cell Block Tango” from the musical Chicago. (3) What could be happening in a horoscope to reflect this (and all of his other) meticulous and surreal productions?

Rainbow’s Sun in Cancer suggests that he’s here to provide emotional security, driven by a perfectionist Virgo Moon. It was no surprise to find Mars at 22° Gemini opposing Neptune at 22° Sagittarius, suggesting showbiz glamour galore and clearly activated by transiting Venus at 22° Sag. With transiting Jupiter traveling through Sagittarius through most of 2019, prospects for expansion and publicity looked grand.

In fact, he’s been on a sold-out national tour. Expansive! In March, when Jupiter first activated his Mars–Neptune opposition, he was being interviewed by a reporter for the Washington Post. On May 28, just days after Jupiter’s second activation, the interview made the cover of WaPo’s Sunday magazine. We should keep an eye on the last week of October, when Jupiter will make the third and final hit to Rainbow’s natal Mars–Neptune opposition.

Melania Trump was born on April 26, 1970. Again, with no known birth time, the chart is set for noon.

Melania Trump
April 26, 1970
12:00 p.m. CET
Novo Mesto, Slovenia (45°N48′, 15°E10′)

With the Sun at 5° or 6° Taurus (depending on her exact birth time), Melania was born to establish material comfort and security, driven by the ambition of her (likely) Capricorn Moon. Neptune opposing Mercury and Venus (in late Taurus), as well as Mars in early Gemini, adds glamour and fog to her need to express an aesthetic ideal — or illusion.

With transiting Uranus at 5°–6° Taurus from June to October, we anticipated back in January that transiting Uranus conjoining Melania’s Sun would be reflected in breakups, breakouts, or both. On June 14, she was featured in a special CNN report, aptly titled “Woman of Mystery: Melania Trump.” On June 25, Stephanie Grisham was named White House press secretary and communications director, replacing press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It is fascinating that Grisham has been serving as Melania’s communications director and will continue as such in her new position. The spokeswoman for the East Wing will speak for the West Wing as well. To be continued…

Footnotes:
(1) Noel Tyl, Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology, Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1994, p. 85.

(2) NY Times

(3) Watch Randy Rainbow’s parody of “Cell Block Tango” here.

Bio: Elisabeth Grace, ISAR-CAP, earned her B.A. in Philosophy from Wellesley College. She is a consulting (modern psychological) astrologer and an STA-certified horary practitioner. Freelancing at WNBC and CNBC inspired her must-read forecast on the astonishing synchronicity of the headlines and planetary patterns. She is delighted to write “Charts in the News” for the print edition of TMA. Find her at graceastrology.com