Three major stories from the world of entertainment emerged in February and early March 2014, and all show startling correspondences between events and PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) activity.
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia held their opening ceremonies Friday, February 7, and despite dire warnings of terrorist activity, came off without a hitch. Well, at least on the security front, though accommodations for Olympic athletes were less than stellar, with murky brown tap water and two-seater restrooms without partitions, and work crews still laying cement sidewalks and roadways within hours of the commencement of the games—which games cost some $51 billion. The opening ceremonies had a few glitches as well, as the last of five electric snowflakes failed to deploy into an Olympic ring, looking somewhat like four rings and an asterisk.
Part of the confusion may have been related to TNO Chaos on the Midheaven, with all the attendant confusion and disorder that implies, in full public view. But from a solar perspective, the games couldn’t have been timed more perfectly, with the Sun at 18 Aquarius conjoined both asteroid Olympia (#582) and Olympiada (#1022, named specifically for the games), at 24 and 11 Aquarius respectively. All these squared asteroid Russia at 15 Scorpio, tying the venue to the event in striking celestial fashion.
The US took nine gold medals, and comparing PNAs for the winning athletes to the chart for the Games’ opening reveals a pattern of contact to the Sun, Venus or Jupiter, all benefics bringing focus, applause and awards, or to the two asteroids representing the Olympics themselves.
Perhaps the star of the show was the ice-dancing duo of Charlie White and Meryl Davis, the first Team USA members ever to reap gold in that competition. Charlie White is represented by asteroids Karel (#1682, the Dutch equivalent of Charles) and White (#10730), while Meryl Davis can be seen in asteroid Merrill (#11768, homophone of Meryl) and Davis (#3638). Karel at 24 Taurus is exactly squared Olympia at 24 Aquarius, also broadly squared the Sun; White at 6 Cancer conjoins Jupiter at 11 Cancer. Merrill at 16 Aries is exactly squared Davis at 16 Capricorn, which conjoins Venus at 14 Capricorn.
Other gold medalists include Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the women’s slalom, with asteroid Michela (#1045, for Mikaela) at 18 Capricorn also conjoined Venus; David Wise, taking gold in the ski halfpipe, with asteroid Wisse (#4295, for Wise) conjunct the Sun from 19 Aquarius; and Joss Christensen, for skiing slopestyle, with asteroid Josse (#6647, for Joss) at 4 Scorpio squared Olympiada at 11 Aquarius and asteroid Christiansen (#5878) at 11 Leo, exactly opposed Olympiada and broadly opposed the Sun.
On February 17, NBC’s “The Tonight Show” turned a page with the premiere of Jimmy Fallon as its sixth host. The show started as a local New York City late-night vehicle for Steve Allen, who first took the program national on 27 September 1954. Incredibly, the chart for its national debut shows asteroid Stephania (#220, for Steve) exactly on the 6 Cancer Ascendant, with asteroid Allen (#19727) within orb of conjunction at 27 Gemini.
Johnny Carson, the show’s longest-serving and most popular host, is well represented in the “Tonight Show” birth chart as well, with an opposition from asteroid Johney (#90308) conjunct Pluto at 24 and 25 Leo to asteroid Carson (#6572) conjunct Memoria at 22 and 23 Aquarius. This shows Johnny Carson as the most memorable of the program’s hosts (Carson/Memoria), with 30 years at the helm, and a hugely transformative influence on its development (Johney/Pluto), with Carson moving the show to Los Angeles in 1972 and giving it a West Coast focus. Asteroid Lena (#789, for Leno) at 24 Aquarius also conjoins Memoria and opposes Pluto, an indication of Jay Leno’s importance to the show over all, as its second-longest host, with a 21-year run. Even Conan O’Brien’s unsuccessful year-long tenure (sandwiched between two Leno stints) is prefigured by the placement of asteroid O’Brien (#21774) at 11 Virgo, conjoined the show’s 13 Virgo IC, the nadir of its popularity.
James “Jimmy” Fallon is poised to replicate the success of predecessors Carson and Leno, with asteroid James (#3252, also Jay Leno’s given first name) at 28 Scorpio, squared that Pluto/Memoria axis. Indeed, Fallon has already made his mark, moving the show back to its original New York setting. In early April 2013 NBC announced that Fallon would replace Leno as host, and that same month saw two dramatic contacts to Fallon’s natal asteroids. On April 12, just nine days after the announcement, Pluto came to station exactly on natal Asteroid Thalia at 11 Capricorn, named for the Greek Muse of Comedy, utterly transforming Fallon’s comedic future, and on April 25, a Lunar Eclipse at 5 Scorpio exactly opposed his natal asteroid James at 5 Taurus, catapulting him into the spotlight.
Natally, Thalia closely trines Venus at 13 Virgo, while sitting exactly sextile Jupiter at 11 Pisces (which falls on “The Tonight Show” MC), combining various entertainment/popularity/expansion-and-increase energies and making comedy a natural propellant in Fallon’s career (he first came to national attention on “Saturday Night Live” and followed that with a five-year stint on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”, airing after “The Tonight Show”).
“The Tonight Show” astrological chart sports a loaded Fifth House, ruling entertainment, with Neptune, Mercury, Saturn and Venus domiciled there, and its 6 Cancer Ascendant conjoins the nation’s Venus/Jupiter conjunction, helping to explain its enduring popularity. Fallon’s natal Libra stellium of Mars (exactly conjunct the “Tonight Show” Sun at 4 Libra), Pluto, Mercury (on the show’s natal Moon at 16 Libra) and Uranus nicely highlights show’s Fifth House and Libra placements, making for a good match.
Finally, no review of this winter’s asteroid entertainment would be complete without a look at the Academy Awards, held on March 2, 2014. The Sun at 11 Pisces again set the stage (literally) with its conjunction to asteroid Oskar (#750, for “Oscar”, the name by which the awards are popularly known) at 12 Pisces, making that name the focus of the day*. The Sun in Pisces, Neptune’s sign, and still within orb of Neptune itself, ruling film, is an appropriate nod to the theme.
Chiron was in the mix as well, at 13 Pisces, so it seemed a year for out-of-the-box, maverick choices, and the Academy complied. Best Actress Oscar went to a performance in a semi-comedy, something that rarely happens, while Best Supporting Actress went to a relative unknown in her first full-length feature. In fact, four of the top five awards went to first-time winners.
With asteroid Blanchard conjunct Sun/Oskar from 17 Pisces, and asteroid Kate at 2 Capricorn opposing fame-and-reputation-ruling Jupiter at 10 Cancer while squared the Moon at 7 Aries, it was easy to call Cate Blanchett’s win for Best Actress in advance (for “Blue Jasmine”).
But Cate had some stiff celestial competition, with both asteroids Amy (#3375) and Adams (#1996) conjoined Mercury (at 21, 18 and 9 Aquarius respectively), ruling balloting and votes. Asteroid Merrill at 23 Aries squared Venus at 27 Capricorn was another contender, perhaps reflective of Meryl Streep’s record-setting 18th nomination, but she didn’t get the nod, either.
Matthew McConaughey’s win as Best Actor for “Dallas Buyer’s Club” can be seen in asteroid Matti (#2714, closest to “Matthew”) at 26 Taurus opposed recognition-and-career-ruling Saturn at 23 Scorpio, but asteroid Leonardo (#3000) was right there, too, at 21 Scorpio, in this case perhaps withholding that ultimate vote of approval from DiCaprio. The Saturn connection may have worked a charm for Best Director winner Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”), with asteroid Alphonsina (#925, for Alfonso) at 15 Scorpio, in broad conjunction to Saturn but also more closely trined Sun/Oskar.
The Supporting Actor Oscars went to asteroid-connected performers also. Jared Leto took home his prize for a startling transformation in personality and physique in “Dallas Buyer’s Club” (he lost 40 pounds for the role), with asteroid Leto (#68) at 2 Scorpio trined Neptune, ruling films, at 5 Pisces. Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o garnered honors for “12 Years a Slave”, reflected in asteroid Laputa (#1819, the closest match to “Lupita”) in exact conjunction with asteroid Academia at 14 Libra, making her the Academy’s pick for Best Supporting Actress. Laputa is also squared Pluto at 13 Capricorn, and this win will likely prove transformative for her career.
Even the host, Ellen DeGeneres, made the celestial panoply, with asteroid Ellen (#2735) at 29 Leo squared Saturn at 23 Scorpio, marking her as mistress of ceremonies, also involved in an out-of-Sign opposition to Neptune at 5 Pisces, representing the highlight of the cinematic year that is the Oscars.
One more brief note—midway through the ceremonies, Ellen entered the audience to take a “selfie” with Meryl Streep, which grew to encompass Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Spacey and others. Ellen announced she wanted to break the record for most retweets of a selfie, and did so hands down! Within the hour, the pic had been retweeted almost 900,000 times, and as of the Tuesday after the show, 3.2 million times. Asteroid Photographica at 19 Gemini was broadly squared Sun/Oskar, but also exactly opposed a Black Hole at 19 Sagittarius, a deep space anomaly often associated with record-setting.
As above, so below—the stars don’t only twinkle in the heavens, but clearly it helps to have some celestial back-up.
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* In an unrelated matter, the trial for murder of South African Paralympics gold medalist runner Oscar Pistorius began on Monday March 3, with the Sun still conjunct Oskar. Oskar had been conjunct Pluto, ruling murder, when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 2013.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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