CALIFORNIA

I was emailed this article, which I subsequently managed to find at Skywatch.

In the Starlight -- California

by Lance Ferguson

California's birth chart is an extraordinarily complicated and powerful design. But at heart, you must have guessed this state is a Virgo - born Sept 9, 1850. Picky about everything, health conscious to the max, but also the home of master craftsmen from movies to rockets - you can easily see Virgo's practical and sometimes overzealous attention to details in the fabric of life all across the Golden State . The craziness everyone also attributes to LA and "the California kooks," as they say in Texas , appears in the chart as an exact conjunction between wild man Uranus and extremist Pluto at 29 degrees of Aries. This is the most explosive, unpredictable, creative and powerful pairing you'll find in the heavens - and it only shows up in a birth chart once every 100 years.

The positive side of this conjunction makes California the most vibrant, progressive state in the Union . The dark side organizes as gangs, master crooks and businesses that are experts at deception and manipulation. That's how movie stars turn into governors. And where the Hell's Angels got so much attention.

Natural disasters also become much more likely with this pair of planets due to the Jupiter position in California 's birth chart at 29 degrees of Virgo. But fiery Aries and analytical Virgo inconjunct and don't get along. And that's the case with California - when things go wrong, they tend to go very wrong - abundant Jupiter raises the stakes with earthquakes, fires, floods and all kinds of calamities.

Moreover, it's rare that you would find three of the ten planets in a birth chart in the same number, 29. They form a choir and sing at the same time whenever any planet reaches 29 degrees of any sign. Although it's not unusual to have two planets on the same degree in your birth chart, it is a bit rare to have three planets on the same exact degree. And especially to have three big boys, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto, all lined up on 29.

FAST FORWARD to Dec, 2007. Lucky Jupiter will reach 29 degrees of Sag in the heavens around Dec 14 and connect with all three planets in 29 over the next five days. Jupiter will agree with Uranus and Pluto and form a trine - Sag and Aries are fire signs and get along. But Jupiter will square his home position at the same time. The trines suggest good news and success; the square encourages excesses in spending and expansion. Winners and losers all at the same time will show up in the headlines. Pay attention to what happens these days, because --

THE BIG EVENT: Pluto enters the 29th degree of Sag on Dec 28 and makes the same pattern as Jupiter. But slow moving Pluto will stay on the 29th step an entire month suggesting events of great magnitude occurring in California at years end and throughout 2008, as Pluto will retrograde and back over the 29th degree two more times next year.

FORECAST: Major winners, big time business and financial news will be in the SF Chronicle's headlines as Pluto in 29 Sag exactly trines the natal Pluto and the natal Uranus in California's chart - two very rare and exceptionally powerful positive markers suggest brilliant scientific breakthroughs, and large scale enterprises that are incredibly successful with the power to change the world originating in California. No kidding. This is the perfect wave coming. And sets up 2008 as a potential turning point in the state's history, and perhaps the Earth's.

Pluto rules all forms of healing - he is the alchemist who changes lead into gold. Uranus is the ruler of computers, high tech, cars and electricity. He is also a genius and unpredictable. What is certain is that progress and developments in the Golden State can have a global impact and lead some to riches and fame beyond their wildest dreams as these two planets trine over and over again in 2008.

THE RUB: Pluto will square Jupiter at the same time he makes the positive trines. Too much will be way too much. Jupiter rules the law, education, travel, foreigners, expectations and expansion. There will be problems here. Likely some major financial players in the state will go under and disappear. And the value of things will change as Pluto redistributes the wealth. The darkest side of this square includes natural catastrophes, chemical/oil spills, bankruptcy, a spike in the crime rate, and/or negative events that affect a large number of people at once -Pluto.

ADVICE to all my California friends: 99% of you will not be troubled by the Pluto square to Jupiter and will profit from the trines and changes ahead. However, don't ignore safety advice or push your luck in unknown situations that are dangerous over this next year. Things will not go on as they have. But the genius and power of California will likely be reborn and extended into the future and beyond as this powerful Uranus Pluto pairing lights up in the state's birth chart.

NOTABLE: This dynamic, rebellious and brilliant pair of planets, Uranus and Pluto, did meet again in the heavens in the 1960's. Were you around? It was the "Summer of Love" - a time like no other. And if you were born then, from 1962 to 1968, you have this Uranus Pluto conjunction in your natal birth chart. Yup, you've got a touch of California and the Hell's Angels in you - no wonder you never fit in with the family! And yes, in your own way, you are really a genius, and maybe one part kook? Both ruled by Uranus.

If you were born in this era, your chance to take the stage, claim your mantle, and show people what you can do appears in 2008 as Jupiter will enter Capricorn and trine this rare and powerful energy source in your chart in the months ahead.

And if you live in California , don't ignore the warnings of officials if some extreme condition suddenly appears - pay attention. Keep informed and be prepared - play it safe in 2008.