Hawthorne Avenue-Portland

I spent the day walking around Portland, starting with the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI). It was supposed to be aimed more toward children, but I think that's just a way to say that the exhibits invoked imagination and interaction rather than just cold hard facts. That being said, most of the areas were closed off for some reason so I spent an hour or so exploring the cumulative "Miracle of Birth"/"Thinking Animals"/"Nanotechnology" demonstration. It's too bad how subdued school makes me feel sometimes, because I was just kind of floating along, or maybe I just felt like there was nothing I needed to learn. I knew a lot about most of the demonstrations that I viewed (I was interested in nanotechnology through the book The Singularity Is Near by futurist Ray Kurzweil, which I read in high school), but I also think that at a certain point in your life you seem to close off a lot, besides the subjects that you're really passionate about, that is, until new doors start to open up. I guess you just have to keep digging holes...

Still in the museum, I checked out the Planetarium, where I sat in an IMAX-type theater and shown a view of the early spring night sky through a projection on the ceiling. Ironically, this was the part that I was most psyched about, and I probably could have given the presentation myself:

We're currently in a pretty spectacular planetary alignment, a perfect triangle, or a grand trine, between the planets Mars in Virgo, Venus and Jupiter conjunct in Taurus, and Pluto in Capricorn (From our location, we can see all of these besides Pluto). This arrangement of planets hasn't been seen since around the Revolutionary War, and the significance of it astrologically is pretty astounding. This particular patterns fall in Earth signs, and with Pluto in Capricorn, it shows that what is superficial will fall, and what is real and grounded in permanence, rather than temporary materialism, will prevail. Like the American Revolution, a new political dynasty is in the process, as the old one crumbles apart due to dishonesty and greed. Several asteroids fall into this grand trine, including a conjunction between Psyche and Eros(Lovers by instinct in Greek mythology, a synchronicity between action and thought. These two belong together, so with Virgo and Mars, lifestyle decisions will help formulate and lead people's lives in directiosn that will benefit and maintain them), Amor conjunct Pluto (True love for planet Earth, and a generation of revolutionists), and then the grand trine is turned into a kite via Chiron in Pisces (Leading into Virgo, action becomes healing for mankind and an opportunity to experience the mysticism of human creativity). Even not to acknowledge this formation astrologically, no one can deny the beauty of the planets' dance.

When I left the museum three hours later, the crazy Portland weather woke me up from my museum daze, and I stretched my legs down Hawthorne Avenue. My first stop along the Haight Ashbury-esque street was a cool artistic, yet handy bicycle shop called Clever Cycles. They had bikes that could fold and compact through three different bends. They also had tall bikes, short bikes, and a special type made out of wood, designed for children first learning how to ride. I watched a little girl scoot around the store on one!
http://clevercycles.com/

After that, I continued walking down Hawthorne until I reached a food cart area with a big tent in the middle. My friend Emma told me about this one stand, Potato Champion, that used to be owned by a substitute teacher from her old high school. The man at the cart said that Nick was full time teaching now, but we had a nice conversation, both Minnesota natives. I tried the Poutine, fries topped in gravy and cheese curds, and then accommodated it with a few sauces on the side (Always the best part, and they had variety!). Very delicious, and an opportunity to try something different when I show Justin, who I'm in Portland with, later this week!

http://www.potatochampion.com/

On the long walk back to the Woodstock area, I stopped at a knitting store, Yarn Garden, and picked up some needles and yarn, to try my hands at something new. I also walked checked out Artichoke Music and Powell's Books (again).

http://www.yarngarden.net/
http://www.artichokemusic.org/
http://www.powells.com/

It was my favorite kind of day, an opportunity to explore the more eccentric areas of the city on my feet!

Thomas Jefferson's Birth Chart

I'm a couple chapters into a book on Lewis & Clark's travels across the Louisiana Territory, and I thought that it would be kind of fun to take a close look at the 3rd president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson's birth chart. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose regards Jefferson as a social butterfly and an excellent host. Here is a paragraph from Chapter 2:

Most guests found Jefferson to be the most delightful companion they ever met. He charmed and delighted his political enemies as well as his friends. "Spent the evening with Mr. Jefferson," John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary in Paris in 1785, "whom I love to be with." He later added, "You can never be an hour in this man's company without something of the marvelous." Before the election of 1800, Abigail Adams wrote of Jefferson, "He is one of the choice ones of the earth." (34)

Jefferson's Sun is in Aries on the cusp between the 2nd/3rd house. It's trine to Mars in Leo in the 7th House means that both planets fall in each other's sign, showing that Jefferson thought very highly of those that he dealt with, regarding his partners (business, personal, ...) as equals, and finding value in himself, therefore finding equal value in his day to day communications with other people. Mars then trines his Moon in Sagittarius in the 10th House. Sagitarrius is incredibly cultural, bold, and intense, so via the 10th House of public image, Jefferson truly wore his stories and feats on his sleeve. His sense of action, and mastery of himself, Mars in Leo gives him a creative and noble zest, so his fiery sense of humor was definitely the talk of the town. Obviously, there is more though! Uranus, his chart ruler (As well as Saturn ruling Capricorn, but I'll get to that), gives him a genius eccentricity, and sometimes his wiz attitude could take over conversation, for it's connection to Mercury in Pisces (Uranus is in the 12th, Pisces' home) allowed fluidity to even his more eccentric thoughts, yet Uranus' square to the Sun sometimes didn't give his ideas room to the public eye, and the value of his words didn't express themselves as well, except to his more learned guests and friends. Capricorn's ruler Saturn conjunct Jupiter (Ruler of 11th), square Venus (Ruler of 4th and 9th), square Pluto (Conjunct, and ruler of MC), form a T-square leading into Aquarius in the 1st House. Jefferson was a mighty, yet eccentric host, as well as leader, and the people who stuck with him and paid him heed, despite him being a bit of a crazy, were the ones that accommodated for his need for partnership, and therefore helped him grow into the independent that he was, the president of the people.

Jefferson was famous for entrusting him close friends, Merriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the unknown parts of the country and find a trail leading to the west coast. He took their voyage as an extension of his presidency, a quest into the unknown. I see this especially with Neptune (Ruler of 2nd) in the 6th house trine Pluto in the 9th, conjunct the MC, as well as the conjoining T-square. Hard work requires faith in friends, and the value associated with expansion and exploration into the unknown, creating generational, idealistic change. Jefferson's signing of the Declaration of Independence, and also his liberal position regarding slavery, can be seen through this too, with the helpful addition of the healing Chiron, directly conjunct Neptune in the 6th. Slavery was a day to day regime, so it was represented by the 6th house of work and vocation. Also, because it was a standard of the day, it was sort of occult, in a sense, so to be conjunct Neptune is to heal a dark stab within society. The fact that this planet and asteroid are both fairly slow-moving, and therefore generational, gave the preseident much help in terms of his idea toward societal progress. Pluto conjunct the MC shows that Jefferson had a generational effect of peeling the ground forward, which is something that he was heavily remembered for, as well as his respect for fellow man.
I feel as if I knew the gentleman as a friend. 'Merica! Respect!

Peace, Edward