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Bio: John Townley

Early in his astrological career, John Townley introduced the composite chart technique for analyzing relationships in his book The Composite Chart, and twenty years later wrote the definitive work on the subject, Composite Charts: The Astrology of Relationships. He has pioneered techniques for astrological cycle analysis and proposed a new, physical basis for astrology. He is also the author of Planets in Love, Dynamic Astrology, and Lunar Returns, has been the president of the Astrologers' Guild of America, was the editor of The Astrological Review, and is a contributor to professional and popular astrological magazines. His books have been translated into seven languages.

John is also a well-known journalist, elected member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, historian, preservationist, performer, and record producer. He can be regularly found, camera and microphone in hand, covering cultural and technology events ranging from the Consumer Electronics Show to the Toy Fair, from international music festivals to ocean sailing races. When he's not behind the camera and microphone, he's in front of them, performing at maritime concerts in the U.S. and across Europe.

He's written for:

The Mountain Astrologer	Dell Horoscope
Considerations	Fortean Studies
Streaming Media Magazine	The Warsaw Voice
Flying Your Way	Sexology Today
Sail	Boating
Sea History	The Mariners' Museum Journal
Northern Mariner	Sea Heritage News
South Street Seaport Reporter	Digital Cinema
Surround Professional	Recording Media
EQ Magazine	ProSound News
eDigitalPhoto Magazine	The Toy Fair Times
World Of English	Intelligent Transportation Systems Daily
Firefighters' Quarterly	The Rappahannock Record

He's been featured on:
the BBC, CBC, PBS, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNET and Granada radio & TV, Polish National Radio/TV, Voice of America, Armed Forces Radio, and cable TV.

 

Imagine you’re the captain of a ship at sea and a terrible storm appears on the horizon. The wind shifts and starts to gust, the barometer plunges, the waves rise, blown rain splatters on the deck. What do you do to see your ship through the coming tempest? What are your options? That very much depends on who you are, where you are, and what you’ve got to work with.

If you’re fast, you bend on full sail and run before the storm, hoping to get out of its way. If you’re solid and strong, you can turn into the swell, shorten sail, batten down the hatches, and tough it out in open water. If there’s a harbor within range, you can race for shelter, hoping to beat the storm to a safe anchorage. In short, you face or run from the threat depending on your capabilities and your options.

Or, imagine you’re standing on the shore, watching the same scene. You can’t do anything to help the ship where life and death decisions are underway. All you can do is seek the high ground and your own shelter, and perhaps aid in rescue if the ship is blown onto the shore and founders on the rocks.

It’s a similar situation celestially right now, with a deceitful Saturn-Neptune opposition hanging in the sky, shaking political and social structures, Pluto about to cross into cardinal Capricorn overtaken by Jupiter diving into hostile territory, further darkening the scene. The dogs of war are roaming the land and the usual defenders seem to be only adding to the melee, not abetting it. The overall picture is gloomier than usual, but where do you stand personally, what are the landmarks, options, decisions that will see you safe through the storm, even the more fortunate for your wisdom and luck?

Basically, if you’re chart is being tangled with seriously by hard aspects from Saturn and the outer planets, you may need to take a more cautious approach, but if you’re being blessed by support from those big boys along with nice Jupiter transits, you can afford to take some extra risks to win big. And, there’s a middle ground there where some fast sailing through rugged weather could put you safe on a brand-new shore.

The most sensitive areas this year will be the middle-late Taurus and Scorpio, being squared by the ongoing Saturn-Neptune opposition. There’s basically no support to the area from Jupiter or the other outers, so play for safety if you’ve got a lot there.
Sagittarius itself, except for those under Pluto at the very last degree or so, has Jupiter on its side, a trine from Saturn, probably the best of all possible worlds, except for some unexpected and annoying bumps from the square of Uranus. That last makes it continuing choppy weather for mid-Pisces, even more overstated by the now-and-then Jupiter square, eclipses and North Node bringing unexpected responsibilities.

Leo and Aquarius are under siege by Saturn and Neptune, at the very heart of the scythe, and for those it’s a period of do-or-die life seamanship that mainly the faith inspired by the positive aspect of Pluto will sustain. These are the leaders both on the way up and on the way out, at destiny’s beck and call.

Most of the rest of the signs are sailing through quieter weather or safely on the shore. Capricorn awaits the arrival of Jupiter in a year, where quick profits must be made before Pluto arrives to knock the house down. Cancer is still picking up the pieces from its recent big decision years which have set it up for its current rise or fall. Aries fills out a grand trine with Saturn and Pluto, so it’s in gravy, though may not appreciate it, and Libra is coasting along in the middle with a nice trine to Neptune, with Gemini in a similar ride except for the very end opposite Pluto. Virgo is dissatisfied in general with an ongoing opposition to Uranus and square with Jupiter, lots of constantly changing promises that often don’t materialize, eclipses and South Node bringing unexpected paybacks, and Saturn is on its way.

So there you have it, a rough map of where the reefs are this year, by sign and sign portions, so according to where your own chart touches those, be relieved or beware. Like most people, you’ve probably got one foot on a tossing ship and one on shore, so shift your weight accordingly. And further, don’t forget, look at the charts of the rest of your friends and family, who help make up your thread of destiny, because they’re on board, too, and may mean the difference between deliverance and Davy Jones.

Here’s a thumbnail replay of the upstairs weather outlook by sign:

So sail on, 2007...

© Copyright: John Townley

Other articles by John Townley

Townley, JohnInterview with John Townley

Townley, JohnMars-Uranus, Redux

Townley, JohnThe Personal Void-of-Course Moon

Townley, JohnWhich Side Are You On?

Townley, JohnStars Over Lebanon: An Interview With Carmen Chammas

Townley, JohnDark Days: The End of the Beginning

Townley, JohnAspects and Orbs

Townley, JohnThreads of Destiny

Townley, JohnDarning Your Threads ... Rectification by Association

Townley, JohnThe (Not So) VOC Moon

Townley, JohnOf Time and Tide, and the Flowering at the Flood

Townley, JohnPlanetary Order I: ... rising ahead of the Sun

Townley, JohnPlanetary Order II: ... all your ducks in a row

Townley, JohnPlanetary Order III: Islands in the Sky

Townley, JohnGift Signs for the Holidays: Thoughts that Count

Townley, John2008 Primaries & Beyond: Composites and the Candidates

Townley, JohnRinging the Changes

Townley, JohnA New Presidential Paradigm?

Townley, JohnThe Battle Finally Joined: Obama vs. McCain

Townley, JohnAbove Us, The Waves – The Post-Election Weather Observer