Yeah but it's alright to reference Blazing Saddles by asking where all the white women are at. I was referencing a popular cartoon character when I used that expression and I will be happy to link a clip for your amusement if I still have posting priveleges by the time I've found it on Google.

I know that some of us haven't always seen eye to eye and that some of you may be pissed off with me, or in the huff, or whatever. Well, it takes all sorts. There's a lot of drama on this site and an active gossip mill. Also, it's an international site and people don't appreciate your sense of humour sometimes.

I'm not going to say anything about ****wits. I was told off for using four letter words, even if I censored them myself by putting *s in them. I can still say shite and piss flaps though.

Well, they say that astrology is a good way to find out about compatibility. I mean, I can chat up women by saying that I'm a scorpio and that it's the most sexual of the signs. My horoscope also says that I'm most compatible with a scorpio woman and I have met one and scorpios are interested in occult stuff, so she was interested in what I had to say about it and agreed that we are passionate etc.

So, I saw my young lady friend tonight and told her about all of this. She thought that it was funny but was a bit angry about it and says that she's going to have a word with her friend, who is kind of best friends with the crazy one that I was dating last year.

My lady friend suggested that the girl could have been posting on Facebook during psychotic episodes and that the friend knew about the swan accident story.

What's still weird now though is that this person that's engaged to my ex has the same first name as my current lady friend's dog and the dog's name is Shanty; a highly unusual name. How many Shanties do you know? Also, there's another friend, who has a relative on that friends list called Storm and also a dog called Storm.

Now, this girl that I'm friendly with only met these others about a year ago and she tells me that she doesn't go on Facebook at all. The rest of them are obviously nutcases but this girl isn't.

I only date locally and I'm not just going through the motions.
. What's wrong with socialising in the real world in your own locality and meeting someone that way? Sure, there are amazing coincidences and looking at it like that is romantic and not cynical or pessimistic. You sound like you're making excuses, or don't really want to actually meet anybody. Especially if they aren't outside of your comfort zone.

As for the seven emails a day thing, I think that I prefer the meeting up face to face once or twice a week thing when I'm getting to know somebody.

So, a while back I met a girl without even seeing a picture first or chatting on line or telephone and my first thought was, "Wow, she's exactly what I'm looking for". It can happen and frankly, trying to chat with women online is crap compared to in person. Maybe that's just me though because I'm an honest person and speak my mind, rather than worrying that I'm going to put some person on the internet off by saying things that wouldn't bother them if I said them to their face.

The philosopher John Locke who wrote on toleration and is considered the father of liberalism advocated religious tolerance with one exception; atheists. Rousseau went further and said that it deserved the death penalty.

A guy on another site asked me about his star chart and as he had Uranus in Scorpio I posted this:

A Treatise on Astrology

Liber 536

By Aleister Crowley

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Uranus in Scorpio


The nature of Uranus is so singularly like that of Scorpio, so far as his less humanitarian and uplifting aspects were concerned, that we may anticipate his presence in this house to be so strong as to dominate the personality, even where that is of an opposite character. The excellence of this position will depend largely upon the aspects of Uranus, more so than in the case of other signs. It has been generally alleged that Uranus has a special affinity for the sign Aquarius, and some innovators have gone so far as to call it his house. To such a position, breaking up as it does the entire septenary system of correspondences, it is impossible to assent. Neptune and Uranus represent forces far beyond the plane on which that system operates; and it is useless to destroy the old unless the new is demonstrably better. We prefer to assign Uranus to all the Cherubic signs, Neptune to all the passive signs, while the primum mobile may be properly considered to rule over the Cardinal signs. By this method, we not only retain the septenary system but complete it by assimilating it to the Qabalistic tenfold system of the Tree of Life, without the smallest disturbance. We retain the twelvefold Zodiac, and the attributions of the Tarot, and a thousand other systems which are irrevocably interlocked with these; and we remain in perfect communion with the thought of the Ancients. This appears a wiser and marc rational course than to exhibit our ignorance of the necessity of the septenary in order to show off our knowledge about Uranus.

To return, Aquarius is in any case a sign interchangeable with Scorpio; the eagle of Scorpio is the water cherub, and the man o f Aquarius the air cherub. We also sec the intermixture of air and water in the attributions of the Pentagram, and in an hundred other ways, all methods of Truth which conceal important mysteries....

Let it not be a reproach, therefore, if we emphasise strongly the affinity of Uranus to Scorpio. With some aspects, the scientific inquiring side of Scorpio will be brought out very strongly, with others the treacherous subtle-witted function of that mysterious sign, while in a third group we may find sensuality and passion most deeply marked.

To begin with men of science and philosophy, we have three emancipating intelligences of the highest order; Copernicus, Newton and Immanuel Kant.

The first of these great men, has Virgo rising, with Mercury in the ninth house trined by Luna and only 8 degrees from the trine o f Mars. Uranus is in the third house near the conjunction of Neptune, and is trined by Saturn. It is impossible to imagine a more perfectly harmonious disposition of the planets for intellectual and scientific eminence.

Sir Isaac Newton had Libra rising, giving the balanced judgment so requisite in scientific investigation and Uranus himself is within the Ascendant, and is trined by Jupiter in his own house Pisces, Jupiter himself being only 6 degrees from the conjunct ti on of Saturn. Here the interest is somewhat broader than in the previous example; on the whole, the difference well describes the larger aspects taken by Newton's investigation.

In the horoscope of Kant we find Taurus rising but in 29 degrees, so that most of the Ascendant is occupied by Gemini. Mercury, its lord, is in exact conjunction with the Sun, and these are trined by Luna in Virgo. It forms an admirable picture of the pure intelligence, introspective, philosophical and metaphysical.

More of the revolutionary phase of Uranus is found in the nativities of Gladstone and John Bright. The former has Capricornus rising and Saturn is conjoined with Neptune. with 2 degrees, and with Venus within 9 degrees. It is easy to see that the interest must be mainly human and political, for Jupiter trines this conjunction and is in Aries, near the cusp of the third house.

The temperament is not very harmonious with the personality in this case, though both are powerful; and in this individuality we see the possibility of trouble. In fact, we note that his career was tumultuous, and that he would suddenly reverse his policy in an arbitrary and, as some thought, unwarrantable manner.

The career of John Bright, not so astoundingly successful or so tempestuous, was yet simpler and clearer. Here Cancer was rising, the Moon conjoined with Venus, close to Neptune and Uranus is in conjunction with the Sun. Cancer and Scorpio being friendly signs, the man was always himself and attained the highest reputation for suavity and for integrity.

We might also pair Dickens and Tennyson. The former has Uranus rising in Scorpio sextile to Mercury. Mars is squared by Saturn and this makes the temperament stronger than the personality. Hence the man's work was more important than himself.

Tennyson, with Gemini rising, was of a coldly intellectual and rather priggish type, Mercury suffering severely from the square of Jupiter. Uranus, too, is in conjunction with Mars. Venus is rising, sextile to Jupiter, whi ch is in the eleventh, and so it is easy to understand that this is more important than either the personality or the temperament. The fame of Tennyson was due to his adroitness in pleasing his sovereign, rather than to any quality inherent in himself or in his poetry.

Another Victorian was Sir Isaac Pitman, with Libra rising. Venus is not specially strong in any way, but it is on the cusp of the third house, within which is Mercury. The inventive genius, therefore turns naturally to developing case in matters connected with writing, in other words, to the construction of the system of shorthand which is associated with his name.

Before we proceed to the domain of art, let us look for a moment at the nativity of Caesar Borgia. Virgo is rising. with Mercury on the cusp of the Ascendant, giving a cold, shrewd, nature. Uranus, on the cusp of the third house, gives a somewhat horrible turn to the mind, for he is squared by the moon. r..Mars and Saturn being in conjunction with Leo, we can figure to ourselves the icy. violent, unscrupulous, qualities of the: man, while the Sun rising sextile to them assumes ambition, and success in attaining it.

In art, we have a brilliant trio of musicians, Wagner, Chopin and Schumann. Schumann has Capricorn us rising, Saturn and Neptune semi-sextile to Uranus, near the square of a conjunction of Mars and Sol. There is no great warmth in any part of this disposition, but there is no lack of harmony, except in the sih'1lS themselves; though one may urge that they are at least both cold. It well describes his music_

Wagner has Gemini rising, which accounts for the literary quality in his work; even in his operas this is the case; the leit -motif is literature, not music. But he was a voluminous writer on all sorts of subjects. Mercury is square to an opposition of Mars and Jupiter which explains the violent and brilliant qualities of the man. Uranus is squared by Venus, and the whole figure represents strife and turmoil. Venus dose above the eastern horizon in her own house, in conjunction with Sol and sextile to Jupiter is on the whole the most important feature in the figure_ It gives the intense humanity, the great dramatic and artistic feeling, especially for pictorial effect for Wagner's music has always a visual value, and it assures success.

Chopin is far more like Schumann. Virgo is rising, the Moon about to rise. Mercury sextile to Jupiter is otherwise not very strong. Saturn and Neptune are sextile to Luna; it is another example of the cold, dreamy melancholy temperament, especially as Uranus is in the third house.

More like Wagner, in another line, is Michael Angelo. Here Pisces is rising, Mercury and Venus conjoined on the cusp, with Sol not far below them. They are trine to Uranus and Luna. Pisces and Scorpio are friendly; it is the ideal harmony of nature which permits a man to turn out apparently unlimited quantities of the finest work.

For a final example, Alfred de Musset offers himself as a contrast. Here Aquarius is rising, Saturn in conjunction with Sol and Mercury in the tenth house, with Neptune only 9 degrees away_ The personality goes well with the temperament, though Venus being in Capricornus, her hated house, and Jupiter close to the opposition of Uranus, the whole make-up is bound to .be of cynicism and disappointment. The square of Mars and Venus adds some violence of passion; but this is not well regulated. In spite of brilliancy of talent, even genius, in spite of great achievement, one can only rank him sadly with those who are not quite immortals.
 

What follows is your personal natal chart information, as well as interpretations of the positions and aspects in your chart.
With this report, you will find out the positions of the planets in your natal chart by sign. The most personal of these are the Sun sign, Moon sign, Mercury sign, Venus sign, and Mars sign. Most people already know their Sun sign. If your time of birth is known, you will also find out your Ascendant, or rising sign, as well as the positions of the planets in the houses of your chart. Aspects between the planets are also listed and interpreted.

If the birth time is unknown, you may not know the Moon sign for certain. This is because the Moon changes signs approximately every 2-1/2 days, making it quite possible that someone is born on a day in which the Moon sign changes. Less probable but still possible is a change of signs for the other planets and luminaries, depending on the planet itself (example the Sun changes signs every 30 days or so). For an unknown time, on some birth dates the Moon may be in one of two possible signs. The possible range for Moon signs can be determined by noting the sign at 00:01 and also at 23:59.

Each paragraph of interpretation refers to an individual position in your chart. All of these positions and aspects are some of the "parts" that make up a "whole"--you! Some of these interpretations will be contradictory, just as people are contradictory. A person can be downright timid in love, and that same person can be aggressive in business. Not only that, we evolve and grow throughout our lives, facing challenges that help us to handle our positions and aspects in a different way. We all have choices, and one of the largest benefits of astrology is the ability to understand ourselves better so that we can work with our natal charts rather than against them. Any computerized report that interprets the individual placements in a natal chart is somewhat disjointed, simply because the different parts that make up the whole are not synthesized.

Some of the interpretations that follow are detailed, while others are brief. You can do some further reading about different positions (such as Moon in Libra, Saturn in the 10th house, Moon conjunct Mercury) in your chart by exploring our own site, other astrology sites, and by reading astrology books.

The tables here show the technical details of your natal chart, personalized based on your birth data. Below the tables is your free birth chart report.


Tawt StratSex M
Edinburgh 2 United Kingdom 11/13/1968 03:30 - Julian day 2440173.60
Adjust -1.00 ST 5.46 Lat 55.57 Long 3.13



Planet Positions, Ascendant, & Houses
The following table shows the position of the planets in your chart, by sign and degree. On the right, you will find the sign of your Ascendant and the signs on the cusp of each house in your natal chart. The Roman Numerals refer to the houses, where the Ascendant is also the first house and the Midheaven is also the tenth house. For example, if the sign Taurus is next to Mars, you know your Mars is in Taurus. If the sign Libra is next to Venus, you know your Venus is in Libra. If Cancer is next to Ascendant, you have a Cancer Ascendant, and if Leo is next to II, Leo is on your 2nd house.


Zodiac in degrees 0.00 Placidus Orb:0
Sun Scorpio 20.47 Ascendant Virgo 27.43
Moon Leo 17.43 II Libra 20.17
Mercury Scorpio 7.09 III Scorpio 19.46
Venus Sagittarius 27.50 IV Sagittarius 26.50
Mars Libra 2.21 V Aquarius 4.23
Jupiter Virgo 29.32 VI Pisces 4.29
Saturn Aries 19.58 R VII Pisces 27.43
Uranus Libra 2.36 VIII Aries 20.17
Neptune Scorpio 26.04 IX Taurus 19.46
Pluto Virgo 24.35 Midheaven Gemini 26.50
Lilith Gemini 16.32 XI Leo 4.23
Asc node Aries 8.43 XII Virgo 4.29






Aspects
The following table shows the planetary aspects in your natal chart. Short interpretations are found below.



Planet Aspect Planet Orb/Value
Sun Square Moon 3.04 -93
Sun Conjunction Neptune 5.17 227
Sun Sextile Pluto 3.48 11
Moon Trine Saturn 2.15 47
Venus Square Mars 4.31 -22
Venus Square Jupiter 1.42 -60
Venus Trine Saturn 7.52 1
Venus Square Uranus 4.46 -21
Venus Square Pluto 3.15 -37
Venus Square Ascendant 0.07 -69
Venus Opposition Midheaven 0.59 -125
Mars Conjunction Jupiter 2.49 155
Mars Conjunction Uranus 0.15 246
Mars Conjunction Pluto 7.46 44
Mars Conjunction Ascendant 4.38 90
Mars Square Midheaven 5.31 -3
Jupiter Conjunction Uranus 3.04 155
Jupiter Sextile Neptune 3.28 13
Jupiter Conjunction Pluto 4.57 85
Jupiter Conjunction Ascendant 1.49 115
Jupiter Square Midheaven 2.41 -19
Uranus Conjunction Pluto 8.01 32
Uranus Conjunction Ascendant 4.53 61
Uranus Square Midheaven 5.45 -1
Neptune Sextile Pluto 1.29 38
Neptune Sextile Ascendant 1.39 24
Pluto Conjunction Ascendant 3.08 27
Pluto Square Midheaven 2.15 -6
1371 -456 915





Asteroids & Chiron
The following table shows the positions of the four major asteroids and Chiron. These points are not as commonly used by astrologers, but are presented here for those interested in knowing where the asteroids are positioned in their birth chart. Please note that the positions for "Fortune" and "South node" default to 0 Aries and are not currently working. To determine your South Node, look to the Asc Node above and change the sign to the opposite sign (Aries to Libra, for example), as the South Node is always opposite the North Node (Asc Node).

Chiron Pisces 28.51 R
Ceres Sagittarius 9.09
Pallas Scorpio 18.59
Juno Sagittarius 1.20
Vesta Aries 24.08 R
Fortune Aries 0.00
South node Aries 0.00


Natal Chart Report

Birth Chart

This birth chart report shows the positions of the planets for Tawt Strat.

The Sun represents vitality, a sense of individuality and outward-shining creative energy.

Sun in Scorpio

Scorpios are known for their intensity. They are determined folk that absolutely throw themselves into whatever they do -- but getting them to commit to something is rarely an easy task. In fact, it's better not to even try to "get them" to do anything. Solar Scorpios absolutely have their own mind. And, their primary motivation is unlikely to be prestige (like their Capricorn friends), or even authority (Leos can have that, too)--it's real power. Their power can absolutely be of the "behind the scenes" variety, just as long as they have it.

To others, Scorpios seem to have plenty of willpower. They probably do. Scorpios do know what they want, and they won't go out and grab it at the wrong moment. They simply sit back, watch (quite expertly), and then get it only when the moment is just right. This apparent patience is simply their powerful skills at strategy at work. Scorpio isn't afraid of getting their hands (their bodies, their minds) dirty. The darker side of life intrigues them, and they're always ready to investigate.

Scorpios simply never give up. They have tremendous staying power. They're not in the slightest intimidated by anybody or anything. Confrontations are not a problem. In fact, talk to any Scorpio about their lives, and you'll probably be in awe at all they've gone through. Trauma seems to follow them wherever they go. When Scorpio learns optimism, instead of expecting the worst, they'll find that they possess amazing regenerative powers -- the power to heal, create, and transform.

Short description:

Physical energy and courage. Strong passions. Regeneration and improvement. Strong sexual powers.

Weaknesses: He is suspicious, defiant, extremist: he is sometimes vindictive.

Scorpio ascendant Virgo

Sun in III

You need activity and a change of scenery often, or you feel restless. You take pride in your mental agility and your friendships. You are able to adapt quite easily to whatever environment you're in. There is a strong need to communicate your knowledge to others and to learn. Your curiosity is endless. Take pride in your intellectual or communicative abilities without feeling the need to lord it over others or to always be "in the know". You have a solid grasp of facts. You have a strong influence on your peers.

-93 Square Sun - Moon

You have an internal struggle between your needs and your wants. You can lack focus and be indecisive as a result. Your ability to be objective is both an asset and a liability, simply because when you decide on one route, you are pulled in another direction at the same time. Something tugs at you, and you begin to question your stance. "But what if..." and "on the other hand..." are statements you can't help but make, and that might plague you. You are always aware of the opposing point of view and the other side of the coin.

227 Conjunction Sun - Neptune

There is an unmistakably dreamy, inspired, and sensitive side to you. A marked appreciation for music and the arts is present. The connection of Neptune with the Sun, which represents the ego and the will, certainly softens some of the hard edges that might be found elsewhere in the chart, adding a sensitive and spiritual dimension to your personality. You are naturally compassionate. It is so completely natural for you to accept that there is more to the world than what is before your eyes, that you tend to presume everyone must be spiritually-inclined. Of course, you come to realize that this is not the case at some early point in your life. Your attraction to spirituality and metaphysical subjects is usually marked. These aspects favor writers, artists, and musicians. You are sensitive to those who are suffering, although you are not usually taken advantage of. You are humanitarian and may have a special connection with animals. If other aspects and positions in the chart support it, you are not one to dominate others or assert yourself to the point of brashness. You have a fertile imagination, are full of inspiration, and very emotional - all qualities that you may use on the professional level.

11 Sextile Sun - Pluto

You have much sexual vitality and passion. It is easy and natural for you to find a passion and pursue it, and to focus on a goal. You are not much scared of anything. You enjoy and embrace growth, especially of the psychological kind. You love a good mystery, and you are adept at solving it.You readily assign meaning to what others might consider "ordinary" events. You look for symbols, and read between the lines in most any situation. The physical vitality is generally strong, and the body is usually able to heal quickly. You are not afraid to get your hands dirty, and you are usually quick to help others--not only with mundane tasks, but also on a spiritual or psychological level. Your insight is sharp and sometimes awe-inspiring. You are perceptive and not easily rattled or surprised in life. You are not a do-gooder nor are you a law-breaker. However, you are not afraid of the "dark side" of human nature, and you will bend the rules from time to time if you feel the need to do so. You take particular pleasure in growth and life's lessons. You are not fond of superficiality, and are generally the first to spot pretense of any kind. You are passionate and can be intense. You have a hunger to experience more than just an "ordinary" life, and you can be quite ambitious. Some people with this aspect are perfectionists, demanding much from themselves and reasonable amounts of effort and honesty from others.

The Moon represents the emotional responses, unconscious pre-destination, and the self-image.

Moon in Leo

Depending on other positions in the chart, Moon in Leo people are not necessarily outgoing. When they feel comfortable, they do like being the center of attention. That is, they like being in the "spotlight" in the comfort of their own homes and with family and friends. They enjoy entertaining others, and often take on the role of comic. Lunar Leos often feel a need to organize, and even control, their families and friends. They have an inner mission to set things right, and generally like to oversee the goings-on in their little circle.

This is a rather creative position of the Moon. At the very least, Moon in Leo people want to create and entertain. They can be rather lazy at times, and a little bossy too. Generally, though, they have a deep need to treat others fairly and justly. Lunar Leos require lots and lots of love and care in order to function well in the world. When they feel slighted, these people can be dramatic in their emotional displays. When their pride has been hurt, they are given to big scenes and sulking. This rarely happens in public, however. Lunar Leos are far too concerned about their image to make splashy scenes outside the comfort of their own homes. In public, they prefer to take things in dignified ways. At home, however, they're given to big displays of emotional drama. These scenes generally don't last too long, however. Lunar Leos are often personally popular folk who are valued for their integrity and strong sense of justice. Generally, it is easy to reason with a Lunar Lion. Appealing to their well-developed sense of fairness usually works well.

Short description:

He is brave and knows how to take risks, has the courage of his convictions, is honest , imposing and sharp. He has a great sense of, and respect for, justice. Organizational sense. Selectivity in friends, but is not overly influenced by them. Taste for splendor.

Weaknesses: changing and numerous affections. Emotionally demanding and proud. Brooding when attention is not forthcoming.

Moon in XI

Lots of friends, relationships. He makes friends easily and uses his relationships to further professional success. Feelings of friendship are sometimes superficial. Often, lots of children.

This position of the Moon indicates an emotional need for a feeling of belonging with, and support from, friends and associations with groups. You look to acquaintances for support, and offer the same in return. A changeable or unstable social life might be a reflection of inner emotional unrest. Waxing and waning feelings for others can cause problems in your relationships. You are a person who is filled with many dreams, wishes, and hopes for your future, and most of these are altruistic and good-hearted desires. However, you might change your aspirations frequently, with your changing moods, and have a hard time settling on goals to work towards as a result.

47 Trine Moon - Saturn

He controls his feelings. He has a sense of duty, of self-esteem and is prudent. He can concentrate on a long-term task, manual or intellectual. He perseveres and is serious in everything he does.

Mercury represents communication, Cartesian and logical spirit.

Mercury in Scorpio

He is extremely observant and astute, always reading between the lines and looking for the real meaning behind things. Passionate in speech, excellent at strategy. Natural psychologist.

Mercury in II

Intelligence geared towards ways of making money, becoming rich. All methods are good, sometimes he is on the borderline of honesty.

You have a very practical mind and intelligence, seeing the obvious, most logical answer to any predicament often before others. You don't like to be put on the spot or pushed into talking or coming to a conclusion. Studies are similar--you need to work at your own steady pace. You can be quite one-track minded at times, not very happy with multi-tasking, and often quite fixed in your opinions. Sensual stimuli is more relevant to you than abstract concepts.

Venus represents an interest for emotions and values, exchange and sharing with others.

Venus in Sagittarius

When Venus in Sagittarius people are in love, they need to feel they can grow and expand their horizons through their relationship. They want to learn new things, and experience everything together. These are idealistic lovers who want you to appreciate their beliefs, visions, and ideals. They can be a confusing mix of the lighthearted and serious. They are roamers and seekers, and don't commit in their relationships as easily as others. Venus in Sagittarius men and women turn others on with their big smiles and laughs, their jokes, their grand schemes, their dreams, and their friendly, flirtatious behavior. They pride themselves on their open minds, but you may notice they can be judgmental too. They are threatened by inhibitions on the part of their lover, dullness, and emotional overkill. They are restless, and won't put up with lovers who dwell on any one thing. When the going gets tough in their relationship, they have an overwhelming need to run away. Usually this only means getting out and experiencing something new before they come back, but sometimes it can be for good. They are attracted to people in love with life. You don't need to be refined, polished, or graceful to win their favor.

Pleasing Venus in Sagittarius involves allowing them lots of room in the relationship to grow. Avoid getting stuck in a rut, and understand their need to move on. Learn to laugh, but take their rants and raves seriously. Avoid criticizing their beliefs, join them in debates, and philosophize along with them. When they feel the need for more experience, join them! Learn to look past their clumsiness with you and your feelings, and avoid cornering them or forcing them to commit.

Venus in IV

He is lucky enough to have many happy occasions all through life. Strong friendships which can affect the emotional life. He usually makes a good marriage. Happy family life. Good work situation.

You seek balance, beauty, harmony, and peace in your home and domestic life. You might be especially attracted to luxury or quality/comfort items in the home, and you likely have an eye for interior decorating. There is a loving, personal touch to the way you decorate your home. Your love is decidedly sentimental, and you show your affection through nurturing and displays of sympathy. You don't give your heart out easily, but when you do, you do it with great emotion. It's very easy for you to become attached to a partner, and possibly smothering or overly dependent if you are not careful. Your parents' marriage affects your own partnering skills and style more than most. A parent may be especially charming, beautiful, or otherwise Venusian. On the negative side, this parent may have been especially indulgent or overprotective with you.

-22 Square Venus - Mars

While he is passionate, he likes carnal desires and voluptuousness above all. He may go to excess and is often unsatisfied.

Whether it's an infatuation or a full-blown love affair, relationships get you out of bed in the morning. You are passionate and seem to need an active romantic and sexual life to drive you. Often, this area of life is somewhat challenging, especially in youth. As much as you want to be involved in a passionate affair, your timing can be off and/or it's difficult to find a relationship that mirrors your strong desires and expectations. Especially when you are young, there can be a real awkwardness with your social skills--this may or may not be apparent to others.

You are highly creative and generally are driven to express that creativity. Your passion for romance is often channeled into your creative output. For example, challenges in relationships may be a large part of the drive behind your poetry, music, or other art.

Love and hate are very much mixed together for you. You are prone to love-hate relationships with others, likely because your passions are such that the old saying "there's a fine line between love and hate" rings especially true for you. Some level of competitiveness, anger, frustration, or angst is present in your romantic relationships. Although you are quick to anger, you are generally just as quick to forget about it.

-60 Square Venus - Jupiter

He is nonchalant, pretentious, full of self-importance. He likes what is beautiful and sometimes ostentatious, and spends lots of money for the sake of appearances. He likes to please and has numerous amorous adventures. He is unfaithful and undergoes tribulations in love.

1 Trine Venus - Saturn

He has a good grasp of reality and of duty. He is thrifty, reserved and does not show off. He likes truth and justice. In love, his sentiments are sincere and deep, he never plays false. He is, of course, faithful in love and friendship. He can love a much older person and appreciates his intelligence and good sense.

-21 Square Venus - Uranus

He looks for new sensations in love and is often unsatisfied by affairs which quickly turn into purely conventional relationships. He likes novelty, adventure, the eccentric: he is frivolous, unstable, unfaithful. Marriage is not for him and, if he does throw himself into this adventure, it will end in divorce, written off as a youthful mistake. As a result of his numerous love affairs, he makes sure his line is continued.

-37 Square Venus - Pluto

In an attempt to control the outcome of a love relationship, or the loved one's feelings, you can turn to manipulative games. Even if you do "succeed" at it, there is never a feeling that you've won someone over for who you are, and this feeds a vicious cycle that you should try to avoid getting yourself into. Your feelings are intense, and even extreme, when it comes to love. You might attract intense relationships that have love-hate themes as a result. You are passionate when you love, definitely, but also passionate when you hate. You easily put pressure on your partner, as you expect much loyalty and honesty in your intimate relationships. Be careful not to let your relationships get to a point where your partner is superfluous and you are working through your own inner demons through him or her. Certainly, you will learn much about yourself through your relationships, and you may not always like what you see. You will meet yourself (the "darker" side or inner demons) through your relationships, and it will be critical that you recognize it as your own "material" and not project it onto your partner. Letting go of a relationship can be hard for you to do, especially if Venus is in a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius).

-69 Square Venus - Ascendant

He goes to excess in his pleasures, frequents doubtful company. He lacks good taste. He is very spendthrift, but spreads his money around his circle. His friends are more self-interested than sincere.

-125 Opposition Venus - Midheaven

He is vain and jealous. Both married life and professional life are difficult with such a character.

Mars represents the desire for action and physical energy.

Mars in Libra

Mars in Libra natives often reflect about things before they act. Decisiveness is not their strong point, but they do, eventually, get things done. Many people with this position procrastinate, generally because they feel the need to weigh all of the alternatives before taking action.

Life isn't always fair, as Mars in Scorpio would say, but Mars in Libra will seldom accept this notion. These natives can easily get caught up in defending themselves and others. Although their overall goal is to live peacefully, they stir others up with their desire to balance everything. Still, they always play innocent when they are challenged, and can generally charm the birds out of the trees to win your favor. Passive-aggressiveness is practically the hallmark of this position. They don't want to look like they are ever being mean or unfair, but aggression has to go somewhere! Too often, this results in sneaky behavior and subterfuge. On the other hand, some Mars in Libra people turn the Mars energy into action, and they fight for Libran justice and fairness in the world. On the up side, Mars in Libra people are adept at predicting when problems and discord will occur well in advance. They know how to compromise and are excellent at conflict management.

Mars in I

He gets carried away a lot. He is provocative, impulsive, dynamic and bold. Great spirit of enterprise. He has a great need of activity and throws himself into projects without thinking of the consequences of possible setbacks, nor of the dangers that may arise.

His reactions to new situations are immediate and pressing. He is an active, energetic, dynamic, enterprising, and possibly even forceful or aggressive person. He tends to begin new endeavors with gusto, although follow-through is not necessarily indicated by this position alone. Some might be rash, inconsiderate, or overly assertive. He can be fiercely independent, and he is usually direct and straightforward. Spontaneity is extremely important to him. Some might stir up trouble, whether consciously or unconsciously, when he is bored.

155 Conjunction Mars - Jupiter

He has a good sense of organization, he is jovial, frank and sincere. He is full of dynamism and over-abundant energy. He loves life and takes all it has to offer. He likes sports and the outdoor life. He is successful professionally and emotionally. He usually has lots of children.

He is honest and forthright in his dealings with others, and he tends to trust others readily. He can be a bit careless about spending money, however, and this is probably because he is so eternally optimistic that there will always be plenty around. The possibility of failure does not enter his mind, although success itself is not that important to him.

246 Conjunction Mars - Uranus

He possesses exceptional energy. He is impulsive but bold. He takes on risky enterprises for the good of the community, with all the energy he possesses. He has a great need of his independence, likes his freedom of action.

44 Conjunction Mars - Pluto

He is ambitious, has a great capacity for work, has self-confidence and goes to the end of his plans.

90 Conjunction Mars - Ascendant

-3 Square Mars - Midheaven

He suffers professional setbacks because he is too impulsive, imprudent and lacks forethought.

Jupiter represents expansion and grace.

Jupiter in Virgo

He attracts the most good fortune when he is helpful, honest, orderly, and pays attention to details. The service industries, nutrition, and health are prosperous avenues. Practical and technical knowledge and skills are most valued. A real problem solver and others appreciate his help. Doesn't always feel lucky or especially ambitious. Rather, hard work is valued.

Jupiter in I

He is jovial, expansive, dynamic, kindly, altruistic. He has good judgment, is tolerant and likes food. He has a good education and a prosperous life.

155 Conjunction Jupiter - Uranus

He knows what's going on at a glance. He thirsts after knowledge, and is a good organizer. He is very independent, likes his freedom of action, is a non-conformist. He is very agreeable company and is always in demand.

13 Sextile Jupiter - Neptune

He is very generous and altruistic, helping people in difficulty or sick people. He knows how to listen or, at least, how to give that impression. He is a dreamer, with lots of imagination: he likes the Arts.

85 Conjunction Jupiter - Pluto

He likes to direct, is intelligent and is an organizer of the first order.

115 Conjunction Jupiter - Ascendant

He likes meeting friends, around a good meal and in a cordial atmosphere. He is pleasant, jovial and engaging.

-19 Square Jupiter - Midheaven

He aims big and is often disappointed with small advancements or successes, wishing they were bigger and better. He may bring every conversation around to himself, which is a tendency that should be kept in check. He has highs and lows in his professional life.

Saturn represents contraction and effort.

Saturn in Aries

Self-consciousness can be a problem. Must learn to develop self-confidence. Is bothered by a "me-first" attitude in others, but must learn that "me-first" is sometimes necessary, in moderation.

Saturn in VII

He takes one-to-one relationships very seriously - so seriously that he may never marry or marry late. Relationships, marriage may not be fruitful or may be felt to be burdens if Saturn is afflicted. A strong sense of responsibility towards partner. Partner may be serious, mature, or restrictive. He marries fairly late but his feelings are sincere and stable. He is persevering, methodical and persistent, which brings professional success.

Uranus represents individual liberty, egoistic liberty.

Uranus in Libra

Well-developed artistic leanings. His balance can be upset by too great an independence.

Uranus in I

He is above all independent and original. Sometimes blunt and irritable. Never lets himself be influenced. He does not tolerate any sort of setback. He is ready for adventure, even though it's risky.

32 Conjunction Uranus - Pluto

He fights to improve his daily life, he is persevering.

61 Conjunction Uranus - Ascendant

He is always changing, is unstable. He is ready to innovate, to change everything. He is inventive.

-1 Square Uranus - Midheaven

He cannot carry through his plans, schemes to the end. These are changeable. He lacks forethought, attention. He throws himself into things, more than reacts to them.

Neptune represents transcendental liberty, non-egoistic liberty.

Neptune in Scorpio

Willing to look beyond the superficial.

Neptune in III

He has a lot of imagination, high ideals. He is nostalgic. Dry, cold facts are hard for him to absorb, so traditional academics might not appeal.

38 Sextile Neptune - Pluto

24 Sextile Neptune - Ascendant

He has strange relationships. He is easily influenced, very sensitive and emotional.

Pluto represents transformations, mutations and elimination.

Pluto in Virgo

Research and investigation come naturally.

27 Conjunction Pluto - Ascendant

He has will-power and ambition, and likes to have his own way.

-6 Square Pluto - Midheaven

He has issues with his power. He risks losing everything and having to start from scratch in order to duke it out with authority figures. He can end up in meaningless stalemates with bosses and authority figures, which can block his from achieving success or goals at times.

House I is the area of self identity. The ascendant is a symbol of how one acts in life. It is the image of the personality as seen by others, and the attitude that one has towards life.

Scorpio ascendant Virgo

Ascendant in Virgo

People with Virgo rising are often a little understated in their personal mannerisms and appearance, although a lot depends on the position of Mercury (the ruling planet of Virgo) in the chart. Generally, there is an intelligent and reserved aura about Virgo rising individuals that is unmistakable. These are actually somewhat shy people who need time to analyze things around them before they warm up to both situations and people. This quality can be received exactly as that, or it can be received as a rather stand-offish, cool, and even critical manner (depending on the audience). One of the biggest personality traits of this position is body-awareness. People with Virgo ascendants are sensitive to any discomfort or other signals their body gives them. Many are especially interested and concerned with physical health, and some are attracted to mind-body awareness exercises such as yoga. Virgo rising people are often rather particular about food. Although some have good appetites, there can be an unmistakable pickiness about what they put in and on their bodies. Virgo ascendant natives have a tendency to worry a lot, especially when confronted with new situations. They notice the tiniest details that others overlook.

Many people with this position have a tendency to attract (or be attracted to) people who need help. Their relationships may be confusing as a result. Despite the Virgo rising tendency to appear rather collected and professional, relationships can sometimes be messy simply because these natives don't always see their partners and partnerships clearly. There's a quiet charm to many Virgo rising people. Once they have the chance to warm up to new people and situations, you'll find they have a lot to offer. They'll help you out of a jam, go out on a limb for you, and surprise you with a natural modesty under a somewhat critical and standoffish manner.

House II is the area of material security and values. It rules money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions.

House II in Libra

Income may come either as a result of an advantageous marriage, through artistic expression, or by a very useful association.

House III is the area of social and intellectual learning.

House III in Scorpio

Makes a good investigator because he is very curious, likes researching and does this with a lot of patience, likes to solve mysteries. Knows how to take risks, while being aware of the dangers.

House IV is the area of home, family, roots, and deep emotions/sense of self-worth.

House IV in Sagittarius

He will certainly marry a foreigner, or go to live abroad permanently and set up home there.

House V is the area of creative self-expression, romance, entertainment, children, and gambling.

House V in Aquarius

Doesn't like routine and the banal. He is romantic, full of fantasy and imagination. He is also a friend one can count on.

House VI is the area of learning by material transaction.

House VI in Pisces

Job in commerce. Weak point: the kidneys.

House VII is the area of one-to-one relationships such as marriage and partnership, and of social and intellectual action.

House VII in Pisces

Marriage with someone who will quickly disappoint. The spouse's lack of energy and vitality will annoy him, and this could lead to the break-up of the marriage. A second, happier one could happen.

House VIII is the area of emotional security and of security of the soul.

House VIII in Aries

The spouse will tend to spend more money than he earns. Be careful of any haste that could prove dangerous. Drives a car too fast.

House IX is the area of learning that shapes the identity.

House IX in Taurus

Travels but little, no great attraction for abroad. Doesn't change principles, practically never changes mind.

House X is the area of material action. The Mid-heaven represents the work one will do in his life, the place one will take in the world of society. It becomes more important as one grows older

House X in Gemini

Profession requiring lots of change and movement. If this isn't the case, then lots of job changes. Likes to move, travel, write.

House XI is the area of search for social and intellectual security.

House XI in Leo

Friends are not always chosen by chance. Even if the feelings of friendship are sincere, these friends must automatically bring something - professional help for example.

House XII is the area of education and of emotion.


House XII in Virgo

Work in a research lab.

Nietzsche and God (Part I) Richmond Journal of Philosophy 14 (Spring 2007)
Adrian Samuel
Nietzsche and God (Part I)
Adrian Samuel
Abstract
What is distinctive about Nietzsche’s rejection of God is that it is not based upon
mere rational demonstration – e.g., defending the position that there is insufficient
support for the claim X exists, such that X has the properties of God. Rather than
argue that God does not exist, Nietzsche claims that ‘God is dead’. And this is itself
tied up with a belief that rational justification (of which God is both a symptom and a
cause1) has undermined itself due to reducing the question of meaning2 to the question
of the true.3 That is, ‘God is dead’ because the timeless and universal standpoint of
God has led to ‘nihilism’ – the viewpoint that there is essentially nothing meaningful
to our world beyond a set of true facts. Against this, Nietzsche champions an
essentially ‘psychological’ approach to the question of the true, which allows him to
explore what meaning a particular understanding of reality involves. The paper
concludes that Nietzsche’s opposition to God is based upon his psychological
reductionism (his belief that the objects of decision are reducible to the psychological
process of deciding) and his pantheism (his identifying nature as the source of value).4
Nietzsche & Monotheism.
Nietzsche is (in)famous for his denunciation of Christianity, and more broadly
monotheism. He doesn’t mince his words:
‘Christianity was from the beginning, essentially and fundamentally, life's
nausea and disgust with life, merely concealed behind, masked by, dressed up
as, faith in "another" or "better" life.’ (Birth of Tragedy, p.23)5
The Jews and Muslims are treated a little more kindly, although even they are seen as
essentially ‘slavish’ and ignoble. 6 In spite of this charged rhetoric, Nietzsche’s
approach to the question of God is subtle and challenging. Nietzsche succinctly
presents his position in what is sometimes called the ‘parable of the madman’, section
125 of the The Gay Science.7
‘Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning
hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: "I am looking for God! I
am looking for God!" As many of those who did not believe in God were
standing together there, he excited considerable laughter.
‘Have you lost him, then?’ said one.
‘Did he lose his way like a child?’ said another.
‘Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? or emigrated?’
Thus they shouted and laughed. The madman sprang into their midst and
pierced them with his glances.
‘Where has God gone?’ he cried.
‘I shall tell you. We have killed him -you and I. We are his murderers. But
how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us
the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we
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unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we
moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward,
sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not
straying as through an infinite nothing?’
From this passage, it is clear that Nietzsche now sees the idea of God to have become
impotent – alienated from the market-place.8 For no-one berates the ‘madman’ for
blasphemy – nor does anyone attempt to help the madman find God. Rather, the
madman’s search for God is taken as a bit of a joke – worthy of being mocked and
little more. Nietzsche coins this sociological movement towards not taking ‘God’
seriously as the ‘death of God’. That is, the former importance ‘God’ had in
structuring our lives has ended.
Further, Nietzsche sees the death of God to be a problem. This is made clear after the
sentence ‘The madman sprang into their midst and pierced them with his glances.’ To
present this problem, Nietzsche uses the evocative language of the event’s wiping
away the entire horizon of what is meaningful for us. He also presents the death of
God in terms of our world’s losing its centre of gravity and of energy, the sun. The
death of God is also presented as a crisis of direction – of our being sent into free-fall,
losing any sense of the purpose and meaning of our lives, vividly presented in terms
of our ‘straying as through an infinite nothing’.
In brief then, Nietzsche sees the death of God to lead to the problem of
disenchantment – that the ultimate significance of our lives (previously understood in
terms of our relationship to God) has been replaced by an essentially insignificant
world (of mere causal interaction).9
The assumption underlying this is of course that God previously played the role of our
world’s centre of gravity, its energising force and orientating direction. Given that
assumption, it might be thought that Nietzsche would attempt to rethink the idea of
God for his own age. Indeed, there are many examples of Christians attempting to do
this, such as the Anglican Bishop Robinson in his controversial book Honest to God.10
Or we can look no further than the Bible itself for exactly the same thing, such as the
prophet Amos. In the Biblical Book named after him, the prophet presents these harsh
words as coming from God:
I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos, 5:21-24)11
Nietzsche and God (Part I) Richmond Journal of Philosophy 14 (Spring 2007)
Adrian Samuel
What characterises these religious revisionists is typically an appeal to radicalism.
Radicality is often confused with extremism in the popular press, but in its proper
sense it means going back to the root (radicalism is drawn from the Latin radix
meaning root). As such, Amos is calling the Jews back to a more authentic
relationship to God after they had become overly preoccupied with the outward form
of the rituals that were meant to open them on to just that relationship.
Nietzsche however, is different. He is not concerned to rethink and thereby
reinvigorate our relationship to God. For Nietzsche, God is the problem. Or, to put the
issue more clearly, God is the clearest symptom and cause of the problem, which is
justificatory rationality as the standard for all understanding. To explore Nietzsche’s
rejection of God, we must therefore digress to firstly explore his rejection of
justificatory rationality.12
Justificatory rationality.
Justificatory rationality is the attempt to ground our beliefs upon basic elements.
These foundational elements are typically held to be self-evident or self-justifying,
and thereby afford an ‘objective’ standpoint. The truth of our beliefs thereby lies in
their being appropriately referred (either directly or through some more complex
chain of reasoning) to an objective standard of justification.
Nietzsche’s critique of objectivism lies in his questioning the question of truth. In
section 1 of Beyond Good & Evil13, he writes:
‘The will to truth, which is still going to tempt us to many a daring exploit,
that celebrated truthfulness of which all philosophers up to now have spoken
with respect, what questions this will to truth has already set down before us!
What strange, serious, dubious questions! There is already a long history
about them—and yet it seems that this history has scarcely begun. Is it any
wonder that we finally become mistrustful, lose patience and, in our
impatience, turn ourselves around, and learn from this sphinx to ask questions
for ourselves? Who is really asking us questions here? What is it in us that
really wants "the truth"? In fact, we pause for a long time before the question
about the origin of this will—until we finally remain completely and utterly
immobile in front of an even more fundamental question. We ask about the
value of this will. Suppose we want truth. Why should we not prefer untruth?
And ignorance? Ignorance of the self? The problem of the value of truth steps
up before us—or are we the ones who step up before the problem? Who
among us here is Oedipus? Who is the Sphinx?’
In this passage, Nietzsche puts the question of truth into question.14 That is, instead of
merely attempting to answer the sphinx’s15 question of ‘What is truth?’, Nietzsche
puts his own question to the enigma of truth. He interrogates the traditional
philosophical question of ‘What is truth?’ in terms of the question ‘Why truth?’. And
he approaches this question ‘Why truth?’ in terms of the ‘value’ of this ‘will to truth’.
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Now the question of value assumes a standard of evaluation – i.e., some way of
determining the value of the thing. And that standard is typically the significance the
thing has for someone or something else. For example, a picture of my father is
valued because I value it – it is valuable to me. 16 Now, as we have seen, Nietzsche is
asking after the value of the ‘will to truth’. So he similarly needs to identify what the
‘will to truth’ is valuable to.
Nietzsche’s answer to this is ‘life’. And by ‘life’, Nietzsche means some causalorganic
movement to which the act of knowing belongs. 17 Rather than simply
attempting to answer the question of what truth is therefore, Nietzsche attempts to
situate the question of truth and its answer within the holistic movement of ‘life’. That
is, Nietzsche does not see life in terms of truth, as philosophers typically do, when
they treat biographical questions as at most useful for determining the validity and
accuracy of argument. He rather sees truth in terms of life, inquiring into how
different approaches to the question of truth transform the significance or value of life.
Nietzsche’s approach is therefore to treat the question of truth not as a problem that
has to be solved, but as rather a symptom and aspect of something greater, which he
terms ‘life’. And by ‘life’ he means an all-embracing movement, that includes both
causality and consciousness within itself.
We are now in a position to understand why Nietzsche rejects objectivism. This is
principally because it takes the question of ‘What is truth?’ as basic, and attempts to
simply answer this question by referring our beliefs to an objective standpoint.
Against this, Nietzsche raises two criticisms.
Firstly, it is insufficiently honest since it fails to inquire into the reasons for a concern
for the truth. – i.e., ‘Why truth?’ (BGE, 25) That is, it is interrogatively deficient,
meaning that the significance of the question and answer are inadequately explored.
Secondly, and leading on from the first point, Nietzsche sees objectivism to implicitly
reduce our motivations to a merely instrumental role in acknowledging reality. That is,
such an approach implicitly reduces the question of meaning (the contextual
significance something has) to the question of objective knowledge (the mindindependent
reality something has). Nietzsche argues that this is problematic, since
knowledge is not simply of a mind-independent reality, but it is also indicative of how
our mind conceives and relates to the world. If we are properly to understand the
relationship between the question of the true and the question of meaning, we need to
abandon such attempts to reduce the question of meaning to the question of the true
and thereby recognise the ‘perspectival’ nature of our knowledge. That is, all knowing
takes place within a ‘horizon’ of meaning (BGE, 43), and it is through this context of
meaning that we are granted a perspective on reality.18 Perspectivism then, can be
seen to articulate Nietzsche’s alternative to objectivism – a context-specific model of
knowing.
In summary then, Nietzsche champions an essential holism19 against objectivism, by
rethinking the question of truth in terms of its belonging to (and being a symptom of)
the movement of ‘life’. All knowing takes place within and from life, meaning that
knowledge is not seen as simply objective (as opposed to subjective), but as
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perspectival (a contextually embedded position, that allows Nietzsche to bridge the
opposition between subjectivity and objectivity).
Objectivism and God
If Nietzsche is against objectivism then, this still raises the question why he is against
God. The principal reason for this is because Nietzsche sees God to be the clearest
symptom and cause of objectivist thought – God is the ultimate standard to which our
thoughts need be referred and to some extent justified or at least judged. God
therefore typifies such an approach, as well as encourages us to see the world in terms
of this approach. That is, Nietzsche identifies God with what Thomas Nagel would
much later term the ‘view from nowhere’20 – a purely objective standpoint essentially
divorced from our subjective involvement in the world, and yet one which acts as the
standard for deciding whether our subjective involvement in the world (principally
our decision-making) is true or false.
As we have seen, Nietzsche’s holistic ‘perspectivism’ leads him to reject such a
universal standpoint – what might be termed the viewpoint of God. And as we have
also seen, Nietzsche’s argument is that such a standpoint fails to take the question of
meaning seriously. That is, the attempt to abstract out of contextual specificity so as to
achieve an objective standpoint implicitly reduces the contextually specific questions
of meaning (what meaning does something have within its context) to a set of
objective and yet essentially meaningless ‘truths’. Or more damagingly in the case of
God, it projects what is meaningful beyond our world into some ultimate standard of
meaning (‘God’, understood as the standard by which we judge the significance of an
act). And this is a problem, since it implicitly undermines the meaning of the world
for the sake of a ‘fictitious’ ‘other world’.
Nietzsche’s critique of theistic belief is therefore that it is essentially ‘nihilistic’21 –
undermining the meaning of our world (acknowledged through our contextual
involvement in it) 22 for the sake of a fictitious reality (a projected standard of
meaning), identified with the ‘truth’.
Nietzsche’s critique does not stop here however. For he is not simply interested in
claiming that a belief in God undermines our meaningful involvement in the world.
He is also interested in exploring how ‘life’ came to undermine itself (deny its own
meaningfulness) through that aspect of life which is religion.
Religion and Psychology
This question of the ‘genealogy’ of nihilism leads Nietzsche to adopt an essentially
psychological approach to truth claims. That is, Nietzsche is not principally interested
in the logical validity or empirical support a particular theory or religious position
achieves. He is rather interested in the drives that lead us to attempt to defend
particular theories of truth or religious positions (e.g., why was Descartes concerned
to identify truth with absolute certainty or why do some people believe that God
affords a transcendent justification of life).23
Nietzsche explores these drives through the discipline of psychology. Psychology
however, should not be understood in merely mental terms. Rather, for Nietzsche, our
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psychological drives are not essentially separate from the world we inhabit, but
continuous with it. And he explores this continuity between consciousness and
causality in terms of his concept of the ‘will to power’. The will to power then, as
Deleuze24 rightly notes, is not principally a desire to get power over others (though it
can be this at times). It is rather the power to will – the unifying element that all
action belongs to, including inorganic matter and consciousness. To embrace the will
to power might therefore be understood in terms of immersing oneself in the power to
will.
Now by exploring the will to power, of which the psychological process of willing is
a part, and of which the will to truth is a smaller part, Nietzsche aims to better
understand how our will shares in the movement of life. As Nietzsche writes at the
end of the ‘Prejudices of the Philosophers’, the first chapter of Beyond Good & Evil:
‘All psychology so far has remained hung up on moral prejudices and fears. It
has not dared to go into the depths. To understand it as the morphology and
doctrine of the development of the will to power—the way I understand it […]
For from now on psychology is once more the route to fundamental
problems.’ (BGE, 22)
Instead of attempting to answer the question of the reality of God then, Nietzsche
rethinks the question and any attempt to answer it in terms of its revealing a
psychology – understood in terms of its disclosing a complex of drives. Different
philosophical positions and religious standpoints are therefore evaluated in terms of
their being expressions of and drives sharing in the will to power.
We are now in a position to supplement Nietzsche’s objectivist critique of God with
his psychological critique. For Nietzsche diagnoses life’s attempt to transcend its
affirmatively interactive drives so as to arrive at a timeless and neutral standpoint as
symptomatic of ‘life’s nausea and disgust with life, merely concealed behind, masked
by, dressed up as, faith in "another" or "better" life.’ That is, the motivating drive
behind such a standpoint is interpreted as a form of escapism from life’s drives, rather
than as anything substantial in its own right. We might therefore term such a critique
of God (and more broadly of truth) as psychological reductionism – the belief that
truth’s identification is reducible to the psychological process of identifying. Or in
other words, a belief in God is reducible to the process by which we came to believe
in God.
Nietzsche’s psychological reductionism leads to his third principal reason for denying
the reality of God. And this is Nietzsche’s pantheism. Pantheism is the belief that
nature is divine – that everything participates in the divine reality. And Nietzsche’s
attempt to situate our decisions (about truth) within a universal interplay of drives (the
‘will to power’) leads him to see the unifying element of the ‘will to power’ to be the
source of value. The transcendent God of monotheism is therefore critiqued on the
grounds that it undermines the source of value (nature in its totality, understood as the
will to power) for the sake of a fiction.
In summary then, for Nietzsche, the world we directly experience is the only world,
and self-denial for the sake of a fiction is psychologically symptomatic of life’s
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sickness.25 Against this approach of self-denial for the sake of service, Nietzsche
articulates a viewpoint that is celebratory of our drives (the ‘will to power’).
Beyond Good & Evil.
This ‘affirmative’ philosophy leads Nietzsche to reject not only the authority of God,
but also the authority of all standards of truth that stand over and above ‘life’ –
including moral ones. That is, Nietzsche is also led to reject moral standards of truth,
which typically defend the weak against the oppression of the strong. Against this
essentially defensive approach to authority, Nietzsche celebrates a culture that
respects greatness but is disdainful of respecting those who fail to achieve greatness:
‘The European disguises himself with morality because he has become a sick,
sickly, crippled animal that has good reasons for being "tame," for he is almost
an abortion, scarce half made up, weak, awkward ... It is not the ferocity of the
beast of prey that requires a moral disguise but the herd animal with its
profound mediocrity, timidity, and boredom with itself.’ (The Gay Science,
352)
In short, respect for God and for the weak are sacrificed by Nietzsche for the sake of
the freedom of the great, and this is seen to logically follow from a commitment to
celebrating the creative possibilities of the will to power.26
Conclusion
If Nietzsche is right then, the ‘death of God’ poses a more significant challenge than
whether we attend an act of religious worship or not. God is both a symptom and a
cause of the world’s disenchantment. That is, a belief in God firstly involves
projecting meaning beyond our involvement in the world, due to the fact that we can
no longer find sufficient meaning there – i.e., we are psychologically ‘sick’. And by
projecting meaning beyond our involvement in the world (in the figure of ‘God’), we
progressively undermine the meaning of that involvement, since meaning now has to
be ascribed to events by their being referred to God. God might therefore be seen as a
vicious circle of meaninglessness.
To simply abandon a belief in God is therefore not an adequate response for Nietzsche.
We rather have to address the fact that our world is now essentially disenchanted – we
have lost any essential understanding of the meaning of our world. To simply accept
the mechanistic view of modern physics merely assumes this disenchantment, rather
than challenges it.
In articulating his own response, Nietzsche tantalisingly points towards the ‘overman’
(ubermensch), but this is never sufficiently developed. It seems to be less a particular
person, and more an event, in which our world will be re-enchanted through a
celebration of greatness. The ethical implications of this mode of re-enchantment are
questionable however.
Whatever the limitations of Nietzsche’s proposal to the problem though, he remains a
key thinker due to his clearly identifying the problem of the world’s disenchantment.
That is, Nietzsche radically challenges philosophy’s traditional assumption of the
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question of meaning in its answering the question of the true – a tradition going right
back to Plato. For Nietzsche, the question of meaning is irreducible.27 Theists reading
Nietzsche need to clearly distinguish between the problem Nietzsche identifies and
the answer he gives to that problem. By rejecting the latter, while acknowledging the
former, like Amos, they might be able to radicalise and thereby reinvigorate a
relationship to God in our own age.
Adrian Samuel
Humanities
Richmond upon Thames College
adrian.samuel@rutc.ac.uk
1 That is, God as symptom is the ultimate example of an ultimate ground for all our knowledge, and
God as cause encourages us to believe that our knowledge requires to be grounded.
2 The question of meaning does not refer here to the semantic question of how lexical signs denote
elements of reality. It rather concerns meaning as significance – the question of what significance our
experiences are understood to have.
3 Nietzsche’s rejection of God is often presented in terms of an attempt to champion our drives against
monotheism’s demand for submission. Here I argue that this attempt is itself based upon Nietzsche’s
more essential challenge to philosophy’s traditional approach to inquiry.
4 This paper aims simply to present Nietzsche’s position, rather than criticise it.
5 Nietzsche, F. (1967) The Birth of Tragedy & the Case of Wagner, trans. Kaufmann, USA: Random
House
6 Nietzsche sees the other-worldiness of monotheism to be most clearly revealed in Christianity, since
this religion emphasises the inwardness of our coming to experience God (in contrast to Judaism and
Islam, which tend to emphasise more the public dimension of godly rule). And that experience is one of
denying oneself so as to belong to a more true or godly world – what Jesus termed the ‘kingdom of
God’, and which he enacted in his passion, crucifixion and resurrection. This makes Christianity more
overtly life-denying than the other two faiths, but nevertheless, all three faiths share the same essential
logic of slavishness rather than creative affirmation for Nietzsche.
7 Nietzsche, F. (1974) The Gay Science, trans. Kaufmann, USA: Random House
8 That is, the God of religion has died in Europe. However, Nietzsche believes that the idea of God
does linger on in a sublimated form such as in ideals of progress or in the nation state. These are
themselves ultimately doomed however, leaving us with the problem of ‘nihilism’ – a world in which
we can no longer properly inquire into the meaning of our world.
9 After the ‘death of God’ and its ‘death throes’ (such as a belief in progress, etc.), Nietzsche believes
that we are left with an essentially barbaric culture of instrumental manipulation. The sociologist Max
Weber, following Nietzsche, would later memorably characterise our age in terms of an ‘iron cage’ of
rationality – where we know how to interrelate and use everything, but have lost any real sense of the
intrinsically significant (what is significant for its own sake).
10 Robinson, J.A.T. (1963), Honest to God, London: Westminster John Knox Press
11 Old Testament of the Bible, NIV
12 Theologians have responded to Nietzsche’s challenge by attempting to radicalise the faith. In
particular, Don Cuppitt in his Sea of Faith has integrated the ‘death of God’ into a non-realist
conception of our relation to God.
13 Nietzsche, F. (1998) Beyond Good & Evil, trans. M. Faber, Oxford: OUP
14 For Nietzsche, the question of truth is not a objectively neutral enterprise. He discusses how the
question has changed its meaning over different epochs (e.g., from Plato’s eternal standard of truth,
through Stoicism’s ideal of the natural order, through Descartes’ demand for absolute certainty, etc.).
By putting the question of truth itself into question, Nietzsche is attempting to explore how to ask that
question – which paradigm of inquiry we should adopt.
15 The Sphinx is an iconic image of a recumbent lion typically with the head of a person, invented by
the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom. Nietzsche is referring to Sophocles’ play Oedipus Tyrannus, in
which the sphinx asks all passersby the famous riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four
Nietzsche and God (Part I) Richmond Journal of Philosophy 14 (Spring 2007)
Adrian Samuel
feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangles anyone unable to answer. (The
answer is humanity.)
16 Things can of course be intrinsically valuable (e.g., a husband might be valued for his own sake), but
even such things are necessarily valued by something else (e.g., a wife).
17 In adopting such an approach, Nietzsche is following Schopenhauer, who similarly understood all
reality (inorganic and organic) to belong to the movement of the ‘will’. Nevertheless, Schopenhauer
adopts an essentially negative approach to the eternal struggles of ‘life’, in contrast to Nietzsche’s
essentially positive attitude. [Schopenhauer, A. (1967) The World as Will & Representation, trans.
Payne, New York: Dover, vol. 1 & 2]
18 Nietzsche’s perspectivism can be seen as a development of Kant’s transcendental Idealism, with its
claim that what we know is always shaped by how we know (the ‘categories’ of our knowing).
19 That is, a standpoint in which question of meaning and the question of truth are inextricably
intertwined.
20 Nagel, T (1989), The View from Nowhere, Oxford: OUP
21 ‘Nihilism’ is Nietzsche’s term for reality’s meaning essentially nothing.
22 Heidegger terms this ‘being-in-the-world’. Heidegger’s four-volume discussion of Nietzsche is a
classic for understanding the insights and limitations of Nietzsche’s thought. [Heidegger, M. (1991)
Nietzsche, trans. D.F. Krell, Australia: HarperCollins]
23 Nietzsche’s approach therefore comes close to an ad hominem argument, since he explores the
character implicit within a particular psychological approach to truth.
24 Deleuze, G. (1986) Nietzsche & Philosophy, trans. Tomlinson, London: Athlone Press
25 Similar to a ‘beautiful soul’, who wants to fade away from the cut and thrust of life into some fiction
of pure, defenceless beauty.
26 These achievements need not be at the expense of the weak, for greatness is principally to be
achieved psychologically rather than merely physically. And psychological greatness involves our
going beyond negative drives such as resentment (‘ressentiment’) which can lead us to be vicious to
others or judge ourselves relative to others (e.g., understand our authority in terms of our authority over
others). Nevertheless, greatness for Nietzsche might involve treating the weak as merely a resource for
its own creativity, as he acknowledges.
27 Heidegger terms Nietzsche’s philosophy ‘reversed Platonism’, due to its subordinating the question
of the true to the question of meaning, in contrast to Plato who subordinated the question of meaning to
the question of the true. (See Martin Heidegger’s The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VIECzlFVUM

The thing with my family is that whatever you give my brother and father they complain that they would rather have had something else or money. I was going to give a CD to my sister but then a lady friend showed up on Christmas eve with some chocolates for me, so I gave her the CD instead because the present that I had ordered for her hadn't arived yet.

Oh yeah, I got a quarter of pollen from my brother. I find it rather mild but it makes a change from skunkweed and is at least better than hash.

So, that was about it but I did post some horoscopes on friends' Facebook pages. I suppose that it's a form of trolling to do that because you're saying things about their personality that they may not like. It doesn't bother me though. http://www.sunsigns.org/birthday-13-november-zodiac-sign-scorpio-astrology-funny/

Same here. I think that it's a bug but the "new" message seems to be from the site and is stickied and undeletable.

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/libro_thoth05.htm

I would just like to say that I don't use sex toys.

And nothing against the OP but this is a sex topic and I didn't start it.

I have dated several local women that I met on this site. I'm not prepared to travel and the furthest away was one from Glasgow and she came here.

Not only have I had a relationship with a girl from here but I've also met her friends. I had two girls using the same acount just to talk to me and we aranged meetings that way.

Ha, Crystal hasn't even heard of the Grateful Dead. They only played Woodstock and the original acid tests.

I was going to say something about sex toys but I only just got unbanned.

So yeah, you could argue that they can be a substitute I suppose.

Well, what counts as sex drive isn't always that simple. I was with a girl a lot younger than me and sure, she was horny and kinky but she had no stamina.

I agree to a certain extent with people that say that you work at it though. I've had them coming around to the all night sessions and it really is about getting them in the mood and keeping them in it.

V. THE HIEROPHANT


This card is referred to the letter Vau, which means a Nail; of this instrument nine appear at the top of the card; they serve to fix the oriel behind the main figure of the picture.


The card is referred to Taurus; therefore the Throne of the Hierophant is surrounded by elephants, which are of the nature of Taurus; and he is actually seated upon a bull. Around him are the four beasts or Kerubs, one in each corner of the card; for these are the guardians of every shrine. But the main reference is to the particular arcanum which is the principal business, the essential, of all magical work; the uniting of the microcosm with the macrocosm.



Accordingly, the oriel is diaphanous; before the Manifestor of the Mystery is a hexagram representing the macrocosm. In its centre is a pentagram, representing a dancing male child. This symbolizes the law of the new Aeon of the Child Horns, which has supplanted that Aeon of the “Dying God” which governed the world for two thousand years. Before him is the woman girt with a sword; she represents the Scarlet Woman in the hierarchy of the new Aeon. This symbolism is further carried out in the oriel where, behind the phallic headdress, the rose of five petals is in blossom.


The symbolism of the snake and dove refers to this verse of the Book of the Law--- chap. I, verse 57:

“there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent”.

This symbol recurs in the trump numbered XVI.


The background of the whole card is the dark blue of the starry night of Nuit, from whose womb all phenomena are born.
Taurus, the sign of the Zodiac represented by this card, is itself the Bull Kerub; that is, Earth in its strongest and most balanced form.


The ruler of this sign is Venus; she is represented by the woman standing before the hierophant.


Chapter III of the Book of the Law, verse xi, reads:

“Let the woman be girt with a sword before me.”

This woman represents Venus as she now is in this new aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant. In this sign the Moon is “exalted”; her influence is represented not only by the woman, but by the nine nails.
It is impossible at the present time to explain this card thoroughly, for only the course of events can show how the new current of initiation will work out.


It is the aeon of Horus, of the Child. Though the face of the Hierophant appears benignant and smiling, and the child himself seems glad with wanton innocence, it is hard to deny that in the expression of the initiator is something mysterious, even sinister. He seems to be enjoying a very secret joke at somebody’s expense. There is a distinctly sadistic aspect to this card; not unnaturally, since it derives from the Legend of Pasiphae, the prototype of all the legends of Bull-gods. These still persist in such religions as Shaivism, and (after multiple degradations) in Christianity itself.


The symbolism of the Wand is peculiar; the three interlaced rings which crown it may be taken as representative of the three Aeons of Isis, Osiris and Horus with their interlocking magical formulae. The upper ring is marked with scarlet for Horus; the two lower rings with green for Isis, and pale yellow for Osiris, respectively.


All these are based upon deep indigo, the colour of Saturn, the Lord of Time. For the rhythm of the Hierophant is such that he moves only at intervals of 2,000 years.

Another guy that headlined at Woodstock that died recently was Johnny Winter.

Can't really say that I cared much for Joe Cocker and the way that he waved his arms like a spastic when he was singing but I've only seen him perform in the Woodstock movie.

BTW, there's another Cocker song on the bonus disc in the Woodstock box set that didn't make it into the movie. Also, Creadance Clearwater Revival are on that disc and not in the movie and they were bigger than the Beatles at the time.