Asteroid-World Fall 1992
Zip Dobyns
The revolution came earlier than I had expected. The previous Uranus-Neptune conjunction in late March 1821 accompanied widespread revolts in many areas, especially in Latin American countries against their European rulers. And the historical record certainly warned us that the surge toward freedom might precede some of the “signs in the sky.” Argentina declared its independence from Spain on July 29, 1816, nearly five years before the conjunction. Chile won its liberation from Spain in February 1817 and proclaimed its independence the next year. Serbia gained partial freedom from the Turks in 1817 under the leadership of a native leader. In 1818, allied troops left their 3-year stint of “peace-keeping” in France following the Napoleonic wars. Bolivar began the liberation of Colombia and Venezuela in 1819. 1820 included revolutions in Spain, Portugal, and Naples. The general period included increased religious as well as political freedom. Hawaii’s King Kamehameha died in 1819 at age 82 and was succeeded by his 22-year-old son who overthrew the ancient Hawaiian taboo system and religion in his five-year reign in addition to opening the islands to Christian missionaries to permit a plurality of religious options. 1819 also marked the founding of the Unitarian Church which encouraged individuals to think for themselves rather than accept traditional dogmas.
Of course, we have already had Saturn conjunct Uranus and Neptune in recent years, marking this historical period of changes in the world’s handling of power and beliefs. Our conceptual models of life and the world can be grouped into a variety of “higher-level” abstractions. The traditional astrological divisions into elements and qualities are very useful and I suggested many years ago that our twelve sides of life could also be grouped into “personal,” “interpersonal,” and “transpersonal” areas. But I also pointed out that both the cardinal and fixed sides of life (of course including planets, signs, houses and all other forms of our “alphabet”) have one thing in common. They deal with power issues in our attempt to balance personal rights and needs against the rights and needs of other people. The mutable sides of life are all mental, seeking to integrate our capacity to deal with the world around us and our beliefs about ultimate truth, reality, morality etc. So perhaps the foundation concepts are power and beliefs with the latter determining our use of the former. Voluntary martyrs have demonstrated how beliefs can override the instinct of self-preservation. The horrors of Cambodia and Yugoslavia and the Nazi concentration camps have demonstrated how beliefs can override any sense of empathy for others. Jupiter (and I would add Chiron) point to our conscious beliefs while Neptune is a key to our unconscious faith and values, with (of course) their respective signs and houses offering part of the picture. In the end, our beliefs determine the kind of world we will create for ourselves and those who come after us.
I am enormously thankful that Bush and Quayle were defeated last week! I was afraid that we were doomed to four more years of “trickle down” economics which would further consolidate the wealth and power of the multinational corporations and that by 1996, “ordinary” citizens would be angry enough to produce violent revolution when Uranus entered its own sign in 1995-6. We could have had country-wide repetitions of last spring’s L.A. riots. A Democratic President and Vice President do not guarantee that we will not have more riots. The big cities (and in some cases, even the state governments) are under so much economic stress that there may well be more riots as the despairing and the angry become even more desperate. The increase of homelessness, hunger, and crime will not be stemmed easily or quickly. The U.S. budget deficit will not permit the federal government to simply create jobs, despite the need for roads, bridges, aides for teachers in over-crowded classrooms, medical care for the poor, etc. But today there is more hope in our country, centered on a young man born in Hope, AR.
Bill Clinton is not a miracle-worker, but he is an intelligent and practical idealist, and that is a good combination to lead our efforts to stop our slide into what Walter Russell Mead described as the “Third World moving north.” The September 1992 issue of Harper’s Magazine had an excellent article by Mead called “Bushism, Found.” I can’t do justice to the article in a paragraph, so I recommend reading it to anyone who can locate it in a library. If your area is like ours, libraries are closing, shortening their hours, and cutting their acquisitions, but Harper’s may still be available. Mead points out an unpublicized appendix to the GATT (the international trade agreement which is currently in deep trouble) which would authorize a new international organization (MTO) that could override national laws protecting workers and the environment. Mexico has already challenged our ban on the importation of fish caught by drift nets which kill thousands of dolphins. If GATT and the MTO are passed, such bans, including U.S. laws for the protection of workers’ safety, could be overridden as “restraint of trade.” As Mead describes “Bushism,” it would lead to “an economically polarized society with a powerful executive and a weak Congress. Regulations of all kinds will be lax: factories will be dangerous and their wastes will be toxic. Wage scales will be low, but the returns on capital, hopefully, will be high. Every luxury, every convenience will be found in the private sector; the public sector cupboard will be bare. Good help will, at last, be easy to find. Sullen housemaids and gardeners can be dismissed; there will be plenty more where they came from.” pp 43-44 Our personal belief system determines whether we favor such a scenario, confident that we will be part of the elite, or whether we favor what Mead calls “progressive capitalism—on a global scale” where we seek to raise the level of the third world rather than to reduce the level of our first world with continued increases in the disparity of wealth. In bald terms, personal power faces shared power (and possessions and pleasure), and our ethics based on our beliefs will determine the outcome.
Before we leave the Bush-Quayle scenario, there is another good article in the November 1992 issue of Harper’s Magazine. Jacqueline Taylor describes a second S & L scandal as lawyers hired to prosecute the guilty owners of failed S & Ls were blocked in their efforts by higher government authorities. I have also just acquired a new book called The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush by Peter Brewton which promises to describe the connections between our (about to be) former President, at least two of his sons, Lloyd Bentsen, and a variety of less well-known people in our official and our underground governments. I’m not sure when I’ll have time to read it, but I’ll be back in Dodona soon when I should have more time to swim and read.
I think the majority of astrologers thought that Bush was going to win, though I know that Marc Penfield, Ray Merriman and Judy Johns called it for Clinton. As a partial excuse, we did have the wrong birth times for Clinton and for Quayle, George Bush’s time has always been somewhat uncertain though we think we have it within 15 minutes, and both Hillary Clinton and Barbara Bush (as well as Dan Quayle until recently) were reported born at an even hour which astrologers suspect might be rounded off. I got the corrections on Clinton’s and Quayle’s birth times and Tipper Gore’s data only days before the election. Marilyn Quayle’s date was provided at the same time but I still lack a birth place and birth time for her. Of our nine major contenders, only Al Gore and Ross Perot were reliable data though I also relied on the chart of Jim Baker. I have nothing on Perot’s wife. Bill Clinton’s time from his birth certificate gives him a 5 Libra Ascendant which put transiting Jupiter conjunct it on election day, and (as was pointed out in a previous issue of Asteroid-World or The Mutable Dilemma), he also had the midpoint of transiting Sun/Jupiter on his natal Jupiter.
I knew that our data was incomplete or uncertain, so in making my forecast for the election, I looked at many other charts. As I have written many times, astrology shows psychological principles, issues and timing. The details which will manifest are an educated guess. It was obvious to me (and I think to most astrologers) that this general time period was one involving great challenges and change, but we varied in our guesses on the details. Clinton’s birth time was very uncertain, so I put more weight on the charts of George and Barbara Bush, Dan Quayle, and Jim Baker. Since they all had the potential for changes, my choice was whether the change would come at the beginning of the term or in the middle of it, and I guessed wrong, opting for the latter.
George Bush had a clear indication of change with his P Mercury in a yod (double quincunx) to P south lunar node in the sixth house of work and Chiron and Ceres in the eighth house which is much related to the economy with its meaning of joint resources, debts, etc. Mercury rules both his Ascendant (personal action) and his MC (career/power/role in the society) so both were ripe for change, but I guessed that health problems might bring a temporary separation from his work during the term. This guess was supported by coming aspects including P Sun moving into a T-square to P Mars in the sixth house and natal Mercury-local MC in Washington. Letter six of our alphabet is a key to efficient functioning, whether in our jobs or our bodies. Often stress in the job leads to a breakdown in the body. Now that he is about to be relieved of the job, his health should be under less stress unless the revelations about his past become a real threat. As has been written earlier, George had P Moon opposite natal and P Saturn for four months through the summer of 1992 when everyone was struck by his lack of vitality, by what some called “malaise.” The polls showed him consistently behind Bill Clinton, with his popularity in the tank. But, instead of offering sympathy to the people who had lost their jobs or feared they would as they read the daily reports of thousands more being laid off, Bush kept saying the economy was not really that bad, that it was growing slowly and people shouldn’t worry. He was clearly out of touch with the voters in his insulated world of the elite, offering remedies which just looked like more perks for the people already on top.
George Bush did also have some harmony aspects with P MC trine either Jupiter or the midpoint of Jupiter/P Jupiter, depending on whether we use the 11:38 or the 11:45 A.M. birth time. The 11:38 birth time also put P local MC in a sextile to George’s natal MC. His P Sun was sextile Saturn and natally they formed a grand trine with Mars and the south lunar node so even the P Sun’s opposition to the node was potentially constructive. George’s P Moon was on natal Barbara at the election as well as sextile P Mars and semisextile Mercury and his local MC. He did show more energy during the fall, as I had anticipated, and he brought Barbara into the campaign as I expected. One of my Republican brothers received repeated letters signed by Barbara Bush which asked for contributions and support, and Barbara was also on TV pitching for him. George also did his best to parlay his military successes into votes including talk of new success in tracing our “missing in action” military personnel from Vietnam and stopping Saddam Hussein from bombing the Shiites in south Iraq. He even got a little boost from economic numbers, again one of the things I had predicted as helping his chances this fall, and of course he tried to trash Bill Clinton as expected. But none of it was enough to overcome the general fear about the economy and the perception of him as a “do nothing” President where the home front was concerned. George’s P Moon aspects offer some support for the 11:38 birth time since that time puts it on an angle for both of the big events. It was opposite his Washington P Ascendant for the election and opposite his birthplace P Ascendant when he leaves the office with Clinton’s inauguration. P Moon on the Descendant can point to a change in the individual’s relationship with his wife and/or with the public. The seventh house can be associated with partners or with competitors and opponents.
Barbara’s chart also showed the potential for changes in 1992, 1994 and 1996-7, with the latter years seeming even stronger than 1992. I have written before about several of the aspects, and the likelihood of a home change seemed especially strong in 1994-5 with three aspects starting which will involve her fourth house Uranus. Something is surely going to change for the Bushes. The most striking pattern for Barbara is her progressed New Moon which will come right at the time for the inauguration of the new president in January 1997. George Bush at the same time will have his P Moon conjunct his natal Sun. Both aspects suggest personal prominence which seemed unlikely for a failed, one-term president and his wife!? It seemed more reasonable that they would be attending the inauguration of the new president. In view of the current situation, we will have to wait and see what the Bushes are doing in early 1997. Maybe George will campaign for Dan Quayle in 1996, but unless conditions change radically, their mutual lack of popularity makes that prospect also unlikely. Maybe they will just make another home change in addition to moving out of the White House in January 1993.
In addition to secondary progressions, I had looked at the solar arc directions for everyone. Barbara’s were especially interesting. She had D Pluto on her local (Washington, DC) MC when she became First Lady and moved into the White House. D Pluto was on her natal MC for this 1992 election, and I had assumed it might mean success for the second time. Instead, it is accompanying her change of public role and home, the latter with D Pluto opposite the IC. Barbara also had D Uranus on her local Descendant pointing to changes in her relationship with her husband and/or the public. In 1994, D Uranus reaches her birthplace Descendant, pointing to new changes in 1994-5. And in 1996, D Uranus will conjunct natal Mercury, ruler of Barbara’s seventh house (partner) and tenth house (public role), for still more changes. The patterns would fit either the loss of the election (which happened) or major changes during the term of office and departure from Washington in 1997 if George had won. Was the outcome of the election fated or did Bush have the potential of winning if he had been more in touch with the public fears? The charts really seem to me to show the potential of either outcome.
Solar arc directions for several of the candidates really emphasized the danger of assuming that harmonious aspects show that we will get what we want while conflict aspects deny us our desires. Both James Baker and Ross Perot are in the time period around the age of 60 when all directed planets are sextile their natal positions. The two-year period of universal sextiles comes a little sooner to people born in the winter and a little later to people born in the summer. Astrologers expect most people to have a time of success during this period, but Baker and Perot were the losers. Bill and Hillary Clinton are both in the period around age 45 when all directed planets are octile their natal positions. Psychologists as well as astrologers have noted that this period, commonly called a time of mid-life crisis, is often associated with major changes and stress. Obviously, the campaign and the presidency are both times of high stress. So “good” aspects may mean that we get what we want or that we escape an experience which would be very stressful. “Conflict” aspects may mean we do not get what we want or we get it and a lot of problems with it. Al Gore will reach his two years of octiles in the spring of 1993 and Tipper Gore starts her octile period in the fall of 1993. The coming years will not be easy.
I think the chart which misled me the most was James Baker’s. In addition to his solar arc directed sextiles, Baker has P Venus trine Uranus, P Mercury and P Pallas (our political asteroid) conjunct each other and trine the MC, P Juno sextile Mars, P Jupiter sextile P north lunar node, P East Point conjunct Pluto, one of the rulers of the sixth house of work and usually associated with power, etc. There were also some conflict aspects but the harmony seemed much stronger. Could over-confidence have been part of the problem? Could he have felt that things would just “work out” and that he didn’t need to make a major effort or consider serious changes in his approach? When he did take on the direction of Bush’s campaign, he tried mostly the same tactics which had worked in 1988 and he was up against a very different opponent this time as well as a very different climate in the country. Heliocentric asteroid James and Hybris (hubris) have stayed within a degree of each other all fall. With harmony aspects, we feel as if we can have what we want. With conflict aspects, we feel challenged and tend to work harder and explore new approaches. Baker does have his P Sun reaching an opposition to natal Saturn just before the inauguration of the new president, a typical aspect for separation from a job. But in 1996, he will have five conflict aspects to Saturn, including four which tend to be separative—oppositions and quincunxes. It certainly looked as if Baker would be separating from power in 1996-7. But maybe the patterns just point to his depression when he looks at the odds against his ever winning the presidency and he will decide to retire in 1996-7.
Dan Quayle’s chart was the other one which strongly influenced my guess that Bush would win, and my decision was largely based on the wrong birth time. Quayle will have a progressed New Moon at the time of Clinton’s inauguration in January 1993, which fits a major new beginning for him. But with the birth time we were using for him from a newspaper report in his home town the day after his birth, he would have had his P MC trine natal Moon and P Saturn with the P Sun within one degree just behind the MC. That combination points strongly to increasing power and I couldn’t imagine any likely position for him which would give him more power than to step into Bush’s shoes if George became ill during the term. When the chart is calculated for the time recorded in his baby book, just 12 minutes earlier than the time we were using, Quayle had P Moon on P MC for the election, an aspect equivalent to P Moon on P Saturn. Saturn is always feedback from the world on how we are doing. We may move into increased power or lose it with that aspect. (It is fascinating that Al Gore had his P Moon on natal Saturn for the election—equivalent aspects as one gained what the other lost!). Quayle’s P MC will not reach the trines to his natal Moon and P Saturn for another two to three years. The aspects suggest that Quayle will try for the Presidency in 1996 when these power aspects will still be present, but I do not think his odds are good.
In the Virgo issue of The Mutable Dilemma, I described the charts for Clinton and Bush which gave them the votes needed for the respective nominations as candidates for their political parties. As with the personal charts of the candidates, the nomination charts were misleading if we read the more harmonious one as indicating success in the campaign and the more conflicted one as a sign of failure. Bush’s grand trine in air signs turned out to be a signal of his coming retirement and freedom to become a spectator and commentator on the world. Clinton’s yod and other stress aspects must now be interpreted as the change and stress of his new job.
We are including the charts of Bill Clinton (for his correct birth time) and of Tipper Gore (which recently became available). Hillary Clinton and Al Gore have been printed in the past but it may be helpful to have them all together. Bill Clinton’s new angles (for his accurate birth time) do offer support for his win. I mentioned that T Jupiter was on his Ascendant for the election, but it also squared the MC, was octile P MC and trioctile natal Moon, so it does not promise any bed of roses to come. But Clinton did have P local MC semisextile P Saturn on one side and natal Mars-Neptune-East Point on the other side. His P MC was semisextile natal local MC and his P local Ascendant was on P Venus and sextile the local East Point, P Chiron, and P Mercury. P East Point was just past P Venus so it shared the sextiles and added a sextile to the P Moon. Clinton also had his P Antivertex conjunct P Pallas, P local Antivertex sextile P Juno, and P Mars trine his natal MC. The angles were much more powerful than the ones in the two charts we had for erroneous birth times. Remember, angles are the keys to action in the world. One of the most encouraging things about Clinton’s win is that his chart in 1996 shows the potential for re-election. That offers at least some hope that the country might be in better shape by then.
I have had very little time to study Tipper Gore’s chart, but perhaps her most telling aspect was her P Venus on her close natal Saturn-Sun conjunction. She was also approaching a progressed New Moon though it will not be exact until four months after the election. But sometimes, the event that is a key to the new 30-year cycle happens a few months before or after the exact new moon. For the moment, we will just present the charts and let our readers do their own analysis.
I wrote extensively about the Earth-Mars heliocentric conjunction in the last Asteroid-World, but I took it to Russia with me and had additional time there to study it, including calculating it for more potential hot spots in the world. I mentioned the conflict aspects to George, Herberta, and Daniel, but in view of the election results, we have to read the aspects as their frustration over a loss of personal power rather than being in power positions in the world’s conflicts. I wonder whether George Bush will still look for a role as advisor in foreign affairs, his area of claimed expertise?
When the Earth-Mars chart is calculated for Moscow, G (geocentric) Russia is on the MC, G Moskva (Moscow) is on the Descendant, and G Paracelsus (an unorthodox healer) is on the Ascendant. H (heliocentric) Ukraine is on the MC and H Kiev (capital of Ukraine) is on the Ascendant. When the chart is calculated for Kiev, H Russia is on the MC and H Moskva is on the Vertex. Russia and Ukraine are trying to work out a series of compromises involving the economy, military matters, etc. It is fascinating that in this chart, each country has the H asteroids named for the other country on their own angles. In Minsk, capital of Byelorus, the East Point is octile the G asteroid named for the Republic and square G America and H Russia. The Ascendant in Minsk squares Mars-Sun-Uranus. The chart looks very tense but not as critical as Serbia. The Ascendant in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, is conjunct G Amnestia which might offer hope of an amnesty but astrology shows principles, not details, so the position might just mean a need for amnesty. Also, in another one of those incredible “coincidences,” G Armenia squares H Azerbaijan (just over one degree but connected by another asteroid with an overlapping orb) and G Azerbaijan squares H Armenia. All other aspects are within one degree of exact. I keep saying “how does the universe do that?”
As our readers know, I just returned from spending six weeks in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia and in Kiev, Ukraine. It was a very interesting trip, and the people were great—really eager to learn more about astrology and generous and hospitable in spite of critical economic problems. I gave 30 3-hour lectures, and did another 8 3-hour workshops demonstrating how I interpret horoscopes using examples from the students. Much of the time, there were 30 or more students of all ages in attendance. I also did rectifications for a number of individuals. Most Russians (like many U.S. astrologers) do not trust their birth records, but just as in the U.S., I saw more “bad” astrology than “bad” records. For example, one woman had been told by a local astrologer that she couldn’t have Cancer rising because she was slender. When I checked against several really dramatic events, her recorded birth time was spot on! Mostly, the local astrologers seemed to be using very inadequate rectification techniques such as physical appearance or a single event in the life which was supposed to always match a specific angle aspect. I signed a contract to have my book on Rectification translated and published in Russian, and hope that it will be helpful.
Among the delightful treats was a chance to see two ballets—Swan Lake at the Bolshoi in Moscow and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Kiev. The opera houses and the churches are gorgeous. The music and dancing and costumes were superb. But I was almost more impressed by the subways. They were not just clean, efficient, cheap and with frequent trains; they were beautiful! Some of the stations had exquisite stained glass and others had statues, mosaics, bas reliefs, etc., with marble floors and pillars everywhere. You can go almost anywhere in the three cities I visited by subway, with the next train usually coming within three minutes and most of them full of people. In Moscow, they even permit pets to be carried on the subway since taxis became too expensive for people to afford. We saw dogs and cats carried in bags with their heads sticking out of the top.
The new entrepreneurial spirit is very visible in the cities. There are farmer’s markets outside of every subway stop, and many people with just a table selling things inside the subway tunnels, especially books. There are also musicians in most of the subways, playing a variety of instruments singly or in small groups, with a receptacle on the floor for donations. There are also little enclosed booths lined up along sidewalks, mostly near subway entrances, but sometimes inside the tunnels, with all kinds of goods for sale—clothing, cosmetics, canned goods, soft drinks, etc. In addition to the fruit, vegetables, and flowers offered by farmers (or importers in some cases because I even saw bananas and oranges), many people were selling their own baked goods—big crusty loaves of bread and buns stuffed with cabbage or soft cheese or other fillings. The bread was wonderful! But since the end of price control, food (and everything else) has also increased in price until many people are having trouble even buying necessities. Bread which used to cost 40 kopeks (like 40 cents) is now 25 rubles (like $25). Elderly pensioners have been especially hit, and you see many old women (and a few men) begging. They kneel on the sidewalk or in a subway tunnel, usually bent forward crossing themselves and praying with one hand held out for a donation. In the U.S., children make up the largest percentage of the poor; in Russia, it is the older women. When I was there two years ago, the government was still trying to maintain about one ruble for one U.S. dollar. I heard that people were getting ten or more rubles for a dollar on the black market. When I arrived in Moscow in September 1992, the open exchange rate was 200 rubles for a U.S. dollar. When I left six weeks later, the rate was 300 to one. I just heard that it is now closer to 400 to a dollar. When I arrived in Kiev in early October, their local money which was printed by the newly independent government and which the people call “coupons” was selling at 400 for a U.S. dollar. When I left 9 days later, the rate was 500 to one. People are potentially facing hyper-inflation! Those familiar with Germany before Hitler may remember that at one time it took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread.
I hope that the coming Uranus-Neptune conjunction will accompany increased empathy and sharing in the world. The people of the former U.S.S.R. are well educated and they have been taught that equality is the foundation for an ethical life. Many of the younger ones are adapting to the cut-throat greed of capitalism, but many older people are struggling. At the same time, many of the former officials have always secretly maintained their own privileges and they continue to hold on to power or try to get personal ownership of what was once state property. There are greedy people in every society. We will not have a golden age until we have more golden people.
I am watching three possible horoscopes for Russia, but it is too early to decide whether one or more of them will provide useful insight into developments in the country. The oldest chart actually pre-dates the Communist revolution. It is set for the resignation of Czar Nicholas on March 15, 1917 at 3 P.M. local city time (using the coordinates of Saint Petersburg) in the town of Pskov, Russia, 57 N 50, 28 E 20. Local cusps are calculated for Moscow. I have worked sporadically with this chart and it may still be helpful for the continuing saga of “Russia after the Czars.”
Another potential chart could be “Russia after the U.S.S.R.” The data comes from Jacob Swartz who has taught in Russia several times. According to Jacob who was (I think) in Moscow at the time, the congress voted to end the U.S.S.R. on September 5, 1991 at 16:30 in Moscow (UT 13:30).
A third potential chart is for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The first meeting was called by Yeltsin for 8 P.M. (UT 17) on December 8, 1991, just outside Minsk, the capital of Byelorus. The original members of CIS were Russia, Byelorus and Ukraine. Most of the other former Republics of the U.S.S.R. have since joined the Commonwealth. Farida Asadullina, the psychologist-astrologer who invited me to come to Russia, felt that a later time than 8 P.M. looked more appropriate for the conditions in Russia, but when I did the local Moscow houses for the official meeting time, they were almost identical with the angles Farida had chosen. We will have to watch the unfolding scene for some years before we can decide whether any of these charts is providing helpful information.
For Ukraine, my host in Kiev is tentatively using the end of the voting on the day when the people of Ukraine voted to be independent, and he is using the inauguration of Kravchuk, their first President, for the current government. The voting was on December 1, 1991 in Kiev with the polls closing at 8 P.M. (UT 6 P.M.). Kravchuk became President on December 5, 1991 at 2:40 P.M. (UT 12:40) in Kiev. Both charts show the heavy tensions; the first with Saturn exactly opposite the Ascendant, the second with Pluto opposite the Ascendant.
Since no one knows the birth time of Boris Yeltsin, there are many rectified times being promoted. Farida thinks he has Taurus rising. If readers want to experiment, I am testing a time of 5:56 UT which puts 0 Taurus on the Ascendant. He was born on February 1, 1931 but even his birth place is not certain though we know it was in a little village near Sverdlovsk—56 N 51, 60 E 36. If this birth time is accurate, he is in a high stress period right now with P Moon crossing the Descendant in a square to P Mars. A local election in Moscow is coming on December 1 which may replace one of his allies with an opponent, and the people of Russia currently blame him for their deteriorating economy. Maybe he and Bush could console each other.
If any of our readers know a teen-ager who is studying astrology and who would be interested in corresponding with a very bright 14-year old boy in Kiev, he is looking for pen pals. His father is an aeronautical engineer and astrologer and Valery Jr. is deep into astrology, planning to be a professional and also studying English. Write to Valery Zablotsky, Tupoleva 4, Flat 66, Kiev, 252062, Ukraine.
I haven’t talked to Saraphita since I returned but we’ll try to have another contribution on asteroid names for the next Asteroid-World. For asteroid aficionados, the new “official” book is finally out on the sources of the asteroid names. It is called Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, edited by Lutz Schmadel and published by Springer-Verlag in Germany in 1992. Like most scientific books, it is expensive—$59, but it is currently the definitive, last word on the subject. Our regular contributor, who is a retired M.D. from Germany, provided considerable information to the editor on some of the obscure asteroids.