posted February 24, 2011 03:54 AM            

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's administration will no longer defend a 15-year-old U.S. law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, a major policy shift in favor of gay rights.

The issue of gay marriage has been a major personal conflict for Obama -- he has opposed it and instead favored civil unions -- and his policy reversal drew criticism from conservatives who said the move was a political one.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the change on Wednesday after a detailed review in recent weeks.

He said the government now agreed with a U.S. judge in Boston who ruled in 2010 that banning gay marriages was unconstitutional.

Previously, the Obama administration had appealed, stating that it was obligated to defend U.S. laws.

The hot-button issue of same-sex marriage has been the focus of many judicial and political battles across the country. Gay marriage has only been legalized in the District of Columbia and five of the 50 states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Some states have allowed same-sex civil unions, which Obama has supported, but he has opposed full marriage rights for gays and lesbians. In December Obama said that his views about it were "constantly evolving" and "I struggle with this."

Gay rights advocates praised the reversal, including Edith Windsor, who successfully challenged the law in Massachusetts.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110224/ts_nm/us_gaymarriage_obama

I did the chart
Feb 23, 2011
Washington, DC

I just used Noon because of no definite time

Venus in 22'28 Capricorn indicates love,relationships,marriages involving the status quo
Saturn is in 16'31 Libra Retrograde

Therefore is a mutual reception. This strongly emphasizes love,relationships,marriages involving the status quo
It also indicates the government,authority involved in love,relationships,marriages.

Venus was in separating square to Eris in 21'20 Eris. This clearly indicates that status quo of love,relationships,marriages is being challenged.
Eris is about challenging the status quo. It's about diversity and equality. Challenging the status quo often leads to discord and controversy.
Striving for equal rights has always led to discord and controversy.

The Venus square Eris was actually applying in Right Ascension. Venus in 24'33 Capricorn square Eris in 24'42 Aries.
The Venus square Eris was actually stronger in Right Ascension.

Mars in 0'31 Pisces is conjunct Chiron in 1'00 Pisces, and this fits with assertion,passion,physical drive that is not only connected to wounds,healing,teaching, but also being a maverick in an idealistic,sensitive way. Chiron is nonconformist in its nature with it having a highly eccentric orbit. The Mars-Chiron conjunction was opposite transneptunian dwarf planet, Orcus in 1'59 Virgo retrograde. This indicates that there is conflict with oaths,promises,and evolutionary intensification.

The Lunar Nodes in 0'25 Capricorn/Cancer are in opposition/conjunct to the Geocentric North Jupiter Node in 0'40 Jupiter Node in 0'40 Cancer.
We have the karmic emotional present/past connections at odds/merging with the present collective nurturing,domestic judgment.
Mars in 0'31 Pisces is sextiling/trining the Lunar Nodes and trining the Geocentric North Jupiter Node. Therefore, assertion and passion is involved.

Of course, Uranus in 29'05 Pisces are squaring the Lunar Nodes, and that emphasizes change.

Sun in 4'43 Pisces is trine Geocentric North Chiron Node in 5'13 Scorpio. We have day of sensitivity,empathy involving the present collective sexual wounds,healing,teaching. Sun is also sextile Geocentric North Eris Node in 5'39 Taurus. That day involve the present collective diversity,equality matters that involve security,stability. note: The Geocentric North Chiron Node and the Geocentric North Eris Node are in opposition. The collective wounds,healing,teaching and collective diversity,equality are connected to each other at this time.

In Right Ascension, Sun in 6'34 Pisces conjunct Mercury in 5' 59 Pisces, and the conjunction extile Pluto in 7'21 Capricorn. That indicates a day and news of transform and regeneration as well as highlighting sexual matters.

Asteroid Dwarf planet Ceres in 20'05 Aquarius is about nurturing in a humanitarian type way, and it is squaring Sedna in 21'31 Taurus.
Therefore, environmental awareness,care-taking for humanity,and victimization are involved. To me, this configuration is like saying "Homosexuals are people too. Homosexuality is not a disorder, but a natural way of being. Homosexuals are victimized with their not having all ther rights"

Jupiter was in 6'33 Aries and square Pluto in 6'59 Capricorn. This indicates the conflict between judgment and power. This also fits with ideological issues. It fits with religion and sexuality in conflict with each other too.

Neptune in 28'37 Aquarius sextiling/trining the Heliocentric Orcus Nodes in 28'42 Sagittarius/Gemini. Therefore, the idealism of humanity involves oaths,promises,and evolutionary intensification.

Pluto in 6'59 Capricorn is opposing/conjunct the Heliocentric Varuna Nodes in 7'26 Capricorn, and this is a collective generational aspect involving cosmic order,judgment,and justice. Pluto is also sextiling the Geocentric South Eris Node in 7'29 Scorpio, and this is a past collective generational aspect involving sexual equality,diversity.

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A different mind is NOT a deficient mind.

posted February 24, 2011 04:53 AM            

the Venus in Capricorn ,Saturn in Libra could also be traditional relationships and relationships involving the status quo

Venus square the nonconformist,transneptunian dwarf planet Eris can be about relationships being challenged by matters involving diversity,equality

one of the key themes of Eris is about not going with the status quo because of striving for equality and tolerance of diversity

Saturn is the planet of boundaries. It's the planet associated with tradition.

Eris which orbits way beyond Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto ,

goes beyond boundaries,liberation,dissolution,and transformation

with it being a scattered disk object with a highly eccentric orbit, and usually orbits well off the ecliptic, it's very much a nonconformist object

Eris easily fits with not being traditional as well as challenging the status quo and even breaking it down and leading to a new order

Just like Eris' discovery led to the breaking down of the old astronomical order and led to a new astronomical order. Of course, the process was totally full of discord and controversy which fit with Eris. That's why Dr. Michael Brown suggested the name,Eris for the object.

Eris happens to have both its North Node and Perihelion in signs ruled by Venus.
Its North Node is in Taurus.
Its Perihelion is in Libra.

Therefore, Eris has Taurean-Libran themes if using the method that Philip Sedgwick uses to derive insights by the placement of its Heliocentric North Node and Perihelion

Philip Sedgwick's preliminary keywords:

Positive - liberation from addictions to success or status, clear priorities regarding matters of love and money, finally getting you can't take it with you and applying full resourcefulness in life, recognition of the potency of one's energy and life force, clear sense of the sacred marriages: spirit to body, self to Creator, between soulful companions, personal sense of emergence.

Negative - greed, workaholism, believe that you must take over for God, general sense of being forsaken, condemned or abandoned, lack of spiritual regard for life, superficial, status oriented.

Mundane: promises and vows (both kept and broken), elections and election fraud, intervention by higher powers (troubleshooters, authorities, deity or God), using chaos and disruption as a method of reorganization - i.e., dumping a closet onto the floor, then reorganizing, things that overturn, the scales of justice, battles, disputes, famine, fightings, lawlessness (attributed to her moon, Dysnomia), lies, manslayings, murders, oath, oblivion, quarrels - and the last word therein, sorrows and toil, contention, rivalry, loved the spilling of blood on the battlefield, the fifth day of the month, gluttony, gloating, the nurse of war, women wearing men’s uniforms (sports players, women in the military, astronauts)

Ceremonial: capitulation ceremonies, vows to create order from chaos, intent to right wrongdoing, abundance ceremonies

Lunar body contributing to keywords: Dysnomia.