| Hitting Bottom: Challenges for
America and its President Inside Astrology | by Bill Herbst In June and July, America and President Bush will hit bottom. The American nation was "born" on July 4, 1776. Astrologically, this put the Sun in America's astrological birth chart in the middle of the sign Cancer. President George W. Bush was born on July 6, 1946. The Sun in Bush's birth chart is also in Cancer, in the same degree as the USA Sun. Between October 2003 and June 2004, Saturn in the heavens will move over the Sun's position in both the USA birth chart and that of President Bush. This event -- called the Saturn-Sun conjunction -- is the most critical passage in all of astrology. The transit kicks off a 29-year cycle that structures the expression of core life-purpose during the three decades to come. The nine-month gestation of this cycle's beginning represents the most serious and challenging of all the recurring rebirths we experience in life. The Saturn-Sun conjunction symbolizes a time where our basic power and vitality (Sun) confront the harshness of cold, unyielding reality (Saturn). We are stopped dead in our tracks at this crossroads. Any previous momentum is stalled. Life becomes heavy at this low-ebb in our personal energy field, like slogging through JELL-O®. The particular difficulties that are custom-tailored to each of our lives emerge as pressure and doubt from inside, accompanied by trying circumstances from outside. Optimism wanes under an onslaught of troubles. The shadow of failure engulfs us. Under attack, we retreat into a defensive shell and work mainly to persevere, since that's all we can manage, but we often end up creating the very results we most hope to avoid. Errors in perception and judgment cause painfully crude mistakes, the repercussions of which often haunt us throughout the rest of the cycle. In American history, the last time this event occurred was between August 1974 and April 1975. The Watergate scandal culminated in President Nixon's resignation and the Vietnam misadventure finally ended in humiliation, America's first defeat in war. Before that, Saturn conjoined the USA Sun in June 1945. President Roosevelt had just died, and, despite victory over Germany, the subsequent atomic bombings of Japan ushered in the terrors of nuclear annihilation in the Cold War that followed. We won the war, but lost the peace. Now, as Saturn once again passes over America's Sun while Pluto confronts America's Mars and Neptune, we find ourselves bogged down in another tragic quagmire, the ill-fated war in Iraq. Proponents of regime change through military invasion promised a cakewalk, with assurances that we would be greeted as liberators. Both history and astrology clearly predicted the opposite. Meanwhile, through much of his Presidency, George W. Bush seemed bullet-proof. Quite simply, Bush got everything he wanted -- tax cuts for the rich, reduction of social programs and environmental standards, and the military invasion of Iraq. Even a faltering economy and massive federal deficits could not tarnish Bush in the polls. The president lived an apparently charmed life under the benefic influence of Jupiter and the comforting illusions of Neptune. Bush's Midas touch, however, ended last October as Saturn neared his Sun. Slowly at first, but with increasing momentum as each month passed, cracks appeared in the presidential armor. Bush's proclamation of "victory" in Iraq proved as false as Saddam Hussein's imaginary WMDs. A jobless economic recovery that pads corporate coffers but leaves millions of ordinary Americans unemployed has eroded Bush's popular support. A compliant mass media finally began to awaken from its slumber to question the specious arguments for invading Iraq. A Greek chorus of former insiders emerged from the shroud of secrecy to critique and challenge the policies and practices of the Bush administration. With a Cancer Sun and Saturn both positioned in the 12th house of his birth chart, the president is extremely well-defended against criticism by others. At his core, George W. Bush lives in the Neptunian dream world where the superconscious meets the subconscious and archetypal images trump ordinary reality. Inner doubts are kept at bay by his born-again religious faith. Setbacks such as alcoholism and business failures that might crush regular people barely touch George W. Bush. Time and again, he has escaped the repercussions, emerging unscathed from his troubles. Bush's chart suggests that he can no longer count on his luck as Saturn's siege of the White House comes to a head in June and July. I don't pretend to know what events will transpire over the summer, but as an astrologer I can assert that they will be hard on the president. Bush's unyielding decision to "stay the course" in Iraq no matter what -- a stance interpreted positively by some as firmness and resolve -- may turn out to be his Waterloo, and ours as well. Can Bush weather his time of trouble? Can he perform the Houdini escape act and win a second term as president? Pragmatically, the president has the powerful advantage of his incumbency, a solid base of support on the political right, and a huge war chest of campaign funds. All these lobby for the possibility of his re-election. Astrologically, the picture is much less optimistic for Mr. Bush. The summer's travails in his chart do not lessen as the election approaches in November. Saturn moves past Bush's Sun, but then moves on to form other challenging chart alignments that bear directly on his personal ambition and public prestige. These coming alignments are daunting at best. All in all, the heavens do not favor President Bush. More relevant than "predictions" about the outcome of the election, however, is the unavoidable acknowledgement that these remain deeply trying times for the nation as a whole. In 2004 and 2005, the USA chart continues its run of drastic and dangerous Plutonian cycles that started with the new century. These cycles carry the symbolic meanings of death and transformation through confrontation with the dark shadow of human nature, not merely that of others but our own as well. In addition, the charts of both President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry contain significant Uranus-Mars transits in 2005 that indicate unexpected and extreme changes in the use of force. Uncertainty and dramatic shocks are likely continue no matter who occupies the White House. What can we do as individuals to restore hope and preserve sanity? Each of us does what we can from where we are. Some work actively for social or political reform. Others keep love alive by small acts of kindness and compassion. Still others take refuge in the spiritual realm to find the solace of inner peace and harmony. Do whatever feels right to you. Bill Herbst is a Minneapolis astrologer who has done more than 10,000 sessions with clients over three decades in private practice. He is associate editor for the well-known journal The Mountain Astrologer, as well as a frequent contributor to that magazine. Go to Bill's website at www.billherbst.com for further information about his work. Copyright © 2004 Bill Herbst. All rights reserved. |
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JUNE 2004 |
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