Our candidates are floundering as this country is floundering. I am reminded of the old childhood song “Did you Ever See a Lassie” only my adult version would be “did you ever see a leader, a leader, a leader, did you ever see a leader go this way and that?” One has to be amazed that the The most important election in at least 60 years and both candidates are floundering just most flip-flopping, change your story President I ever remember has managed to paint himself as steady and resolved. The only time GWB has been steady and resolved is when he has driven us into quicksand and then he doesn’t seem to know how to “flip-flop” us out of there. Tax cuts, raging deficits, a war based on lies, unemployment, you know the list. GWB doesn’t seem to have a clue or a vision of how to shift, change, or even grab a branch to get this country out of the quicksand, thanks in part to what seems to be an immature understanding of what power and leadership means, much less use wisely. Most of the world sees him as the worst President ever. Link
Remember when you were a kid and you went from one parent to the other trying to get what you want? Neither Bush nor Kerry has been able to articulate a plan or vision of empowerment for the people, perhaps that’s because they are only interested in their own power and begging us to give them that power, throwing promises at us they cannot possibly keep. And so we go “this way and that way and this way and that.”
The age old question “which came first the chicken or the egg,” has never been more important than now. Do our leaders define us or do we define them? It’s obvious that we the people have not articulated our vision. We jump from the economy, to the war, to the deficit, to safety, unsure of what we need or even want. This is a problem that has been growing rapidly in this country since we went from our only choice being Keds or P.F. Fliers to a plethora of tennis shoes. We are not sure of ourselves as a nation and we have elevated two leaders who seem to be unsure and confused, so the country goes “this way and that” as evidenced by the polls. Leaders don’t take power from us; we give power and elevate them. They are living and working in our house people.
As far as the polls are concerned, we get daily updates through the media who seem to be focusing on the “game” of politics as opposed to the political issues this country faces, keeping some phantom score on a phantom game. There doesn’t seem to be any duel team, we only have GWB on the court taking shots all by himself and the media is calling it a game. The only newsperson I can see who is seriously addressing the issues is Lou Dobbs of CNN and I hope everyone is watching him. The TV media either are vapid, stupid, or afraid of losing their jobs and I would pick the latter. Toddies with their strings being pulled by their conglomerate bosses and the White House.
John Kerry and John Edwards must be at their wits end by now with the late August/September line up of planets in Virgo, mutable transits in aspect to their mutable signs and the US mutable Ascendant, Mars, Neptune, we are confused and they are confused, because they historically represent the candidates of “the people,” and the people don’t know what is going on. If we “the people” had wanted a leader who was sure of himself with a carved out vision, Howard Dean would still be the Democratic candidate.
George Bush and the Republicans represent our Sun/Saturn Square in the US Chart. Sun/Saturn symbolizes (at it’s lowest level of expression, and politics is about our lowest level) a sense of insecurity, restrictive of spirit, lacking confidence, inhibited, fear, and an intrinsic sense of scarcity, a feeling of vulnerability around authority or intelligence or money or power, austerity and discipline. This is the part of our collective unconscious that GWB has effectively tapped into and trapped a huge portion of Americans.
Now don’t write me and say I have a Sun/Saturn square does that mean I am like that because the answer is going to be “maybe, depending on your other aspects, and depending on the transiting aspects. It’s up to you to use your energy in a positive manner instead of the negative (which we as a nation are using right now) those are choices we make as individuals.
Kerry and Edwards represent the mutable Mars/Neptune square symbolizing confusion, change, seriously self-delusional, feelings of being undeserving, extraordinarily sensitive to criticism and disapproval, fear of failure, facing flaws and weaknesses is extremely difficult, confused about a direction, fear of risk taking, fear of opening up to a possible rejection, addictions, puzzlement. (Kerry’s Saturn and Edwards Sun conjuncts the US Mars squaring the Neptune.)
At this point in time, of the two aspects it is the Mars/Neptune that holds the most possibility, because the Venus Transit of June lasting 8 years falls within the confines of the US Mars/Neptune and the Kerry/Edwards planets.
The mistake the Bush administration made with the Sun/Saturn Square when they had the chance (when Saturn was conjunct the US Sun) was not taking advantage of the positive aspects of that square. Asking the people to “give up something” such as their SUV’s, send money to the troops and displaced Iraqi’s, discipline to accomplish a long range goal, responsible sharing. They used the “bad parent” aspect of Saturn without balancing it with the “good parent” Saturn. Leaving us, the people, feeling guilty and uncomfortable about what we have while the Iraqi’s are steeped in an unfair war, our troops getting killed and forced to stay there for oil while we continue to suck up oil by the tons. So now, no matter what the polls say, we are feeling (except for the most hardened and self-absorbed among us) the Saturn fear and guilt, the kind your parent makes you feel when you’ve done something wrong.
The world is our parent and they are looking our way and most of us are beginning to squirm. Even England, our mother country, is beginning to distance herself. Mom is disappointed and more than a little ashamed. With Saturn coming to an opposition to the US Pluto further attempts by this administration to restrict the rest of the world and tell them what WE want them to do and be, will be met with a global brick wall. The UN Secretary has been making rounds of the European talk shows and saying the US entered into an illegal war.
Jon Stewart of Comedy Central says “with Costa Rica saying take us off your list of the coalition we have gone from a super-power to an unwanted telemarketer.”
While the Bush administration’s chance to be the paternal daddy leader for the next four years has passed, the opportunities of the Mars/Neptune square are right here, right now if Kerry/Edwards can capitalize upon them and it will take them into the next 8 years. If not them, someone like them. The 26th of September, when Sun, Mars, Jupiter move into Libra with Mercury rapidly bringing up the rear shifts the energy around to Kerry/Edwards.
Libra is a seemingly indecisive sign. Do I want apples or oranges? They list the pros and cons of both, and they say one thing and then the other trying to be all things to all people. GWB’s Neptune, Chiron, Moon, progressed Mars, and Jupiter all in Libra, the ingress of those planets into the sign spotlights his natal Libra planets. His Libra planets are debilitated by the square from his Natal Cancer highlighting the negative aspects of the sign. Plus Libra accents the negatives for America with our Cancer planets. That’s why the economy never does well in October or April in the US; it’s the squares to our Cancer. We will begin to look at our daddy leader in a negative way if our allowance is cut off.
As a side note, Morgana tells me California isn’t too happy with Arnold for vetoing the minimum wage bill and my Safeway clerks tell me that grocery workers are still looking at a possible strike in October. Last week while Mars was in a square to Iraq’s war chart Saturn, we had one of the bloodiest weeks in Iraq and Mars will oppose the Sun of that war chart just before it makes its ingress into Libra, leaving us all gasping.
On the other hand, Kerry/Edwards receives the beneficial trine to their Gemini and sextile to Kerry’s Sagittarius. That’s just for starters. We, the people are looking for hope, allusions of peace, and a new vision of our world, a sense that we are helping others. Someone to validate us, tell us they know how hard it’s been but TOGETHER we will work though it all. We need pictures shown us of the Iraqi children, how can we help them, pictures of our soldiers without equipment, families on both sides being torn apart by this war. We need visuals of the monetary impact of this war on the US. Not words – visuals.
Kerry/Edwards need film and pictures of what is happening in the environment, the economy, what happened in Iraq, unemployment - not words. Draw the people a map of everything thing since the beginning of this Presidency. Forget the 2000 election, just a map of all the lies up front and the reality behind, including No Child Left Behind, the environment, the impact of the tax cuts, the under funding of Homeland Security, the war, etc., etc., etc. Mars/Neptune is symbolism, films, pictures; Kerry/Edwards can help us identify with the better part of ourselves through films, pictures, drawn maps, matrix or power point.
In Iraq we need to feel like we can be true liberators, and not the guilt-ridden occupiers. We need to feel the economy can get back on track, employment can go up and the environment can be saved.
The United States continues through transformation and we are not going to like the process, no matter who is President because we are still in the destructive phase and that never feels good. But the Kerry/Edwards ticket has the potential of taking us through it with a spoonful of sugar so we are still left standing at the end of this phase.
The Democrats should let John Edwards go armed with only an outline of the platform and his zinger Gemini one-liners. From the end of September to mid-October John Edwards will be tapped into the need of hope for people with his Moon/Jupiter conjunction in Gemini, let him go to spread that hope. Forget how he grew up; forget anything but what is being faced today and his “hope is on the way” speech.
Kerry must turn away from the “he said, he said” Vietnam record, he must. End it with “I served and received commendations and GWB didn’t. I stopped supporting the war in Vietnam because we were being killed in a war that was based on lies much like the one today and that’s the end of it.” Go on to economy, security, Iraq. We are not secure and the Bush administration has not made us secure. Kerry needs to put it out there in short sentences because the American people know it, they just haven’t heard it and most are looking for someone to give them something akin to a straight answer.
Yes, Mars/Neptune is illusion and most important delusion but Voltaire said, “I am sick to death of reality, I could use a good illusion.” Kerry/Edwards can tap into that need through symbolism and group visualization.
Our government lives in a country within a country and I’m not sure they have the slightest interest or understanding in how to serve the people who put them there and pay their salaries. But I do know that the successful candidates are those that make us, the people, feel a piece of ownership of that government, those that acknowledge and validate us are the most successful of politicians. Kerry/Edwards have the opening over this next month to make that happen and let’s hope they know the meaning of carpe diem.
As for we the people, science is discovering how our emotions impact or affect not only our health but also our lives. Masaru Emoto, a scientist from Japan, has conducted studies on water and written a book “The Messages in Water.” Doctor Emoto has discovered that a person’s thoughts impact the clarity of water, from love and joy producing beautiful stars and pentagrams, to thoughts of hate and violence producing dirty and distorted water drops. Since we as individuals are made up of 90percent water, think what we might be doing to our bodies through our anger and hate. My grandmother used to say, “hating someone or something is like taking poison and hoping the other guy dies.” So don’t hate just focus.
The Republicans and their constituency have one view of the world and they believe in that view, so do the Democrats. There isn’t any right or wrong, good or bad, it’s just a view, over the next several weeks think about what you want your “view” of the world to be and who is most likely to help achieve those goals. If George Bush does not represent your view of what you want the world to be, when you see or hear him smile to yourself and say “you are not President anymore.” When you see Kerry/Edwards smile to yourself and say “yes Mr. President.”
I would encourage everyone to read Claudia Dikinis article on Starcats which can be accessed from the Menu on the right of this page. It is a brilliant piece of work, strong and courageous, and the last paragraph is absolutely correct. I would only add that if Bush wins there would be anarchy and we would become the "insurgents" to be brought to toe the line.