The lights dim, the theater is hushed, the curtain is going up on the second act of this nightmarish and ghoulish play. Everyone has arrived, they believe they know their parts, there is no shortage in the cast of characters and they are ready. The usual group is here: the tyrant cracking his whip, the misanthropist with his biting comments, the petty official quoting the Constitution ignorant of its meaning, and the idlers with their love of novelty. There are the hanger ons and wanna bees, the repugnant and gruesome with their devotion to torture those who do not follow; the sniveling yes men and women, the liars, the thieves, the greedy, the depraved and the Pharisee’s are loudly praying in hopes of filling the emptiness of their hearts with a God they believe to be as bereft of love and compassion as they. Yes all here, all accounted for… Finally the audience, the judges, the jury, and perhaps the executioners they too are here, unconscious of the slowly drifting stench of sulphur wafting throughout the theater. Shhh – SHOW TIME
( taken from “The Changing of the Gods” A short story written by Sally Cheyne McDonald on the eve of Bill Clinton’s second Inauguration as the Republicans signaled their plan to attack)
January 20, 2004. It’s a day, just another day; another event, another travesty, another election and another pomp and show that has been the US answer to a Coronation since 1789. This day of inaugural ceremonies was our Founding Father’s idea of a democratic and populist Coronation, (only rarely has the “populist” actually been invited.)
In preparing for the 2005 Inauguration I watched the confirmation hearing for Dr. Condelezza Rice. Not that it meant anything (every candidate has been confirmed by the Senate since 1984) but it was interesting and kind of fun watching Boxer, Kerry, Obama, and Biden calling her on the carpet for her “shifting sands” stories over the Iraq war. She did ask that they would not “impugn her credibility and integrity” I would have loved it if someone had said “based on your past history you have left us no choice.” Alas, that was not said. Oh well, onto what she did say - NOTHING. The Democrats were admirable in their questioning, they were bold and blunt, and all of them asked in several different ways with a triumph of creativity, “what is your plan to get out of Iraq?” “What are your plans to move ahead and prevent a civil war in Iraq?” “What do you plan in the days and weeks ahead for Iraq?” “How will you help them immediately after the January 30th elections?” What they received in return was nada, nothing, disconnect, pie in the sky, confusion.
It was horrible to watch this woman and what she has done in the past, her confusion, her lies, her disconnect, her incompetence and know she would be stepping into the Secretary of State role. Barbara Boxer is an extremely courageous Senator, and she will not back down. Nothing like one Scorpio going after another Scorpio, unfortunately the Republicans will go after Senator Boxer like rabid dogs when all this is over, however it’s not gonna be so easy to take this Boxer down.
Dr. Rice has a Cardinal Uranus/Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron all involved in a T-square, this woman can disguise, complicate, and confuse if the question was what time did the sun come up. Saturn is in a very difficult position to the whole T-Square. Neptune is squaring her natal Saturn, and coming to a conjunction of her natal Mars. My advice to President Bush over the next 8 months would be not to let her open her mouth on anything, anywhere, anytime for any reason. As an example, she said today that the Tsunami had been a wonderful opportunity for this administration. Golly, wonder if it was a “wonderful opportunity” for Indonesia. If these hearings are any indication of the next 4 years, Condi did badly. If there is anything a Scorpio does not like is being questioned on their motives, especially in public, if looks could really kill Condi wiped out every Democrat who opened their mouth.
Events do not happen in a vacuum, they boil and bubble over time. This Inauguration has several astrological implications. 1) It’s a day and the aspects can be read as just a day for the world and individuals 2) it’s an event in the US therefore a chart can be drawn to cover the next Presidential term 3) the Inaugural Chart has implications for our country, the Congress, the people intimately involved in the administration and the world. 4) This isn’t a “new” event for this administration, as it would be if we had a change of administrations, it’s a continuation of the 2001 Inauguration and can be read as such, both 2001 and 2005 show the intent of this administration.
No matter who or what, whenever Saturn aspects our planets, we are serious, whiny, feel overburdened and restricted, we lose money, friends, jobs and life simply does not go our way. We have a repressed immune system and are subject to broken bones, exhaustion, dental problems, colds and flu. We put up walls against friendliness and cooperation, projecting a rigidity and coldness in the place of warmth and compassion. We feel lonely but don’t want to reach out. In short, Saturn aspecting our planets is a very difficult time indeed. We don’t much like others and they don’t much like us.
One of the most striking and immediate impressions of this chart is the front and center late degree Cardinal aspects with Saturn in Cancer, Chiron in Capricorn and the NN just entering Aries (the nodes and Saturn are Karmic) and the incredible amount of key administration “cast’ with late degree Cardinal signs including the President, his cabinet, Social Security (Aug. 14, 1935 at 3:30pm Washington, DC) Wall Street (May 17, 1792 7:52am, New York) The Iraqi Transition Chart (June 28, 2004 10:26am, Baghdad) and the United States of America. Iran escapes the Cardinal aspects however in the summer Saturn will be swinging around to Leo and choking them in the summer and fall of 2005. War for Iran is a 50/50 proposition in the latter half of 2005 and into 2006.
Social Security and the financial security for the US is another story for 2005. Serious attacks on Social Security will go forward with some success in 2005 but the kicker to destroying the Bush SS agenda completely lies not with the people, but with Wall Street’s instability this year and next. Seeing their money going up and down like a yo yo, people are not going to be that keen to put their money in the stock market, not even the younger generation who right now doesn’t have that much money and lost ever so much in their 401K’s in the last few years. In order to break the back of Social Security as they want to do, Bush and his Cabinet will have to put on ski-masks under the cover of night and break into the “lockbox,” they will however make inroads toward their intent of plundering the United States (and that’s our money) and SS will be one of those inroads and they will have international help.
Scorpio is on the Descendant, the ruler and co-ruler (Mars and Pluto) conjoin in the 8th house (other people’s money) and sextiled by Jupiter. Money will go out through wars and into the hands of the Carlisle Group, Halliburton, Root and Brown and a host of other “friends” of the family. Europe’s fortunes will raise due to this administration’s domestic policies, and Mercury/Venus in Capricorn in the 9th house force us to face some unpleasant realities. Oh, and in case you were wondering, very restrictive Judges will be placed on the bench, but not without problems. This was a carryover agenda from 2001 and now Mercury is on the South Node of the 2001 chart in the 9th house. From the past they bring forward the desire to “own” the Judicial Branch of Government, and they will fight tooth and nail to accomplish that end.
Saturn in the 2001 Inaugural Chart sextiles Saturn in the 2005 chart and Pluto in the 2005 chart forms a yod by inconjuncting them both. This term of office will find them going forward when they should go back and backward when they should be moving forward further weakening the underpinnings of US power and themselves. Chiron in the 2005 Chart is exactly conjunct the US Pluto and square the nodes producing a wounding to our values and financial systems from the 20th of January to the later half of 2007, plus Saturn opposes the US Pluto.
Between now and the Iraqi elections we need to brace ourselves for something pretty terrible happening in Iraq connected with the Jan. 30 elections. Immediately following the Inauguration there will be rapid-fire events. Plan on from now until at least the middle of the summer, this “second act” group will have to scramble to respond to those events. From now until July nearly everything they do will look bad, really bad because they won’t be able to handle the situations well.
As for the “day” of the Inauguration, Jupiter sextile Mars promises to have money flowing and it will indeed seem like a Coronation, I wonder if the Queen has sent her Crown and Ermine Robe.
In this term of office, following this extremely difficult initial 8/9 months, he will make a valiant attempt to mend fences with our European allies but it will cost the US and George a tremendous amounts of money to bring their “loyalty” back into the fold.
I do expect something unexpected to happen during the morning hours, with T-Moon astride the US Uranus and squaring Bush’s Mars. Could be the snowstorm, someone dies suddenly, more demonstrators than supporters, but something unexpected will mark the day for the Bush family. Long term, there will be the usual influx of scandals such as we’ve had over the last 4 years. Who knows, with Saturn at the IC of this chart, perhaps one of them will stick to him.
The astrological indications are GWB’s health is none too good, with him either suffering now or in the near future as T-Saturn conjoins his natal Saturn (Capricorn rules his 6th house) Emotionally it will be very difficult for Mr. Bush to find out that the Republican Congress, he so badly marginalized his last 4 years, have realized they hold a great deal of power over Mr. Bush/Cheney/Rove and they will use it in the near future (the 105th Congress also has late degree Cardinal signs to be aspected by Saturn.) There is going to be so much gloom and doom from this administration and Congress through the spring, make sure you take time for comedy we will need to laugh.
The Western (Arizona and west) portion of the US also looks to be in for a rough time in their weather, mud slides or earthquakes over the next 4 years, we will have to keep a close watch on that area.
I don’t think the next four years will be worse than expected and in some ways it might be better than expected. With the Inaugural Moon on the US Uranus and T Uranus getting ready to square that in the spring, there will be more alienation of the people, another group will be saying “what the h… is going on here.” So a little more hope from that aspect. T Saturn is kissing the US Mercury right now, people will not be overjoyed with their choice at least for 8/9 months although Neptune is squaring the Ascendant and Descendant so there is still the fog covering many, oh it will be such a shock when this country sees the dirt foggy ole Neptune has been hiding, and they will eventually see.
Every Inauguration is a historical moment and the closest we come to feeling our majesty as a country and a people. Just as we do on New Year’s Eve, we face a new presidency with hope of something better. We believe our country’s leaders to somehow be better than we are, we expect them to embody the best of ourselves or the best we wish ourselves to be. They are not; they are human and flawed in a myriad of ways, just as we. Nonetheless we ask perfection of them, and if not perfection then hope of a becoming better as a people and a nation. We have faced finding our Presidents to be flawed and imperfect but we’ve not faced a lack of hope in our democracy and this president carried hopelessness with him throughout his first term and now.
Tonight the progressed chart of the 2001 Inauguration has Mars in a square to Uranus, the first term ends on a note of rancor. 2005 Inaugural doesn’t have a Mars/Uranus aspect so we carry the rancor with us into the next 4 years and our fears as Saturn completes a yod between the progressed 2001 Moon sextile Uranus.
After WWII started Roosevelt continued to be seen and move about the people, Churchill and the King of England walked through the bombings of London. Truman walked throughout Washington without fear after the Atom Bomb was dropped in Japan. After John F. Kennedy was assassinated Johnson moved freely around the country even during the Civil Rights protests, Ronald Reagan continued to interact with crowds after he was shot, Bill Clinton bounded into crowds following the Oklahoma Bombing, Martin Luther King continued to speak even with daily death threats. These were all leaders and men of courage. I’ve wondered if it’s the fear and cowardice of this group of leaders that make us feel hopeless, make us feel we cannot get up again, but we can and we must. George Bush is a coward and lives with constant fear, if we are to raise true leaders up we must face our own fears and step over them.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
the valiant never taste of death but once." (Julius Caesar II ii 32-37)
and from Roosevelt:
We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
And so tomorrow, the 20th of January 2005 we all plunge ahead together. George and his friends are plunging within a fortress and they are neither free nor courageous. If the rest of us cannot plunge with hope, let's at least do so with faith.