NewsScope for December 18, 2000

Powell Appointed Secretary of State

As expected, President-elect George W. Bush appointed retired general Colin Powell to the Secretary of State post, an important move giving the new administration star power and credibility. Powell's personal charisma, political skill and military knowledge have made him a popular and towering figure on the American political scene, and now he brings his stature and skills to foreign affairs.

Over the next two years, the most important outer planet configuration will be the Saturn-Pluto opposition. This shape-shifting celestial event takes place in the signs of Gemini and Sagittarius, along an axis that figures prominently in Colin Powell's horoscope.

While Chiron is popularly known as the "wounded healer" archetype, in American politics it can be associated with military events. Powell's Aries Sun  (born April 5, 1937, at 12:01 pm in Bronx, New York) is very nearly conjunct the U.S. Chiron in the Sixth House of military service, so that he naturally personifies the qualities associated with the U.S. as superpower.

Powell's natal Chiron is likewise powerfully placed in his horoscope by being conjunct the South Node and square Neptune (Powell's progressed chart shows a progressed New Moon conjunct natal Chiron in seven months). This is the exact degree area of the pending Saturn-Pluto face-off during 2001 and 2002. Powell's ability to articulate and explain America's role in the world will make him the superstar of the Bush cabinet. Due to the celestial tension between Saturn and Pluto, he will undoubtedly play a major role in shaping our global village over the next few years.

Recession Clouds the Horizon

Last week's fourth-quarter earning warnings from Microsoft sent the NASDAQ to 50 percent of its value from the high set last March. While the technology sector remains near its year low, the old-economy stalwarts from the Dow were also faltering, leading some experts to predict a recession beginning as early as next quarter.

Astrologically, the downward trend looks firmly in place, with both Jupiter and Saturn opposing Pluto over the coming year. Under the theory first espoused by financial astrologer David Williams, when outer planets are in harmony, the economy tends to do well; when the outer planets are in hard aspect to each other, the economy tends toward recession.

Over the last few years, the outer planets have been relatively benign. Only last year during the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and their square to Uranus did the market turn disastrously south. We can expect that this trend will continue with the oppositions of both Jupiter and Saturn to Pluto in 2001.

For a closer look at how these planets affect the U.S., notice that they are occurring in the Second and Eighth Houses in the Scorpio rising U.S. horoscope. These are the financial houses, and the most direct, immediate economic news happens when the outer planets line up with natal planets from these houses. The soaring technology sector from 1998–2000 paralleled Pluto's transit from the Second House opposite the Eighth House Uranus, the planet naturally associated with new technologies. Now that Pluto is under stress from Jupiter and Saturn, we can expect the reversal.

Gwyneth Paltrow Safe from Stalker

Last week, rising superstar Gwyneth Paltrow completed secret court testimony against a stalker who was ordered sent to a lockdown psychiatric facility. The Ohio man had been sending her pornographic material since March 1999 and persisted even after the FBI visited his home and told him to stop. Paltrow testified that she suffered from nightmares and feared being sexually assaulted by the crazed fan.

Gwyneth Paltrow was born in the Cinderella sign of Libra (on September 28, 1972 in Los Angeles, time unknown), with her Moon in sociable, charming Gemini. Paltrow's Sun, representing her personal identity, is easily overlaid with mythic archetypal imagery by being closely linked to three outer planets: Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. Individuals with these outer planet contacts tend to play roles larger than life, a quality especially valuable in the film business.

In Paltrow's chart, her Sun-Pluto conjunction is further energized by a conjunction with Mars. The Sun-Mars-Pluto triple conjunction makes for a compelling personality, one that must come to terms with absolute, ruthless force. Since Mars represents the masculine, competitive drive, women with this combination must either learn to assume its inherent strength, or be harassed, even victimized, by men who play this archetypal warrior for them.

Other famous women with the Sun-Mars-Pluto combination reflect this difficult challenge. Nancy Reagan has it, and she was ferocious behind the scenes in defending Ron from his enemies. Natalie Wood is another example, but she became a drowning victim in a mysterious boating incident. We can see the conflict being acted out in Paltrow's case since she was relentlessly stalked, but finally assumed her own power to get him convicted.