NewsScope for August 7, 2001

Middle East Teetering on Catastrophe

Tens of thousands of Palestinian mourners cried for revenge last week following an Israeli missile attack on Hamas that killed eight people including two boys. International opinion condemned the targeted assassination of militants, while Hamas vowed to target Israeli leaders. Ariel Sharon's office said it would continue to follow a policy of active self-defense, meaning striking against those it believes are plotting terrorist acts.

As the violence escalates in the Middle East, the astrology of the situation looks ever more dangerous. Israel's horoscope is piqued by several major disruptive aspects, notably transiting Uranus squaring Israel's Taurus Sun-Chiron opposition. This transit dogs the concurrent Saturn-Pluto opposition into 2002, double marking a tense developmental phase bound to disturb the international community.

In addition, Israel's progressed chart features one of the most explosively volatile aspects imaginable. Progressions, based on the fractal formula of one day equals one year after birth, describe an internal process of development, with Mars the planet to monitor as a war indicator. Israel's progressed Mars is squaring Uranus, and will be exact in January 2002. Between now and then, the situation can only get worse.

Tom Daschle, Opposition Leader

On May 24 when Senator Jeffords announced he was changing parties, the balance of power shifted the 50-50 Senate to the Democrats, thrusting Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota into the leadership role. Since then Daschle has been a thorn in President Bush's side by controlling the political agenda, and harping on Bush's isolationist policies.

Tom Daschle was born with his Sun in philosophical Sagittarius (December 9, 1947; 1:55 PM; Aberdeen, SD*), where it is tremendously enhanced by a conjunction with Jupiter. This optimistic, expansive combination naturally assumes leadership status by virtue of a powerful Fire Grand Trine connecting to Saturn and Pluto in Leo, and an Aries Ascendant. At the time Jeffords jumped parties, transiting Pluto had entered Daschle's Grand Trine.

Daschle also knows how to play hardball. His chart ruler is Mars, found in hardworking, meticulous Virgo. Mars here is often associated with a critical attitude, and in this case the square to Mercury increases the tendency toward a sharp tongue. Mars is also opposed to the political strategy asteroid  Pallas, found in the Twelfth House of secret deals. Daschle was well aware of Jeffords' plan, having engineered the switch over the preceding months as transiting Saturn hit this hardball T-square.

Transiting Saturn and Pluto are now forming the first of three oppositions, and under this confrontational vibration, we can be sure that Tom Daschle will continue to politely heckle the Bush Administration. Daschle's performance is guaranteed to be pivotal over the next year since the third and final Saturn-Pluto opposition perfectly aligns with his Sun. The developing astrological scenario places him as a leading contender in the 2004 Presidential race.

Mariah Carey Hospitalized

"I'm trying to understand things in life right now," wrote Mariah Carey on her official website last week, "and so I really don't feel that I should be doing music right now." Carey checked into a psychiatric hospital only days before her scheduled headliner appearance for MTV's 20th anniversary show, and her spokesperson said she had suffered from a physical and emotional breakdown.

Mariah Carey was born an energetic Aries (March 27, 1970; New York, NY; time unknown) with her Sun exactly aligned with the generational Chiron-Uranus opposition. Those born with this polarity prominent in their charts are driven to experience the unusual, the innovative and the futuristic. With Chiron in Aries, the compulsion is further fueled by a need to be first in some pioneering field.

As one of the most successful female solo singers in pop history, Carey has worked nonstop to fulfill her inner compulsion to be Number One. Ambition is generally described by Saturn in the horoscope, and over the past month, transiting Neptune has been in an exact square to her Saturn, which operates as a weakening or diluting influence. When Neptune collides with Saturn, ambition needs a vacation, and ignoring Neptune often leads to physical and emotional breakdowns, exactly as Carey experienced.

Another factor, underplayed in media reports, is Carey's relationship status. Her boyfriend of three years, singer Luis Miguel, proposed marriage earlier this month, according to one report. But in another report, the two have just separated. The current Saturn-Pluto opposition squares Carey's Juno, the marriage asteroid. Her inability to control her relationship must be a major distraction.

*Data is rated AA from his birth certificate, according to NewsScope correspondent and data sleuth Romy Ransom.