NewsScope for August 6, 2002

Neptune Brings Crisis of Confidence

Last Thursday federal prosecutors handcuffed two top WorldCom executives and took them to court, charging them with improperly categorizing $4 billion as expenses. The WorldCom case joins the parade of indictments and investigations against top-level management, as Attorney General John Ashcroft trumpeted the Bush Administration's determination to get tough on corporate crime.

The astrological phase kicking in now (as described in recent NewsScope columns) is associated with Jupiter's entrance into Leo. Jupiter in Leo represents the fat cats who made good while employees were laid off and stock portfolios wiped out. Jupiter in Leo doesn't usually conjure up such a sinister interpretation, but at the moment, Jupiter is being modified by an opposition to Neptune, the Prince of Scandals, Fraud and Deception.

Many astrologers wouldn't ordinarily assign a Jupiter-Neptune aspect much importance since Jupiter is known as a beneficial influence, and the aspect occurs relatively frequently. However, Jupiter and Neptune form their exact opposition as they simultaneously square the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant. This infers that the Jupiter-Neptune vibration sets the tone for the entire nation. (Editor's note: WolfStar uses a Scorpio Rising chart for the United States.)

Neptune is beginning a long-term square to the U.S. Ascendant, building up what many observers are calling a "crisis in confidence." As Jupiter heads into the opposition with Neptune on September 11, these two planets hit vital points in both Bush's and Cheney's personal horoscopes. We can expect that the Bush Administration will be pressed to answer why no one from Enron or Halliburton has been handcuffed.

One of the most important natal configurations found in George W. Bush's chart is his Mercury-Pluto conjunction opposite Ceres. Mercury-Pluto aspects are noted for their mental fixations (as well as their more positive traits of investigation and persuasion). Ceres is the asteroid denoting the parent-child relationship, and can be associated with his close connection to his father.

Projecting the horoscope's natal planets onto the grid of the world (Astro*Carto*Graphy), the astrologer finds that Bush's Ceres and Pluto lines run right through the middle of Iraq. As the transiting Sun and Mars contacted his Mercury-Pluto-Ceres last week, the Senate held extraordinary open hearings on Bush's intention to oust Saddam Hussein.

Up next: transiting Jupiter and Neptune activate Bush's Mercury-Pluto-Ceres combo. Neptune has already been in this degree zone for over a year, and this is how long Bush has admitted harboring plans to "eliminate" Saddam. As Jupiter emerges from Bush's Twelfth House, his secret grand designs become evident. The desire to do something big, something historically significant, becomes overwhelming.

Transiting Jupiter arrives on Bush's Ascendant on September 4 and around that time also squares Saddam Hussein's Sun (April 28, 1937). Senator Biden (the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) said that Bush will probably not invade Iraq this year. Early September is shaping up to be the critical test for that statement. Jupiter returns to this degree area in April and May 2003, the next astrological window of opportunity.

Director Shyamalan Highlights Crop Circles

Hollywood hunk Mel Gibson gives the latest Disney movie Signs plenty of celebrity status, but the real star of the paranormal thriller is the mysterious crop circle phenomenon**. Film-maker M Night Shyamalan, who entertained audiences with The Sixth Sense, takes the view that the worldwide spectacle of crop circles is a map for the invasion of an alien civilization.

Shyamalan was born a creative Leo (August 6, 1970; Pondicherry, India; time unknown) with his Sun energized by a close conjunction with Mars. This Sun-Mars blend bestows a self-confidence and determination that carried the talented screenwriter to early success. He began making films at the age of 10 with his father's 8 mm camera, and by 1993 had won the prestigious Debut Film of the Year from the American Film Institute with Praying with Anger.

Shyamalan gives his movies an eerie pace based on psychological details rather than gory or extravagant special effects. The emphasis on details is astrologically apparent since he has four planets in Virgo. Although we don't know exactly where his Moon is (without an accurate birth time), it's likely closely conjunct Pluto since this combination is keenly attuned to emotional depths and paranormal phenomena such as ghosts and crop circles.

With a Moon-Pluto conjunction, Shyamalan intuitively grasps the deep and subtle undercurrents that shape our troubled times. As he says about the crop circles, "We're fascinated with wondering what our place is in the world and in this universe—whether we're the only ones, or whether we're part of a larger system." Now that transiting Jupiter has entered Leo, this young writer-director can look to his next project and name his budget and starring actors.

*The specific arrest of the WorldCom executives arrived as the faster moving Sun in Leo opposed Neptune. The week before the Adelphia executives were arrested as Mars opposed Neptune. The Sun and Mars act as triggers for the underlying Neptunian situation.

**See ABC's commentary on crop circles, or a picture of the magnificent July 18 crop circle near Avebury, England.

Online classes and personal readings are available from Michael WolfStar.