NewsScope for September 4, 2007

Marriage in the Republican Party

Larry Craig, the conservative, family-values Senator from Idaho, rocked the Republican Party to its core last week, as his alleged homosexual conduct in a Minneapolis men's bathroom belied his avowed faith in the institution of marriage. Senator Craig is only the latest political casualty in a flurry of GOP sex scandals, which include Congressman Mark Foley of Florida and David Vitter of Louisiana.

The horoscope for the Republican Party* (July 6, 1854; set for Noon; Jackson, Michigan) reveals the astrological pattern behind these cases. The Party of Lincoln came into being as a righteous, moral force against slavery, as seen in Saturn's location in the Ninth House of religion. Saturn here is injected with a spiritual or compassionate force via the square to Neptune.

Saturn-Neptune aspects are difficult to balance, as practical realities vie with hopeful idealism. When Saturn's raw ambition wins out, Neptune turns deceptive and can undermine the genuine or authentic sense of moral authority. Over the last year, since the Mark Foley scandal broke last September, transiting Saturn and Neptune have been opposing each other, thereby emphasizing the innate challenges between these archetypal powers.

By secondary progression, the GOP Juno and Uranus have been in opposition, neatly describing the crisis (Uranus) around marriage (Juno). Larry Craig (July 20, 1945) has his Saturn in the family-oriented sign of Cancer, very near the GOP Sun, making him an authoritative voice for GOP values. However, his wild Venus-Uranus conjunction in Gemini is right in line with the GOP Saturn-Neptune square, allowing him to be celestially set up for hypocrisy.

Benazir Bhutto to Return to Pakistan

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced last week that power-sharing negotiations with President Musharraf have stalled, but that she's returning to Pakistan anyway. Bhutto has remained in exile since 1999 when she was accused of corruption charges, but now—citing an empowered Supreme Court and her leadership of the nation's most popular political party—she feels she won't be arrested.

Benazir Bhutto was born with her Saturn—the ruler of her Capricorn Ascendant—placed in the Tenth House  of earthly power (June 21, 1953; 7:59 pm; Karachi, Pakistan). Saturn here is the centerpiece of a stressful T-square involving Uranus, Neptune, and Chiron, ensuring that her hold on power will be continuously threatened by political rivals. Bhutto was first sworn in as Prime Minister on December 2, 1988 when transiting Saturn was exactly conjunct her Ascendant.

Pakistan's President at the time deposed Bhutto on August 6, 1990, as transiting Uranus was near her Ascendant and closely opposing her Seventh House Mars. Mars here symbolizes the male opposition she faces during every election, as well as in daily life. After Bhutto returned to power in 1993, she was once again deposed on August 6, 1996 as transiting Saturn was squaring her Mars.

Bhutto went into self-imposed exile as transiting Pluto entered her Twelfth House in May 1999. Now that transiting Pluto is about to emerge from her Twelfth House, so too is Bhutto emerging from exile. She faces enormous, powerful enemies, as transiting Pluto heads into its first opposition with her Sun, exact in mid-January 2008 when general elections for the next Prime Minister are expected.

Leona Helmsley's Trouble

On August 20, billionaire Leona Helmsley died and left the bulk of her vast fortune to a charitable trust. The eccentric real estate investor shocked many when her pet Maltese, named Trouble, was given $12 million, while two of her own grandchildren received nothing. Ms. Helmsley lived a charmed life with her husband Harry until 1992 when she was convicted of tax evasion.

Leona Helmsley was born with a Sun-Venus-Pluto triple conjunction near her Cancer Ascendant (July 4, 1920; 6:00 am; Marbletown, NY), a magnetic combination that fostered her early success as a model. With her Moon (the ruler of her chart) found in the Eighth House of financial investments, Helmsley eventually found prosperity in real estate, which was substantially increased in 1980, when her third husband Harry gifted her with a hotel chain.

Helmsley's Second House  of personal assets includes Mercury, the ruler of her Fourth House of property. Mercury is conjunct Neptune, indicating the potential for fixing the books. As transiting Neptune arrived on her Descendant in 1992, she was convicted of tax evasion. Mercury also rules her Twelfth House of confinement, so as progressed  Mercury opposed her Midheaven (her point of honor), she went to jail for 21 months.

Helmsley's Second House also holds Jupiter, the ruler of her Sixth House of pets. The asteroid Vesta, associated with devotion, is found in the Sixth House, and is favorably trine Jupiter. These placements describe Helmsley's devotion to Trouble, who was featured in an advertisement campaign for her hotels. The lucky dog began receiving uniquely pampered treatment last week, as transiting Jupiter entered Leona Helmsley's Sixth House, Trouble's domain.

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