NewsScope for October 21, 2008

Neel Kashkari, Financial Stability Czar
 
Although he's not likely to hold the position after W. leaves office in January, Neel Kashkari was appointed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to head up the new Office of Financial Stability, where he'll oversee the strategic distribution of the $700 billion bailout fund. Critics point out his inexperience and youth, and that he's from Goldman Sachs -- like so many of Paulson's appointees.
 
NewsScope correspondent and data sleuth Romy Ransom tracked down Kashkari's birth time (July 30, 1973; 11:06 pm; Stow, OH), so astrologers can form their own opinions. With his Sun and Moon in Leo, Kashkari naturally prefers to look at the big picture. Since he has an Aries Ascendant and Mars strongly placed in Aries, one might suspect that he's all ego, but the Sun opposite Jupiter in Aquarius  makes him a team player.
 
With Mars opposite Uranus, Kashkari enjoys being on the cutting edge. He's a natural pioneer, especially in technology -- as is his background in NASA and his experience building solar cars will attest. Kashkari was born during a unique outer planet configuration (involving Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto) that shaped the geopolitical atmosphere throughout 1973. That watershed year brought the entire restructuring of the global economy when OPEC quadrupled the price of oil.
 
While everyone born in 1973 carries this planetary signature, it's especially strong in Kashkari's chart since Saturn and Pluto are angular. This combination has been referred to as a "crisis of authority", and in 1973 corresponded to the beginning of Watergate. Currently, transiting Pluto is nearing Kashkari's Midheaven as it activates his natal Saturn-Pluto square, giving him the political power to re-shape, re-structure, and transform the American economy.
 
Wall Street's Turning Points: Celestial Roadmap to Market Timing
 
A NewsScope reader came across an old newspaper from October 1987, and noticed how similar the headlines were to today's news. "It had all the doom and gloom of the current stock market activity. Is there any correlation to what's going on with the U.S. Venus* at that time?" she asks. The simple answer is "No", but there are similar astrological patterns.
 
The Crash of 1987 took place on October 19 when transiting Pluto was conjunct the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant and transiting Neptune in the Second House of Money opposed the U.S. Jupiter. The taskmaster Saturn was also in the U.S. Second House where it formed a precise quincunx to the U.S. progressed  Jupiter (orb 0º00'). From these transits, one gets the impression of a financial bubble suddenly deflating, which was exactly what happened.
 
During the dot-com crash, the NASDAQ lost nearly 80 percent of its value between the top on March 9, 2000 and the bottom on October 9, 2002. The key transits that marked the bottom were transiting Uranus conjunct the U.S. Moon (orb 0º17') and transiting Neptune square the Scorpio Ascendant (orb 0º22'). As in the 1987 trough, outer planets were also making close aspects to each other to signify the trend reversal.
 
The peaks and troughs of the U.S. stock market all correspond to outer planet aspects combined with major hits to the U.S. Scorpio Rising horoscope. The biggest crashes have several simultaneous, precise indicators. Two weeks ago, when the Dow plunged a record 1900 points, transiting Chiron was  right on the U.S. nadir (orb 0º00'). Mid to late November (with Jupiter and Saturn trine, and Uranus turning direct) looks like a bottoming point.
 
Madonna Jettisons Guy, Adopts A-Rod
 
As transiting Saturn and Uranus make their first of five oppositions, relationships are being shaken up across the star-studded universe. Case in point: last Wednesday Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced their divorce after eight years of marriage. Rumor has it that she will offer him $104 million to go away so she can spend more time with her secret lover, baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
 
Madonna was born with Virgo Rising (August 16, 1958; 7:05 am; Bay City, Michigan), and ever since Saturn turned direct on her Ascendant last December, reports have surfaced about her troubled marriage. But Saturn here is great at keeping up appearances, and not until A-Rod was seen front-and-center at her New York concert (on October 12) did her marriage totally collapse.
 
All the usual celestial suspects are in play. Uranus, often referred to as the divorce planet, has been passing through her seventh house of partners. It's currently exactly squaring her Fourth House Saturn, which naturally disrupts her home life. Since June 2007 when Uranus first squared her Fourth House Saturn, Guy and Madonna have been living separate lives. Now transiting Saturn is squaring her natal Saturn, leading to a property settlement.
 
Juno, the marriage asteroid, is found in her twelfth house of secrets and privacy, where it's conjunct intense Pluto. Ever since transiting Pluto first entered Capricorn (and trined her Juno), Madonna and A-Rod have been meeting at his so-called "secret love shack". By secondary progression, her Juno is at 21º Virgo -- perfectly in line with the transiting Saturn-Uranus opposition. This is the classic "out with the old, in with the new".
 
*The question refers to transiting Pluto's pending opposition to the U.S. Pluto. For details, see _www.neptunecafe.com_ (http://www.neptunecafe.com)  and click on the  "credit crisis" link.

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