NewsScope for January 13, 2009
The Obama Plan
Friday's unemployment figures confirm that the U.S. economy continues to contract at a pace not seen since the Great Depression. Last week President-elect Obama made the case for a staggering $800 billion stimulus package that would begin generating jobs by late summer. Over the weekend, Obama's economic advisers pieced together a preliminary memo so that Congress could begin tailoring the details.
As described in January's Astro-Event #2, Mercury turned retrograde on January 11 while squaring the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant, which is a perfect celestial analog for the memo (Mercury) that will affect the nation's well-being (U.S. Ascendant). Critics have weighed in, saying that it's not enough or that it's too much, so over the next three weeks of Mercury's backwards motion, they will be making their cases.
Looking at the larger picture, transiting Pluto will make its first of five oppositions to the U.S. Venus on February 27. The Obama plan calls for a two-year government-spending spree, which coincidentally, happens to conclude at the same time that transiting Pluto makes its final opposition to the U.S. Venus in late 2010. In the U.S. Scorpio Rising horoscope, Venus is in the 8th House of the national budget.
Pluto in connection with the money houses represents the potential for immense wealth and/or financial ruin. Since the nation's founding, transiting Pluto has not been in the U.S. 2nd House until it entered in 1998. Since then, we have collectively experienced two major booms and busts (dot-com and housing). What can we expect when transiting Pluto opposes the U.S. Jupiter beginning in 2011?
Hamas' Military Arm
Over the weekend Israeli warplanes flooded Gaza with leaflets warning civilians not to provide shelter to Hamas militants, as Israeli tanks advanced toward Gaza City. Meanwhile, demonstrators across Europe gathered to denounce the invasion, waving Palestinian flags and banners such as "we are all Palestinians." Both Israel and Hamas rebuffed intensified peace efforts from the United Nations, Egypt and France.
 A look into the Hamas horoscope* (August 18, 1988; noon, Gaza) helps explain their reluctance to accept cease-fire terms. The natural ruler of the military is Mars, and in the Hamas horoscope Mars is strongly placed in assertive Aries. The Leo Sun is also closely aspecting Mars (by the trioctile or 135º aspect), reflecting how the organization itself identifies with and is empowered by its military arm.
On January 29, 2006, Hamas defeated Fatah in a freely contested election for control of the Palestinian movement. At the time, transiting Pluto was conjunct the Hamas Saturn (government) and trine the Hamas Sun (leadership). The split between the rival Palestinian factions ended with Hamas seizing Gaza on June 14, 2007, as transiting Mars, Saturn and Pluto formed a Grand Trine with Hamas' Sun.
During these developments, Hamas' progressed Mars has been retrograde and heading toward the exact quincunx to natal Pluto. This connection is one of the most vitriolic, warlike combinations possible. Factor in that Hamas' progressed Mercury is now opposite natal Mars, and one can see the unwillingness to relent. While the Mercury-Mars measurement will max out over the next three months, the progressed Hamas Mars-to-Pluto is increasing its potential for violence over the next two years.
The Trials of Ted Haggard
When we last profiled the disgraced minister Ted Haggard on November 7, 2006, he had just resigned his leadership role over the National Association of Evangelicals for "sexually immoral conduct"—according to the mega-church's overseer board. Now, he's free to talk about the scandal, since he made a deal (for a year's salary and a truck) to be quiet for two years is completed.
Ted Haggard's horoscope (June 27, 1956; Yorktown, Indiana; time unknown) reflects his struggles with his sexuality. In traditional astrology, Venus and Mars and their aspect networks describe the sex drive, although there's no verifiable astrological signature that describes orientation. Haggard's Venus and Mars are in the dualistic signs of Gemini and Pisces, and their hard aspects to the outer planets testify to his dilemma.
Juno, the marriage asteroid, represents a strong counterpoint to any sexual inclination, one way or the other. Haggard's Juno is in steadfast Capricorn, and he remains married to this day. Fortunately for his wife, a transiting Jupiter-Uranus square was aligned with his Mars on February 6, 2007 when a team of religious psychologists declared that Haggard was free of his gay tendencies and "is completely heterosexual."
However, Haggard continues to find sexuality confusing and wants to talk about it. Natally, his Mars squares Mercury, giving him a natural inclination to talk about sex. When he was a minister, he condemned homosexuality. Now that he's sort of out of the closet, he wants to talk about his experiences. On January 31, the transiting Saturn-Uranus opposition at 20º Virgo-Pisces activates his progressed Mercury. This is when the documentary about his sex scandal will be aired on HBO, a show that he's currently busy promoting.
*For more on Hamas, see NewsScope for June 19, 2007 or visit www.neptunecafe.com/palestine.html
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