NewsScope for June 19, 2001

Karl Rove in the Hot Seat

On March 12 Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser, held a fateful meeting with Intel executives at the White House. Intel was seeking a merger with a Dutch firm, and Rove, who until last week held some $100,000 to $250,000 of Intel stock, facilitated a meeting with the appropriate agency heads. Now Democrats are questioning the appearance of impropriety.

Astrologically, Neptune governs political scandal, and is now playing a dominant role in several key horoscopes. Neptune's exact square to the U.S. Scorpio  Ascendant this month points to a national scandal shaping up. In George W. Bush's chart transiting Neptune is returning to an exact conjunction with his Seventh House cusp (the Descendant), which indicates that a partner is coming under suspicion. (Editor's Note: WolfStar uses a Scorpio rising U.S. chart.)

Karl Rove's ambitious Capricorn Sun (December 25, 1950; Denver, CO; time unknown) has been responsible for getting Bush elected as the Texas Governor and the President of the United States. His Moon in Cancer makes him totally receptive to Bush's Cancer Sun. He once said that George W. Bush "was the kind of candidate and officeholder that political hacks like me wait a lifetime to be associated with."

Rove's Mars is placed in the teamwork sign of Aquarius, and happens to be placed exactly on Bush's Descendant. This shared astrological point makes him Bush's ideal promoter, but is now under duress from transiting Neptune. His Machiavellian plots have been widely reported, and fit his several Capricorn planets, including the political strategy asteroid Pallas. Watch Rove enter the spotlight over the coming weeks since the June 21 Solar Eclipse is perfectly aligned with his Pallas.

Hybrids on the Way

Last week Toyota introduced the four-wheel drive Estima, the first hybrid minivan. The Estima gets 40 miles to the gallon and will cost around $28,000 in Japan. The giant automaker said it will begin mass-producing Estimas, starting with 300,000 of them in 2005, and expects the next market thrust will be into the U.S.

With the Saturn-Pluto opposition beginning to come into effect now, we can expect to see many forms of social or political restructuring. Technological revolutions can also be expected, and since Saturn and Pluto occupy the transportation signs of Gemini and Sagittarius, the introduction of the hybrid cars, a combination of gas motors boosted by electric batteries, is a natural.

Toyota introduced the first hybrid to the Japanese general public on December 10, 1997. The Sagittarius Sun in this chart is favorably linked to Jupiter in innovative Aquarius, and trine to Saturn in pioneering Aries. The 50-mpg Prius was sold at a loss, but its popularity inspired cost-cutting improvements and rave reviews from environmentalists who praised its low emissions of hydrocarbon pollutants.

The Prius horoscope reflects the current escalation of the hybrid technological revolution. Over the next two years the Sun will be activated by the Saturn-Pluto opposition. Then, the Prius Venus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn shows vision and pride in design. This configuration aligns with the U.S. Pluto, a very favorable link for selling the hybrid in the American marketplace.

Angelina Jolie, Tomb Raider

The much anticipated film Tomb Raider opened last Friday, and stars the beautiful, yet edgy Angelina Jolie in the lead role. Jolie plays a karate-chopping, motorcycle-riding heroine who must find an ancient clock that stops time. In a recent interview she said one of the best perks of this film was starring side-by-side with her real life dad, Jon Voight.

Angelina Jolie was born a versatile Gemini (June 4, 1975; Los Angeles, CA; time unknown) with her Moon in action-packed Aries. Having Mars and Jupiter also residing in Aries gives her the jump on most anyone. Mars especially is powerfully placed with a death-defying opposition to Pluto, and romantically, cinematically enhanced by an exact trine to Neptune.

Jolie's Sun is conjunct the marriage asteroid Juno, and thus she gives much credit to partner Billy Bob Thornton. "I have someone in my life who makes me discover what it is to be a woman, and really to be free, to try things." This Sun-Juno conjunction is in line with this summer's blockbuster Saturn-Pluto opposition, and while this may raise her to superstar status, it may likewise bring tremendous strain to her primary relationship.

Astrological patterns tend to run through families, and many of Jolie's dynamics can be found in Jon Voight's horoscope (December 29, 1938; 11:50 am; Yonkers, NY). Voight also has the Sun-Juno conjunction, and several major placements in Aries. His Sun squaring her Pluto indicates that their relationship has cycled through some bitter feelings of betrayal. Though he left her when she was a toddler, they are now the best of friends.