Biden’s Saturn Cycle

I expected Joe Biden to be a one-term president.  If we look at the Saturn cycles of past presidencies (of which Biden is the most recent), the astrological limitations imposed on him are obvious.

Biden’s 2021 Inauguration horoscope has a close (3 degree) Sun-Saturn conjunction, so I reviewed charts for previous administrations with the Sun conjunct Saturn.  This is important because they reiterate the close Sun-Saturn square in the U.S. horoscope.

Zachary Taylor was inaugurated on March, 5, 1849, almost a decade before the Civil War, and he faced contentious issues between the north and south over slavery.  With the Sun conjunct Saturn (in Pisces) he overate cherries and milk at a 4th of July party, suffered stomach pains for almost a week, and died after only a little more than a year in office.

Rutherford B. Hayes also had the Sun conjunct Saturn in Pisces in 1877.  He came to office in a disputed election decided by Congress in the Reconstruction period.  He pledged to serve only one term and did so.

John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Jupiter-Saturn inauguration had Saturn in Capricorn conjunct the Sun in Aquarius (about 8 degrees apart).  He served during the post-World War II Cold War and the beginning of military involvement in South Vietnam.  Civil rights issues and Martin Luther King’s rise to prominence again showed issues of racial justice coming to the forefront during this time.  He was assassinated in November of 1963.

Civil rights and racial justice continued to be important during Joe Biden’s administration, common themes in all these Sun-Saturn election charts.  He pointedly selected Black women for Vice President and Supreme Court Justice.

But the Sun-Saturn pattern also showed two presidents who died before completing their 4-years in office, and a third who chose to serve only one term.  I didn’t know exactly what would happen this time, but concluded in my 2020 book Tecumseh’s Curse that “An inaugural Sun and Saturn has correlated with…  administrations that were limited in time and by circumstances.”  I had also noticed in 2020 that “Pluto in Aquarius will also square his Moon throughout 2024. Joe Biden had suggested he will not run again, and this transit coincides with a move or departure after four years. “

At my writing in 2020, there was that suggestion, which was supported by the astrological patterns, though the candidate later changed his mind.  The inaugural Sun-Saturn conjunction symbolized the entire term and did not change.  Of course we know that Biden stepped aside on July 21, 2024 in favor of his Vice President Kamala Harris.

Parallel Shootings

Former president Donald Trump was campaigning and hoping for a comeback win after leaving office nearly four years earlier.  He became the victim of a failed assassination attempt and was superficially wounded.  We can say exactly the same of Theodore Roosevelt 112 years before.  Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee and it seemed an odd synchronicity that Trump would soon address the Republican convention in Milwaukee, too.  What similarities are there in the horoscopes?

Teddy Roosevelt had endorsed William Howard Taft (his Vice President) for the 1908 election, but became disillusioned with his policies during Taft’s administration.  When TR didn’t receive the Republication nomination, he formed his own, more progressive party, and went on the campaign trail.  He arrived in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, had dinner and was leaving the hotel for his speaking engagement when he was shot.  The bullet may have killed him but was slowed by a steel eyeglasses case and the 50-page speech in his breast pocket before lodging in his chest.  (The bullet was never removed and didn’t create problems.)  The former president went on to deliver his speech before seeking medical aid.

The event chart shows Gemini rising.  The Moon was angular, conjunct the 7th house cusp and conjoined Jupiter in Sagittarius, but both were setting, so not as strong as they otherwise might be.  Mars closely squared Uranus, showing the sudden violence of the act.  A total solar eclipse had occurred at 17 Libra four days before.  And we have heavier planets changing signs, with Uranus at 29-1/2 Capricorn and Pluto at 0° Cancer.  Both Pluto as well as Saturn at 3 Gemini were retrograde, and both would soon enter their previous signs by the time of the election, showing a changing situation in the outside world.

Roosevelt also had Gemini with Jupiter rising in his birth chart, so the transiting Ascendant conjoined his Ascendant, and transiting Moon and Jupiter were setting in his birth chart as well.

Trump’s shooting chart shows some similarities.  He was probably more fortunate than Roosevelt since only an ear was hit by the bullet.  He was immediately surrounded by Secret Service agents who rushed him to a local hospital for treatment.

Sagittarius was rising, opposite the sign of 112 years before, and Jupiter was once again setting, in the opposite sign of Gemini.  The Moon was again angular (in the event 10th house), once more showing a notable public event.  Mars conjoined Uranus in Trump’s shooting chart (by a little more than one degree, similar to TR’s shooting chart).  A total solar eclipse had occurred at 19 Aries three months before the shooting.

We once again have some heavier planets changing signs, showing how the outside world is poised on a new phase.  In July of 2024, Neptune is near 30 Pisces and Pluto at 1 Aquarius, both retrograde, and Pluto will return to Capricorn (conjunct the TR shooting Uranus and near U.S. natal Pluto) at the time of the November election.

The transiting Ascendant of the shooting chart conjoined Trump’s South Node and Moon, with transiting Jupiter, Mars and Uranus angularly placed in his 10th house.

What’s unusual about the two shootings is that both repeat and echo natal placements from mid to late Gemini and Sagittarius.  Nodes in both shooting charts were 10-12 Aries/Libra, with only about 2 degrees difference in the two charts.

In 2014, historian Gerard Helferich talked about his book on the TR shooting, saying that, “During the election campaign of 1912, the major issues included the growing divide between rich and poor, the overwhelming influence exerted by the corporations in the political process, a feeling that the political system was broken and needed to be fixed and a split in the Republican Party. Does any of that sound familiar?”

Obviously, both former presidents were campaigning and hoping to return to office.  Roosevelt, running independently, had split the Republican ticket and Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912.  Trump was nominated by his party, though we have yet to see the results of the 2024 election.

To my mind, the synchronicities in these charts suggest that Trump may not win.  A shooting, no matter how fortunate, does hold the symbolism of danger.  But an omen is not astrology, and we’ll need to look at many more charts before coming to a definite conclusion.

Theodore Roosevelt was shot on October 14, 1912 at about 8:00 pm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to the Providence RI Evening Bulletin the following day.

Donald J. Trump was shot on July 13, 2024 at 6:11:33 pm according to a CBSNews.com timeline taken from live video footage.

My book, Tecumseh’s Curse: Indigenous Wisdom, Astrology and the Deaths of U.S. Presidents, analyzes the background and cycles of presidential deaths.

2021 Inauguration Revisited

No, I don’t think that President Biden will die before the November 2024 election.  But I do want to re-visit the 2021 Inauguration horoscope and compare it with actual events.  In my book, Tecumseh’s Curse (2021), I studied the inauguration charts of all the Jupiter-Saturn presidencies to see what information the planetary cycles conveyed. 

The 2021 Inauguration had quite a challenging horoscope.  We tend to read charts with the archetypes in mind, but much is guesswork or conclusions based on different types of charts.  I analyzed the chart by identifying the types of events that had actually occurred on previous cycles – hard aspects between the Sun and Pluto in inauguration charts, Sun-Uranus, Saturn-Uranus and Sun-Saturn.

Much can be gained by this kind of study, though it’s time consuming and not detail-oriented.  And I’ve always felt that accurate forecasts will, by their nature, tend to be somewhat generalized.  The more specific we try to get, the more often we’ll be wrong.  Narrowing down the considerations with a framework – in this case a presidential term – will also narrow down the possibilities.

The original text from Tecumseh’s Curse is in regular font; actual events are in italics.

Forecast:  “Sun-Pluto charts represented notable victories for the presidents, who sought to unite the country. (They included some of the most memorable chief executives in history.) The political parties themselves underwent change. Developments in the country’s territory, alliances and antagonisms came to the forefront. Financial affairs were often highlighted, with important changes in policies and trends. (In 2021, the country faces a recession and an exponentially rising national debt.)”

Actual events:  Common ground was found in the approval of the American Rescue Plan in 2021 (for economic stimulus), and the 10-year bipartisan Inventory and Jobs Act.  The Republican party is now dominated by “MAGA” adherents, and extremists on both sides of the aisle continue to make themselves heard, with stark ideological divisions.  Ukraine’s and Israel’s wars affected the U.S.  Fears of recession continued with inflation and rising interest rates affecting everyone.

Forecast:  “Hard aspects from Uranus to the Sun in Jupiter-Saturn inauguration horoscopes created unforeseen circumstances in the corresponding administrations. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced tempestuous and chaotic years, and the 2021 administration also has indications of unpredictability and the prospect of involvement in overseas conflicts, with the country potentially re-evaluating its relationships.”

Actual events:  Biden withdrew American military from Afghanistan, a move that was roundly criticized (he began his term with over 50% approval, and spent much of it closer to 40%).  Ukraine and Israel’s wars escalated contention among various factions in the U.S. (most notably campus protests in 2024).  Billions in aide was sent to both countries, and economic sanctions were imposed on Russia (also in keeping with Pluto).

Forecast:  “Uranus squaring Saturn in the tenth house in the 2021 inauguration highlights the breakdown of old structures and the opening of a new phase. (Biden reversed many of his predecessor’s executive orders in his first days in office.) Change and progress should be inevitable, but as before, the president could be limited to some extent by public opinion, opposing parties and international relations. Popular movements should impact the coming years, leading to reform or even some sort of crisis or upheaval that shakes up the country in a significant way. Uranus and Mars conjoining the first house in 2021 suggest a new identity and perspective for the country. Mars also holds the possibility of volatility or perhaps even violence.”

Actual events:  Joe Biden was the first president to walk a union picket line with the UAW.  His climate change and clean energy bill failed to gain enough support.  Perhaps most notably, the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade caused legislatures in various states to limit women’s rights to abortion.  In six states, voters reversed abortion restrictions, with up to 11 more state ballot measures expected in 2024 elections.

Forecast:  “An inaugural Sun conjunct Saturn has correlated with contentious issues and administrations that were limited in time or by circumstances. In the past these have brought civil rights and racial injustice to the forefront, and it seems likely that these issues will continue to be addressed.”

Actual events:  Many in 2024 feel that Biden has aged-out of his job, and his more liberal policies were blocked (a voting rights bill failed in Congress, and the Supreme Court ended consideration of race in college admissions).  The Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision on former president Trump’s immunity helps him evade prosecution in the courts.  During the term, Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female Supreme Court justice, Juneteenth was made a national holiday, and recognition of same-sex and inter-racial marriages were signed into law in December of 2022.

Ideological contention is nothing new, but there are many questions about both presidential candidates as I write this in the spring of 2024, with important developments expected as Mars conjoins Uranus in mid-July and Jupiter squares Saturn at the time of the election.  Pluto also dips back into Capricorn for the final time from September through November right before the election, bringing up lingering issues before moving forward. 

Original forecast text from Tecumseh’s Curse pages 167-169.

Buy on Amazon.com.

Linda Goodman on the Aquarian Age

Linda Goodman was a true believer in the Age of Aquarius, perhaps because it was so obviously connected with the astrological signs.  As Pluto is still near the 0 degree Aquarius point of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of December 2020, Goodman’s observations on the New Age may have some resonance today.

Although an accomplished astrologer herself, Linda rarely wrote about astrology beyond Sun signs.  She was a product of the 1960s and ‘70s and used the modern rulership of Uranus over Aquarius, sharing some cogent thoughts on the polarity of Aquarius and Leo, the latter symbolizing the youth culture and sexual revolution.  An Aries with Mercury in Taurus, she was impatient with the technical arguments about when (or if) the Aquarian Age had begun.  She also disliked scientists and expressed her feelings strongly.

The piece that follows was published in her book Gooberz in 1989, though it was most likely written earlier.  Goodman references a  John Lennon song from 1969, campus protests in 1970, and uses slang that was outdated by the ‘80s.  I have edited the piece and regularized punctuation for clarity.

Challenge

Do not listen to those smug prophets and Cassandras who argue endlessly and monotonously that the Aquarian Age is technically not yet upon us, and who babble and quarrel among themselves about the stern astronomical Precession of the Equinoxes, ignoring the Procession of Children with lighted candles chanting Peace.  All we ask, is give Peace a chance.

We are well within the orb of those unpredictable Uranus vibrations, sounding the chords of humanitarianism and individualism, and yes, the flat notes of insanity too.  Once again, under the ancient Law of Polarity, feeling the reflected influence of the sign opposite Aquarius: Leo, the Lion of Love, of Idealism and Youth.

Aquarius, the Water Bearer: Seeker of Truth, the unpredictable advocate of Change, whatever the cost (through violent revolution, if necessary) as a means to justify the end – of prejudice.

The eccentric, half genius, half mad Uranus vibrations of Aquarius, blending a compulsion for Progress with the hot rays of Leo’s ruling Sun, reflecting back the Lion’s firm hold over Youth and Love.  “We will have Change!  We will have Brotherhood!” rings out the clarion call of the individual’s right to do his or her own thing, and “let’s make love, not war!”  “Let’s worship Youth!” roars the fierce, hot-blooded Lion as he rolls in sensuous ecstasy with his mate.

Is it any wonder, then, that we’re having a sexual revolution, that we shake under the Uranus-Aquarian thunder of individuality of hair styles, clothes, politics and religious convictions, with riots on campus introducing the Seventies, taking their toll?

Didn’t you see it all coming, Mister Gallup and Mister Poll?  Didn’t you feel Kent State coming?  Or do you scoff at the stars and ignore the planets too, as blind astronomers and other scientists are wont to do?’  Einstein might have made it all more clear than any similar peer who knocks and raps astrology if it’s fashionable to do so.  Or than the shrinks and sociologists, stubborn astronomers, and the frightened astrologers themselves, who wrangle with one another, in unceasing competition refereed by prejudiced, pre-judgmental, know-it-all science wearing the dark glasses of dogma.

I see them squatting in their Kindergarten of Knowledge, the professors and the shrinks, the scientists and astronomers, the sociologists and poll takers, and an occasional politician, playing with Truth as children play with colored blocks lettered A B C for Apathy – Blindness – and Cop-out.

Then, when their blocks topple over, they rage in childish petulance and bang each other over the head with the offending chunks of wooden facts.

Do not bang me over the head with you’re A B C blocks colored with half-truths, you disciples of Thomas, the Doubter.  You will not break the Ram’s tough horns!

The Aquarian Age is here!  And its pulsating, powerful, unpredictable orb, mixing with the Sun rays of the roaring Lion, is ominous, if not heeded.  Locking the New Age in your scientific closets with boring, tiresome technicalities will not make it disappear.  Yes, the vibration of Aquarius is here, and much too close for comfort.

It burns my soul and sears my mind with unanswered questions.

Linda Goodman’s horoscope is on Astrodatabank.

From Gooberz, p. 184 to 185

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Jackie’s Path

Biographer Carl Sferrazza Anthony’s recent book Camera Girl:  the Coming of Age of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy focuses on the future First Lady’s young adulthood and her written works as she faced some crossroads in her life.

Jackie was attracted to her Bouvier ancestry and studied at the Sorbonne as part of her French major in college.  She was also a great reader who enjoyed art, literature and history and was a talented writer and illustrator herself.  Many of these themes are represented by her Sun and Mercury in Leo in her 9th house sextile Jupiter in the 7th and trine Uranus in the 5th.  She had great creativity, a unique perspective, and was able to enlist the help of others to move her projects forward.

Back in the U.S., the college senior entered a Vogue magazine contest that offered the winner an editorial position.  With Mars in Virgo in the 10th house, she worked diligently on lengthy essays through several rounds of finalists until finally winning in May of 1951.  But her divorced parents’ disputes kept her from immediately taking up the offer.  When she began work as an editorial assistant at Vogue in September, her mother foiled her plans by calling her repeatedly at work and insisting that she focus on meeting eligible men.

Jacqueline had been brought up in wealthy households yet had no fortune of her own as her father had phased into alcoholism.  While her Moon-Saturn-Neptune grand trine suggests much good from her family, Neptune closely conjunct the Midheaven raised confusing issues.  Her Moon in Aries also shows her aggressive and at times abusive mother, especially as the Moon also squares Pluto.

Her powerful Sun in the 9th suggested she stay in the publishing world.  Instead, she left the position within a week to return to her mother’s home.

With her prominent Neptune and the help of her step-father, Jackie landed an entry level job at the Washington Times-Herald in October of 1951, and worked her way up to becoming the paper’s daily “Inquiring Photographer” columnist, asking provocative questions and taking pictures of people from all walks of life.  She soon had a byline and a raise, with the column renamed “Inquiring Camera Girl” before she turned 23.  The vibrant Leo Sun paid off again.

Though she broke off an engagement with a New York stockbroker, Jackie’s 7th house Jupiter in Gemini sextile her Sun and Mercury gave her promising prospects for marriage.  She had gradually developed a relationship with Congressman John F. Kennedy, who shared her interests in history, international affairs and travel.  Despite being told of JFK’s philandering ways by a close friend of his, she believed the family’s Catholic background would keep him in a permanent marriage.  7th house Jupiter is in detriment in Gemini, but ruled by Mercury in Leo, a fixed sign, so her conclusion was correct for the marriage.

But according to her letters to family and friends, Jackie was conflicted about losing her identity in a marriage, doing something notable with her life, and facing an uncertain future as a writer or editor.  She needed security and couldn’t really hope to earn the money to finance her accustomed lifestyle herself.  Her Scorpio Ascendant trine Pluto was pragmatic and sought financial stability and even power.  Saturn in the 2nd house opposite her Venus in Gemini in the 8th also shows insecurity about finances.  She had already been drawn to older, wealthy and powerful men, and Jack Kennedy was also 12 years older.

While a grand trine can indicate an ease of success, with both Neptune and the Midheaven involved in Jackie’s chart, it also showed the appeal of the path of least resistance.  And Neptune not only relates to photography, but glamor, dreams and a broad scope.  A good marriage was a more typical choice than an independent career for most women in the 1950s, and the easiest way to satisfy many of her needs.

Jackie’s second marriage to Ari Onassis showed her following similar priorities, but after his death in 1975, she became a book editor in New York, returning to a path that she had begun many years before.

Astrodatabank quotes Frances McEvoy’s collection of the birth data (from mutual friends).

Read another post about Jackie’s Neptunian mystique here.

Camera Girl is on Amazon.

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Gloria Steinem’s Marriage

Gloria Steinem remains a strong advocate for equality and social justice.  A 1934 Aries, she chose not to marry because she felt the role too restrictive for her as a young woman in the 1950s.  But she did finally marry at the age of 66. How does this show up in her birth chart?

We see Steinem’s personal strength and self-sufficiency in her Scorpio Ascendant and its ruler Mars.  Mars is placed in its other ruling sign of Aries and conjoins the Sun, a very dynamic combination.  The Sun is exalted in Aries and rules her 10th house of career.  This might be a combination focused on children, since the Sun and Mars are in the 5th house.  But Evangeline Adams’ teacher Catherine Thompson said that the Sun in the 5th house has the potential to “burn up.”  Mars is also inconjunct Neptune in Virgo in the 10th, showing a less conventional outlet.  Gloria pursued a career that she liked and enjoyed.

The 5th house also relates to creative self-expression and Steinem began as a freelance journalist.  Her Moon in Leo in the 9th house found a wider audience through writing, editing, lecturing and political activism.  She became a celebrity in 1963 for her exposé on the treatment of women at the Playboy Club in New York after being hired as a Playboy bunny waitress.  This was the time of her Saturn return, when it also opposed her Midheaven, showing a major turning point in her life.

Her experiences with marriage and partnerships are 7th house issues, and she has Taurus on the cusp, ruled by Venus in Aquarius.  Venus conjoins Gloria’s 4th house cusp, so again we might consider an outlet through the home, or a sense of security as inducements to marriage.  Though the sign of Aquarius is not known to necessarily follow conventions.

Saturn also conjoins her 4th house cusp and Venus, so we can see why her concept of relationships had a sense of restriction.  With both planets conjunct in Aquarius, Steinem needed a feeling of independence in partnerships, and her focus remained on special-interest advocacy.  The early home is also represented by the 4th house, and Gloria’s youth was peripatetic, with some freedom but obligations as well.

Her father was a travelling antiques salesman, and the family rarely stayed in one place for long.  When her parents divorced when she was 12, she became responsible for the emotional support of her mother, who suffered from chronic depression.  This might also be indicated by Mercury in Pisces in the 4th opposite Neptune, giving her empathy and compassion through an experience of suffering at an early age.

In keeping with the prominence of the dignified Saturn in Aquarius, Steinem’s paternal grandmother had been a noted Ohio suffragist in the early 20th century, astrologically showing her feminist roots.

Taurus on the 7th and its ruler in fixed signs typically supports longer lasting connections, and Gloria had several long-term relationships with prominent men over the course of her life.  She came close to marriage once, even getting a license, but didn’t follow through.  She has said that it was always her own choice not to marry, but both Saturn and Aquarius may shy away from legal permanence.

Steinem’s marriage to businessman and environmentalist David Bale on September 3, 2000 at the age of 66 is in keeping with Saturn’s influence for a delayed or late marriage, or one that demands maturity.  The marriage seems to have been a good one, but while Bale was seven years younger than his wife, he died of brain cancer in late 2003 at the age of 62, putting Steinem back in a caretaker role during the last two years of his life.

At 90, Gloria Steinem continues to fight sexism and campaign for equality, working from her Manhattan brownstone home.  Google Arts & Culture says that “Since 1966, this apartment has served as birthplace and host to many movements and limitless ideas… countless organizations and individuals… coalesced here to organize, strategize and create.”  Real estate is another 4th house theme, and the activist eventually bought her apartment, which is extremely valuable today.  Ultimately, it seems that the home and the relationships that it supports became the real center of stability in Steinem’s life, a connection that’s lasted nearly 60 years.

Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934 at 10:00 p.m. in Toledo, OH, rated AA on Astrodatabank (from “officially certified birth data”).

Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling is an excellent biography that inspired me to look at Steinem’s horoscope.

Eliminate TV?

Jerry Mander’s 1978 book, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is a counter-culture classic that analyzes the negative effects of television and advises against its use.  Mander spent many years handling TV ads for huge corporations, became disillusioned with the “establishment,” and turned to helping promote non-profits and those he considered more worthy.  But he ultimately felt their voices couldn’t be effectively communicated through the medium. 

Mass media is limited in many ways, as anyone can see from how astrology has been conveyed to a wider audience for more than 100 years.

Mander believed that human-created environments had already replaced real experience, and that television in particular narrowed perceptions (reminding me of Plato’s allegory of the cave).  TV limits the use of our senses, as well as instinct, intuition, feeling and thought, and replaces them with a hypnotic, addictive experience.  People and the environment are “dimmed out,” and we’re separated from others, the community and ourselves.  Knowledge that’s not based on direct experience becomes the norm, and aided by TV, is replaced by the influence of science, technology and industrial proof.

On the other hand, television is best at being an “advertising delivery system” since the confining experience of TV can easily implant simple, clear ideas. Programming choices are in the hands of the techno-scientific and corporate elite, whose power is enhanced by their technology, resulting in the “loss of virtually everything that qualifies as meaningful.”

Those interested in history and cycles would tend to agree with some of his arguments.  The needs of the market are contrary to human needs since “unlimited economic growth is a planetary impossibility.  It could only have been conceived by minds out of touch with natural limits.  It is dependent on a suicidal over use of resources and an impossible rate of commodity consumption.”

Artificial light obscures natural rhythms.  Like food, living things need natural light for nourishment and growth.  We’ve learned much more about how ultraviolet light is essential for synthesis of Vitamin D, and how blue light from screens can interfere with our circadian rhythms, but Mander wrote about these topics over 45 years ago.  He believed that new technology should be considered “guilty until proven innocent.”  Television was rapidly adopted, with little review or testing, and not much study of it was ever done.  Over a 7-year period, the author found only 20 articles that critically looked at the effects of television, some of which included epilepsy, eye damage, heart rate changes and exposure to X-rays (electromagnetic radiation).

Television is only able to present us with “drastically reduced versions” and distortions of nature, the arts, religion and non-western or non-materialist cultures, since they demand the interplay of the mind and senses to understand fully.  Instead, TV causes us to lose a sense of grounding in time and place.

Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television doesn’t touch on astrology, but while astrology proliferates on mass media today, much continues to be superficial.  Like other uncommon subjects in the western world, one needs time to study, experience and understand astrology.

These days, television is very different, and we’re dominated by the Internet.  But our social media platforms have become updated “advertising delivery systems.”  Jerry Mander died in April of 2023 at the age of 85, and would have seen the popularity and power of the Internet as the next stage for advertisers.  He was very prescient, if not prophetic.  But in 1977, even he admitted he didn’t know how to eliminate TV.

Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is available second-hand on Amazon and elsewhere.

Transition Time

The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on the winter solstice of 2020 ushered in a new era as the planetary pair moved into Aquarius.  The conjunctions set the stage for 20+ year developments, and have a long history with the U.S. government and presidency, as I wrote about in my book Tecumseh’s Curse.

Since early 2023, Pluto has likewise been moving back and forth between the last degrees of Capricorn and the first degrees of Aquarius, bringing its own momentous changes, at a much slower pace.  But this is especially so as it’s been crossing the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction degree over a 2-year period.

These transits have provoked contentious issues and some extremism in government and elsewhere.  We might metaphysically see it as growing pains, but there are many challenges ahead.  We are at a turning point with the presidential elections now less than a year away.

Many events are developing which resonate with Pluto changing signs and the Capricorn old guard transforming into something new and different.  We seem to be turning a page, as old authorities, organizations and associations face a changing landscape, and the past falls away.  Some of these notable events include:

Rosalyn Carter’s death on November 19, 2023 and her husband Jimmy, 99, in hospice care, symbolic of a generation passing.

Court Voting Rights Act decisions are set to empower Black and Native American minorities in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota, with other redistricting suits developing elsewhere.  The slim minorities in both the House and Senate could easily be reversed in 2024.

Various court rulings have been made in Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan as judges consider removing former president Trump from 2024 ballots in violation of the Insurrection clause of the Constitution.  Some will certainly progress to the Supreme Court.  Trump of course also has several ongoing legal battles, with trial dates set for the spring and summer of 2024 (see my overview forecast from August 2022)

As many question the age and wisdom of leading presidential candidates Biden and Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is polling with greater support than any independent candidate before.  And the No Labels party of more moderate values may put Joe Manchin or another forward as a 2024 presidential candidate.

These are striking developments taken individually, but altogether show a major transition.  Things will change and move forward.  Pluto will station within half a degree of its return to the U.S. July 4, 1776 chart in October, moving into Aquarius for the final time in mid-November of 2024.

It’s no coincidence that this occurs right at the time of the next presidential election cycle.  We can expect a re-set somehow, with the U.S.A. in a very different place by 2025.  Unfortunately, it looks like the transition will be slow and messy.  But that’s the nature of Pluto, who drags things out before moving on.

Kevin McCarthy’s Ouster

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is in the news with his ouster from the House on October 3, 2023 after only 9 months in office.  It reminded me of a class with Bob Zoller nearly 30 years ago.  He was stressing that nothing will manifest that’s not promised in the birth chart.  We all accept that, but he had a more deterministic view.  Certainly, I argued, sometimes things work out better than astrologers might expect.  He agreed, but went on to say that if that’s the case, the success will be either partial or short-lived. 

We often find Saturn in the 10th house in people with visible positions of authority.  But sometimes, depending on the essential dignity and aspects, they’ll face challenges or experience a loss of position for one reason or another.  Think about Herbert Hoover, who had an illustrious career but only served one term as President due to the Great Depression.  He had Saturn in Aquarius in the 10th opposite his Moon, Mars and Uranus.  Woodrow Wilson had Saturn in Cancer conjunct the MC and opposite his Sun, and had to address World War I and a severe stroke that left him disabled.  He never realized his hope for a League of Nations.

Saturn in McCarthy’s chart is different in that it’s closely square the Moon in Sagittarius conjunct the 7th house cusp.  There’s no dignity for Saturn in Pisces or the Moon in Sagittarius, and the mutable signs are not as forceful as the fixed (Hoover) or as tenacious as cardinal (Wilson).  But like the others, he is in a sense the victim of circumstances.  He’d do better if he had a solid majority to back him.  But his horoscope doesn’t suggest that.

The Moon may represent his constituents, the public, his general audience or his open enemies.  Ruled by Jupiter in Taurus in the 12th which squares his MC, his partnerships and position (since Saturn is also ruled by Jupiter) are somewhat at the mercy of others, and might be undermined by hidden enemies (the 12th) who are more determined than he is (Taurus).  And with his angular Moon so closely square Saturn, the timing has not been right.

McCarthy’s horoscope has some good aspects but no essential dignity.  So despite being a member of Congress for over 16 years, as Zoller said, his greatest success was both contentious and short-lived… so far.   I don’t think we’ve heard the last of him.

British journalist Martin Bashir, who controversially interviewed Princess Diana, has some similarities in his chart with Saturn in the 10th square his Moon, though his Saturn in Aquarius is stronger and the Moon is weaker.

All the Beauty in the World

The 12th house is one of the most difficult to understand.  But when we experience 12th house issues, we can connect with them directly.  Patrick Bringley’s book All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me seems to share such a 12th house journey in a compelling way.

Horary practitioners relate the 12th house to disappointments, sorrow, affliction, even imprisonment.  Planets here may show a focus on the wounded, hospitalized or withdrawn.  Al H. Morrison related the 12th to people who retreat from society to meditate, who turn inward or connect with inner guidance.

Patrick Bringley’s book chronicles his experiences following the death of his brother.  He could no longer tolerate a somewhat superficial job that required him to spend his days in front of a computer.  He had found meaning in art and instead became a security guard at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.  At this 12th house institution, his co-workers joked they had “nothing to do and all day to do it.”  Bringley added that “Guards are nothing but secret selves in dark blue suits.”   He worked at the museum for 10 years, recovering from the loss of his brother and becoming a husband and father along the way.

The experience of loss, his low profile position and his escape from the achievement-oriented world are all 12th house affairs.  So is suffering, which many of the artists experienced as well.  Their works capture the sublime and ineffable, and transcend time and place.  They celebrate “the making of anything worthwhile in a world that so often resists our efforts.”  The author shares that, “Artists create records of transitory moments, appearing to stop their clocks.”  “Such moments provide solace; they are heartwarming; they are pure.”  “They help us believe that some things aren’t transitory at all but rather remain beautiful, true, majestic, sad and joyful over many lifetimes – and here is the proof.”

Bringley shares his impressions of a Michelangelo sketch, done while painting the Sistine Chapel, with a note saying, “I am not in a good place and I am no painter.”  The artist begged to be released but the Pope refused him.  In his 70s he was similarly assigned as the architect to complete St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, “to his intense dismay and completely against his will.”

Fra Angelico’s Crucifixion “reminds us again of the obvious:  that we’re mortal, that we suffer, that bravery in suffering is beautiful, that loss inspires love and lamentation.”  The best art puts us “in touch with something we know intimately yet remains beyond our comprehension.”  All 12th house.

Bringley shares his musings on many other works, old and new, from around the globe.  We learn of his experiences with his warm co-workers and the patrons of the museum.  Like the artists he’s come to know, Patrick Bringley connects us with something transcendental and metaphysical.  I am definitely not a fine arts person, but I loved this book.  It illuminates the 12th house, not as a long, dark journey of the soul but a celebration of the cycles of life.  I found the print and audiobook are equally well done.

Find All the Beauty in the World at Amazon.