Win or Lose?

New Moon in Scorpio, Tuesday, October 28th

It's about health care, unions, pensions, the military, but most of all, the workers. The economy is still lingering like a bad hangover from the previous month, but now people have to make up their minds. Are they going to vote, or not vote, and if they do, who are they going to vote for? Who's going to be the winner on November 4th?

If you look at the New Moon chart for Washington, D.C., you see Neptune, the asteroid Chiron, and the North Node of the Moon, in Aquarius, in the winning house. Chiron is the wounded healer, who through his own suffering, has taken on the role of Healer. He knows what it is to suffer, and can not hide his wounds. And through his own experience understands what it means to struggle when you have the cards stacked against you. Neptune is the planet of the disenfranchised, the invisible, the minority, the victim. It is also the planet of Democracy, and democratic fervor. With Neptune's trine to Mercury in the house of health, unions and workers, he will attempt to reach these people through the media (Aquarius), the internet, and on your televisions sets. Charismatic speeches, words that reach all the people, the worker, the minority, the teachers as well as the students, the regular everyday people in society, who are willing to maintain a fair outlook, willing to look beyond their personal prejudices (Mercury square Jupiter in Capricorn), willing to cross the divide. These people will help to elect the next President of the United States.

Saturn and Uranus are approaching the first of their oppositions, which will culminate on November 4th. Both of these planets rule the winner, and there is a strong polarization, with many factions working feverishly to find common points of view, in order to heal the divide. To try and win people over to their sides. Saturn, the conservative planet in Virgo, is in the house of High Society, receiving a strong trine from Jupiter in Capricorn in the 9th House of religion (conservative religionists), law (not the Supreme Court again!!!), and big business (they want those tax cuts!). Uranus, the planet of change and democratic reform is in the house of Congress. It's being strongly supported by Mars in Scorpio in the 6th House of unions, the military (?), and the workers. When Saturn is in opposition to Uranus, you will not only see the fall of the existing administration (I take this to mean the existing party), but you also see disaffection within the parties themselves. Republicans who are upset with the extravagances of big business CEO's and wall street, union members, who are willing to look beyond their own prejudices, and consider the issues about health care, pensions, and Main Street; as opposed to racial or religious background, will be voting for Obama. Some conservatives who are disturbed by the massive spending of the previous administration, as well as some religious leaders, will be voting for Obama. Democrats, including those surprisingly unabashed, self-proclaimed racist Democrats, will vote for McCain, simply because they will feel more comfortable doing so. They're just not ready for change in that case (Mars in Scorpio sextile Saturn).

With Taurus Rising in the New Moon chart, we're still talking about the economy, and with Venus in extravagant Sagittarius, we find ourselves indebted, and overextended, and in the financial pocket of countries overseas. Both parties are making promises that will require revenue in order to implement their creative ideas. And right now foreign affairs are suffering because of loss of revenue, and depreciation of stocks and shares. Neither of these parties are going to be able to fulfill their promises due to a lack of finances, and the fact that we are so far in debt already. That's going to be a big problem on the table right now. As a result we are going to see trouble and disturbing debates in congress, with legislation delayed or stalemated because of the current climate. There is also evidence that our reputation overseas will be suspect due to the election itself, changes and disruptions in congress, and circumstances surrounding it. Maybe sitting Congress members who lose in the election, will sit back and wait for the next party to come in and deal with the bad debt, and bad news. The ruler of the chart, Venus, is approaching squares to both Saturn (loss of revenue, depreciation of stocks, failure of banks overseas) and Uranus (instability in the economy, scandals and law suits in Congress), which become exact on the 3rd of November. Part of the problem is that we have isolated ourselves, even from our allies (Venus/Saturn), and the other problem is that radical financial changes are now necessary (Venus/Uranus); that neither party is willing to commit to.

Then there's Mars in Scorpio, the sign (which Mars rules) of the New Moon. Scorpio is the sign of change and transformation. It is the sign of both death and birth. It is a very black and white sign, tending to extremes in ethics, passion and motives. It brings out both the best and the worst in people, because it stimulates the most basic needs of survival, hunger and revenge, as well as the capacity for universal transformation. It can be both a ruthless and manipulative as well as vindictive sign. But Mars in Scorpio is strong here. It is in its own element, and will go full heartedly towards what it desires. Mars is the will of the people. It is also the military, and the police. People are going to be very passionate this month. And very determined. Some people will speak at the voting booth, expecting their will to be heard and understood. Some, fearing defeat, will try more deceptive, perhaps even illegal, means of getting their way. Mars in Scorpio, is going to try to suppress democracy (Neptune in Aquarius), on the day of the election, when Mars square Neptune will be exact. This is home grown, insidious, and thriving on guilt, manipulation and anger. Mars in Scorpio has a militant veneer. But more like the Secret Service, or a hired assassin, rather than out right honest, and democratic, confrontation. Secret crimes, scandal, or plots to overthrow the election, or the winning party, are brewing. Hopefully they will come to light and be disarmed before they commit too much damage.

Oh, and by the way, this is flu season. Stock up on the Oscillicoccinum, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Echinacea and whatever!! We're going to need it. Noses will be dripping all over the voting booths, germs will be thriving on the levers or electronic voting pads, and it will be all people can do to even show up on election day. Not to mention the fact that the focus this month will be on Main Street as opposed to Wall Street. People are losing jobs. They are losing benefits. And this could easily translate as a big loss for the sitting party. Mars square Neptune on election day. It is probably safe to say, that no one wins this election.

New World Order

As an astrologer, I do not consider myself to be a psychic.  Astrology is like a bell weather, showing the climactic trends in society, as in our individual lives.  I also believe in human free will.  And the reason that humanity has Free Will, is that we are learning how to live consciously with Nature and her cycles, rather than instinctively and unconsciously, the way that animals do.  It is this whole process that is incumbent on our own evolution.  However, it is precisely because Mankind has Free Will, that the natural order of things can often be delayed, or re-routed, although inevitably we will have to turn around and retrace our route eventually.  Therefore I cannot say that either Obama or McCain will win the election.  However, I can say with much certainty that Obama is meant to win.  And there are two astrological reasons that I make that statement: the mutual reception between the outer planets, Uranus in Pisces (the sign of Neptune) and Neptune in Aquarius (the sign of Uranus); and the Saturn/Uranus opposition.

The mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune is the symbol of the New World Order.  A term coined in our modern era by Cecil Rhodes, who suggested the idea of the United State and the British Empire joining forces to create a new English speaking World Government that would eventually bring about a lasting world peace.  A sinister motive is seen by conspiracy theorists in the developments that have transpired as a result of this early 20th century movement (including the dreaded Rhodes Scholarship as a vehicle for creating New World Order leaders).  People who see the integrity of States' Rights, and the Rights of the Individual, threatened as a result of the impending Democratic Socialism that would ensue, have stuck their heels in, crying "Commie," and "Pinko!", as their code words for Dissolution.  So there are those who see this New World Order as a bad thing, including their vehicle, the United Nations, as a means for destroying individual rights.  It probably doesn't help the cause that the likes of George HW Bush used the term in his pre-9/11 September 11, 1990 speech when encouraging closer ties with Russia.  The Conspiracy Theorists believe that a powerful and secret group is plotting to rule the world via an autonomous government, which will achieve this through insidious methods of mind control and fear based propaganda.  You can see why small government Libertarians, and true Republican Conservatives would cringe at the prospect of a New World Order.

As a Socialist Democrat and a Theosophical student, I'm more in league with the point of view of H. G. Wells who wrote that, "...when the struggle seems to be drifting definitely towards a world social democracy, there may still be very great delays and disappointments before it becomes an efficient and beneficent world system.  Countless people...will hate the new world order..and will die protesting against it."  Wells sees the New World Order as a benevolent one, that should be an effort promoted by idealistic intellectuals.  Theosophists see the New World Order as a spiritual inevitability as well as a social responsibility.  William Q. Judge, a Theosophist from the late 19th Century, wrote:

"What then is the universe for, and for what final purpose is man the immortal thinker here in evolution?  It is all for the experience and emancipation of the soul, for the purpose of raising the entire mass of manifested matter up to the stature, nature, and dignity of conscious god-hood.  The great aim is to reach self-consciousness; not through a race or a tribe or some favored nation, but by and through the perfecting, after transformation, of the whole mass of matter as well as what we now call soul.  Nothing is or is to be left out."

This is to me, what the Uranus/Neptune mutual reception is urging us to recognize.  Not dissolution of identity subject to the dictates of a repressive Communist regime, but a recognition of the intrinsic value of all cultures, all beliefs, all races and all individuals under the aegis of one nation of humanity.  And within this social order there are certain inalienable rights (which are intrinsic to life itself): nourishment, housing, health care and education, to only name a few.

Then there's the Saturn/Uranus cycle.  The first of 5 oppositions within the span of the next few years, will become exact on Election Day in the US, on November 4th.  Yes, Saturn/Uranus cycles are responsible for financial instability, as is certainly evidenced now; and upheavals in weather.  They are also responsible for revolutionary, scientific breakthroughs, such as seen with the first controlled nuclear reaction in 1942 with the Saturn/Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius (an extremely Saturn/Uranus invention).  And Saturn/Uranus cycles can be associated with periods of great destruction.  But they can also be seen with great movements for Hope and Change.  If we look historically, in 1918, when Saturn opposed Uranus we saw the Spanish flu pandemic in which 25 million people would die.  In 1930, during a Saturn/Uranus square, a volcanic eruption and earthquake in Japan would kill 10's of thousands.  But also in 1930 radical revolutionary changes were initiated through Gandhi's peaceful civil disobedience "Salt March".  In December of 1941 with the conjunction in Taurus, we witnessed Pearl Harbor.  And in 1965, when Saturn was exactly opposite Uranus, the first US troops were sent to Viet Nam, the first man would walk on the Moon, and Martin Luther King would lead his famous Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.  Uranus in Pisces is the enlightened leader.  We could use an enlightened Uranian hero right about now to sever the Saturnian chains that prevent and retard the inevitability of change and evolution.  The thing is, with Saturn/Uranus cycles, the more you resist them, the more likely the instability, the hard stuff is going to transpire.  It's like a pressure cooker.  If it doesn't have an adequate valve, the pressure becomes overwhelming and will explode.  It takes wisdom to understand our relationship with nature and how to work with her, rather than against.

Obama with his Aquarian ascendant (ruled by both Saturn and Uranus) has all the earmarks of the Uranian hero.  His platform and message for Hope and Change, are synonymous with both the Uranus/Neptune mutual reception, as well as the Saturn/Uranus cycle that we are living in.  His very being: multi-racial; multi-ethnic background.  All inclusive philosophy.  His view that health care is a right not a responsibility.  He is meant to be elected.  Whether he actually will be, is up to the American people, and the exigencies of the election process in our country, threatened by those who fear the inevitable changes.  Change will come one way or another.  It will just be a lot easier if we do it the progressive way.

McCain Unmasked

McCain Birth Certificate Surfaces

Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.

-Suzanne Necker

A birth certificate for John McCain has risen to the murky surface, just a mere few weeks from the Election.  It totally (well not totally) changes the chart that astrologers have been using up until now, with a whole new place and time.  It seems that it was at the center of a controversy concerning whether or not McCain was or was not a naturalized citizen.  For contrary to what was believed, he was not born in the American controlled Canal Zone, in Cocosolo, but was born in the city of Colon in the country of Panama.  Well apparently this was already decided in court, in McCain's favor, so we won't even go there, but how typically Piscean is that?  To hide your place of birth?  So it must be true!

It takes his Moon out of conservative Capricorn, and pushes it into Aquarius, much more simpatico with the maverick persona he likes to pretend to be. Saturn in the 1st House is the true conservative.  To me, this all makes sense, because Moon in Capricorn people are preoccupied with emotional control, and McCain is renowned for his emotional outbursts!  Not at all Moon in Capricorn like.  I was never totally comfortable with that Libra rising in the last chart either, because Libra rising is preoccupied with being nice, and appearing cool calm and collected.  Pisces is very good at presenting the mask that they believe others expect them to be.  Sometimes it can create confusion in identity, because the lines between what he believes, and what he thinks others believe, as well as what he wants others to believe becomes blurred.  But I certainly wouldn't call him Mr. Nice Guy.  Not according to the way he's been inciting his hate rallies and the misleading attack ads he's been spewing.  And he certainly has been lying a great deal.  

"Make-Believe Maverick"; by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone:

A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty.

Pisces in their identification with the pain and despair of humanity, in its highest expression, is altruistically compassionate.  It is spiritual and inclusive.  However, it is also the sign of the con man, the thief and the liar.  It is the sign of the spiritualist, the mystic, the artist, as well as thinking that they are some how chosen by God, if not God Himself.  That some how they are special.  Either the Saviour or the Victim.  Or both.  

With Saturn transiting  the 7th House of his chart he's bound to be privy to a lot of criticism of his performance right now.  Saturn in the 7th House is the time in your life when you have to prove yourself to the public, you have to show your worth, but you really can't depend on others to be there for you, to hold your hand.  Those people who advise you are going to feel controlling and restrictive.  He wanted to choose Lieberman, but caved in to the conservative advisers who compelled him to choose Palin, who at first put on a good show, has proven to be a liability in many ways.  

Born with Saturn in the 1st House, he generally would be seen as someone who is steadfast in his beliefs, yet illusive Pisces is not a firm environment in which to stand fast.  And with Uranus here, his point of view has flipped on a number of issues.  It seems that he believes that Americans can't remember anything from day to day.  But with Uranus on his Saturn right now, I previously wrote that he was feeling like the rug was being pulled out from under his feet.  This is looking more like quicksand.  Or that slippery scrabble stuff that you slip on your butt on when hiking in the mountains.  And Saturn sitting on his Neptune, is something akin to fear.  This is a very anxious little puppy.  A very desperate and lying puppy.

Now, as I watch the last of the Presidential debates, he also appears testy and edgy.  It's all he can do to contain himself.  Watching this debate, this is the last person I want answering that 3 AM call with his finger hovering just over the proverbial red button.  No Way.

GRrrrrrrrr

Full Moon in Aries, Tuesday, October 14th, 2008; 4:02 pm EDT

Can't you just feel the energy? Doesn't it feel like something (or someone) is about to explode? There's a Full Moon in red hot Aries on Tuesday, followed by Mercury (finally!) stationing and turning Direct, on Wednesday. And then on the 18th, Venus enters Sagittarius. Even as I write this the Dow is up 900 points. Let's hope this all helps to revive some confidence out there. Now it's time to put on the gloves as we approach the final days of the Presidential campaign. The Full Moon is a culmination of all that was sowed in the New Moon on Sept. 28th. The instability of the economy was emphasized yet again in the New Moon chart, and now the Full Moon spans across the financial houses once again. Back then the need was emphasized for bipartisan cooperation and open truthful debate. Whether or not this worked is disclosed in the Full Moon. And there's no more Mr. Nice Guy. It's all being put out there. What an interesting time to have a debate. Anything can happen during a Full Moon in Aries. I've already got my popcorn in the microwave.

And the Full Moon in the financial houses says it's still about the economy. But there's something else happening here. The exact aspect of this Moon to egalitarian Neptune on the Ascendant of the Washington, DC chart, says that democracy is about to prosper both at home and abroad. The people are striving to be heard and acknowledged. They are inspired. Efforts to promote peace, and engage in altruistic activities are favored now. People's hearts are opening, and they are drawn to do things that will promote fairness, peace and spirituality. Moon in Aries is a fighting Moon. In this case it's fighting for an ideal.

But the Rulers of the Aquarius Ascendant, Saturn and Uranus, are rapidly approaching an opposition across this chart. Uranus in the 1st House says this is a time for reform, for correcting the mistakes of the past. Crimes are being revealed, unethical behavior, and this produces feelings of discontent. Change! is the rallying cry. A popular movement is afoot, and when they say power to the people, power to the disenfranchised, the unemployed, the uninsured, the invisible.... the Libra New Moon was a reminder that we are all in this together, and boy are we. Now with Full Moon in Aries, we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it any more.

With the Full Moon spanning across the Ascendant/Descendant axis of McCain's chart, he's going to need to pull out all stops. This is his last truly public hurrah before the election, and if the last debate saw him agitated, nervous and wandering aimlessly, we might just see another side on Wednesday night. Direct and to the point. Maybe even a little testy. Usually unflappable Obama could use the Full Moon to drive his message home with more passion. With the last debate and the VP debate occurring during void of course Moon's (what kind of astrologer does the debate commission have?!) they both fell flat and lacked luster. I say this is going to be the one to watch.

This Full Moon (as many a Full Moon will do) also has the potential to release all the angry crazy people. So if you see them mumbling vehemently to themselves, cross the street. People lack inhibitions, and Aries is the sign of the warrior. It also rules guns, violence, and accidents. However, that Neptune in Aquarius, which is straddling Obama's Ascendant, is the people. The hard working, invisible, every man people, as well as the glamorous, the creative and the mystic. This is a time for the voice of the people to be heard. To fight for a cause. Everywhere: through the internet, on your TV, on every level of the media, as well as through the ether. We will all be mesmerized. Banners will be flying. All barriers are dissolving, and maybe, finally...finally, it will be realized, that it's not every man for himself. And the only way out of our predicament is recognizing that we are all in this together.

What appeared to be a good idea while Mercury was Retrograde, will have its errors revealed now that Mercury is turning Direct. Statements made erroneously, or to deliberately mislead others, will be brought to light. As Mercury turns, he will reapply to the square to Jupiter again. Questions of ethical conduct arise, yet again, but this time they cannot be glossed over. Over-optimism, over-expansion, making promises that cannot be kept will be seen for what they are. Although the Full Moon chart indicates (finally) a possible upward trend in the market, trade will still be off and unreliable. Mercury in Libra (appeasement) speaks in tongues when it is square to Jupiter, and ethics are tossed out the window. So it's hard to have confidence.

And what about us in our daily lives? Well this Full Moon has all the ear marks for romance: Moon sextile dreamy Neptune; Venus and Mars, the romance planets, in randy Scorpio. But you have to remember that people will promise almost anything to get what they really want. And this goes for politicians as well as smooth operators.

Record Turnout/Voter Fraud?

On Election Day Saturn in Virgo will be exactly opposite Uranus in Pisces.  We've been associating Obama with Uranus in Pisces (Change), but there's another side to this Saturn/Uranus equation.  Virgo rules workers as well as health care, two areas that are feeling deflated & defeated (Saturn) right now.  Workers are seeing their jobs disappear (Pisces) overseas and into the miasma.  During the 2nd Debate, the candidates were asked if health care was a right or a responsibility.  By responsibility, the implication is that it is the responsibility of the individual to make sure that they have adequate health care coverage.  It's curious that the people who stress the dictum, "Right to Life" so strongly in their platform, don't consider health care a right.  What is more fundamental to life than adequate health care?  Are we the only civilized country in the world that does not agree that health care (Virgo) is a universal right (Uranus in Pisces)?  Senator McCain has received government sponsored health plans virtually all of his life: in the Navy, in Congress.  Why can't the rest of the country get the same health care benefits that he's been enjoying?  

Due to the fear of seeing their jobs disappear, and with the prospect of not being able to afford to get or have health care in the event of some unforeseen catastrophe, the workers (Virgo) are rising up in revolt (Uranus), or at least to vote.   Which I suspect, especially with Jupiter (large) thrown into the picture, trine Saturn and sextile Uranus on the 4th,  will bring record numbers of people out to vote.  Very large numbers.

Then there are those: the (Saturn) fundamentalists, the evangelical Christians, the Alaskan secessionists, the Libertarians, the Neo-Confederates, the ultra critical Right Wing, as well as the left wing extremist conspiracy theorists; who quake in their end of the world boots, fearful that Senator Obama represents the much feared "New World Order" (a phrase first coined by Cecil Rhodes in the early 1900's), that will destroy everything as they know it.  They believe there is a secret (Pisces) group that will eventually rule the world through one autonomous World Government (Uranus in Pisces).  Globalization and socialist type programs are the means by which these secret power brokers are going to take over.  And all of us will be controlled through the rapidly expanding global economy, multi-national corporations, mind control and fear based propaganda.  Christians see the ruler of this New World Order as the anti-Christ, and we know where that leads us!  

While we're on the subject of conspiracy theories, we need to mention that Mars, in powerful and sneaky Scorpio, is exactly square deceptive and illusive Neptune.  Also exact on the 4th of November.  I can think of so many interesting scenarios in the light of Mars square Neptune on Election Day!  The most obvious would be the behind-the-scenes crime and manipulation of the election for the benefit of the "powerful".  However, by virtue of the square aspect, underhanded or illegal shenanigans, are most likely to backfire.  People get caught with their hand in the till, or in the voting machine apparatus, as the case may be, when Mars is square Neptune.  But, it certainly won't be for lack of trying:

Is Colorado the next Florida? by Naomi Zeveloff; 10/7/08; Colorado Independent

this article questions whether Colorado is prepared to handle a potentially huge voter turn out.  Worries about a new voter database system will be able to perform properly so that voters who are registered, or at least thought they were, will arrive at the polls, and find that they are not listed on the new database. Could be a lot of frustration and long lines, reminiscent of Ohio in 2004.

States' Purges of Voter Rolls Appear Illegal by Ian Urbina; 10/8/08; New York Times

10's of 1000's of eligible voters in at least 6 swing states have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in ways that violate federal law.  These do not appear to be deliberate, but seem to be due to mistakes.  However, because democrats are registering in much, much larger numbers, they are more disproportionately affected.

Officials Seek Ohio Voter Records -AP; 10/9/08

Ohio recently had a week long voting and registration window.  The Republican party challenged, unsuccessfully, to question the overwhelmingly democratic votes, made by college students, for voter fraud.  They said that they wanted to confirm that these students would not return to their own states and vote again.  Ironically, this voting window was created by Republicans.

But this is one of the reasons astrologers are so hesitant to call this election.  The other reason is that some astrologers claim that both charts appear as equal in outcome.  I can not agree.  To me, it looks overwhelmingly in Obama's favor.  However, with aspects like these on Election Day, all sorts of hanky-panky and fraud, suppression, and all out crime, can occur.  As Jimmy Carter said the other day, when asked who he thought would win the election, "I cannot predict who is going to win the election, unless my prayers are answered."  

Mars/Neptune is not just about crime and disenfranchising the voters.  It's also an aspect of weakness and defeat.  Never underestimate the power of Neptune to be able to smother, overwhelm and succumb, even the most determined warrior (Mars).  This does not just apply to voter suppression.  The past catches up with the present, and there is no easy way out.  Eventually someone is going to have to concede and admit that they are fighting a losing battle.  It's an aspect of having received bad advice, and realizing that you've been barking up the wrong tree.  And then there's the other conspiracy theory that's been grumbled about under the breath of the air waves: which is that due to some administrative October surprise, GWB will declare Martial (Mars) Law, and suspend (Neptune) the elections altogether.  Not very likely.  But there could be issues with policemen, or even the National Guard.  

If you take this aspect to its highest level, and vote with your conscience.  Vote for an ideal.  Walk the walk, as well as dream the dream.  Then this aspect can bring out the altruists as well as the criminals.  But with Mars/Neptune associated with the flu, poisons and floods, I advise taking plenty of Vitamin C, cooking your foods well, and bringing an umbrella, and lots and lots of patience on Election Day.  

So, which side are you on?

So, if you feel like you've been rushing about & hither & yon the past few days, as I have, that's the Sun and Mercury square Jupiter. Too much to do, with not enough time to do it all in? Yet having a great time doing it. Mercury is still retrograde, and this is the only major aspect Mercury is making before it turns Direct again on the 15th. This weekend, Bill Maher's new movie, Religulous, was just released. It probably won't make a dent with evangelists, but it should raise the dialogue somewhat concerning religion (the domain of Jupiter). The last time Mercury was square Jupiter was just after the Palin nomination, and now this follows her confusing, and misleading stump (for it could hardly be called a debate when you don't answer the questions posed by the moderator). Her nomination raised some concerns about her fundamentalist religious leanings. There's an excellent article by Cynthia Boaz, entitled Welcome to Gilead, Governor Palin, in which she makes the analogy between Palin, and the "Aunt's" in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which describes a hypothetical American police-state theocracy where church and state are melded.

Then we get to this whole "heartbeat away from the Presidency thing". When you look at it in the light of the fact that Saturn and Uranus will make the first of five oppositions (which span through the Summer of 2010) on November 4th, Election Day, this becomes a very real issue. I briefly referred to this aspect in my last post. I said that because this falls on Senator Biden's angles, it was huge and scary looking. I unintentionally made it sound a bit apocalyptic. But whereas this aspect affects Biden's career, status and destiny (as well as his family); it also is strongly affecting McCain, in a way that could potentially undermine his health. I'm sure the demands of the campaign must be very tiring for both of these gentlemen, neither of whom is a spring chicken any more.

Over the weekend, Biden's son left for Texas, to get ready to be deployed to Iraq, and his mother-in-law has passed away, compelling him to cancel engagements for the beginning of this week. Uranus is disruptive, and yes, can be a bit scary, when he shakes things up in one of the more vulnerable areas of one's chart, which affects home, family, the past, and one's emotional state. It tests your timbre and whether or not your roots will hold up under the stress. Saturn at the other end is reaching the apex of his chart, so that all that he has worked for, all that he has been striving to achieve in his career, is finally just within his grasp: and even so, he will be conflicted between his obligations to career, and the necessity of having to drop everything at a moment's notice to tend to unexpected events closer to home. There seem to be inevitable changes in career, where yet he is challenged for his position. Some will feel threatened by his presence in some way, even while situations from left field develop in his personal life. On the political scene, this Saturn/Uranus aspect brings more to Biden's table, simply because he is running for office. It causes him to be tied into the destiny of society as a whole. Generally what one sees in society with Saturn/Uranus is revolt, and the possible overthrow of the existing social order.

Saturn strives to maintain the status quo, and when it is challenged, it creates a sense of impending doom, accompanied by fear and a strong resistance. This is because circumstances that we have just been bearing with, reach a level where they are no longer tolerable. Even in the face of the necessity for changes, and even though the old ways are no longer working, there is this determination, on the side of Saturn, to maintain the status quo. But change is inevitable with the Saturn/Uranus cycle. The mistakes made in Saturn/Uranus cycles are either due to returning to, or clinging too strongly to the past, or conversely, initiating such radical changes that it would destroy the good along with the bad, destabilizing the infrastructure. You don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. But change is necessary for the development of society as a whole. During the 1919 opposition, women gained the right to vote. The opposition in the 60's coincided with not only the women's rights movement, but the Civil Rights movement as well (as well as the Voting Rights Act). And now we have a black man running for President, who won his party's nomination in a close contest with a woman.

Obama tuned in to the zeitgeist of the times, when he predicated his campaign on the concept of a need for "Change". This is why he flew to the top of the ticket, relatively unknown, seemingly a stranger to middle America in so many ways. It was his message which he rode on, which was actually society's message. It seems that the Republican ticket was trying to bite off of this message when they chose a relatively unknown woman to run as McCain's running mate. They have even tried to adapt the moniker of "change" to their own campaign.

Uranus to McCain's natal Saturn in Pisces, could bring an unexpected health problem that could also make it feel as if the rug were being pulled out from under his feet. This is because it falls in a health house. However, this is also the aspect that has made him appear to be such a flip flopper of late. The whole financial debacle apparently caught him by surprise. As far as he was concerned the "fundamentals of the economy were basically sound." Even as the economy was crashing like a lead balloon. He was being forced by circumstances to change his whole conservative position, but it was so disingenuous and out of touch with reality, his numbers slid correspondingly in the polls. Like Biden, McCain has been working and striving towards this nomination for many years. The Saturn opposition period which is what he is now experiencing is the make or break aspect, that determines whether he has been barking up the right tree or not. Are his positions working? Has the fact that he has repeatedly voted for deregulating now coming home to roost? The Saturn opposition marks the peak of the statement that he has been making of who he is, what he stands for, the consequences of which he will now be reaping. And Uranus is telling him that it may not be in the way that he had planned or expected. Born with Saturn opposing Neptune, his personal inner conflicts and anxieties arise, making him feel as if he were ineffective, even physically weak. He's probably pushing himself beyond his limits. There's a lot of inner turmoil, rumbling and roiling around, perhaps a little guilt, a bit of fear and lots of anxiety, as ghosts and demons of the past come to revisit like the Ghost of Christmas past in A Christmas Carol.

Both Biden and McCain have their records in the public eye, all their past efforts and accomplishments are being put on the block. If their actions have been positive, and they have worked hard and honestly for these achievements, then now they will pay off. This is a time for both of them to reap the consequences of what they have been sowing over the past 14 years. But which side of the equation are they each on? Are they on the side of the status quo and fear of change? Or on the side of recognizing and embracing the need for progressive change?