The word “no” is the most difficult word in the English language. It is the most treacherous to say and the most stressful to hear. No one likes to have limits set upon their wants, which is what “no” is really about. And no one enjoys the angry or abandoning reaction that setting those limits can engender. But those who are unable to tolerate these uncomfortable emotions have not successfully graduated to a state of true emotional maturity and psychological health. Such dysfunction extends across a broad continuum, from minor neurosis to major psychopathology. But it is inevitably this inability to tolerate the setting of limits or to set limits that is at the source of most of the problems in the world today.
Whether it be the relationship between parent and child, husband and wife, or an individual and the law, the capacity to honor and respect the appropriate boundaries defines the health of the relationship. Those who manipulate and bully because they cannot tolerate a refusal, those who are frightened to stand up for themselves because they fear abandonment and anger, and those who rape or steal because the laws of society do not hold them back are all examples of the enormous dysfunction that can come from a lack of healthy boundaries and the confident inner self that maintains them. In the workings of today’s Republican-dominated government, there are numerous examples of an inability to set or tolerate limits, a pattern which has led to an increasingly massive amount of government dysfunction at the highest levels.
One of the most glaring examples of this is George Bush’s inability to live within the constraints of international treaties or any other law that would stay his hand. Early into his first term, Bush unilaterally moved to end the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, pushing aside all subsequently-proven concerns that he would be launching another arms race by pushing the US to develop yet more nuclear weapons. He has also ignored the globally-accepted protections in the Geneva Conventions concerning treatment of war prisoners, leading directly to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and other US military prison facilities throughout the world. He has even threatened a veto of the entire defense spending bill to avoid any restrictions set on the treatment of detainees. But perhaps the most shameless example of Bush’s inability to live within mutually agreed upon boundaries was when the president and his henchmen refused to wait for the results of the weapons inspections or the full UN process to unfold and instead lied and bullied their way into the latest Gulf War, though they prefer to reinvent history to hide these facts. In short, George Bush is unable to tolerate any restriction on his actions, and with the power of the American presidency behind him, such inability to respect limits has had dire consequences for the whole world.
Related to this inability to accept limits is Bush’s well-known intolerance for any criticism or dissent. This has led to the increasingly stagnant and insular decision-making apparatus in the White House. All of Bush’s contacts with the “public” are really well-rehearsed exercises in sycophancy. Moreover, all criticism from the media is whitewashed out of existence by his handlers. Some sources report that aides fear inflaming Bush’s raging temper in the face of disagreement or criticism and are therefore well-trained to avoid it whenever possible, a classic dysfunctional scenario.
In addition to this pathetic behavior in the White House, the Republican-dominated Congress is also complicit in the dysfunctional decay pervading Washington. Constitutionally, the Congress is entrusted with the task of oversight of the Executive branch of government to assure the nation that the White House is living within the boundaries of the law. Instead, the last 5 years have been more like a scene from Lord of the Flies, with unleashed schoolboys running wild, restrained by nothing. Spending is out of control, pork is flying from the rooftops, and the Executive branch’s corporate buddies are robbing the treasury unmolested.
Into this cesspool of what passes for government, in a trickle-down-from-the-top political climate unable to tolerate criticism, unwilling to live within appropriate and legal limits, drunk on a grandiosity fed by no restraints, came the White House Iraq Group and its attack on Joe Wilson for daring to disagree. Although this was far from the first vicious attack on an administration critic, the heady fumes of power made the WHIG members careless, and they outed CIA agent, Valerie Plame, with dire results for the administration, leading to indictments for at least one its top officials.
In astrology, the much-maligned planet Saturn represents discipline, will, determination, and healthy boundaries. When these are not fully functioning, the acute need for them can be thrust upon the individual through the burdensome circumstances that often accompany Saturn transits and progressions. In general, the more problematic a person’s boundaries and inner discipline - the more he or she is unable to live within the laws and restrictions set by society or unable to forego personal impulses that contradict appropriate behavior - then the more difficult a Saturn transit will be.
It is instructive to briefly look at the two zodiacal signs most directly related to Saturn: Capricorn, which Saturn rules, and Libra, the sign in which it is “exalted.” Each of these two signs demonstrates a different side of Saturn. Capricorn has to do with ambition and goal-setting which one accomplishes through discipline, hard work, and steady effort. Libra, on the other hand, is the sign of the Scales of Justice, which takes the meaning of Saturn to a whole new level. In Libra, we honor the boundaries set by the Rule of Law which enable us to live together in society in an ordered way. It should not be forgotten that in that great 18th Century experiment in democracy that became the America we know and love, the evolution of consciousness took a giant step forward in confirming the Rule of Law over the whim of the King. Saturn, in that July 4, 1776 chart, stands in the sign of its exaltation, Libra, and squares the Sun which symbolizes the President, effectively tying him to the sometimes uncomfortable restraint of the law. Interestingly, it is often during Saturn transits to the US Sun that the President gets into trouble for overreaching, as Nixon did in 1974 and Bush did 2003 and 2004 during the Iraq war. Currently, Patrick Fitzgerald, poised to indict an administration that has been careening out of control for years now, will be the first to say “no” to an administration that has been unable to police its own boundaries.
Needless to say, in the chart of every player in this great political drama unfolding before our eyes, we find the increased activity of Saturn forcing restraint where none existed. Here is a synopsis of the characters:
Emperor Bush: With the first stirrings of rage at Bush’s feeble response to Hurricane Katrina in early September, Saturn began the long odyssey across Bush’s Ascendant/Mercury/Pluto conjunction that will span from September 2005 through early July 2006. This will be followed by Saturn crossing Bush’s Venus from September 2006 through June 2007, with the final indignity of tertiary Saturn on Bush’s Venus from April 2007 through February 2008. Gone are the days of the unbridled Emperor. Gone are the days of the Charmer-in-Chief with the masses wagging their collective tail and following him anywhere. It will become increasingly apparent that the Emperor must learn to bend or he will break and that he must tread carefully amid a sea of ever-present landmines. The plague of locusts currently raining down on him from the Heavens since early September will continue mostly unabated through January 2, 2006, and briefly resume from January 25 though February 5, 2006.
First Dick Svengali: Our VP is in big trouble though it is not yet as fully apparent as it will be. During this two-month period from mid-October through late December 2005, the noose will continue to tighten. If he is going to resign, it will be during this period. Transiting Saturn is stationary opposite his Sun and stationary square the Ascendant on his swearing-in chart for two unrelenting months. He is increasingly finding himself in a straightjacket of his own Mephistophelean making. Moreover, transiting Pluto is quincunx the swearing-in chart Saturn/IC conjunction from October 17 through November 20, triggering the sense of failure and despair inherent in that aspect. And for the next few days, through October 31, consummating a year-long transit that has been especially tense in the past five months, transiting Pluto is square his Moon, revving his emotions and paranoia up to a fevered pitch.
Henchman Rove: The Emperor’s secret assassin may have been caught with his weapon in hand. At this late hour, reports are that he will not be indicted now, but investigations into his murky activities will continue. As with the other players in this drama, Saturn is currently the dominant theme in the Henchman’s chart, where it will increasingly enforce restraint from late 2005 through 2009.
Of note in this chart is the very tight natal Sun/Saturn square, with natal Saturn in Libra, a very similar aspect to that described above in the US chart. Thus, again we find the inherent conflict between the personal will and the law of the collective. As of November 1, tertiary Mars will be square to natal Saturn through December 15, and by November 15 it will be both square natal Mars and conjunct natal Sun, the latter aspect remaining until December 25. With these aspects, Rove can be seen to pit himself quite intensively against the limitations (Saturn) imposed upon him.
Another indication of the battle between Rove’s desire for action and the restraints imposed upon him is the transit of Saturn currently opposed to his natal Mars, which runs from September 2005 through mid-June 2006. Perhaps of even greater significance is the slow journey of tertiary progressed Saturn which spent much of 2005 (through July) squaring natal Mercury, the ruler of Rove’s Midheaven, as the ever-threatening Fitzgerald investigation heated up, and now is about to make an eight-month crossing of natal Neptune, beginning in early December 2005.
Rove’s natal Neptune is at the “T” position in a powerful natal T-square that includes the Moon on one side and Venus and Mercury on the other. Rove, with his Machiavellian Scorpio rising square Pluto, has been able to brilliantly harness the inherent illusionist in the Neptune dominated T-square. For years, he has masterfully manipulated the image of reality in order to create the political message of choice for George Bush. Deceit and treachery without fingerprints is his forte. Now Saturn will subject Rove’s web of deceit (Neptune) to microscopic investigation over the next several months. The facts will weigh heavily on one side of the scales of justice across from a house of cards that is has already begun to implode. Watch for difficulties to intensify for Rove in November and December 2005 as he tries to without success to spin his way out of trouble, with problems continuing in this next chapter of the story through July 2006. Successive transits and progressions in late 2006 through 2009 suggest he will be intermittently dogged by limitations and difficulties during the coming years that may well render his glory days far behind him.
Scooter the Bard: It is now official that Scooter Libby is in deep, deep trouble with a five-count indictment hanging over his head for various counts of perjury, false statement, and obstruction of justice. Astrologically, this is a combination of Saturn crossing Libby’s Venus and squaring his Mars from September 2005 through early June 2006 and the current Uranus station quincunx Libby’s Venus from late September to early December 2005. Saturn over Venus brings feelings of sadness, loss, and grief which surely Scooter Libby is feeling right now as his life’s work collapses around him. Uranus has added a constant flow of sudden and unexpected upsets and agitation. Of note, is that his progressed Venus is currently, exactly, conjunct his natal Neptune. Thus, the self-deception and the slippery slope of deceiving others (Neptune) has been waxing for much of the past year right up to the actual indictments.
The coming year seems onerous for Libby, especially until June 2006, when Saturn begins to separate from Venus and the square to Mars. Converse Mercury will be square to natal Saturn from February through early August 2006, lending a serious, concerned, and somewhat anxious mood to his thoughts, and Pluto will be square to natal Mercury, also bringing concentration, seriousness and intensity to his thought process. One indication that events may change around June or July is that tertiary progressed Sun will be conjunct tertiary progressed Venus from June through September 2006. This will be a few months when great happiness could descend upon him, and with Saturn moving away at the same time, events could shift significantly in a way that favors Libby.
Thus, it is likely that both Cheney and Rove are not yet out of the woods, though it is not clear if it is the Fitzgerald investigation or other unfolding events that will continue the pressure upon them. Cheney, in particular, may have a very difficult time through December 2005. In many ways, it seems the entire administration has gone through a metamorphosis in the past year from raging tiger to limping, sick old mutt. Events around them grow ever more difficult and intractable, with little discernable change in direction or strategy. As predicted early in this presidential term, the current Inaugural chart bears many indications of a crippled and troubled four years. It is this that we are watching unfold.
