In order to extricate themselves from the inescapable Labyrinth of the Minotaur, the mythical Icarus and his father, Daedulus, ingeniously devised for themselves wings of feather and wax. Their plan was to fly off the steep cliffs of Crete and over the ocean to a distant and safe shore. Not listening to his father’s warnings, however, Icarus, ascended far too near the immortal Sun god’s burning heat. As a result, the fragile waxen glue of his wings melted, and the heedless Icarus fell into the sea and was heard from no more.
This story speaks to us of those who, in their personal feelings of exaltation, ignore warnings and feel themselves invincible in the face of tremendous odds, those who see themselves as worthy of commerce with the gods and forget they are subject to the laws of Earth. Inevitably, disaster results. A clear parallel can be seen in the actions of the Bush administration in recent years, an administration that has set itself above and beyond both international and American law in its “preemptive” military actions and its abusive treatment of prisoners.
Perhaps the faltering Icarus realized his folly and attempted belatedly to descend from the heights. It may be that George Bush has chosen a similar path. After three years of reckless endangerment of the nation’s economic, military, and moral standing, Bush has lately been showing some signs of much-needed compromise. Significant concessions from the US government can now be found in the recent UN resolution concerning Iraq. After much resistance, it seems we have actually agreed to let the interim government govern, at least to some degree. Bush has also made some significant gestures of reconciliation to allied governments, suggesting he is beginning to understand the concept of multilateralism. But unfortunately, the monstrous hole he and his administration have been bulldozing since January 2001 is now so wide, so deep, and so engulfing, that escape from the pit seems close to impossible.
article on cbsnews.com last week, it was stated that the other members of the United Nations have lost all faith in the government of George Bush and are desperately hoping that John Kerry will defeat him in November. Moreover, a recent Washington Post article described a rebellion against the White House that is taking place in Congress. Republican legislators have been expressing their defiance of an out-of-control administration by reinvigorating their oversight function and demanding fiscal accountability. In addition, the Republican Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Senator John Warner, is conducting an investigation into the prison abuse scandal, despite the administration’s opposition. And recently, a non-partisan group of top diplomats and foreign policy leaders has joined together to express its dismay with the current White House’s failed national security and foreign policies, unprecedentedly calling for Bush’s ouster. In short, this administration has reaped such a harvest of anger, resentment, and disrespect throughout the nation and the world due to its bullying, controlling and short-sighted agenda, that its recent attempts at compromise are likely to prove to be too little, too late.What we have been looking at astrologically is Saturn conjunct the US Sun and George Bush’s Sun. As the vise of Saturn got ever tighter, the prison abuse scandal metastasized from “a few bad apples” to torture memos approved at the “highest levels” of government. In addition, despite Bush’s recent compromises in the UN resolution, he was not able to get any commitment of increased troop levels from allies, no troops from NATO, and no significant debt reduction for Iraq.
The thread running through all of Saturn’s actions is an often-forced acknowledgement of the boundaries necessitated by our humble earthly life. When we cross these boundaries, becoming too aggressive, too greedy, too grasping for power or control, Saturn forces us back to an appropriate interaction, sometimes quite painfully. As the United States government under George Bush has attempted to expand its power too far, acted with too much belligerence, arrogance, and insensitivity, and been generally irresponsible, the energy of Saturn has come in to shrink things down to an acceptable size. The UN resolution is an example of the White House being forced to pare down its grandiose and overreaching goals in Iraq, coming as it did just as the Saturn energy was at its height. The flaunting of international law and the American Constitution in the prison abuse scandal is also meeting up with the Saturnian insistence on accountability and appropriate behavior.
Despite the seeming respite of a small post-Reagan hiccough in the polls, the trend has been generally downward for Bush the Younger, and this is likely to continue. The next challenging wave, in late June and the first half of July, may have to do with difficulties surrounding Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and the prison abuse/torture policy scandal. A further unraveling in Iraq just past the June 30 transition in power is also quite possible at this juncture. Saturn will be conjunct the Bush/Rumsfeld composite Sun from June 22 through 29, suggesting some tensions in their relationship and a thwarting of their shared goals. This will then be followed by Saturn square to Bush’s Moon (6/29 – 7/7) and Jupiter (7/11 – 7/18), as well as conjunct Rumsfeld’s Sun (7/6 – 7/14). This combination of aspects indicates that Bush will be upset and somewhat depressed by events, and Rumsfeld will be forced in some way to take responsibility and humble himself. Although It seems doubtful he will resign, this would be the most likely time when it could occur. Recently, George Tenet has been under a similar aspect, Saturn opposed to his Sun, during which he announced his retirement amidst great criticism directed at his role in the colossal intelligence failures of 9/11, missing WMD’s, and the post-war Iraq debacle.
The only aspect from which George Bush may derive some protection from the general aura of failure that is surrounding his administration is his progressed Venus conjunction to progressed Jupiter, which reaches its peak around August 11, 2004, after which it will begin to wane. This popularity and success-inducing aspect was given a small boost by transiting Mars from June 14 through 16, which is roughly when the “Reagan bump” helped Bush inch a notch back up in the polls. Transiting Venus will also stimulate this beneficial aspect slightly from June 20 to 22 and July 1 to July 6. It may be that Bush will be in Crawford or Kennebunkport around the July 4th holiday, enjoying the indulgence of his supporters (progressed Venus/Jupiter) but still struggling with the difficult issues described by the simultaneous Saturn square to his Moon. It is worth noting that former President George H. W. Bush’s chart also shows significant strain in July, with Saturn square his Moon and conjunct his Venus, as well as Uranus square his Midheaven. Whether this has to do with significant challenges in the former president’s life or relates to his concerns about or disagreements with his son is not clear.
Another interesting configuration of current import is the movement of Neptune, the planet of deceit and obfuscation, square to the Inaugural Ascendant, waxing through June. The recent attempts by both Bush and Cheney to
spin the 9/11 Commission’s findings are the most striking example of this energy. Although the Commission has very clearly stated that there was no collaboration between Saddam and al Qaida, our Chief Executive and his sidekick are still insisting that there was, despite all evidence to the contrary.We can expect increasing attempts to blur the boundary between truth and fantasy as the various issues of prisoner torture, instability in Iraq, the Plame investigation, and economic factors gain prominence in the next months. Neptune will be moving from its square to the Inaugural Ascendant into a quincunx with Bush'’s Sun and the US Sun and back again, from now through January 2005. These aspects point to an administration that will continue to play loosely with the facts, attempting to hide and obscure the ramifications of its failures and its culpability. Although the major misdeeds of the Bush White House may be in the past, from the egregious tax cuts to the dishonest war and its inept aftermath, the repercussions of these policies will continue to generate problems in the months and years ahead. And it is likely that the Bush administration will continue to dig the pit of its own destruction by its flagrant and increasingly obvious dishonesty and its inability to accept responsibility for its many devastating mistakes.
