An American presidential administration is born every four years at high noon on January 20, give or take a few minutes. The birth chart which maps this moment indicates an intricate pattern of potential - for hope, accomplishment, and despair. Transiting and progressed aspects will wax and wane during this charted term, suggesting the triumphs, achievements, scandals, and failures of the highest elected leader of the land. Thus, the chart for a president’s inauguration, especially when read alongside the natal chart of the president and the chart for the United States, adds a great deal to the understanding of an administration and the timing of the events that define it.
The Inaugural chart for the second administration of George W. Bush is no exception. It differs markedly from the first, which was a study in audacity, aggression, and delusion. The 2005 Inaugural chart, in contrast, is, above all, marked by the inhibiting, frustrating, and limiting qualities of Saturn, as well as the prominent placement of the “wounded healer”, Chiron, indicative of a festering wound that pervades and blights every aspect of this presidency.
It takes little leap in imagination to see that Bush’s unprovoked and unnecessary war in Iraq is the wound that continues to decimate his tenure as chief executive, much like an untreatable malignancy. As it grows more virulent, more and more blood and treasure is sacrificed in an effort to turn the tide, but to no avail. In the 2005 Inaugural chart, Chiron sits in the 10th house within two degrees of the Midheaven, conjunct the Sun, opposed to Saturn, and square the Nodes. Hence, the “wound” it represents colors the reputation and impact of the administration (Midheaven), limits and thwarts its goals (the Sun), blocks its ability to move forward (the Nodes), and adds to its sense of stuckness and defeat (Saturn). Although these patterns pervade Bush’s entire presidency, the various progressions involving Chiron indicate the timing of its particular prominence and impact.
With the waxing progression of the Inaugural Midheaven conjunct natal Chiron (27Capricorn17) and progressed Chiron (27Capricorn28) from December 2005 through early February 2007, we see the growing sense that this costly and painful failure in Iraq with no really satisfying solution has become a blistering lesion on the body of this administration. The November 2006 elections succinctly confirmed the public’s growing discontent with this reality. From December 24, 2006, through January 23, 2007, transiting Uranus (12Pisces17) will be semisquare to Inaugural natal and progressed Chiron/progressed MC, agitating this problematic configuration and further illuminating the true nature of the wound caused by this war. The Jupiter transit square to transiting Uranus from January 18 to January 24 will further amplify this process. Although the Jupiter/Uranus square indicates a likely increase in aggression and renewed vigor from the US, the Chiron involvement in the Inaugural chart does not bode well for the administration. It is possible the impact of Uranus here will include an intensified rebellion against Bush’s war plans.
Although the planetary indications for March through mid-August 2007 suggest an increasingly aggressive George Bush administration likely attempting one final push in its misbegotten war (Uranus square to Inaugural Mars and quincunx Bush’s progressed Mars/natal Jupiter), there is a growing sense that the crippling “wound” of Chiron will extend to the Chief Executive himself. Beginning in April 2007 and continuing through the summer of 2008, tertiary progressed Chiron will be conjunct the Inaugural Sun (00Aquarius45), and, beginning in July 2007, solar arc progressed Chiron will also be conjunct Inaugural Sun, waxing though July 2008. Given that the Sun in the Inaugural chart specifically represents the president and his goals for the administration, these aspects imply that Bush will be increasingly consumed, restricted, and possibly dysfunctional due to his involvement in this war. The Uranus station from mid-September 2007 through mid-January 2008 semisquare the Inaugural Sun suggests a period of real crisis in this regard for the president.
Furthermore, the transiting Neptune/Saturn opposition (August 2006 through June 2007), as well as aspects from these two planets to Bush’s own chart, are also leaving their stamp on this presidency and may be seen as contributing to the growing crisis. From late February 2007 through November 2008, Neptune will be opposite Bush’s natal Venus (21Leo30) activating his propensity for self-delusion and grandiose, untethered thinking. Transiting Saturn, on the other hand, will be intermittently conjunct his natal Venus until late June 2007. Moreover, Bush’s tertiary progressed Saturn will be conjunct his natal Venus from April through December 2007. The Saturn/Venus element suggests depression, decreasing support, and painful frustration and restriction. This energy is largely incompatible with the magical thinking and self-delusion of Neptune/Venus. The latter reflects Bush’s religiosity, unrealistic expectations, and sense of divine mission. The former has more to do with the painful and problematic facts on the ground, which could directly challenge the religious/ideological belief system that supplies Bush with his rationalization for war. Balancing these two very disparate tendencies will be very stressful, and a looming crisis due to the inherent contradiction between them may be indicated by the strong Chiron/Inaugural Sun activation by Uranus from September 2007 through mid-January 2008.
Thus, many conflicting themes will be playing out simultaneously in 2007 and early 2008. The administration will become increasingly aggressive, while a quixotic Bush continues to battle the thorns of reality with the cobwebs of his dreams. The septic wound that Iraq has dealt his presidency is likely to increasingly weaken his effectiveness in many areas. It is possible things will improve somewhat in the summer of 2008, when Jupiter stations opposite Bush’s and the US Sun, but that will not be enough to save his presidency from the wastebasket of history.
