No surprise here - the Democrats have chosen to stage their March 6th debate in Flint, Michigan.
How has NAFTA impacted today’s toxic mix of economic malaise, crumbling infrastructure, and “environmental racism” in older U.S. cities like Flint? Let's consider the astrology!
How has NAFTA impacted today’s toxic mix of economic malaise, crumbling infrastructure, and “environmental racism” in older U.S. cities like Flint? Let's consider the astrology!
Michigan news rarely
goes national, much less global, but the news these days out of Flint, Michigan
has tragically defied those odds. In a January post (see listings at right) I
covered the basics of the so-called Flint Water Crisis—the callous, state budget-driven
poisoning of city water with lead, and the resulting health crisis—but this
story continues to evolve with more troubling revelations
and developments, adding to its critical importance in the March 8 primary
elections.
Both Democratic candidates
have been busy courting Flint voters—Clinton has worked with city officials and
allies from the state and federal levels to craft her
plan for Flint going forward. Her lengthy Feb. 8 interview about Flint with
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow closely preceded the New Hampshire primary, where it may
not have resonated, but Clinton has since gained the endorsement of Flint Mayor,
Karen Weaver, and Bill and Chelsea Clinton have kept the Clinton agenda alive
in Flint. Importantly, the ads we’re seeing that feature Hillary meeting with
Flint residents about the crisis are grounded
in truth—she’s been there, done that, repeatedly.
For his part, Sanders
called for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s resignation
over the crisis way back in January when the story broke, and since then he has
gained traction in the 57% African-American Flint community. As he does often, Sanders
chooses to address the broader, structural economic issues that he claims produce
the crises and injustices we’re seeing in Flint and elsewhere. Importantly for
the March 6 debate, Sanders has been highlighting the damage done by our
national “free trade” policies—Bill Clinton-supported agreements such as
NAFTA and CAFTA—that have robbed cities like Flint of thousands of middle class
jobs and gutted the city tax base, with predictable effects (Flint being taken
over by an “emergency manager” for years is a major part of the problem here).
It will be interesting
to hear how Clinton answers these concerns in the debate, and to what extent Sanders
is tapping into a past astrological moment that’s come back to haunt us. To
explore this astrological puzzle, I’ve cast a biwheel setting Bill Clinton’s
signing of the NAFTA Implementation Act (December 8, 1993) against the Flint
Debate scheduled for March 6, 8 p.m. How has that signature moment in Clinton’s
presidency and the “Roaring ‘90s” impacted today’s toxic mix of economic
malaise, crumbling infrastructure, and “environmental
racism” in older U.S. cities like Flint? (biwheel below)
Interchart T-square: Debate
Sun-Chiron-So. Node (Pisces) opposition to Debate Jupiter-No. Node (Virgo) squares
Debate Saturn conjoined NAFTA Sun-Mars (all Sagittarius). This transiting Jupiter-Node-Chiron
complex in mutable Virgo-Pisces has been a constant in 2016 politics, but
it’s particularly powerful here, binding together today’s environmental crises (Virgo-Pisces)
and social justice (Saturn-Jupiter) issues with startling exactitude. Both Hillary
Clinton and Bernie Sanders have labeled the Flint crisis a “moral issue,” which
certainly fits here, but Sanders’ view that NAFTA and similar agreements have
created the current unjust situation also reflects the Sun-Saturn involvement
in this powerful t-square.
Debate Uranus (Aries)
squares Debate Pluto, which conjoins NAFTA Uranus-Neptune (Capricorn). It’s important to
remember that NAFTA, and economic globalization more broadly, are the offspring
of the Uranus-Neptune cycle that kicked off in February 1991 at 19°+Capricorn, furthering Reagan’s anti-regulation, conservative
agenda. So it’s not surprising that before Clinton was elected in 1992, president
George H.W. Bush had already promoted the preliminary stages of the
NAFTA agreement. Bill Clinton merely finished what had been started, moving
Democratic policies firmly to the center—where they’ve been ever since—in the
process.
Still square Uranus, transiting
Pluto is now catching up to that significant 19th degree in
Capricorn, which suggests that the
agreement is increasingly toxic and primed for a shake-up (if not a take-down).
While Clinton appears ready to slap more regulations on corporate outsourcing, price-gouging and Cayman Islands tax havens, Sanders goes for the jugular with NAFTA, which
is perhaps more in tune with the Uranus-Pluto square.
On another note, this complex
also speaks to the volatility we’re seeing on Wall Street lately. NAFTA and
globalization in general worked to eliminate structural barriers (Capricorn Neptune)
to global capital flows. This opening of the flood gates (Neptune) has
overwhelmingly accrued to Wall Street’s benefit (Capricorn) and to the
detriment of local economies. Hence, the steep “income inequality” and anxieties
about financial security we’re grappling with today on both sides of the political divide.
Debate Moon-Venus
conjoins NAFTA Saturn (Aquarius), which is in mutual reception with NAFTA Uranus
(Capricorn). The
restructuring of national trade policies to feed Wall Street was powerfully
implemented by Saturn, disposing Uranus-Neptune in Cap and basically rendering globalization
an “inevitable” phenomenon via the mutual reception. Neptune’s contribution has
been seen in the waves of corporate buy-outs, downsizing, right-sizing and off-shoring
that ensued in the decades since NAFTA took hold (we’re still in the first
quarter of this new Uranus-Neptune cycle). A Neptunian “leveling out” of global wages has
resulted, producing the downward pressure on wages and the wage stagnation we've been living with since the 1990s.
The interesting convergence of Debate Moon-Venus with this powerful NAFTA Saturn suggests that the impacts of globalization on everyday people will be an issue in the debate. Clinton’s own 22°+Pisces Moon may be emotionally ill-at-ease with any debate questions on this topic (the conversations at home on this issue must be lively!).
The interesting convergence of Debate Moon-Venus with this powerful NAFTA Saturn suggests that the impacts of globalization on everyday people will be an issue in the debate. Clinton’s own 22°+Pisces Moon may be emotionally ill-at-ease with any debate questions on this topic (the conversations at home on this issue must be lively!).
Debate Saturn squares
Debate Neptune (Pisces) and trines Debate Uranus. We’ve seen how Debate
Saturn ties into the powerful mutable t-square between these charts; here we
see how that connection draws the heavier movers and shakers into
the fray. Not only is Saturn within 30 degrees of its new cycle with Pluto
(exact at 22°+Capricorn in 1/2020),
but its cycles with Neptune and Uranus are also quite active at this point. The
clashing agendas of Saturn-Neptune and Saturn-Uranus reflect today’s political
chaos—the first wants to dissolve structures and “collectivize” (as in Sanders’
more “socialist” leaning policies); the second wants to promote more individualistic,
but ultimately authoritarian structures (the so-called corporate oligarchy
feels at home here).
My thanks to
astrologer Shane Ward for reminding his readers that Saturn-Pluto’s system-destroying
agenda envelops and channels what happens with these other Saturn cycles. This
says to me that it’s possible capitalism itself will have a new face come 2020.
Ward also reminds us that the task of “ushering out the old order” may be the
reason younger candidates are not gaining traction this year.
Debate Jupiter (Virgo)
disposes Debate Sagittarius and Pisces placements (Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Sun,
Chiron). Jupiter
wields quite a bit of clout in the Debate chart through these dispositorships, which—with
the Node and Chiron’s involvement—feels a lot like a warning. We need to “get
it right” this election (Virgo)—now, if we
can just figure out what that means!
A story for all of us, and it’s just getting started…
Despite the chaos and
flat-out craziness of Election 2016, the fact that Flint’s crisis would occupy
political center-stage for the Dems’ debate is a definite positive. As one
article put it, the Flint crisis exists at “the intersection of race,
socioeconomics and environmental issues,” and this is not unique to Flint—it’s happening around the country! This view
will undoubtedly inform the debate for both Clinton and Sanders.
March 3 at the Fox...
March 3 at the Fox...
At a significant 1-1/2
hour distance from Flint, this week’s Republican debate is taking place in Detroit’s
ornate Fox Theater, where the discourse is likely to be more about the
intersection of crass, cruel and absurd. Will we see Donald Trump in Flint?
Raye Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former university English instructor. A graduate of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane, collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs, culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as education and health. Several of her articles on these topics have been featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the years. Raye can be contacted by comment here, or at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2016. All rights reserved.
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