“I
don’t think it is possible to contribute to the present moment in any
meaningful way while being wholly engulfed by it. It is only by stepping out of
it, by taking a telescopic perspective, that we can then dip back in and do the
work which our time asks of us.” –
Maria Popova
Maria Popova
I am struck this week by how much of the news has highlighted the
personal characters and qualities of public figures. Actor/comedian Bill Cosby,
former FBI Director James Comey and his beleaguered former Deputy, Andrew
McCabe, new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump’s personal lawyer Michael
Cohen and his fleetingly embarrassed “third client,” Fox opinionator, Sean
Hannity, the stolid U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Facebook and founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and of course, former
First Lady, Barbara Bush.
Breaking news: we woke up this morning (4/27) to find that the leaders
of North and South Korea are in the news for taking new steps toward peace and
an end to the Korean divide. This will be an unfolding story, of course (and
the jury is definitely out on what their historic meeting at the DMZ was really
about today), but it has taken commitment and character of some kind to break
through the decades of belligerent stand-off since the Korean Armistice in
1953. Sometimes, from the discord sown by Eris comes a fresh new look at her mythological, but equally feminine opposite, Harmonia?
 |
| Harmonia |
To my eye, this week’s cosmic theme seems to be that individual character qualities matter in
collective life. Barbara Bush’s passing was a beautiful reminder of this:
she captured more than our attention this past couple weeks; with her passing,
we were reminded that—love the Bush family or not—she was the backbone of a family that made a difference in our
American life, and in many ways an inspiring spiritual warrior.
Barbara Bush injected depth,
authenticity and heart into our public discourse, qualities we are sorely
missing today. She reminded us that it’s possible to be aggressive and deeply
ambitious without sinking into rank corruption. That it’s possible to rise without
grinding the dignity of others under your heels. That public service matters, and—through her deep commitment
to the tradition of noblesse oblige—that
those who are most blessed, are duty
bound to make life better for everyone else.
I say this as one who suffered through both Bush presidencies—that of
Barbara’s husband of 74 years, George H.W. Wallace Bush (in office 1993-1997),
and of her son, George W. Bush (in office 2001-2009). These are stories for
another day, however—very important
stories in regards to mundane astrology—but today, let’s just celebrate that
the Bush family matriarch evoked our better angels for a time. Not
surprisingly, her natal chart indicates a dominant and richly-aspected Eris
position—more on that to come.
Eris—the dwarf planet discovered in January, 2005 that astrologers are still getting to know—is considered by researcher Henry Seltzer to be the archetypal spiritual warrior. His remarkable study, entitled The Tenth Planet: Revelations from the Astrological Eris[1] provides a comprehensive introduction to Eris’s role, and I recommend it highly.
Named after the goddess of discord and strife, and sister to Ares (god
of war), Eris was known as Xena for a while. Seltzer likens Eris
to Pluto
in several regards (both points are found in the far reaches of our solar
system), but he emphasizes the essential willingness to do battle:
“The astrology of
Eris seems to be related to the no-holds-barred fight for continued existence
that is fundamental in all natural processes, and for making a stand for what
one believes, even if violence is involved. As the sister of Mars [Ares], Eris
willingly sought the battle…Eris is related to this principle of necessary
harshness in nature to achieve a life-enhancing goal—and to the concept of the
female warrior that embodies it—and especially to the feminist struggle for
survival rights in a patriarchal society.”[2]
We certainly witnessed Eris at work this week in the guilty
verdict brought down at Bill Cosby’s trial—much more on that ahead. The broader
point we can take from Seltzer’s work and what we’re seeing in the news these
days, however, is that we must consider Eris as both a personal and a collective influence. It takes
courageous individual women to create a strong, enduring feminist “MeToo”
movement, or to confront patriarchy and win.
Eris’s
energies are in no way
reserved solely for women, however: men are also challenged to integrate her
spirit and grit into their lives in constructive, life-affirming ways. Does
this mean they must learn to “fight like a girl?” They should be so lucky!
I would argue that to embrace our inner Eris is to feel out
instinctively where the personal and collective imperatives overlap in our
lives, and to decide where we are compelled take a principled stand, come what
may. How many vibrant collective initiatives get their start with one person’s
personal pain or dilemma? Over decades, seemingly unrelated collective
initiatives tend to coalesce into tangible shifts in societal norms and
culture, and over the even longer term we see that the zeitgeist, or “spirit”
of our times, evolves.
Not everyone likes the direction that change takes us, of course; we
can almost always count on both active and passive resistance. Needless to say,
there are those who end up on the receiving
end of an Erisian spiritual warrior’s quest. Today (4/26) was a perfect
case-in-point: comedian Bill Cosby’s defense team tried very hard to defend him
from sexual assault charges by brutalizing the reputation of plaintiff Andrea
Constand, but this time they didn't succeed.
Thankfully, Constand stood her Erisian ground and experienced much
greater support: first, by other victims of similar assaults, and second, by the court, in the
number of similarly-assaulted women allowed to testify. This represents a new direction for sexual assault cases, against prominent perpetrators.
Stunningly, today, with Eris transiting conjunct Cosby’s
late Aries Ascendant, t-squared his Jupiter-Pallas opposition to Mercury-Pluto
(Capricorn-Cancer) and inconjoined his Mars (Scorpio)—see Biwheel
#1 below—Cosby was convicted on all three counts brought against him by
Constand. It certainly helped that Pluto and Mars (Capricorn) were
transiting conjunct Cosby’s Jupiter, that Jupiter was transiting
conjunct his Mars and—the coup de grace—that Saturn (Capricorn) was
also transiting square his natal Eris-Saturn conjunction (Aries).
Clearly, it was time for
accountability. Cosby has simply used his public stature, image and appeal to
sexually victimize women, and Eris wasn’t about to give that a
pass this time around.
Biwheel #1: (inner wheel)
Bill Cosby, July 12, 1937, 12:30 a.m. DST, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (rated
B: bio/autobiography); (outer wheel) Cosby Guilty
Verdict, April 26, 2018, 2:00 p.m. DST (news report), Norristown, PA. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Cosby’s deeply toxic, narcissistic use of power (enabled by a powerful Jupiter-Pluto
“Old Boy’s Network”) has clearly poisoned an otherwise immensely blessed and
influential life. We might expect such an intense upheaval with transiting Pluto
and Uranus tying into his natal Cancer-Capricorn oppositions (which
include Pluto in Cancer). Uranus is exactly square his natal Pluto;
transiting Eris exactly squares his natal Mercury: he’s simply
caught in a bind of his own making. A karmic comeuppance that’s been a long time in the making.
Bottom line, Cosby’s case illustrates the personal/collective nature of
Eris-inspired
spiritual warriorship to a tee.
As prominent attorney Gloria Allred commented on behalf of the dozens
of alleged Cosby victims she
represents, “justice has been done!!” One Cosby accuser celebrating the verdict cried that “her
faith in humanity has been restored”—a richly-deserved sentiment after such an
epic Erisian drama. In fact, she made a very prescient “Erisian” point when she
borrowed Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous observation by saying that “the arc of
the moral universe is long, but today it has bent towards justice.”
To my mundane astrologer’s ear, this “long arc” sounds like the
“telescopic perspective” that brilliant culture critic/writer Maria Popova recommends we need—to “contribute to the present moment in any
meaningful way” without “being wholly
engulfed by it.” As we’re seeing, Eris may offer that long-term
culture-warrior energy we need.
What a day
In fact, today was a big day for Erisian battles—it didn’t hurt that Mars and
Pluto
conjoined in Capricorn, helping to bend that “longer arc” of events! We
don’t have to agree with every Erisian warrior’s quest, of course, for this to
apply: as we’ll see in his chart, Mike Pompeo certainly qualifies as a warrior, and he was confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State today, against what
seemed for weeks to be long odds. Pompeo is taking over for the ousted Rex
Tillerson, who apparently wasn’t hawkish enough for Trump. Unfortunately
(IMHO), Pompeo has an over-the-top hawkish reputation, so we are entering a new
era in American diplomacy with him at the helm.
Let’s take a quick look at his noon chart (no exact time available),
next to a 5 p.m. chart for the April 26th Senate confirmation notice in the news.
Precise angles and Moon placement aside, these charts do speak to Eris’s
influence. We will also see how prominent transiting Mars and
Pluto
(Capricorn) were in today’s confirmation.
Biwheel #2: (inner wheel) Michael
Pompeo, December 30, 1963, 12:00 p.m. ST (no time known), Orange, CA (Wikipedia source);
(outer wheel) Pompeo State Dep’t. Confirmation, April 26, 2018, 5:00
p.m. (approximate time, gleaned from news reports) DST, Washington, D.C.. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Interchart T-square: Confirmation Saturn conjoins Pompeo Sun (Capricorn) and opposes Pompeo
No. Node (possibly Moon, Cancer); this axis squares Confirmation Mercury
conjoined Pompeo Eris-Jupiter (Aries). Pompeo just took on responsibilities in the State Department that will
age him precipitously (only the most energetic and hearty need apply)—we can
see the weight of that here, with Saturn’s placement. We can’t know
for sure how his Moon figures into this (it would have traveled from
approximately 6°-20° Cancer that day), but from the way he doggedly pursued confirmation
(even making a surprise visit to North Korea in the process), I’d guess that Pluto
and Mars are transiting opposite these days.
It makes sense that Confirmation Mercury would trigger
his ambitious, committed Jupiter-Eris conjunction as well: Mercury
is the envoy and the go-between, and that is the role Pompeo will play
for Trump going forward. Seltzer has some thoughts on Eris in aspect to Jupiter
that also fit well here:
“…you project an air
of friendly optimism and self-assurance, which could perhaps turn aggressive or
dogmatic at times…You are terrific at self-promotion, public relations, and
politics, and are able to promote others as well, as long as you feel in
alignment with where the work is coming from…You sometimes just go for it, in
spite of what others might consider to be the rules.”[3]
We were surprised, perhaps, when Pompeo just “went for it” with North
Korea, despite his lack of official stature at the time. Clearly, he feels
aligned with Trump’s foreign policy aims, and they apparently have great
personal rapport—something that’s easy to see between their charts.
Of the two, I would give Pompeo the upper hand when it comes to strategic
thinking—with his Aries Jupiter opposed Trump’s Libra Neptune and square
his Cancer
Mercury, and with a more potent Scorpio Neptune himself, Pompeo knows
how to tap into Trump’s insecurities (trine Cancer Saturn-Venus) and how
to either frustrate or push Trump’s erratic tendencies (inconjunct Gemini
Uranus, disposed by that insecure Mercury).
It’ll be very interesting to see how this relationship evolves and what
that means for our foreign relations going forward. I would hazard a guess from
looking at his chart that Pompeo could have presidential ambitions—he might be
looking to use the Secretary of State position as a launching pad, where
Clinton wasn’t able to!
Confirmation
Mars-Pluto (Capricorn) conjoins Pompeo Mercury-Mars (Capricorn), sextiles
(separately) Pompeo Saturn (Aquarius) and Pompeo Neptune (Scorpio), squares
Confirmation Eris-Uranus (Aries) and trines Pompeo Pluto (Virgo). As noted earlier, Pompeo’s Cancer
Moon may also fall opposite the Capricorn points and square Aries
Eris-Uranus
here.
In any case, we see a tough-minded individual in all this, being given
a deeply ambitious, aggressive and potentially
volatile job to do. Pompeo has both a military and an intelligence background
(graduated from West Point, went on to head the CIA under Trump), probably the
reason many felt he deserved confirmation, despite some reservations with his
bellicose mind-set (Mercury-Mars). He certainly has the
“tough guy” demeanor that Trump wants to project abroad, and with a fixed Aquarius
Saturn disposing his Capricorn planets, he’s as hard-edged as they
come. The question is, does any of this speak to diplomatic skills? “My way or the highway” doesn’t cut it!
Eris and the long perspective
Because Eris has a very eccentric orbit and takes approximately 556
years to orbit the Sun, it stays in one sign a very long time. Most people alive
today therefore have an Aries Eris in their nativities: Eris entered Aries in
April, 1924, and will remain there until May 2045, 121 years later. Only those
aged 94+ years today have Eris in Pisces—clearly Eris influences the tone of
human civilization for very long stretches of time. Since our forefathers
declared their independence from Britain in 1776, Eris has transited from
Capricorn into late Aries—completing less than half an orbit in approximately
242 years.
So, to understand Eris’s influence on society and our
times, we need to take a very long perspective that transcends one political
regime or presidential administration, that “telescopic perspective”
that allows us to distill the best of human civilizations and to offer that to future generations (and perhaps
our Cosmic neighbors) as one hopeful legacy.
Popova references NASA’s 1977 Voyager
mission (charged with photographing distant planets in our solar system) as
an example of this perspective. She particularly highlights the so-called
“Golden Records” project then envisioned as part of the mission by beloved
astrophysicist Carl Sagan. Popova explains its intent best, while reflecting on
an ancient Bulgarian folk song that Sagan included in the Record:
“Carl Sagan, who envisioned the Golden Record, had precisely that in mind
— he saw the music
selection as something that would say about us what no words or
figures could ever say, for the stated objective of the Golden Record was to
convey our essence as a civilization to some other civilization — one that
surmounts the enormous improbabilities of finding this tiny spacecraft adrift
amid the cosmic infinitude, of having the necessary technology to decode its
message and the necessary consciousness to comprehend it.
But the record’s unstated objective, which I see as the far more
important one, was to mirror what is best of humanity back to itself in the
middle of the Cold War, at a time when we seemed to have forgotten who we are
to each other and what it means to share this fragile, symphonic planet.”
The folk song was a soul-stirring addition to the Record’s sonic greeting to the
Universe—recorded on a golden disk—an apt medium for this hopeful outreach. But
the song choice also captures the dark impulses and agendas that mark human
history, as well: its origins go back to the painful five centuries of
oppression that Bulgarians endured under the Ottoman Empire from 1396 to 1878. Violence,
suffering, hope, determination, defiance and resilience…a mix of these
sensibilities permeate this song. If
Sagan’s intent was to convey a range of human emotions and survival challenges all in one song, he
chose very well.
Considering the powerful female
voices in the recording—Popova tells us that the song was traditionally sung by
shepherdesses—we might say that Sagan’s choice evoked the “telescopic perspective” on
humanity that Eris captures astrologically.
Eris
evokes the female spiritual warrior, a being that radiates profound
grit in defense of her charges (sheep, family, society, ideals, etc.), grace
under difficult circumstances, and a deep understanding of Nature and its
survival imperatives. Eris shares this latter
understanding with Pluto, clearly: we’ll consider more about the relationship
between these two ahead.
Not surprisingly, Eris is prominent in the charts
of many public officials mentioned in the
news these days, and we certainly see her fingerprints on a lot of the chaos in D.C. Eris has been transiting conjunct Uranus (Aries) for the
greater part of two years and will continue within orb through the rest of this
year. This has left a definite mark on our national psyche (Uranus disposes our Sibly Moon--"we the People").
Eris
is also transiting
square Pluto (Capricorn) as well, and will do so for a long time to
come. If we allowed the very wide 15° orb that Seltzer employs (apparently
following Richard Tarnas’ example), Eris would continue conjoining Uranus for quite awhile to come as well. I
prefer to work with the traditional 8° maximum orb until I’ve had a chance to
do more research on Eris’s reach, so that’s what we’ll do here.
One way or another, it looks like Election 2018 will, indeed, be
another chaotic mess, yet things may begin stabilizing considerably once Uranus
finds firmer “ground” in Taurus around that time (it will still be Rx,
moving back into the sign, after first ingressing in May). In the meantime,
Erisians—those with potent, heavily-aspected natal Eris positions—are
reinventing American society even as we speak. A table showing such chart
positions among today’s newsmakers will illustrate; then we’ll consider a
couple chart examples.
Table 1. The Eris aspect profiles of public figures in the news.*
Public
figures/
Aspects
|
Eris-Sun
|
Eris-Moon
|
Eris-Mercury
|
Eris-Venus
|
Eris-Mars
|
Eris-Jupiter
|
Eris-Saturn
|
Eris-Uranus
|
Eris-Neptune
|
Eris-Pluto
|
Eris-Chiron
|
Barbara Bush
|
sq
|
tri
|
quint
|
con
|
|||||||
Donald Trump
|
sq
|
opp
|
tri
|
opp (wide)
|
|||||||
Mike Pompeo
|
sq
|
n/a
|
ssext
|
con
|
incon
|
incon (wide)
|
ssext
|
||||
Sean Hannity
|
sq
|
n/a
|
sq (wide)
|
sq
|
sq
|
sext
|
incon
|
incon
|
|||
Nikki Haley
|
n/a
|
sq
|
con
|
opp
|
tri
|
con
|
|||||
James Comey
|
n/a
|
tri
|
sext
|
sq
|
sq
|
sq (wide)
|
sesqui
|
incon
|
incon
|
||
Andrew McCabe
|
n/a
|
sesqui
|
con
|
||||||||
Facebook IPO
|
n/a
|
ssext (wide)
|
sext
|
sext
|
opp
|
ssq
|
|||||
Mark Zuckerberg
|
n/a
|
ssext
|
incon
|
sq
|
incon
|
tri
|
ssq
|
*Please
note that this chart only details the major planetary positions and Ptolemaic
aspects; clearly, asteroids and minor aspects may certainly play a role in the
Eris-related dynamics these individuals experience.
“I don’t get confused.”
In keeping with the feminine “spiritual warrior” archetype
characteristic of Eris, it makes sense here to consider United Nations’
Ambassador Nikki Haley’s chart and Eris profile a bit more deeply. Table 1 above shows the major aspects
her natal Eris makes with the rest of her chart, so whether we agree with
her entire agenda or not, we can see that she’s a warrior. Let’s consider her
noon chart (no time availabe) quickly:
Chart #1: Nikki Haley, (née
Nimrata Randhawa) January 20, 1972, 12:00 p.m. ST (Wikipedia source, noon chart, no exact time
available), Bamberg, So. Carolina. Tropical
Equal Houses, True Node.
Disassociate Grand Trine: Sun (Capricorn) trines Saturn (Taurus)
trines Pluto (Libra). Grand
trines often discourage serious effort because the energy flows so easily, but
this case being "out of sign" is probably an exception. Haley’s dignified Jupiter (Sagittarius) is
her chart’s final dispositor, so she’s very well-placed in an ambassadorship,
especially to the U.N., and she has earned high praise for her performance in
that position. The grand trine in question here bolsters her success and image
as a professional with high integrity (Taurus Saturn disposes Capricorn
Sun) and diplomatic skills (Libra Pluto).
Venus
(Pisces) disposes Taurus Saturn and Libra Pluto; Venus squares Neptune
(Sagittarius). Haley has
a nice circuit of energy that plays Venus, Saturn and Jupiter
(disposing Neptune and dignified in Sagittarius) off each other—probably
why she (borrowing from Teddy Roosevelt) can “speak softly and carry a big
stick.” She carries her idealism (Neptune) well and projects
confidence that if something should be
done, it can be done. And, as we
found out in the past couple weeks, she is no
pushover, and nobody’s doormat.
When Trump pulled a fast one on her by
changing plans for the new Russian sanctions (in the wake of chemical attacks
in Syria) that she had announced—without telling her about the change—then sending
White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow out to rhetorically pat her on the
head and say “there must have been some confusion,” her now famous retort was, “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”
Kudlow has since
apologized, but in that moment Haley’s inner Eris-Chiron-Mars conjunction
(Aries) was
clearly bristling: the “Old Boy’s Network” does not want to make an enemy of her.
It’s notable that Saturn has been transiting in early
Capricorn, t-squaring her Aries-Libra
oppositions (Eris-Chiron to the Pluto/Uranus midpoint). Mars opposes
Uranus-Juno
(Libra) on its own, adding grit to Haley’s character and suggesting
that she knows how to keep the upper hand in important relationships. She is an
Erisian warrior, no doubt: IMHO, her talents are somewhat squandered on Trump’s
agenda, but then she may be projecting integrity into our foreign relations
where Trump is incapable of doing so.
From her retort to Kudlow, we know how she
feels about being second-guessed or going back on her word about anything!
James Comey’s firing & Trump’s latest
tweet
If we’re looking for causes for Eris to champion, wrestling Trump’s
phone from him in the wee hours of the morning before he starts tweeting his
spleen out would be a good one. This morning (4/27), as they do nearly every morning, his
tweets picked on former FBI Director, James Comey. Comey recently released his
account of what transpired between him and Trump before Trump fired him on May
9, 2017, and as might be expected, the book is a NYTimes bestseller.
Comey’s firing triggered what is now known as the Mueller investigation
into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and into the Trump campaign’s
possible involvement in that interference, so a lot has happened since last May, and Comey’s story is an important
piece of the puzzle. Factions of the GOP (such as the House Intelligence
Committee under Rep. Devin Nunes) and the Trump-friendly press (i.e., Fox & Friends and buddy Sean Hannity) have been doing their best to tear
Comey, the FBI and the entire Justice Department down ever since his firing,
but have accelerated their efforts since the book release.
So, with the battle to protect himself and the agency he ran, and to
get his side of the story out, Comey has had his hands full since being fired.
We probably shouldn’t be surprised that his chart shows deep and stressful
connections between Eris and several of his other planets (see Table 1 above). When he was first fired in May, 2017, I discussed
Comey’s situation in the context of the U.S. Sibly chart’s progressed lunar
cycle (click here), but here we’ll consider how it reflects upon
his Eris-driven
quest.
Just the title of his book, A
Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies & Leadership, tells us that Comey sees himself as
protecting the truth and as standing for high, professional standards in
leadership. Comey is controversial for good reason (I definitely questioned his
judgment during Election 2016 and his handling of Clinton’s email server case),
but as a life-long public servant, he would probably know much more about loyalty,
truth-telling and honorable leadership standards than Trump ever will. So,
let’s consider a biwheel between Comey’s noon chart (no time known) and a timed
chart for his firing (based on news reports of the day).
Biwheel #3: (inner wheel) James
Brien Comey, Jr., December 14, 1960, 12:00 p.m. ST (noon, no time known),
Yonkers, NY; (outer wheel) Comey firing, May 9, 2017, 5:05 p.m. DST (news
reports), Washington, DC. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Interchart Grand Trine: Firing Saturn (Rx, Sagittarius) conjoins Comey Sun (Sagittarius) and
trines Firing Eris-Mercury-Uranus (Aries), which trines Comey Uranus (Leo). It should also be noted that Comey’s Uranus
conjoins Trump’s belligerent Leo Mars-ASC, so this fiery circuit
of energy swept both of them up that day. You might recall that there was
immediate controversy over the Trump administration’s flagrant disregard for
norms in this firing, so the element of surprise (shock-Uranus) was real that
day. Trump didn’t simply want to let Comey go with a pat on the back and an
anodyne farewell announcement—he wanted to tear Comey apart from the get-go.
Comey himself describes two possible reasons for his dismissal: he had
refused to swear loyalty to Trump when he asked him to; he had refused to let
the FBI’s investigation into Paul Manafort’s dealings with Russia just go, as
Trump expressed hope he would. “Showboat” or not (Trump’s nickname for him),
Comey did the right thing in the first instance: the Justice Department is supposed to operate free of Executive
influence. In the second instance, to give Trump what he wanted would have
compromised everything the Justice Department stands for. Eris would not be amused!
In fact, Trump admitted in an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt shortly thereafter that he wanted Comey gone
because “of the Russia thing;” Trump then went on to meet with two Russians in the Oval Office the next day, with no American press allowed, but we learned from the Russian press that Trump bragged that he
had just fired Comey and that this had eased the pressure on him about Russia.
And Comey’s the “shameful” (a
favorite Trump tweet-slur) one here?
Needless to say, all this raised suspicions that Trump was obstructing
justice in regards to the Russia investigation, and Special Counsel Robert
Mueller was appointed shortly thereafter.
Comey
Jupiter (Capricorn) opposes Comey Mars (Cancer) and t-squares Comey Eris
(Aries); this Jupiter also trines Comey Uranus-Pluto-No. Node (Virgo). Because this is a natal configuration, Comey carries
this determined mandate in his very nature. We can see how he might have found
his way into public service, with his Mars (Cancer) conjunct the Sibly
Sun,
and with the tightly interwoven Saturn-Jupiter energy in his chart,
it’s not surprising that he came up through the ranks of the legal profession.
The potent cardinal energies here suggest that he could be the proverbial
flag-bearer for a battle charge—honor, integrity and leadership are very
pressing issues for him, personally, and the trines suggest that he’s always
worn these qualities with relative ease, so his rise to prominent positions was
perhaps equally smooth.
Comey’s impressive resume includes time out of public service to pursue
corporate legal and
national security positions for a time, but he answered President Obama’s call
to return as head of the FBI in 2013. Being an Obama appointee has not been
helpful under Trump.
Comey’s dignified natal Capricorn Saturn lends him stamina
and strengthens his principled “core.” This could be why he’s become such a
magnet for those who want to tear him down—who likes an incorruptible “show
off,” right? He physically towers over most people, so he can’t just do his job
without drawing attention—he’s an attractive target for bullies who want to
take him down a notch.
Knowing how
deeply Comey values his reputation only adds fuel to the fire—it’s not
surprising that stories about him having an overblown “ego” have been circulating; with a
fiercely protective Mars (Cancer), he dares to
defend himself!
The relentless efforts to compromise and tear him down go back to the
election, in fact. Pluto had transited over his natal Saturn during 2016 and
remains within orb today, conjunct transiting Mars (Capricorn)—is it
any wonder that he was caught in a no-win situation with Clinton’s email
scandals, and that those that want him silenced and discredited are now
intensifying their efforts?
In fact, with Saturn now transiting in early
Capricorn, Comey is experiencing the final days of his first Saturn
return and heading into his second, so the stress and challenges are
right on schedule. Yesterday’s venomous tweet from Trump landed with Saturn
transiting within one degree of his Jupiter and exactly
squaring his natal Eris (Aries). He will likely continue fighting, making
appearances, selling his book and getting his story out there.
Comey’s infamous “memos” (documenting the meetings he had with Trump) have
become the latest flashpoint—Trump accuses him of illegally “leaking”
classified information in them, and Comey claims there was nothing classified
about them. The distinction between whistleblower
and leaker is key here—the first
is protected by law, the second is more vulnerable.
In fact, Saturn
was transiting conjunct the Galactic Center (26°-27° Sagittarius) when Trump fired him—a massive black hole that has been
repeatedly associated with whistleblowing and “speaking truth to power.” With Eris involved,
it’s not likely Comey is going to back down, even if Trump takes him to court.
Final thoughts
Trump and Comey do have an intense astrological “wrestling match” going on
between them, and as long as Pluto (and Mars, for a shorter time)
continues applying pressure to Trump’s natal Saturn-Venus conjunction
(Cancer-chart not shown), and Saturn keeps up the pressure on his
natal Mercury (Cancer), Trump is likely to keep lashing out at him.
Comey is the perfect astrological target for Trump’s anxieties: Comey’s fiery Sun-Uranus
trine (Sagittarius-Leo) irritates Trump’s natal Full-Moon (Gemini-Sagittarius
Sun-Moon) and enrages his Leo Mars.
Significantly for our theme here, both men have key Eris positions
in Aries that speak volumes about their “quests.” Again, Eris is the “feminine”
warrior within us, so that might explain why these two men aren’t actually grappling in a wrestling ring somewhere, but instead seeking out public support through
various relationships and media.
We might see the stereotypical “mean girl”
approach in Trump’s tweet-attacks, in fact, which is an unfortunate distortion of Eris's feminine energies. His attempts to tear down another’s reputation
out of vicious recrimination (and to protect oneself) certainly fits the type,
and it does express his natal Neptune-Eris to Mercury t-square, especially considering how his Mercury disposes his Sun-Uranus (Gemini) and from there, his pugilistic Leo Mars. Whatever
we might think about Comey’s veracity, ego or intentions, with Eris square Jupiter (and
very widely, Saturn), he is
maintaining a little more dignity in his own defense.
Finally, a word or two about the Eris profile of former First Lady,
Barbara Bush (see Table 1 above). She
was born with Uranus conjunct Eris, from late Pisces to 0°+Aries, square
Venus (late Gemini) and trine Mars
(Cancer), and she passed on with Uranus-Eris conjunct in late Aries.
In other words, she lived during tumultuous times, raised her family in a
century marked by multiple wars and constant turmoil, and she taught them the
value of public service, and of taking a principled stand. She demonstrated with
her life how tightly interwoven the personal and collective dimensions of life
are, and that we each have a role to play.
Agree or not with the Bushes on many
issues, we can appreciate their Erisian spirit. You will be missed, Mrs. Bush!
Raye
Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. 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.
She is
also available to read individual charts—contact her at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2018. All
rights reserved.
