“The
end of life has its own nature, also worth our attention. I don’t say this
without reckoning in the sorrow, the worry, the many diminishments. But surely
it is then that a person’s character shines or glooms.” –Mary Oliver
“To us, he was close to perfect…”
Former
President George W. Bush eulogizes his father
America—and maybe the world—desperately needed to take a deep pause
today and allow one of the most solemn occasions a nation ever has to deal with
sink in really well. We’ve buried many former presidents in our nearly three
centuries as a nation, of course—not to mention a few sitting presidents—but
somehow today’s state funeral for President George H.W. Bush felt different. It
felt more critical for the greater
good of this nation that we get this right.
It felt critical that we honor this life-long public servant who earned our respect, rather than demanded it—even if we disagreed with
some of his policies and actions in office. That we reflect on what Bush 41’s
example as both family man and public servant means in today’s mean and
fractured world.
As so many have commented upon, the contrasts with today’s Oval Office
occupant are impossible to miss, but as we’ll also see, both men share interesting
astrological parallels.
IMHO, we need to ponder these parallels right along with the
differences because they speak to the all-important topic of character. Building the strength and
integrity of one’s character used to be an essential challenge that would-be
leaders embraced. Is this the case any longer? Are they more likely to build
their “Linked-In” profiles, add a couple degrees to their names, build their
stock portfolios?
In fact, building character in the “Greatest Generation”
tradition is still an aspiration for many: the better question might be whether
society and public institutions support those
goals, or whether gaining “success” has become somehow severed from building
character.
Entire volumes have been written about what building character “means,”
but astrologically it boils down to how we navigate and internalize the lessons
of Saturn. Saturn, of course, applies its special brand of pressure to every
other point in our chart over the course of each Saturn cycle we experience, so
it’s a gradual, developmental process that reaches into every corner of our
being. Its energies also work with other outer planets to structure the society
around us and to create that environment that either supports strong
character-building or doesn’t.
The personal and the collective dimensions of life “inter-are,” as
Buddhism might put it.
Saturn’s lessons may not feel very helpful as we’re experiencing them,
but over time (Saturn rules the
passage of time) we develop inner grit, resolve and purpose if we surrender to,
or at least cooperate with the
process. If we choose to go above and beyond, to willingly deepen our
relationship with Saturn’s agenda for us, we reap the benefits of integrity
(our word is our bond), authenticity and a healthy, but humble self-respect
that is founded on our respect for others and the larger context of our lives.
Simply put, how we use the planetary energies we’re endowed with at
birth is a matter of choices made and unfolded over measured stretches of time,
and there’s always a spectrum of low to high roads available.
The astrology
Full disclosure here—during his term in office, I never really
appreciated the Bush 41 presidency, and I still have many reservations about
some policies and methods his administration brought to bear. Election 1988
left a lot to be desired: the Bush camp put out the infamous “Willie Norton” ad
that lent a racially-charged tone to the campaign. Thankfully, Bush reportedly
regretted this choice later, but it helped him win the presidency.
There were other dirty tricks pulled on
would-be opponents during that campaign—the setting up of Democratic
front-runner Gary Hart
for a fall was a prime example that’s recently resurfaced in film form—but I
digress.
All of that didn’t inspire trust for me—Bush was a former CIA head and an oil magnate, and both fields are
shy on scruples. As we’ll see, he was astrologically-suited for hardball (and
deceptive) tactics, but he did come at the presidency with an uncommonly kind and
affable demeanor, and this dispelled many misgivings. Even so, the First Gulf
War felt like a troubling and reckless excursion; in retrospect, it looks like
a walk in the park, compared to the horrors we’ve gotten into since.
Born in 1924 and a naval aviator from a young age (Pearl Harbor was
attacked just months before his 18th birthday), he was a man who lived the essential history that we so
cavalierly forget these days, and he understood the incredible value of our
international alliances. He helped reunify Germany after the Berlin Wall
crumbled and demanded that Germany remain with the western alliance going
forward; he protected Poland’s border in the process and he helped negotiate
the end of the Cold War and the dispersion of the Soviet Union.
 |
| The handshake that ended the Cold War in 1989 |
Could Bush have
foreseen that Russia would fall back into its present questionable ways? He
built an alliance with Mikail Gorbachev that amazed the world at the time and
allowed former Soviet satellite nations to declare their independence, so
perhaps he did the best anyone could have.
Bush also championed the Clean Air Act and the Americans with
Disabilities Act, despite the GOP’s fundamental aversion to regulations. But he
was a pragmatic moderate who pursued friendships on both sides of the partisan
aisle and even listened to both
sides—a strategy that perhaps made him a one-term president. Bowing to the
necessity of a tax hike in order to cut overall government spending flew in the
face of his ill-fated “read my lips, no new taxes” promise, but to my mind, compromising as he did
further ennobled his character.
The fact that he became good friends with Bill
Clinton, the man who defeated him in 1992, says even more.
All of this is just scratching the surface of Bush’s career, of course,
but whatever one’s political leanings are, it’s hard to dispute that H.W. Bush
led with dignity and grace—just don’t expect him to eat broccoli!
So let’s consider this man of substance and character through the lens
of his natal chart.
Chart #1: George H.W. Bush, June 12, 1924, 10:30 a.m. DST, Milton, MA. Rodden rating B. Tropical
Equal Houses, True Node.
Air Grand Trine: Sun (Gemini) trines Moon-Saturn (Libra) trines Mars-So. Node
(Aquarius). This great
circuit of airy energy might explain why comedian Dana Carvey—who
poked fun at George H.W. Bush with his impersonations—says that his key to
capturing Bush’s character was to think about the kind, grandfatherly Fred
Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”), trying to impersonate John Wayne (Mars?)! Carvey enjoyed a
long friendship and many light moments with Bush—a testament to the statesman’s
lively, but down-to-earth sense of humor (along with the airy trine itself, his
elevated Taurus Mercury disposes his Gemini Sun).
Carvey’s observations might actually tell us something important about
Bush: Gemini Sun individuals often
seem to have “dual” characters, and Bush is no exception. When Bush accepted
the GOP’s nomination in 1988, he famously called for a “kinder, gentler nation,” but it wasn’t just words (Gemini
Sun):
many of his later actions (Libra Moon-Saturn and Aquarius
Mars)
demonstrated that he meant it. On the other hand, he was a lifetime member of
the NRA and a former CIA head—quite a balancing act if you can pull it off!
Relationships seemed to be the glue that held both sides of his nature
together: he was a prolific letter writer (Gemini)
and a personable speaker.
Bush appreciated and ingratiated himself with members of the media, as
well, like Hardball host Chris
Matthews; a dash of Libra
civility never hurts. Civility and respect were a quiet strength and discipline
(Moon-Saturn)
that set him so far apart from today’s politicians. He was known for not using the first person
pronoun—something that became a comedic focus for Dana Carvey, in fact—but
Bush’s habit of submerging the “I” reportedly went back to his mother insisting (Moon-Saturn) that he not
get too “full of himself.”
One reporter pointed out that despite his civil demeanor, Bush was
absolutely an ambitious politician, and that losing his bid for a second term
in Election 1992 to Bill Clinton was a huge blow to him. Looking back, it’s
clear that the world was fundamentally changing at that juncture, with the 1821
Uranus-Neptune cycle ending and a new
one beginning at 19+Capricorn in February, 1993.
This cycle ending was transpiring opposite
Bush’s Venus-Pluto (Cancer), and although this looming transit may
have actually helped him achieve some important geopolitical goals (like the
end of the Cold War without a shot fired), American voters were more concerned
about domestic and economic issues at the time. Scorpio Pluto was
squaring his Aquarius Mars and the
nation’s Sibly Moon (Aquarius) as well; his power was simply blocked by
forces beyond his control.
Thankfully, Bush chose to respond graciously and generously to the loss,
and he gained an important friendship in the process. Would son, George W. have
been elected in 2000 if his dad had served another term? Hard to say.
 |
| As a Naval aviator during WWII |
A grand trine often allows one to take a lot of cosmic gifts for
granted, and we can probably assume that many things in life did come pretty
easily for Bush. He was born into a very wealthy, prominent East Coast family,
after all, but it’s probably also true that his Moon-Saturn conjunction
(fairly wide, with Saturn Rx) helped him to empathize with others’ struggles and
to practice restraint—the “hard way,” as Saturn favors. He was nearly killed a
couple times during his military service—how appropriate with all his airy
energy that he ended up being an aviator!—and
he and wife Barbara lost their first daughter Robin to leukemia at
an early age.
Robin’s death apparently inspired his support for the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. There were other painful lessons, to be sure,
with this Moon-Saturn, especially as both are disposed by Cancer
Venus conjunct Pluto. Considering this connection, it’s interesting
that he spent several months in a submarine after being rescued from his downed
aircraft in the Pacific during WWII—certainly says Venus-Pluto in sheltering
Cancer to me!
In fact, Bush’s combination of potent “feminine” points (Moon,
Venus) with the geopolitical heavies Saturn and Pluto
may also explain an image problem he had during his election campaigns
–basically being labeled a “wimp” by certain elements in the media, which was a
very unfair characterization to say the least, given his career to that point.
It’s hard to miss that he was heavily influenced by strong women, however: his
mother, certainly, but it may also explain why his 73-year marriage to Barbara
Bush was so important to his career in public service. She does appear to have
been a loving, but equally structuring, no-nonsense influence in his life, and
he certainly benefitted from her strength.
Especially in air signs, grand trines can be unfocused and “flighty”
(ouch!)—a strong partnership was probably essential for him to corral his
energies and live out his potential. Thankfully, he never subscribed to the
idea that strength, human decency and civility are incompatible.
Grand Air-Fire Sextile: Chiron-Ceres (Aries) sextiles Sun (Gemini) sextiles Neptune-No.
Node-ASC (Leo) sextiles Saturn (Rx, Libra) sextiles Part-of-Fortune
(Sagittarius) sextiles Mars-So.-Node-DSC (Aquarius) sextiles Chiron-Ceres
(Aries). This complex
configuration forms an incredible six-sided figure around this chart, and even
though the Part-of-Fortune forms one point of this figure, it seems very
relevant here. The figure lends structure and coherence to an amazingly lively
interplay between the planets and points it contains. At first glance, it
reminds me of the “thousand points of light” theme that Bush promoted during his time in office, attempting to
stimulate volunteerism and public service.
 |
| Soaring rhetoric from a president with a light touch. |
Because this configuration is so rare, it’s worth an extended
explanation by aspects expert, Bil Tierney:
“With these
energizing, out-going elements represented [air and fire], the tendency to
instigate stimulating activities with burning enthusiasm, optimism and vibrant
self-expression is quite strong. However, the staying power and persistence to
follow thru with impulses is weakened…the individual is not as inclined to be
methodical, systematic, or long-planning in his efforts. Instead, he is
spontaneous in his self-expression and thrives on the momentum of the
here-and-now…As he is apt to ignore or low-key his own limitations, he may
energize himself to do the impossible at times…As this person is usually very
extroverted, animated, and mentally stimulating, he tends to attract more
social attention of a positive nature than most. People are likely to feel
enlivened in his presence.”[1]
This long description seems to accord with so much of what was said
about Bush during this past week. “Energizing himself to do the impossible”
certainly expresses the potential of his Aquarius Mars at the DSC; this
Mars would definitely rise to challenges, and it’s uniquely suited to his
military background. The fact that Mars opposes Neptune-No. Node-ASC (especially
with Pisces
Uranus disposing his Aquarius points) reflects that he
was capable of passive aggressive techniques such as misinformation and
disinformation (the Willie Horton and Gary Hart incidents, for example). This
may explain why he found himself in the CIA, known for its use of such tactics.
We’ve heard all week about Bush’s charming wit, his affability and
outgoing nature—this fixed opposition hugging his chart horizon also suggests
that he made a habit of acting on his ideals—yet, with Neptune rising, there
were bound to be some “mysteries” about his nature.
Another key point in this Grand Sextile is the Chiron-Ceres 8th
house conjunction in Aries. Demetra George and Douglas Bloch have some
interesting thoughts on Ceres in this fiery sign:
“Ceres in Aries
people identify nurturance with autonomy and being granted independence. In
turn, the Ceres in Aries individual nurtures others through promoting their
self-determination and self-sufficiency.”[2]
This need for autonomy (and to promote others’ autonomy) suffers some Chironic
wounds here, so we can probably assume that Bush experienced some
difficulties around inheritance (8th house) and establishing himself
as an independent entity. This wouldn’t be surprising in a powerful, political
family (his father, Prescott Bush, was also a politician); perhaps one more
reason Bush enlisted in the Navy so young to begin making his own name.
 |
| Father and son in recent days. |
Eventually, George H.W. had to decide whether to hover over his son,
George W. when he became president in
2000 and faced the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Pluto
and Chiron were transiting over H.W.’s natal Jupiter (Sagittarius) during
that period, and with Jupiter ruling his 5th
house of progeny, the father-son issues could have been intense.
In retrospect, some prominent figures wish that H.W. would have done
more to rein in the Neo-con influences (like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld)
on his president son during the run up to the Iraq invasion in 2003. Instead,
H.W. seems to have supported W’s decision to invade, allowing his son to be
autonomous and make his own mistakes; according to some reports, W rarely asked
for his dad’s advice and it wasn’t much volunteered.
Though it resulted in the demise of Saddam Hussein—importantly, the
Iraqi leader that had once threatened H.W. after having his forces driven out
of Kuwait—the motives for the later 2003 invasion were never entirely clear,
and too many have suffered the consequences. Did either man have regrets later?
We can only wonder if this is one thing George W. had in mind when he eulogized
his father so movingly.
 |
| A difficult moment in a very moving eulogy. |
T-Square: Jupiter
(Sagittarius) widely opposes Sun (Gemini); this axis squares Pallas-Uranus
(Pisces). Jupiter is
dignified in this position and in Bush’s 4th house of heritage, it’s
well-placed to reflect his prominent, ambitious political family. The wide
conjunction with his Part-of-Fortune in that same house
can be considered one hallmark of the dynasty he inherited and nurtured.
Distinguishing
himself (Sun) apart from that heritage was probably always a challenge,
given this tense configuration, but the drive he seemed to have for reaching
out to others paid off very well over time. Here’s how Demetra George and
Douglas Bloch characterize the political thrust of a Pisces Pallas:
“Politically, Pallas
Athene in Pisces can be a proponent of nonviolent resistance: turning the other
cheek or refusing to fight. She is also the enlightened warrior, the bodhisattva, and the martyr. The wisdom
of Pallas in Pisces is the wisdom of compassion—the recognition of the
universal suffering and desire for happiness that permeates humanity.”[3]
We can appreciate the tension at work in Bush’s mind over the issue of
enemies here—his Uranus-Pallas conjunction is placed in the 7th house
and is stressed by Bush’s intense drive to achieve personal goals and promote
his family’s reputation (10th-4th opposition). Would he have simply looked the other way about
Saddam Hussein’s threats for the sake of the perceived greater good of a stable
relationship with the Middle East? It appears that is how he left it, but son
George W. had no such compassionate “martyr” impulse (his Pallas is in early
Capricorn), and the circumstances provided a pretext for aggressive action.
The Sun-to Uranus-Pallas square spanning Bush’s 10th and
7th was, of course, prone to unpleasant surprises–it’s
not surprising that he began his career in war time and that he ended it on the
cusp of another series of conflicts, this time with players in the Middle East,
a region of the world in which he had built important business alliances during
his time as an oil
executive.
This may also speak to his deep conviction upon becoming
president that a “new world order” was essential. Intense mutable squares can
certainly stimulate a desire for order and rational engagement (Gemini and Uranus,
as ruler of Aquarius). Bush deployed his
diplomatic skills (Libra Moon-Saturn) towards this cause, yet
diplomacy didn’t always work to herd the geopolitical “cats”—these Libra points
fell quincunx his Pisces Uranus, ruling his 7th.
 |
| Bush in a touching recent moment with Mikail Gorbachev. |
Critical choices, contrasts and parallels
This will be a very brief consideration of a topic that could expand to
take up an entire volume: what, oh what
has gone so wrong over the past couple decades with American leadership?
We’ve been hearing commentators lament that the “Greatest Generation”
is dying out and leaving us bereft of principled leadership—a development that
is hard to deny, when we look at our current administration. Many are mourning
the loss of traditional Republican values, in the wake of Donald Trump’s tortured
make-over of the party. The party has morphed from supporting a “kinder,
gentler nation” driven by “compassionate conservatism” to something
approximating a mob organization, where fealty to the “Don” is everything (pun
intended!).
Bush made lifelong friends in the course of his foreign policy accomplishments (see pic above with former Soviet leader, Mikail Gorbachev); Trump is shredding America's alliances and friends as quickly as he can.
Bush made lifelong friends in the course of his foreign policy accomplishments (see pic above with former Soviet leader, Mikail Gorbachev); Trump is shredding America's alliances and friends as quickly as he can.
So what better way to explore the deep contrasts between these two
types of leadership than to set the charts of George H.W. Bush and Donald J.
Trump against each other? Trouble is…we’re going to stumble upon some uncanny
parallels, as well!
Please note that to avoid cumbersome, tangled verb tenses, I will use
the present tense to speak about the details of both charts together, despite
Bush’s passing. His chart—and his memory—are still quite present!
Biwheel #1: (inner wheel) George
H.W. Bush, June 12, 1924, 10:30 a.m. DST, Milton, MA. Rodden rating B; (outer wheel) Donald J. Trump, June
14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, New York. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Trump
Sun-No. Node-Uranus conjoin Bush Sun (all Gemini); Trump Moon-So. Node conjoins
Bush Jupiter-Part-of-Fortune (Sagittarius); this axis squares Bush
Uranus-Pallas (Pisces). These
amazing convergences speak to the aspirations of both men, and not
surprisingly, Uranus plays a significant role for each one. Trump’s Uranus
seems more internalized, pointing to his preference for managing through chaos;
chances are it flags a chaotic cognitive style, as well. Some analysts have
mused out loud about the state of his mental health…they could have been
tapping into this Gemini gathering of his.
We discussed Bush’s Sun-Uranus square earlier: if he
experienced any chaotic mental processing or anxieties, he appears to have been
able to project those out onto the world at large, which he felt needed a new,
more rational “order.” Doing this became the focus of his ambitions, which he
pursued in a traditional (East Coast), orderly way: first the military and
marriage, then Yale, then move the family to Texas to open an oil business and
make his fortune, then enter politics. The rest is history, as they say!
Despite some parallels with being born to a wealthy East Coast family,
Trump was not born into a patrician Yale
family like Bush was. He was the son of a 1st generation immigrant
mother, Mary Anne McLeod, and a 2nd generation immigrant father,
Frederick Trump. In fact, it’s been said that Donald always resented the East
Coast “elites”—that might be what is signaled here, with his striving Moon
conjunct Bush’s Part-of-Fortune (Sagittarius). As
we can see with Bush’s life, however, the Ivy Leaguers cultivated an ethos of
public service that seems like an anachronism today.
 |
| The Honor Guard at G.W.H. Bush's National Cathedral funeral. |
The contrast between the approaches these two took to building their
careers reminds me of what New York Times
columnist David Brooks calls “resume virtues” vs. “eulogy
virtues,” or “Adam I” v. “Adam II.” In his book, The Road to Character, Brooks claims that “Adam I” is driven to
gain “external validation,” while “Adam II” is driven by the desire to embody
higher virtues, to be responsible citizens, to be of service and to be a
generally “good person.” A summary of Brooks's book says:
“These internal
drives are often in conflict in our lives. According to Brooks they have
different logics: Adam I embodies economic rationality and Adam II exemplifies
the logic of morality.”[4]
Gemini individuals often wear humanity’s inherent duality on their
shirtsleeves, but these two men clearly made choices in their lives about which
end of the Adam I-II continuum they wanted to occupy.
Trump
Mars-ASC conjoins Bush Neptune-No.Node-ASC (all Leo) and opposes Bush Mars-DSC
(Aquarius). This is another
incredible convergence that, among other things, explains why Trump would
choose to mock Bush’s “thousand
points of light” campaign in his rallies—Mars can only nibble at Neptune’s
heels with ridicule; it can’t out-do the ideals at work. Indeed, Trump
approaches most heroic figures in this same dismissive way: it’s his dubious
(and frankly, disgusting) super-power. Yet, Bush never sank to Trump’s level,
but bided his time to have his final “say” from beyond, by extending the
invitation to attend his funeral.
 |
| George W. Bush greets the Obamas and carries on a cough drop tradition. |
What was Trump thinking, sitting there while the entire nation mourned
the loss of all the great qualities that Bush represents? What was he thinking
when George W. Bush leaned right over him to shake hands with Obama and to hand
Michelle Obama a cough drop? Not so subtle, was it?
These opposite styles of action (one self-oriented in Leo, one
society-oriented in Aquarius) speak to how these two relate to the American
people, as well.
Bush’s Mars was more in tune with the
aspirations of our Aquarius Sibly Moon—despite his commitment to
lower government spending, “We the People” meant something more than a tax
base. No one could forget that he was a Republican, but he didn’t rub our faces
in it, either. There was a palpable feeling that he had our backs, even if we didn’t agree with his policies or plans.
With his Mars opposite Sibly Moon, Trump knows how to dominate with his bombastic personality,
he knows how to tear others down for the sake of climbing over them, and he
certainly knows how to play to people’s fears and to stoke divisions, but he
doesn’t seem to get that real leaders respect
those they are charged with leading. He swore to be a “president for all of us”
in his inauguration speech—unfortunately, his leadership style is more like
“what have you done for me lately?”
Trump
Saturn-Venus conjoins Bush Pluto-Venus (all Cancer); Trump Jupiter-Chiron-Juno
conjoins Bush Moon (and very widely Saturn—all in Libra). These two cardinal gatherings square each
other, of course—we could add Bush’s Eris (Aries) in here to create a
t-square configuration, but let’s keep it simple. The point here is to see how different each man’s approach to
security and relationship issues is: with Bush the concerns were definitely
intense—much was at stake for him, as the patriarch of a powerful family.
We’ve
discussed the deep importance his Moon-Saturn and Venus-Pluto have had, the
role powerful women have played in his life, and so on. Unless appearances are
very deceiving, he did an admirable job leading his large family with love,
grace and dignity.
On the other hand, there’s Trump—also the pater familias (Saturn-Venus in
Cancer), but of a distinctly different kind of family. Family
members—and the real estate and “branding” organization they run—are at risk of
multiple indictments for corrupt financial (and political) practices even as we
speak. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but Donald Jr. may have played
an indictable role in colluding with Russia during Election 2016, Ivanka’s use
of personal email for government business is being scrutinized, multiple layers
of suspicion surround the business ties the Trump Organization has had with
Russia and other unsavory players.
Trump’s had a history with strong women, as well, beginning with his mother, however, he seems bent on
dominating and demeaning women (remember Access
Hollywood?), rather than partnering with them in any positive way as Bush
did. Bush was married for 73 years to the same woman; Trump is on his third
wife, Melania, who seems to have some inner strength for the role she plays,
but she is far from a true “partner” in her husband’s administration. She
dutifully shows up when a photo op is required, but it all has the air of a beautiful
woman being used for a powerful husband’s advantage (Jupiter-Chiron in Libra, disposed
by Cancer Venus-Saturn). We can only feel for both her and their son,
Barron.
As if the scrunity mentioned above on him and his family wasn’t enough,
Trump’s refusal to distance himself from his businesses while in office (to
avoid important conflicts of interest) has spawned new lawsuits and a new
round of subpoenas by the District of Columbia Attorney General. Several
top-level advisors from Election 2016 (Manafort, Cohen, Pappadopoulos, Gates,
and more) are either indicted or awaiting sentencing. The Trumps may be New
York “royalty” of sorts, but the general lack of scruples and integrity being
revealed is stunning. It’s all an unfair “witch hunt,” of course!
 |
| Former presidents celebrate the opening of the elder Bush's presidential library. |
Final thoughts
As mentioned earlier, the only reason to consider the contrasts and
parallels between the now late 41st president and our present 45th
is to better appreciate the importance of choice
when it comes to natal potentials. Undoubtedly environment and cultural forces
play an important role in how individuals actualize their astrological “gifts,”
yet the disparity between these two leaders—separated by only 22 years in their
births and possessing so many similar qualities—is a puzzle. Are the key
differences a function of the respective times they were born into? Let’s take
a quick look at their cycles profile tables below:
Table 1.
Planetary
Cycles
|
Cycle in
force on
6/12/1924-GWH
Bush
|
Cycle
phase in force 6/12/1924
|
Jup-Sat
|
9/1921, 27+Vir
|
waxing
|
Jup-Ura
|
3/1914, 9+Aq
|
waning
|
Jup-Nep
|
9/1919, 10+Leo
|
waxing
|
Jup-Plu
|
8/1918, 5+Can
|
waxing
|
Sat-Ura
|
1/1897, 27+Sco
|
waning
|
Sat-Nep
|
8/1917, 4+Leo
|
waxing
|
Sat-Plu
|
5/1915, 0+Can
|
waxing
|
Ura-Nep
|
3/1821, 3+Cap
|
waning
|
Ura-Plu
|
6/1850, 29+Ar
|
waning
|
Nep-Plu
|
Aug. 1891, 8+Gem
|
waxing
|
Table 2.
Planetary
Cycles
|
Cycle in
force on
6/14/1946-DJTrump
|
Cycle
phase in force 6/14/1946
|
Jup-Sat
|
8/1940, 14+Tau
|
waxing
|
Jup-Ura
|
5/1941, 25+Tau
|
waxing
|
Jup-Nep
|
9/1945, 5+Lib
|
waxing
|
Jup-Plu
|
8/1943, 6+Leo
|
waxing
|
Sat-Ura
|
5/1942, 29+Tau
|
waxing
|
Sat-Nep
|
8/1917, 4+Leo
|
waning
|
Sat-Plu
|
5/1915, 0+Can
|
waning
|
Ura-Nep
|
3/1821, 3+Cap
|
waning
|
Ura-Plu
|
6/1850, 29+Ar
|
waning
|
Nep-Plu
|
Aug. 1891, 8+Gem
|
waxing
|
Here we see more interesting parallels, with some important differences:
both men were born into 6 waxing
cycles and 4 waning cycles, although the choice of cycles for each is
different. Even so, certain roads to opportunity (Jupiter cycles) were wide
open to both of them, although Bush experienced more early disruption along
with those opportunities (waning Jupiter-Uranus cycle).
On the other hand,
collective restraints (Saturn cycles) weighed more heavily
on Trump early on—the Saturn-Pluto cycle began anew in
1947, pointing to the overriding importance his father had in his ethical
development and attitude towards society. The elder Trump had serious run-ins
with the laws in New York in regards to housing discrimination,and he handed those off to his son—from Wikipedia:
“[Fred] Trump was investigated by a U.S. Senate committee for profiteering in 1954.[4]
He made Donald the president of Trump Management Company in 1971,[5]
and they were sued by the U.S. Justice
Department's Civil Rights Division for violating the Fair
Housing Act in 1973.[6]”
Interestingly, the first investigation fell during the 1947 Saturn-Pluto
cycle’s 1Q (12-1955) and its 3Q (10-1973). What sweet revenge it must
be for the son to now vindicate the father by undermining that same
Justice Department and rolling back Civil Rights protections with phony “voter
fraud” campaigns—and doing all this during the final year or so of the current
1982 Saturn-Pluto
cycle.
Above all, what an interesting, but grotesquely twisted parallel
between the Bush father-son relationship (their final words together were “I
love you”) and the Trumps’ unscrupulous “business” relationship. Yes, character
is built upon the potentials of a nativity, yet there’s so much more involved,
and an endless series of choices to make.
But enough of this—let’s celebrate the fact that a man of George H.W. Bush’s
stature and character was among us, and for a time, led the nation in a far
more constructive direction. We are now faced with environmental challenges that
our scientists feel we are already failing—and Trump seems bent on making sure that we fail. Let’s hope that this
week’s brief glimpse of greatness, lived out with dignity and grace, will
remind us that we are better than, and more capable than the hollow shell of ourselves that we are
seeing in the mirror today.
Hail and farewell, President Bush—you were a credit to us all!
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.
[1]Bil
Tierney, Dynamics of Aspect Analysis: New
Perceptions in Astrology, CRCS Publications, Reno NV, 1983, pp. 82-3.
[2]
Demetra George & Douglas Bloch, Asteroid
Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrology of the Re-emerging Feminine,
Ibis Press, Lake Worth, FL, 2003 edition, p. 63.
[3]
George & Bloch, p. 106.
[4]
David Brooks, Summary of the Road to
Character, A Book a Day e-book, 2015, pp. 3-4.
