A Cosmic Link: Obamacare and the GOP's natal Neptune

An Astrology Link Between Obamacare and the Republican Party

by Jude Cowell

First, here is a link to a post concerning the March 23, 2010 horoscope of the President Signing the Health Insurance Reform, or, ACA, or Obamacare, if you prefer. What's nifty for astrologers is that the moment of signing the bill into law is on record as 11:55 am edt. My post focuses on transiting Neptune (illusion, deception, inspiration) conjoining US natal Moon (We the People) at that unstable time, plus, the signing of the law occurred with the Moon out-of-bounds (OOBs) of the earthly plane so the public was feeling emotionally insecure, uncertain, and unattached to the event--out of the loop were we especially since health insurance companies basically authored the bill that became law.

One of the primary planetary links between the ACA horoscope and that of the Republican Party (July 6, 1854 5:00 pm LMT Jackson, MI) is the ACA's 10th house Jupiter @15Pis18 conjoining the Party's natal 4th house Neptune (15Pis52 Rx), a time when illusion, deception, and pretense are the order of the day. A loss of touch with reality is indicated along with fanaticism and paranoia, typical of the years when Neptune floats through its own watery sign of Pisces, even without a Jupiter-to-Neptune transit.

And of course an inflation/conflation theme is often active whenever Jupiter and Neptune are linked together and we certainly see this tendency as the GOP spends much of their time and energy--and taxpayers' dimes--attempting to inflate any issue they can into a scandal that, they hope, will entangle the Obama administration and thereby 'justify' Republican cries for repealing Obamacare and, if their dream (Jupiter-Neptune) comes true, for impeachment of a president who dares to govern while Democrat.

Does any of this sound like some Republicans you know?

~:~

If you're wondering when the Republican Party will experience its first-ever Neptune Return to 15Pis52, it will be a three-fer (lots of Neptunian lessons to learn--if the Party remains in existence)--and the Return dates are:

1. May 18, 2018; 2. August 7, 2018 (Rx); 3. February 27, 2019. The Return/s will 'freshen up' any aspects or other planetary and angular relationships their natal Neptune had at the Party's founding.

A Monetary Echo from Adams' 1787 Letter to Jefferson?

Of Money Lenders, French Debt, and All the Domestic Debt

by Jude Cowell

Sometimes when I find an interesting date in history upon which an event occurred, I like to calculate a horoscope for it to spot check what was being reflected between the Earth and the Cosmos for, As Above, So Below. In lieu of an event's exact hour, noon is usually used, or perhaps midnight or sunrise.

One such event is a letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson dated August 25, 1787, sent from Grovenor Square, London. The following is probably the most famous excerpt from this particular missive which is part of a discussion between them concerning such financial topics as "Money Lenders", "the French Debt", and "the Domestic Debt of the Unites States" which "might be transferred to Holland," writes Mr. Adams to Mr. Jefferson. Wonder if Adams' insights may be worth considering in light of our current predicament?

"All the Perplexities, Confusions and Distresses in America arise not from defects in their Constitutions or Confederation, not from a want of Honour or Virtue, So much as from downright Ignorance of the Nature of Coin, Credit and Circulation."

And yes, the sentiment has been expressed by others and in various ways. But this is correspondence between two of our Founding Rosicrucian-Freemason-Illuminatists so what planetary transits or links may have been influencing their discussion via America's natal planets (July 4, 1776) as Adams mentions these monetary topics?

August 25, 1787 London, England noon: Sun 2Vir07 at Midheaven (1Vir38), Moon 24Cap16 in 3rd house of Communications; transiting South Node of the Moon, a separative point, conjoins US natal Venus (money, evaluations) in early Cancer along with our national Jupiter @5Can56; both tr Mars and tr Jupiter are in Gemini and in 8th house of Debt and Credit (at noon) with Jupiter expanding the plans of our national Mars (energy, action, motivation, males) so we know that growth and development are on the menu and that male relationships are favored within fortunate working conditions.

At noon, it's a Mercury Hour, a good time to sit right down and pen someone a letter and with Mercury @25Leo18 and Rx in 9th house of Foreign Lands, we see that this letter is but one of a series on themes that have been discussed before (Rx.) Pluto Rx and Saturn Rx are in Aquarius which marks 1787 as an era of scientific advancement; Mars @19Gem26 shows the date to be within the waning days of an American Mars Return as a new 2-year cycle of activity is in preparation and will begin soon.

As you know, a YOD is a crisis pattern of special tasks and turning points and one is formed here between Mercury, Jupiter, and the Moon which denotes lively women in the environment--perhaps older ladies (Cap)--and many lively exchanges of thought--here, between Adams and Jefferson for the rift in their relationship had yet to occur.

The letter's Pre-Natal Eclipse Series is the initial Total Solar Eclipse (June 15, 1787) in the 5 New South Saros Series and indicates that 'good news, long term benefits, and peak experiences' were enjoyed (Brady.)

A Uranian Surprise?

And with America's 'totem planet', Uranus @28Can04, we see a transit in play whereby America's natal Pluto Rx @27Cap33 is opposed by rebellious genius Uranus which implies that a clash between younger (Uranus) and older (Pluto) generations is in effect and concerns how resources should be handled; also, established sources of political power are disrupted or eliminated entirely thanks to the catalyzing tendencies of The Awakener, Uranus.

With Uranus in Aries now squaring Pluto in Capricorn (off and on until 2015), perhaps that last paragraph resounds a bit through the centuries and reflects Washington's current Capitol Hill antics which they continue to play act for us rather than seriously engaging in the governing we expected.

Curiously, the day's Sun Vir-Moon Cap (Mercury-Saturn) blend is shared natally by financier J.P. Morgan, Sr., and last manifested on November 23, 2003 @1Sag14.

Will Mercury Direct time the ACA website repair?

Since speedy Mercury, planet of communications and messages and intricately linked to websites, choices, contracts, and transport of information, turns Direct @2Sco29 on November 10, 2013, we may expect shortly thereafter that a breakthrough may occur and be announced concerning the fix of the ACA (Obamacare) website. Or should we?

Well, perhaps not since Mercury must pass its Retrograde Station 'shadow' degree (18Sco23) of October 21, 2013--which it does during the last week of November 2013--before Mercurial things can successfully move quickly forward. After clearing that Zodiacal speed bump, then a speeding up in the sign-up process online should be forthcoming around that date. Of course, on planet Earth, everything is part of a process which doesn't exclude some improvements to be apparent once Mercury performs its Direct Station on November 10th.

Using Marc Edmund Jones' book The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, let's look at the Sabian Symbols for the current Mercury Rx-Direct cycles' Station degrees and their negative expressions; I will include the karmic degrees prior as well as the Illumination Points, the opposite degrees--my own comments are in parentheses:

Oct 21, 2013 Mercury Rx Station @18Sco23...karmic symbol for '18Sco' = "A Woods Rich in Autumn Coloring"...negative/shadow side: 'a perverse delight in permitting worthwhile things to go to seed' (okay, GOP-Tea Party congressmen, that'd be you.)

'19Sco' = "A Parrot Listening and Then Talking"...neg: 'idle mimicry and self-gratifying pretense'. (Cruz's Green Eggs and Ham fake filibuster?)

Illumination Points are '18Tau' = "A Woman Holding a Bag Out of a Window"...neg: 'dissatisfaction with things as they are and complete ineptness in handling them' (GOP sore losers?)

'19Tau' = "A Newly Formed Continent"...neg: a genius for futile turmoil and persistent upset' (govern by crisis much? All their drama and mimicry are for changing America fundamentally under our noses and keeping the public busy focusing on our pet issues.)

Mercury Direct Station November 10, 2013, karmic degree is '1Sco' = "A Sight-Seeing Bus"...neg: 'a genius for avoiding any and every actual expenditure of self.'

'2Sco' = "A Broken Bottle and Spilled Perfume"...neg: witless dissipation of every resource of self and society' (this is the degree of the modern spawning of the New World Order's natal Sun from October 24, 1993 as timed by the 3rd of 3 conjunctions between Uranus and Neptune @'18Cap' = 'POLITICAL POWER'...neg: 'smug or strong-armed paternalism' (transvaginal probe much?)

Illumination Points for Mercury's Direct Station are '1Tau' and '2Tau':

'1Tau' = "A Clear Mountain Stream"...neg: 'a tendency to waste the potentialities of being by aimless self-ramifications' (how much did Cruz's fake filibuster cost taxpayers? And how much for over 40 House voting attempts to 'defund Obamacare' when they could instead be legislating on behalf of the American people?)

'2Tau' = "An Electrical Storm"...neg: 'unreasoning timidity in all self-expression' (and I think of planet Uranus when I think of electricity and storms with Uranus now in Mars-ruled Aries which points toward what Reinhold Ebertin describes as 'fanatics, Utopians, blind zealots, reformers', among other things.

Update Monday Oct 28, 2013: all weekend I heard TV pundits mention the end of November as when the ACA website should be in working order. Good old Astrology! jc

April 2014: a Cardinal Grand Cross and a US Lunar Return

Casting a Cosmic Spotlight on April 23, 2014 and We the People

by Jude Cowell

First, here's astrologer Michael Lennox speaking about the Cardinal Square which becomes a Cardinal Cross at times as other planets join in and involving the socially and politically riotous Uranus-Pluto square now in progress until 2015. The video was posted in late August 2013 and contains some general information on the conflicting energies inherent within this cosmic planetary pattern of heavy-weights:

Actually, today I've been looking at US Lunar Returns for 2014 and particularly focusing for now on our nation's Lunar Return for April 23, 2014 which perfects at 10:08:07 pm edt, White House (using US natal Moon @27AQ10 on July 4, 1776 5:10 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA.) I have relocated the Return charts for the White House and am using the Moon as a timing device for our spotlight.

As you know, through aspects and other chart factors, a Lunar Return provides details for a particular month including the tempo of life, mundane concerns, minor phases of experience, and changing or fluctuating circumstances (as well as for the timing of events.)

And while it's most useful to read a Lunar Return chart in relation to the current Solar Return, that is beyond the scope of today's post. However, here's a link to my brief analysis of US Solar Return 2013 from July past and you'll note that, as always, the Moon disposits US natal Sun and that in 2013, Cancer sits upon the IC/4th house of the Solar Return 2013 chart, both of which give prominence to US Lunar Returns for the period (July 2013--July 2014), especially since chart angles are points of energy manifestation. Naturally, a prominent IC points to the Domestic Scene and Security Matters. Thus, years 2013 and 2014 are cosmically linked as are the Moon (We the People) and Sun (leader) in Mundane charts.

13 x 4 = a Whopping Cardinal Grand Cross

America's April 23, 2014 Lunar Return chart shows a Cardinal Grand Cross pattern involving Mars Rx @13Lib23 in Return 10th house (conjunct US natal Saturn) and opposing Uranus @13Ari41 (4th h.) Jupiter @13Can58 (conjunct US natal Sun) is in Return 8th h opposite Pluto @13Cap33 Rx in Return 2nd h of the National Treasury so wealthy underworld boss, Pluto, continues his 'power struggle' opposition to US natal Sun (leadership.) Notably these planets are all at 13 degrees, a number which some people are superstitious about and 13 does, of course, carry meaning within Freemasonry and other secretive systems of thought, some which many of our Founding Fathers were members of in their day.

See: Properties of the Number 13.

A Cardinal Grand Cross is a very active configuration indicating that the actors (planets) involved are energetically 'on the move' and behaving very assertively. The four squares agitate the already impatient quality of the pattern and may inspire poorly planned actions as the charged up energies keep things tense and pressurized.

Meanwhile, the oppositions in Cardinal mode show that cooperation is much needed for ultimate success though finding willing assistance is difficult. Cultivating sociability might help matters but in Washington, that's not likely these days (unless one has a dog!) Bad timing, recklessness, and direct confrontations are more likely along with being accident-prone since impulsive hothead Mars is in the picture along with Uranus, planet of sudden shocks. Together, the Mars-Uranus duo has an explosive quality which may be catalyzed into action.

Even so, there is strong ambition to achieve and to best the competition herein, and if Mars can be tamped down enough so that careful consideration and forethought are employed rather than premature action, much may be achieved with a dynamic Cardinal Grand Cross--unless headstrong temperaments impatiently prevail. Yes, I may be describing Ted Cruz here and a need for the GOP to take control if they can against a grenade-tosser so determined to take center-stage in spite of any and all losses.

So all in all, from April into May 2014, we may expect a continuation of confrontations and stand-offs, a frenetic tempo, and major obstacles that block many people's objectives. Is that any different than Washington DC circa 2013? Maybe not but if things are worse, I suspect the American people will be even more disapproving of our off-the-mark, ideologue politicians than current polls indicate.

Plus, We the People becoming fed up en masse with the US government is precisely what global government promoters of the 'new world order' persuasion want. After all, they go to a lot of trouble and expense to engineer the chaos from which they'll pretend to 'save' us.

US Political Parties in Cease-Fire Mode until January 2014

Perhaps on Thursday past you read this from Robert Reich: What to Expect During the Cease-Fire or perhaps you're simply relieved at the moment that the government shutdown has ended. To me, it seems a meager victory since the US government is now 'open' which it should have been all along. No kudos here from this Stars Over Washington blogger for congress members reaching such a pathetically low bar.

On an economic level, the 16-day shutdown cost $24 billion which has been tossed into the wind by Tea Partiers and their Republican enablers, so now we wonder how holiday retail sales quotas for 2013 will be affected with January 15 so near and February 7 lurking. However, prevalent is the haunting certainty that Republican malcontents will again use similar tricks in order to tarnish and undermine the president's political agenda while grousing over the ACA (aka, 'Obamacare'--which promises to provide health care insurance and treatment for those who desperately need it), even though a majority of the American people are heartily fatigued with their political antics and expressions of irrational will.

These frustrating conditions may be seen in the horoscope of Winter Solstice 2013 which, as did Winter Solstice 2012 with its YOD of crisis (Saturn-Pluto = Jupiter Rx), ushers in the New Year with much of Washington's deception and the breaking of the public trust on display around our new dates to fret about: January 15, 2014 and February 7, 2014.

Is the US government so fragile that a minority of brigands can shut it down and threaten economic ruin both here and globally based on misguided principles and their out-of-control egos? If so, it's because current and past congress members have set up the weakened condition along with SCOTUS' collusion and a bunch of shadowy financiers who egg all of them on.

Now that the end-of-shutdown culmination inspired by the October 18, 2013 Lunar Eclipse in Aries has occurred, cosmic events coming soon include a Solar Eclipse on November 3, 2013 and, of course, Winter Solstice 2013. Neither horoscope looks particularly comforting considering current circumstances and the Threats of January-February 2014 looming, though the 'insight and bright ideas' Scorpio Solar Eclipse @11Sco15 on November 3 may supply solutions. A money and big business sign, we may hope that Scorpio's innate ability to make positive karmic progress by taking prudent, correct action (while avoiding the sign's more negative tendencies of revenge and betrayal) may be accessed on behalf of our nation if the ruling class of Washington DC so desires.

Recommended: What Will Republicans Use as Leverage Now? and Robert Parry's The Abject Failure of Reaganomics, aka, Trickle Down Economics.

Shutdowns 1995/96 and 2013 linked by Mars-Neptune

Mars-Neptune, Government Shutdowns, and Autumn 2013 Eclipses

by Jude Cowell

On Saturday October 19, 2013, transit Mars @2Vir39 returns to its position in the 'Shutdown New Moon 1995' horoscope (Sun-Moon @10Cap33), which is called a Mars Return, and which symbolizes a new 2-year cycle of activity relating to shutdowns and stalemates. For the current government shutdown, testosterone-driven Mars, the planet of quarrels, activism, and war, is opposed by transit Neptune @2Pis44 Rx.

As you see from the 1995 New Moon degree of 10Cap33, transit Pluto now conjoins it showing changed circumstances that lead to a critical time of development (Ebertin.) A New Moon begins a cycle of activity as well, and this one on January 1, 1995 occurred 3 days prior to the swearing in of the 104th Congress, and times the cosmic beginning of the New Gingrich 'revolution'. Rounding up, the negative expression of 11 Cap's Sabian Symbol is: 'egoistic satisfaction in matching the mediocrity of others' and I'm quite certain that then as now, the American people look to the US Congress for such sorriness as that.

In fact, some say that the approval rating of Congress has now dropped to the historic low of 5% (which causes me to wonder what on earth is wrong with the 5%.)

So with tr Mars about to return to its 1995 degree on October 19th, and with the current position of nebulous, fraud-producing Neptune opposing said Mars, what's up in the Mars-Neptune department? Well, you know about America's problematic Mars-Neptune square (22Gemini SQ 22Virgo) in our national horoscope (July 4, 1776) so whenever Mars and Neptune tangle, our 'confused motivations/misguided actions' tendencies are usually on display or are triggered. (Ex: Republicans seem to have forgotten their 'defund Obamacare' campaign which was irrationally instigated by wet-behind-the-ears senator, Ted Cruz. The GOP has "moved on" from that particular losing battle and have set their sights on other budgetary targets where they'll be able to save face, they hope.)

My fuss is that all this high drama is meant to undermine confidence in the US government of the American people--yet it doesn't do that for me but does serve to highlight my lack of confidence in the current doltish crop of Capitol Hill brigands, but not in the republican system itself. Efficient government is what I prefer, even if it means that government isn't 'smaller'. (Well, okay, so I was born with four natal planets in Capricorn, the sign of government, business, and law!)

So! Transit 2013 Neptune opposing 1995 Mars denotes a time of futile efforts (!) and debilitating factors which undermine actions; misguided ideals inspire acts of revenge and aggression while risk-taking endeavors and hostile confrontations do not work out in Mars' favor. Scandal, deception, illusion, and mistrust are on the Martian menu at this time. Headaches are difficult to diagnose yet a majority of Americans agree that it's quite simple to discern from what quarter the headaches the US Congress is giving We the People have their beginnings.

Obviously, the Mars-Neptune transit between Shutdowns 1995 and 2013 indicates that results are not conforming to what the Republican Tea Party's expected outcome was delusionally intended to be and the irrational, self-deceived energies that Neptune can supply to any situation turned out to be more prominent in the real world than Neptune's undermining of President Obama's signature legislation, the Affordable Health Care Act, at least at this time. Additionally, Neptune also signifies The Web and the ACA website's awful first week has been gummed up by Neptunian forces (are hackers involved, I wonder?) More political attacks from anti-government/small-government types will be forthcoming, I suspect, especially since they've fought against FDR's New Deal programs from the start and now consider Obamacare to be an increase in the size of government--which it is.

Well, no one should ever expect outer planets such as Neptune to provide dependable outcomes, should they?

As I type, the Senate is in session--rare for a Saturday--concerning an offer that would reopen the government and extend the debt ceiling limit so we can pay our bills and thereby avoid becoming a deadbeat nation in default.

However, uplifting the 'full faith and credit of the US government' and protecting the dollar as the global currency are quite different matters.

Yes, the Republican Tea Party has a definite 'genius for futile turmoil and persistent upset' (ruling by lurching from crisis to crisis) so the negative expression of the current Solar Eclipse degree (May 2013 @19Tau) is being demonstrated all too well by the austerity-loving political party. Perhaps this morning's Sun-Moon blend may be instructive as to the flavor of the meeting at the White House so let's check it out:

Sun Libra-Moon Capricorn (Venus-Saturn) is a purposeful, pragmatic, ambitious blend of energies with a social conscience; this blend of the 'artful manager' denotes diplomacy and an ability to work together as idealism morphs into decisive action.

This Sun-Moon blend is shared natally by activist Bobby Seale so here's an apt quote for the day from him:

"We must start coming forth with our energies...our intellects, and our abilities to see what is right and what must be done, so the suffering will stop, and the phrase 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' begins to make some human sense."

At 2:00 pm edt today, the Moon enters Aquarius and prepares for a US Lunar Return on October 14, 2013. In the Return chart, the Moon is opposed by--you guessed it--Mars in late Leo, which indicates the deep anger and resentment of the American people toward whomever each one of us considers contentious Mars to be representing in the government shutdown fiasco!

For me, Mars is the actor involved with the anarchistic Uranus-in-Aries zealots as described by Reinhold Ebertin in his book The Combination of Stellar Influences though, as always, you, dear reader, may feel free to totally disagree.

So at 2:00 pm, the Sun-Moon blend becomes Sun Lib-Moon AQ which has a curious implication to the current anarchy in Washington for it signifies those who 'build castles and a Utopia' in their minds. You'll remember that the old 'Utopia' plan is that of the Adam Weishaupt crowd of Illuminatists whose descendants remain determined to destroy civilized systems such as government, law, religion, and education. And with the November 3, 2013 Solar Eclipse soon occurring with its illuminating Uranus-Neptune content, I'd say they've done a pretty good job of it so far.

News at 12:00 pm et: John Boehner touts that an impasse has been reached in this morning's negotiations with the president. Well, our political drama queens and prima donnas must be pleased that their starring time before the cameras hasn't ended...yet.

View the horoscope of the October 18, 2013 Lunar Eclipse in Aries set for Washington DC, if you wish.

Uh-oh! Jupiter Stations Retrograde on November 7, 2013

On October 7, 2013, Robert Reich published Their Real Goal: To Make Us All So Cynical About Government, We Give Up in which the professor explains much better than I can do what this blog has been primarily about these last 8 years. (SO'W turns 8 on October 17th!)

Guess I can hang up my blogging spurs, right? But then how will I deal with my frustration with Washington DC, my favorite city of residence even though I relocated to Georgia years ago? Yes, I still miss its green parks and streets of stately embassies though I can't say much for what 'they've' done with the place lately--that 'Shining City on a Hill'. And yes, I know I've usually added "built on a swamp" to the glowing description that Ronald Reagan used so effectively but the District of Columbia was built on a swamp as selected by George Washington, wasn't it? And since Astrology teaches that the End is in the Beginning, well then...?

Anyway, the ongoing government shutdown and looming default on our debts (if Tea Party congress members are allowed to keep showing their patooties) is on the minds of many Americans, on tongue's tip for all TV and other pundits, in the news, wafting through the airwaves, and meanwhile, Moneybags Jupiter the Banker in Moon-ruled Cancer will soon prepare for a Retrograde Station on November 7, 2013, a mere 4 days after the Solar Eclipse of November 3, 2013 at 11Sco15.

Today's Mercury @11Sco38 (thinking, communicating) conjoins what will be the November eclipse degree (11:15) and the position of austere conservative Saturn conjoined it in the Jupiter Direct Station chart of January 30, 2013 which denotes acceptance of responsibilities, or accountability if not. You'll note that several indicators of an improving economy have been apparent during 2013--until lately with shutdown-default fever hitting the overly excited Tea Party-Republican House. Now that Jupiter is about to Rx, money sources and investment may dry up or at least be stalled or delayed; this planetary about-face bodes ill for the staged "of course the US won't default" assurances being touted by many of the hostage takers on Capitol Hill (when there are cameras around.) Of course, a review of ideology may also be on Jupiter's menu which would perhaps be a good thing if it's hostage-takers doing the review of their success-at-any-cost tactics.

These upstarts (Uranus in Aries) seem to imagine that they'll have control of the situation once they put in motion their plan to undermine President Obama's agenda. How wrong they are for things will spiral and ripple out from their foolishness into what, after all, they may actually want--global meltdown, or at least circumstances where they can establish their Austerity Flag over our republic. Have Republicans accepted President Obama's victory in November 2012? Obviously not. And saying things over and over don't make them so.

Today, POTUS nominates Janet Yellen as head of the Fed and transit Jupiter will Station Rx @ 20Can30:39 on November 7, 2013 at 12:03:06 am est and in a horoscope set for the Capitol Building, falls into the 11th house of Groups, Associations, Hopes, and Wishes. This Rx period of The Banker may even affect Yellen's confirmation hearing in a negative way or simply indicate a nominee who's already been (Rx) working at the Fed.

Then, adding tension to the stalemates in Washington over budgets and fiscal responsibility, '20Can/Cap' are critical degrees, and since Jupiter increases or expands whatever he contacts, we may expect some of the themes of a certain Fixed Star @20Can to be potentially influential within current events...Castor: mental illness, sudden loss or fame, crippling of limbs (or of governmental branches?), murder. (A. Louis.)

Of course, a bright side may be the November 2013 Solar Eclipse itself with its Uranus-Neptune 'bright idea-break through-solutions' content along with the fact that as Jupiter seemingly moves backward through the Zodiac, Mr. Moneybags will again contact US natal Sun (13Can19) around January 20, 2014, then the Great Benefic will Station Direct @10Can26 on March 6, 2014. Direct Jupiter to US natal Sun (the leader) occurred during the last week of August 2013 and denotes a culmination of something begun 12 years prior (war?)--things must move to the next stage or level, or be discontinued. It also may bring recognition or some kind of honor or reward though ego inflation, over-promising, or over-expansion are possibilities.

As for the theatrical antics of the Teas and Republicans, perhaps you remember a discussion we had here some time ago concerning the Secondary Progressions of the Republican Party (July 6, 1854 5:00 pm LMT Jackson, MI) which, beginning in May 2010, showed a worrisome YOD pattern (crisis; turning point) formed between their SP 6th house Mercury @27Sco01 (conjunct Mr. Obama's natal MC) sextile SP 8th house Jupiter @28Cap01 (conjunct US natal Pluto). The sextile pointed toward the SP Ascendant, the Party itself, at '28Gemini', a degree of Bankruptcy in Sabian Symbols--and the GOP idea to bankrupt our nation was apparently sanctioned by the international banking syndicate (Pluto.) Plus, they had worked hard at it through the 8 years of Bush-Cheney!

So now we find that Republicans have arranged everything skillfully (Mercury-Jupiter = ASC) and because of this planetary condition in the Party's evolutionary progress, I expressed deep concern then since the above-mentioned plan to undermine the US government (and shrink it till it can be 'drowned in a bathtub'--presumably along with a majority of the American people) seemed to be trotting right along for them and now, in 2013, even the most apathetic among us can plainly see evidence of their plan of attack as Ted Cruz & pals jerk around the US Congress in order to paralyze governmental functions while shouting "bankruptcy!"

Sadly, the fact that the rest of the world thinks America has gone mad doesn't begin to describe the problems the corporate infestation of our capital is causing and will cause to us and to global markets. And the coup is happening right under our noses.

So I ask you: are We the People so paralyzed into stupidity that we will allow the few to ruin the many?

Also see: Boehner Wants America to File for Bankruptcy.

Shutdown 1995/96 Solar Eclipse repeats Nov 3, 2013

A Cosmic Time Link Between Government Shutdowns 1995/96 and 2013

by Jude Cowell

In a seemingly curious twist of fate, the Pre-Natal Eclipse Saros Series in which the Newt Gingrich/Republican shutdown of the US government occurred (and was meant to harm the Clinton presidency), the 16 North, repeats on November 3, 2013 with a Solar Eclipse @11Sco15.

Previously, the Solar Eclipse occurred @00Sco17 on October 24, 1995 and you may recognize the 00/1Scorpio degree as the natal Sun position of the new world order, a position gleaned from the third of three Great Conjunctions of Uranus and Neptune on October 24, 1993 @18Cap ("The Union Jack" = 'POLITICAL POWER...smug or strong-armed paternalism'--Jones.)

The unconscious influence of this transpersonal planetary duo is infused within the 16N Series due to its initial eclipse which manifested during a Uranus-Neptune trine back in 1599, and of course, you know that their signature involves The Enlightenment, rationalism, a blend of Science and Religion, and insights from the unconscious where solutions may be found. Plus, the duo's Utopian idealism of No Government continues to bedevil us now. Yes, the chaos-creators are at work and positively giddy at their presumed success in completely undermining America, the big gorilla nation-state that must be vanquished before total Global Government can be fully implemented.

Actually, we've already discussed such topics in my post on the November 2013 Solar Eclipse if you wish to take a peek, horoscope included. Hopefully, this cosmic time link isn't telling us the current shutdown will continue into November but even CFR shills and Trilateral pundits on TV agree that a several-week shutdown is possible. Forget global markets, I guess, because if global meltdown is what they're preparing us for, it will only require a 'quick jump off a short pier' the way the Syndicate has things staged at the moment.

But if the powers-that-be decide the meltdown moment isn't quite here, we'll know because a reprieve will be granted, perhaps around the time of the October 18, 2013 Full Moon in Aries which perfects just after October 17th, the date when Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew predicts the US will be out of cash to pay bills and enter into deadbeat status Full Moons indicate a culmination, a stage of fulfillment so I'm hoping we see resolution of the shutdown around then, if only a temporary one.

Oddly enough, America only recently--on July 22, 2013--enjoyed a Jupiter Return $$! Of course our last Jupiter Return/s occurred in 2001/02 when Bush, Cheney, and Congress were spending like drunken you-know-whats and racking up much of the debt we suffer under now--debt that current deadbeat Republicans want to skip out on! Then, the GOP played the role of Jupiter in mundane charts but with a Democratic president and Senate, they now play the Saturn-in-Scorpio role of austerity. And even their role-switching could provide political balance for our nation's economy if they would work together and compromise, for Jupiter's expansion principle and Saturn's restriction principle are meant to compliment each other in the Universe.

Well, if you wish, scroll down the sidebar a bit to order a printable US Jupiter Return 2013 Report (PDF) via PayPal, for the horoscope is good for approximately 12 years, the duration of a Jupiter Reward Cycle. Baked into our July 4, 1776 Jupiter degree, however, is always the descriptive Sabian Symbol for '6 Cancer': *"Game Birds Feathering Their Nests," an obvious reference to the typical behavior of America's ruling class, for feather they definitely do.

*The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones.

Winter Solstice 2013: Saturn-Neptune-Pluto active

Horoscope: Winter Solstice 2013 Capitol Building 12:11 pm est; transit Saturn-Neptune = Pluto (@10Cap53 in 10th house of Public Status); a Lunar Hour with Moon @17Leo00 in 5th house

by Jude Cowell

It's an unfortunate synchronicity for all but the toffs among us that when the Sun hits 00Cap:00:00 on December 21, 2013, aka Winter Solstice 2013, the difficult midpoint of Saturn and Neptune ('Saturn-Neptune') trods upon Mr. Underworld himself, the Arch Spy, Saboteur, and Wealth-Hoarder, Pluto, so we end 2013 with a depressive, oppressive midpoint picture of planetary energies affecting the collective mindset and setting the table for major denials of guilt from responsible parties, particularly from within the Plutocracy class of manipulators.

As you know, secret/invisible (Neptune) government (Saturn) is a constant charge made against the United States of America since its founding days with its natal Saturn @14Lib48 in 10th house and natal Neptune @22Vir24 in 9th house snugged about our natal Midheaven @00Lib53, a point that turns up in the horoscope you see above conjoining the Vertex, a point of encounter, and a degree/point which squares the Winter Solstice Sun each year.

Yes, that Point of Fate (VX) sits upon US natal Midheaven (MC) in the 'Sibly' chart (July 4, 1776 5:10 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA) at a World Point of Prominence (00Libra) so the karmic quality we feel concerning current events is well justified by the cosmic reflection of current-day goings-on in Washington, our archetypal representative. All of this is engineered by Those Who Engineer, although 'imagineer' might be closer to their shriveled little Uranus-Neptune minds and hearts...if only they possessed organs of compassion and empathy for their fellow man and guilt over the destruction they, the politicians and their corporatist backers, are perpetrating upon We the People, and against the US economy.

We could use the karmic 'reap what's sown' motto here since debts tend to catch up with anyone who racks them up (a debt-ceiling raise is meant to pay Congress' already-incurred bills--will it be settled only until Nov 15th or Dec 15th?) and apparently, our usurping Tea-like activists have 'cremated' (any sense of) 'care' for humanity years ago. If so, this is a decrepit condition which may partly explain how they can look at themselves in the mirror each day given their anti-American antics which are egged on by delusions of grandeur and goals of ego-recognition--and a yearning for 'a place' at the Rulers' Table once the dust clears and the rebuilding begins, the sots.

Well, it's almost hush-up time at SO'W so please enlarge the horoscope to read a few basic scribbles and you will find several interesting factors worth consideration besides what I detail here...

One main concern, of course, is any applying aspects of chart-ruler Mars (@6Lib53 in 7th house of Open Enemies and Legal Partners.) There are two that show how things are likely to proceed until March 2014 (Aries Ingress, or, Spring Equinox 2014), and with contentious warrior Mars @6Lib53 traversing through US natal 10th house, its testosterone-driven condition is certain to be important for America's reputation, in tatters as they've purposefully torn it, and obviously, the actors signified by the Uranus-Pluto duo present debilitating or at least delaying obstacles (square) to our nation's desired actions and motivations (Mars):

1. Mars opposes Uranus (1A42), an explosive combination and a time when group organizing is quite impossible; many activities could be disrupted and it's impractical to attempt to predict what actions may be taken especially when there are new or unusual conditions and circumstances afoot; crowds are volatile now so stay clear of them, whenever possible.

2. Mars squares Pluto (4A00), a period when jealousy, revenge, and, above all, power struggles are in play; obstacles due to past actions must be dealt with appropriately before progress can be made though a large amount of anger, even rage, may be contained within these old situations. Accomplishment is possible, if the dynamic is positively utilized, yet there are potentials for destruction, even catastrophe, if the forceful energy is not well-managed. And inside The Beltway of Washington DC, what are the chances for good and well-meaning management any more?, sad to say. Mars-Pluto also has a 'Higher Power' vibe which can interrupt even the most Machiavellian machinations of current political operatives and plutonian agents of a sinister kind.

Naturally, the above info pertains to the dynamic T-Square between Mars-Uranus across the 1/7 polarity (Self/Others) which has outlet for expression at 10th house Pluto who probably manipulates the explosive energies of Mars-Uranus, rather than the other way round. Now this is a Cardinal (initiating; active; physical) T-Square and with an apex Pluto, signifies obsessions with complex undercurrents of a longstanding nature (karmic, or, fated) which cause a one-pointed, consuming focus; tactics to gain control include subversive actions, willfulness, manipulation, and a 'possessed' quality of behavior.

Privacy and secrecy are tools of choice so that opponents may be unexpectedly 'overwhelmed' by the ruthlessness readily used by plutonians determined to get their way with few, if any, concessions. No less than complete transformation is considered worthy of their efforts and once they're done taking over, they don't intend that anything in America will ever be the same.

Well, perhaps the typing of this post may be completed at a later date for much is there to be done in the real world with more and more Americans needing practical aid especially since the November 2011 'sequester' cuts which slight-of-hand Republicans have managed to make seem like budgetary 'business as usual' and through which Atlas Shrugged adherents--including the blind-zealot Uranus-in-Aries types ("anarchists"--Ebertin says of rebellious Uranus when in Mars-ruled Aries) are determined to tear down, not build up our nation. Throw the weak overboard! they shout, and there will be more for the rest of us!

Which for me supports my personal contention that if we allow anti-government behavior to fester long enough, we've got a major Coup of State on our hands. Yet hopefully, by December 21, 2013, the November 3, 2013 Solar Eclipse with its Uranus-Neptune content will have awakened even more of The Masses to the real solutions necessary to support, not tear down, our America.

Update: more has been added concerning Winter Solstice 2013 at Jude's Threshold.

"Obamacare begins" (The Daily Show video)

During the current government shutdown, comedians are having such an easy time of it making monkeys out of looney GOP parrots who are trying to be so very clever over the Affordable Health Care Act, aka, Obamacare.

One of my concerns has been hacking and denial of service attacks against the Healthcare.gov website by POTUS' opponents who will do whatever it takes to ruin President Obama's agenda and legacy. Another concern is the potential for customers' private medical and financial info to be stolen. Is there anyone who can't see that coming?

It seems there are at least two methods for technical interference.

But then there is our out-of-bounds government, always snooping on the innocent, and, via the set-up of this massive medical program, having access to (and imagined ownership of) every person's DNA for targeting and controlling purposes.

Perhaps you've noticed an increase in genome mapping kit ads? The 23andme is the one I'm seeing in this TV market--and hey! It's only $99!

Well, ancient writings including the Bible do advise everyone to, Know Thyself, yet somehow I'm uncertain that the DNA-cellular level is the sort of knowing they intended.

Okay, so maybe I'm being old-fashioned about this, or, maybe someone wants to make a list of who's in whose bloodline...?