THE STATE OF THE UNION

THE STATE OF THE UNION

Normally when a leader is elected, they have some strong transits that power them through their term of office. Trump's first Presidency had Neptune squaring his Sun and Moon; Biden had Neptune opposite MC followed by Pluto square Moon and Uranus opposite Sun.

I am left scratching my head, however, at the astrology of this year's candidates. Trump will have Uranus aspecting his Angles, Kamala her MC. And that will be that. It will be over for both of them in a couple of years. What sort of Presidency will that be? There is no sustained or steady progress here. After a rocky Uranian start, they will be a lame-duck President for the final 2 years of their term.

If I had to hazard a guess as to who will win, I would say Harris, because Uranus will be active for slightly longer, and in sign.

 

Looking at the US Sibly Chart for the next 4 years, we see Neptune opposite MC followed by a Uranus Return. The last time Neptune was here was in 1860, the beginning of the Civil War. And, remarkably, there was also a Uranus Return. This, perhaps, tells us why Harris/Trump won't get much done: the present polarisation and division in Congress, and the culture wars in the wider culture, are likely to become more intense and to paralyse the country. This fits well with the divisive, Angular Uranus Return in 2027.

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Chiron's suffering is perfectly curable if we listen to the outer planets, for he is the bridge to them. The pain associated with Chiron only seems incurable if we attempt to address it according to collective norms and values. He is the call to our individual destiny. He asks us to be courageous. In the stories, he was the wise centaur who educated heroes such as Jason, Achilles and Hercules.

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Cancer edges slowly and sideways towards the divine light of Leo, hanging on to what is familiar and homely as she goes.

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THE US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Very few people are able to be remotely impartial about Trump. There is so much to dislike and disapprove of about the man personally, that no-one looks below the surface to ask but what did he do as President? What are his policies now? In this respect he is a great challenge to one's ability to be objective. It is much easier, and you will get far more approval from your peers, if you continue to froth at the mouth at the mere mention of the man's name. Caution: do not confuse your frothing at the mouth with insight into the Donald.

Kamala is still in her honeymoon period as a candidate, and further buoyed by the recent Democratic Convention. Everyone has an opinion on Trump, which is not likely to change much at this stage. We know, or think we know, him. We don't know Kamala very well.

Above is the chart for the first of their debates on 10th Sept. How does it impact the 2 candidates' charts? Keeping it simple, I would say that the strongest influence in the sky at that time is the Sun-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter mutable Grand Cross.

This impacts on Kamala personally through her Venus in Virgo. Virgo in a politician is popularity. With tr Saturn opposing it, she is going to have to earn it. Retrograde in Pisces, this is not an easy Saturn. It is good for collectives, but it needs to be channelled thoughtfully. Kamala's weakness is needing notes to speak from. She doesn't have that political instinct that knows what to say in the moment, which Trump has in spades, whether or not you agree with him. Her tactic of wanting the microphones unmuted is, I think, in the hope that Trump will keep interrupting her, and look bad for that. The lack of uninterrupted time in which to speak may also help conceal her difficulty with performing unscripted and thinking on her feet. If Trump wants to win, he will have to shut up sometimes. Like he had to with Biden because of the muted microphones, and it worked in his favour, as Biden had the space to undo himself.

 

The Grand Cross impacts powerfully on Trump’s chart, much more than it does Kamala’s, hard aspecting his Sun-Moon opposition in Gemini-Sag. In this case the Saturn is not so much about earning as reaping, because he is known and has a track record as President.

Saturn likes tangible evidence. Kamala is weak on specific policies. She comes out with generalities such as going forwards not backwards, and that her positions might have changed but her values haven’t. Trump can very specific, when he isn’t spewing aggressive soundbites.

My prediction is that this debate will favour Trump. If Kamala is referring to notes, Trump will make mincemeat of that. If she isn’t, he will be able to dance around her and make her look fumbling. This is reflected by Saturn tending to work against her, and in Trump’s favour.

As for the election itself, Uranus is impacting both the candidates’ charts as their main transit, as well as squaring the US Moon. This makes it very hard to predict. There could well be further unusual, unexpected events. We have already had the assassination attempt, and Biden stepping down. And whichever candidate is elected – and who is to say in this Uranian election if the candidates still will be Trump and Harris – they will have a rocky time as President, as Uranus continues to unsettle and divide and startle.

 

THE CV OF A CHAOS SHAMAN

I have a fantasy novel, the Shapeshifters Trilogy, with an American publisher. They are being very slow! Here is the CV I wrote for the inside cover:

Shapeshifting first happened to Barry Goddard in 2000, when a T-Rex turned up during a dance, took him over, and slowly wandered around the room, taking its first curious look at the earth after a 100-million-year absence. Since that time a menagerie of Animals has gradually presented itself, taking turns at feeling what it is like to be Barry Goddard. Roaring, whistling, speaking in tongues, and clearly no longer a rational well-behaved human, the Animals try to keep Barry behind closed doors to avoid the attentions of the men in white coats. But the Animals are always at his shoulder, taking care of him. In 2021, a Wolf showed up and suggested he write the Shapeshifters Trilogy, an offer he could not refuse. It has been a great adventure. When in human form, Barry lives on Dartmoor in the UK, and writes regularly for social media on Astrology and Shamanism. He also does Astrology readings.

 

Below is the chart for when I began writing my first book (The Medicine Wheel) in 2021. 

 

 It's a great chart. I might start to have some serious success in the next few years, as Neptune squares the Venus (popular appeal) and Pluto conjoins the Jupiter-Saturn. It may be my book on Chaos Shamanism, currently being written, that steps into the zeitgeist.

 

THE ENGLISH JUNTA

Sir Keir Starmer has a tight Sun-Pluto conjunction in Virgo, opposite Jupiter. The administrator (Virgo) who has found himself in a position of great power (Jupiter-Pluto). He has a huge majority, rules the Labout Party with an iron fist, and can do what he wants. How many of us could handle that?

The signs so far are worrying: he branded the protesters collectively as racist thugs, and has shown no inclination to listen to what the legitimate majority of them are unhappy about. And he has had the wrongdoers, both offline and online, in jail in record time, using his inside knowledge of the justice system as Director of Public Prosecutions. It already seems clear that, in his haste to keep control, innocent people have also been jailed.

Empathy and bringing people with him are not his strong points. He is a charisma-free zone, and was elected as an act of desperation by the British people. Using the law (Jupiter) to make the population do his bidding seems to be how he thinks. The working classes, which as Labour leader he is supposed to represent, probably hate him already. Currently, he is acting like the head of an army junta. Labour has its values, but freedom of the individual has never been top of its list.

 

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The cat sometimes spends hours asking to be let in through the posh entrance, before swallowing his pride and using the cat flap. "Don't you know who I am?" This tells us something about the nature of Leo. On the subject of which, 2 nights ago I had a dream in which I was sraightforwardly Leo Rising, not Virgo, as I have always been. Many astrologers also insist I must be Leo Rising. Below is my newly painted house. QED. NOT Virgo 🤣

 

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Integrating Mars energy is a soul journey for most women in the second half of life, just as Venus is for men. I think that the feminist critique of men, that sees them in largely negative terms, is mostly unlived Mars, projected in its shadow form. We men are generally much better than the public discourse would have us believe.

 

LET'S TALK ABOUT IMMIGRATION

The issue of the day in the UK is immigration, but we are unable to talk about it. It is something that only 'racists' involve themselves with, and we don't want to be called that. But let us try to talk about it with a cool head. That is what astrology should enable us to do.

This issue is only going to get stronger as Neptune approaches the UK Desc in the coming years. The transit will begin in earnest in late 2024, as Neptune goes direct and moves to oppose natal Uranus, which is itself opposite the UK Desc. The Desc is 'others', so describes immigrants well. Anyone getting bothered yet, just by me talking about it? Am I 'othering' them, maybe I should say migrant or refugee? All these ways we have of not talking about it. Another way of not talking about it is to say it is a deflection of economic problems. But no, the astrology is saying it is immigration itself that will only be getting bigger as an issue.

Think about it: the population has grown by 15% since Blair opened the doors back in 2000. Of course such growth over such a short period has consequences.

Remember that the UK is unusually welcoming to immigrants, and has been for a long time. That is why so many want to live here. Remember that as context, before you slip into a lazy denunciation of the 'racists'. Our North Node is in the 7th. Relations with foreign countries and foreigners are a big learning point, and maybe we have already learned more than most, multi-ethnic as we are. We had a Nodal Return back in May. That is why the issue is so big now.

And why is it that we cannot talk about immigration? It's simple. The ruler of the Desc, Mars, is in the 8th, which is the things you don't talk about, the shadow. We are afraid of the anger (Mars) that it brings up, and very quick to condemn it. But these things are always better out in the open. Pluto will square the UK Mars in the next few years, which is one more astrological reason to see immigration coming to the fore.

The bigger context for the UK can be seen through the main parts of the chart: the Sun, Moon and Angles are all between 7 and 19 of the Cardinal signs. So outer planet transits put us through long, grinding changes of national identity. Pluto was aspecting these points when we joined the EU in 1973, and again when we voted to leave in 2016. It was writ, which doesn't make it right or wrong, just Necessary, if you are an astrologer.

We have recently emerged from the recent Pluto transits to the chart, out of Europe (another Desc issue), and not knowing who we are. There is often a long underworld period in these types of change, and that is where we are now, lurching from one unsatisfactory government to another, without clear direction.

That new direction, that new identity will be provided by Neptune, as he begins next year his long series of transits to the UK Sun, Moon and Angles. We have some years of the swamp to go. Neptune will be conjoining the UK Desc and squaring the Sun at the time of the next election in 2029. Watch out for a Redeemer (Neptune) at the time. The most likely candidate currently is Farage, not least because he is willing to talk about immigration. And his Sun is within one minute of the UK Node. I am not saying this to either support or criticise him, I am just pointing it out. Love him or hate him, he will be playing a part in the national renewal.

 

JOE BIDEN

 

In Aug 2020, before the last US election, I wrote: I think the probablity is that Biden will win, and after a year or two will have to stand down due to ill health, and Harris will take over.

In March this year I wrote: Joe Biden's mental capacity was questioned in a recent report. This is not a good sign for him, in a year in which Uranus will be opposing both his Sun and Mercury. Expect this issue to develop. With Sun and Mercury hidden in both the 12th and in Scorpio, the issue is probably already a lot worse than we know.

The stories of what it has really been like won't be out for a while yet.

 

 

THE RISE OF THE NEW GOD

Maybe the phenomenal drive we exhibit to create AI is in proportion to our lack, to the size of the God-shaped hole in the universe. God is dead, so let us build one instead. As Elon Musk says, maybe AI will discover how the universe works, will give us the answers to everything.

This is as Pluto enters Aquarius: the power of the transhuman; as Neptune enters Aries: the new God; and as Uranus enters Gemini: the trickster God of data and algorithms.

 

 

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AN OFFER YOU CANNOT REFUSE 😎 Buy either of my books on Amazon: The Medicine Wheel and Surfing the Galactic Highways by Barry Goddard, leave a genuine rating, and I will give you a FREE astrology reading. The books are very readable, and I defy you not to be seriously tempted once you have read some of the reviews. I blogged for 15 years before I wrote them, and I think I know in my bones what I write about.Either that, or I do readings by donation Email me at BWGoddard1@aol.co.uk

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SHAPES IN THE MIST

Any astrologer can see that with all 3 outer planets changing signs over the next 2 years, along with a Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries, that also sextiles both Uranus and Pluto, we are at the dawn of a new age. Comparable in magnitude to the early 90s and the end of the Cold War, when there was a triple conjunction of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The nature of that new age, however, is probably impossible to foresee. It was the same situation in the late 80s: astrologers could see something very big coming up, but how many saw the collapse of the current world order?

Maybe this says something about the astrologer's oracular function. The gods want humanity to see the shapes in the mist, and to open ourselves to the new. But if we thought we knew what those shapes portended, we would no longer be open. In these times of big change we sense a greater destiny at work, and listen. Something that a good astrologer is doing all the time, even without the help of the stars.

This next great turning of the Wheel is already happening in your bones. Feel it.

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 Astrology is a faith.

Part of the Mars journey for women lies in learning to tell the difference between the appearance of competence in men, and the real thing.

Part of the Venus journey for men lies in learning to tell the difference between a woman who wants you for reasons of status and security, and one who loves you for who are.

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 MORALITY vs PSYCHOLOGY

'Spiritual bypass' is better described as the sin of pride, in that we have awarded ourselves a spiritual status; and the sin of dishonesty, in that we are not owning the evil in our own hearts.

Good old-fashioned morality has a lot going for it. It doesn't care what happened to you in your childhood, or about diagnosing you with exculpatory psychological syndromes. It says here is what you are doing wrong in the eyes of the Great Spirit (or Gaia in Greek Mythology?) which is also the voice of your conscience: change it, or you will continue to suffer, and to be out of balance with yourself, with the world and with the gods/planets.

I think the most important part of a chart reading is not so much the description of someone's personality, as it is the unearthing of the transformative moral choices open to them. Transits open up these kinds of choices; change does not happen automatically.

 

YOUTUBE

I now have 45 10-minute astrology videos up on my youtube channel. I think they are a great free online resource If you teach astrology, please pass on the link! Or search Barry Goddard astrology on youtube. The channel also has about 40 videos on Chaos Shamanism, which I invented in April. That is why I have been so quiet with this blog. I have also been writing a book on Chaos Shamanism, coming out of the videos. Here is the preface: 

 

Shamanism is a Spirit, winging its way through humanity, all the way down from pre-history. It is rooted in our belonging to the natural world. It has no founder, no holy book, no teachings that are not dispensable. It is the original spirituality, seen as through a glass darkly by the major religions, but often clearly so by their heretics.

Shamanism is a current of energy, a high voltage cable. The teaching of Shamanism is as much about the transmission of this spirit, this energy, as it is about words. This is the real meaning of lineage – the passing down of that current through the generations.

And it is also playful. People get so serious when it comes to their ‘spirituality’. There is no such thing as ‘spirituality’. There is only life to be lived in a balanced way.

This book is made up largely of unscripted short talks I made for YouTube. This is the most traditional, and I think the best, way to teach. Whoever heard of a medicine person reading from a prepared text? No, the traditional way allows for spontaneity and play, and allows room for the Spirit to speak.

Why ‘Chaos’ Shamanism? All traditions turn into religions, to a greater or lesser degree. It is inevitable, and a necessary launch pad for many of us. We need to know ‘what’s what’, and who the guy with the ‘answers’ is. A good teacher will allow for this, and hand the projection back. But inevitably, it seems, the forms will take over. The Upper, Middle and Lower Worlds become real places, instead of ways of structuring experience. A Sweatlodge has to be built in exactly the right way. Teachers come to believe in their pedestals. And so on.

Chaos Shamanism has arisen as a necessary and ongoing response to Shamanism-as-religion, much as Dzogchen, with its emphasis on direct experience, arose in Tibetan Buddhism. It is Chaos in the deeper, ancient Greek sense of the ground of existence. It is also Chaos in the sense that it cannot be pinned down, being open to all practices and teachings, and allied with none. As such, it is particularly suitable for the age we live in, where by necessity we pick and choose from the available traditions.

Chaos Shamanism is heretical in the best sense. ‘Heretic’ comes from the ancient Greek word hairetikos, meaning 'able to choose'. Chaos Shamanism shows us how to do that with depth and with wisdom.

Creating this book was for me an exploration of what Chaos Shamanism might mean. It seems to be a live idea that keeps unfolding. I hope you enjoy the ride!