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.

  -----------------------------------------

 

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.

 -----------------------------------------

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

  -----------------------------------------

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.

 

  -----------------------------------------

 

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 🤣

 

  -----------------------------------------

 

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.