June 2, 2003

Saturn Enters Cancer

On June 3 Saturn enters Cancer, the sign corresponding to family concerns and domestic security. This astro-event begins a phase lasting through July 2005, and is particularly important for the United States with its Sun in Cancer. Saturn, the taskmaster, places great responsibilities on family patriarchs (and matriarchs), which in the national scene translates as great responsibilities on the President.

In traditional astrology, cool Saturn is not comfortable in emotional Cancer. Family life can get too structured or overly sentimental. In the geopolitical realm, people feel strong attachments to the homeland, whether they're American patriots, Kurdish rebels, or Palestinian refugees. Because the current U.S. job market is unusually weak, over 50 percent of graduating college seniors will be returning to live with their parents, placing renewed pressure on family dynamics.

In October Saturn's transit to the U.S. Sun is complicated by Chiron's simultaneous opposition, and this promises to be troublesome for the Bush administration. However, through the end of this month Saturn's passage through the first few degrees of Cancer is strongly supported by Uranus in Pisces. These two outer planets form a favorable trine, and offer a unique window of opportunity to make headway in some of the world's most difficult problem areas.

As Saturn enters Cancer President Bush will be convening a three-way summit on the so-called roadmap to peace. The Palestinians have readily accepted the plan, and last week Israel's Prime Minister Sharon Ariel Sharon (February 27, 1928; 7:30 am; Yehud, Israel) unexpectedly withdrew his objections and began supporting the plan. Transiting Uranus has been hovering around his Mercury, leading to this sudden change of attitude.

Jupiter and Neptune, Expanded Vision or Deluded Fantasies?

Jupiter and Neptune form their third and final opposition on June 2 at virtually the same time that Saturn enters Cancer. When Jupiter, the planet of expansion and growth, aligns with Neptune, the planet of idealism and imagination, great visions become possible. As Saturn enters Cancer and President Bush is assuming more responsibility, the Jupiter-Neptune transit inspires the roadmap to peace.

The downside is that Jupiter's tendency toward overconfidence and Neptune's susceptibility to unrealistic fantasies can make this transit a seductive, grandiose illusion. Last week as Jupiter and Neptune drew close to their exact opposition, Bush signed a huge $350 billion tax cut designed to spark a sluggish economy into higher gear. Critics complain that the budget will initiate chronic deficits, destroying the chance for a healthy economy. Also, eliminated from the bill at the last minute was the $400 child credit for America's poorest families.

As Jupiter and Neptune get closer to their exact opposition, visions can founder on the rocks of reality. The bubble bursts, and the illusion is revealed as being a deception or misguided. Throughout Washington and across the European continent last week a furor erupted over whether the U.S.-led war against Iraq was justified since no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have been found.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was widely quoted as saying that the WMD issue was the one reason that unified opposition to Saddam's Iraq. Now the CIA and other intelligence agencies are in a state of total demoralization because dubious intelligence was used as propaganda. The feeling from these agencies is that the American people were manipulated, and that intelligence was distorted for political reasons.

Affleck and J. Lo's Wedding Plans

Although Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have not yet set the date, the paparazzi is already in a bidding war for their wedding pictures. The British magazine OK! paid $1.6 million for wedding pictures from Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones' ceremony, but Russell Crowe and his bride Danielle Spencer offered a free video to escape the frenzied demand for celebrity wedding photos.

Neither Jen nor Ben have a very good track record in the romance department, and their individual horoscopes underscore this astrological tendency. However, their composite chart* looks much better with a sensuous Sun-Venus conjunction in Leo. Their composite chart features a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and currently the transiting Jupiter-Neptune opposition is perfectly aligned with their composite Sun.

The J.Lo-Affleck alliance is a great example of a Jupiter-Neptune fantasy that grips the public imagination, but is it real? Their Jupiter-Neptune is opposed by Saturn, the planet that makes us pay for our delusions. Saturn has a nasty habit of breaking down unrealistic expectations, and now that Saturn is entering Cancer, and forming a hard aspect to their Neptune, we might expect a crack to appear in their ideal romance.

At the same time transiting Uranus is forming a long term square to their Jupiter-Neptune-Saturn configuration, leading to plenty of excitement, but also some unexpected developments. When Mars enters Pisces in mid-June, it will unite with Uranus to ignite any underlying tensions. Due to its retrograde cycle, Mars passes over this critical degree three times, and we might see them change their mind several times about their wedding plans.


* see NewsScope September 30, 2002

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