March 8, 2004
Martha Stewart, Guilty on All Charges
Last week Martha Stewart's defense team decided to not put their celebrity on the witness stand, gambling that they had successfully undermined the prosecutor's case. The jurors, who therefore had heard only one side of the story, found Stewart guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Stewart vowed to appeal the case and predicted that she would be "completely exonerated."
Martha Stewart was born a regal Leo (August 3, 1941; 1:33 pm; Jersey City, NJ), with her Sun* conjunct strong-willed Pluto in the ninth house of publishing. Her Sun also trines a bold Mars in Aries, giving her the competitive instincts of a professional athlete. The second house of personal assets indicates how one can make money, and she has the domestic Moon located there in trendy Sagittarius.
The natal potential of financial scandal can be seen in her Moon's square to Neptune. Over the last two years transiting Pluto has opposed her eighth house Jupiter (representing her corporate assets), and is now closing in on her second house Moon. Pluto here can bring financial ruin, and last Friday when the verdict was returned Stewart's OmniMedia company plunged 23 percent in value.
Political astrologers will note the parallel between Martha Stewart's horoscope and the U.S. Scorpio Rising horoscope, both of which are experiencing transiting Pluto going through the second house. In Stewart's case, transiting Jupiter turns direct on May 5 while conjunct her Venus. This represents a window of opportunity to successfully appeal the decision. Otherwise, she is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17 when transiting Saturn squares her Mars, and blocks her freedom of movement.
Neptune and the Vice Presidency
As George W. Bush's term in office nears its completion this year, many traditional astrologers may be scratching their heads, wondering how he survived the infamous Presidential Death cycle. As the theory goes, the president elected in a "zero" year is destined to die in office. So far the cycle has included Harrison (1840), Lincoln (1865), Garfield (1881), McKinley (1901), Harding (1923), and Kennedy (1963).
The astrological reasons for this cycle are fuzzy, but most often attributed to the Jupiter-Saturn cycle. Reagan escaped, perhaps because he had the agile assistance of astrologer Joan Quigley. What the tradition doesn't explain is why U.S. presidents should be singled out for this eerie event, or why the presidents die several years after the actual Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.
The logical explanation is that the cycle relates to a fundamental dynamic in the U.S. national horoscope. Of the many national horoscopes available to the political astrologer, only the Scorpio Rising horoscope (2:21 pm; July 4, 1776) demonstrates both the natal potential as well as the timing for this cycle. The potential is seen in Mars in the eighth house of death which is under stress by a square to Neptune. Neptune's hard transits to the Midheaven** give the timing.
The cycle was initiated when transiting Neptune was first conjunct the foundation of the Scorpio Rising horoscope in 1840. That was almost one complete Neptune cycle ago. The next critical passage over this point is due in 2005-06. Clearly, whoever becomes the vice president - whether Dick Cheney or John Kerry's selection, stands a good chance of becoming president within a couple of years.
Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Ambitious and Independent
In a recent interview, actor/writer Ethan Hawke blamed the break-up of his marriage with actress Uma Thurman on ambition. "It's just too hard to be married to a woman who wants to be a movie star," he said, though he acknowledged she has the right to want that. The two split last year when he reportedly had an affair with a Canadian model.
Uma Thurman was born a sensuous Taurus (April 29, 1970; 1:51 pm; Boston), with her Sun conjunct Saturn to give her keen ambition. The love planets Venus and Mars are also conjunct and found on her tenth house of career where they are supported by a trine to dramatic, offbeat Uranus. Her Aquarius Moon likewise reflects on her attraction to the unusual and gives her a strong independence streak.
Ethan Hawke was born an intense Scorpio (November 6, 1970; Austin, TX; time unknown). His Sun opposed to Saturn likewise infuses his spirit with a strong need to make a name for himself, while his Mars-Uranus conjunction injects that need with an urgency and impatience. Hawke's Moon in Aquarius parallels Thurman's.
The two met while filming the sci-fi hit Gattica in 1997, and were married on May 1, 1998 as transiting Saturn was conjunct his Ceres (the parenting asteroid) and transiting Pluto was trine her Ceres. She gave birth to their first child two months after the marriage. Their partnership ended last year when Uranus, often referred to as the divorce planet, entered her seventh house of partners.
* For further details, see NewsScopes April 22 and August 12, 2002
** For more info on this, see NewsScope November 24, 2003 or visit
http://www.homestead.com/politicalastrology/MC.html
