August 16, 2004

The Mercury File, Update

Mercury's retrograde station last week, accompanied by the challenging opposition to Uranus, led to a wide variety of snafus, strange twists, and atypical developments. As surprise and uncertainty became the norm, firm decisions were made and then unmade. Backtracking and reconsideration could be seen in most every fractal unit across the global village, from Iraq to Florida to Athens.

Meteorologists had predicted that Hurricane Charley would invade the Florida coastline at Tampa, and ordered two million citizens there to evacuate. At the last moment, the storm radically shifted into the extreme Category 4 level, but veered away from Tampa and across Punta Gorda. As when Hurricane Andrew struck in August 1992, transiting Jupiter was in mid-Virgo and forming hard aspects to several outer planets.

As cited last week, developments at the Olympics and Iraq likewise veered off its probable path. The host country Greece lost its favored athletes to suspected steroid use, and the anticipated flood of tourists into Athens ebbed to a trickle amidst price gouging and extraordinary security measures. Over the next week watch for additional surprises and upsets, both on and off the field.

U.S. military forces surrounded Najaf last week and wobbled in face of potential backlash. First they delayed, then they attacked, then they talked, and attacked again. Developments in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case took the same zigzag course, as did the various proposals for national intelligence reform, which suddenly shifted when Bush appointed Porter Goss to head the CIA. As these events illustrate, for the next few weeks the astrologically-savvy will be expecting the unexpected.

McGreevey's Surprise Resignation

New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, with his wife and parents at his, held a stunning news conference last Thursday in which he disclosed in quick succession that he had an extra-marital affair, that he was gay, and that he would resign on November 15. The November 15 date is significant because it assures that a fellow Democrat will serve the remainder of his term which ends January 2006.

James McGreevey was born with his Leo Sun opposite Chiron and conjunct Uranus (August 6 1957; Jersey City NJ; time unknown). While astrology cannot determine one's sexual orientation, the Chiron-Uranus polarity is a generational influence that when closely aligned with the Sun can make one feel like an outsider, or different from "normal". Many with this combination compensate for what feels like socially unacceptable behavior by being as straight as possible.

McGreevey's Saturn in ethical Sagittarius represents his projected normalcy to the outside world, the part of him that was given a moral compass by his Catholic upbringing. Now, the transiting Mercury-Uranus opposition (discussed last week) is forming a challenging square to his Saturn, shattering the conventional image that he so painstakingly carved out for himself.

Uranus represents the liberating expression of his true self, and many observers commented on how free he looked after coming out of the closet. However his troubles are far from over. In the coming week transiting Mars will be squaring his Saturn, an aspect full of punishing actions and threats. This likely corresponds to increased pressure from New Jersey Republicans to resign before September 2 so that a special election can be held.

Mike Wallace and the Meatloaf Incident