September 20, 2004

Laura Bush, The Popular First Lady

In many of George Bush's speeches he says that the best reason to re-elect him means four more years of Laura Bush. As a political strategy, the line is on target since two thirds of eligible voters have a favorable opinion of her and only 12 percent have an unfavorable opinion. George W's numbers are much weaker, with a full 40 percent seeing him unfavorably.

Laura Bush was born with the Sun in Scorpio and Moon in Pisces (November 4, 1946; 6:00 pm; Midland, TX), which is the same Sun-Moon blend as Hillary Clinton. With her Sun conjunct Jupiter, Laura Bush radiates a compassion and generosity of spirit that transcends political ideology. Her Jupiter happens to be exactly conjunct the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant, undoubtedly accounting for much of her popularity.

Ms. Bush's Sun is severely challenged by squares to her Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This stressful aspect drives her to make something of her life, to become an effective force capable of re-shaping social and political realities. Since her Sun is near the seventh house of partners, she readily takes on the role of the supportive wife, and sublimates her drive into pushing her husband forward.

Laura Bush's Scorpio Sun, and the square to Saturn-Pluto make her familiar with life and death* situations, and the power of transformation. She is given credit for giving George an ultimatum (Pluto) that brought him out of his alcohol phase, and putting him on his current political path. Compared to George's horoscope, Laura's has much more ambition. She is the quiet power behind the throne.

Hurricanes, Complexity and Astrology

If a butterfly flaps its wings in East Africa, it could create a hurricane in Florida. This apparent absurdity is derived from the emerging mathematical model known as Complexity Theory. Climatologists use Complexity in their computer analysis of hurricanes, knowing that small disturbances in tropical weather patterns can lead to huge changes. Among the disturbances being considered is global warming.**

Complexity Theory represents a paradigm shift in many scientific disciplines, and it fits quite well with astrology. Essentially, it's rooted in the notion that "everything is connected", and implies a systems view of our collective reality rather than a reductionist or mechanistic view. The old astrological maxim "As above, so below" is reflected in the Complexity view of wholeness and its imbedded networks.

Oil, ruled by Neptune, is an obvious expression of the waning Age of Pisces. Dependency on oil and its polluting CO2 emissions leads to global warming, but those who rely on the reductionist view say there is no "proof". Taking the quantum leap into the Complexity paradigm means seeing how everything is connected. Raising the ocean's equatorial surface temperature means more hurricanes are coming.

Complexity Theory uses fractal geometry to depict how similar shapes repeat at different scales of observable reality. In the same way, a horoscope can represent an individual, corporation, nation, or any self-organizing entity. Complexity Theory is naturally associated with Aquarius since both take a system's view of reality. Astrology and Complexity are the vanguard expressions of the Age of Aquarius.

Ichiro Suzuki, Going for the Record