The Meaning of the Moon
2003 Moon Cycle Reports:
Taurus (May)
Aries (April)
Pisces (March)
Aquarius (Feb)
Capricorn (Jan)
Sagittarius (Dec)
2003 Moon Cycle Reports:
Taurus (May)
Aries (April)
Pisces (March)
Aquarius (Feb)
Capricorn (Jan)
Sagittarius (Dec)
2002 Moon Reports:
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
April-May
March
February
January
|
M A Y A ' S M O O N R E P O R T , J U L Y 2 0 0 3 Reread the May 31 entry for the Gemini New Moon, which was a solar eclipse conjoined the U.S. Uranus. At this same degree is the bright reddish fixed star, Antares, which is associated with aggressiveness. This New Moon spoke to the character of the month of June. Gemini is about connections and communications. With Antares involved we can expect those connections to be assertive. With the eclipse, there will be some special shifts. GW’s actions re Iraq arouse repercussions. This Solar Eclipse squared—or challenged—GW’s Mars in Virgo. The process of his inevitable demise is really stepping up now—through information and connections, past and present. For instance, the lies of the Bush Administration about our need to invade Iraq are being exposed, partly by retired and resigned Administration people who feel a need to speak out the truth. Bush has been using the CIA as a political backup, and now as a scapegoat, and the morale of that Agency is way way down. It will surely affect the quality of their work, just when we especially need them to provide accurate information about possible threats to U.S. security. Bush is being ever more challenged around the world. At the G-8 Conference in Evian, France during June, he was snubbed by European leaders, and reportedly nothing substantive was accomplished. Again, with this lack of cooperation, the European intelligence services will be less likely to cooperate with the U.S.—an essential in pursuing terrorist threats against the U.S. And there is the eclipse of law and order, and of basic living needs, in Iraq. Utilities work only in a few places, hospitals are nearly nonfunctional, there is cholera in Basra due to bad water, the people are starving, and conditions in the country are chaotic. The Pentagon has cracked down on a free press. The military "government" provides a "code of conduct" for Iraqi journalists. The U.S. said, early in June, that Iraq won’t govern itself, that the U.S. and the UK will do it, contrary to what they promised earlier about the Iraqis governing themselves. The Security Council of the UN agreed to this proposal. The U.S. promised democracy to Iraq. Besides eliminating both promises of and conditions for democracy, such as a free press, the U.S. is governing very poorly—from the luxury of Saddam’s main palace and behind its high barricades. These conditions have aroused resentment in Iraq, and thus American troops, trying to keep order, become targets of Iraqi hostility. ("Bring ‘em on!" challenges Bush. Great.) A respected U.S. military leader, Maj. Gen. William Nash, said, "The Administration failed to understand the mindset and attitudes of the Iraqi people, and the depth of hostility towards the U.S. in much of the country." He told the British Observer that attacks on U.S. troops represent "a confluence of various forces which channel the disgruntlement of the Iraqi people." Nash, now retired, served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, and in Bosnia. In early June, U.S. forces launched a mass roundup of Iraqis. 2,000 are being held, incommunicado, not charged with anything. Top Pentagon officials indicated that U.S. troops might remain in Iraq for as long as ten years. Gen. Peter Pace, Vice-chairman of the Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate committee that the number of combat troops in Iraq (now about 150,000) will not be reduced in the foreseeable future. There is no help for Iraqi businesses, industries, or farms to get back on their feet. Instead there is beginning a flood of consumer goods from the U.S., which encourages black markets and corruption, and further demoralizes the poverty-stricken Iraqi people. However, the oil industry is beginning to function, despite its antiquated equipment, thanks to the cooperation of experienced Iraqis. Self-determination strengthens in the Middle East. Students in Iran staged a rebellion against the Moslem regime, reportedly because of general repression, and because the regime is trying to privatize the university. Bush is cheering on the rebels, although they say they don’t want him in their cheering section. Bush submitted a "Roadmap for Peace" to Israel, and visited with Sharon and Abbas in Jordan. Israel submitted token concessions, but in fact is continuing to build settlements. A reporter watched 300 American Jews arrive at the airport in Tel Aviv, and be given immediate citizenship. 700 more were due to arrive soon. All of them were going to populate settlements in Palestine. Israel is a Taurus nation, possessive about its territory—and continually wanting to expand it. The Israeli Refusenik movement, young people who refuse to register for the Israeli military because of its actions in Palestine, is growing rapidly. Can the U.S. blanket the world with GMO’s? Gemini is a trader. It is an important sign in the U.S. chart, and trade has always been a major U.S. activity. The main domestic campaign of the Bush Administration during June has been peddling genetically modified organisms—GMO’s. The U.S. has been fighting the tide of rejection of GMO’s raging throughout the world, somewhat successfully due to its economic clout. In this case, that clout depends on the enormous government subsidies paid U.S. agribusiness. Because of them, the U.S. can undercut the prices of other countries’ agricultural products. In both Washington DC and in Sacramento, California, there were huge conferences of biotech industries during June. The one in California was called by the U.S. government in order to sell the biotech industries to farmers of all nations, before the WTO meeting in Cancun in September. European governments did not attend. However, later the European Union did announce a set of standards for GM food. The fact that they created those standards, which include GM food if it is labeled, opened the door to U.S. agribusiness. The U.S. has a suit against the EU (filed in the World Trade Organization) for keeping out GM foods, and thus depriving U.S. biotech of potential income. (Perhaps now that suit is being dropped.) In the UN, Palau became the 50th country to ratify the International Biotech Treaty, which contains a GMO protocol. The Treaty now becomes operative, although the U.S. has not ratified it, and thus has no input into its terms. Genetic modification is a very Gemini activity—connecting all these various organisms’ DNA to one another. Mix and match, and see what comes out. To Gemini, just making connections is interesting. Media conglomeration gets a big boost, and the NY Times admits to fraud on the part of two of its reporters. In Washington, the Federal Communications Commission, mandated to keep watch on the airwaves, greatly relaxed media rules, allowing increased monopolization of news media. This was done with little publicity, but since the 5-3 vote, many who want to retain media diversity have been protesting loudly, including some Congress people. Michael Powell, Colin Powell’s son, heads the FCC. Scandals concerning the fraudulent reporting of two of its reporters resulted in the resignations of the Editor and the Managing Editor of the venerable New York Times. A third reporter, star Judith Miller, received much criticism re her slanted pre-invasion reports which helped fan the drive to war of the U.S. public. Further, as an imbedded reporter during the "war," she actually facilitated aggressive action by U.S. soldiers in order to get a good story. Also, the "rescue of Jessica Lynch" by the U.S. military, which became a heroic TV drama, was exposed as fabrication by eyewitnesses. The Supreme Court makes several important decisions. The final Supreme Court decisions of the season favored civil rights. The justices affirmed affirmative action at the University of Michigan, but with restrictions. It was a hardfought battle in the court, which included Bush speaking out against affirmative action (an odd prelude for his trip to Africa). The Justices finally struck down Texas’ anti-sodomy laws, in a decision in which the justices essentially affirmed the right of adults to privacy in their sexual activities. This is an official statement which supports the sexual privacy of all of us, but it is gays and lesbians who have particularly needed that right under the law. Gay rights received two other boosts. In New Hampshire, a gay bishop was elected in the Episcopal Church. In Canada, the legal rights afforded by heterosexual marriage were extended to gay and lesbian partners. More on the courts: The House of Representatives voted that all class action suits must go to Federal Courts, none to State Courts. This is admittedly because class action suits are brought against big corporations, and the corporations receive more protection in the Federal Courts. Other June highlights include the U.S. withdrawing its troops from the demilitarized zone between the Koreas, and from Saudi Arabia. NASA launched a Mars Rover, due to arrive at Mars in January. (The EU did the same, at about the same time.) Homeland Security deported 13,000 aliens, who had signed the mandatory registration several months ago. There has been a big drought in western U.S., as well as in Africa. Show business—California’s politics… In California the focus is on mean-spirited Republican tactics to keep the majority Democratic government from functioning. The Budget, which requires a two-thirds vote, is at an impasse, leading to all sorts of fiscal problems for the State and for its employees, as well as for education, health services, and many other programs. It seems the Republicans refuse to cut spending and refuse to raise taxes. The Republican legislative leader has used overt blackmail, saying that "any Republican legislator who votes for the Governor’s budget is politically dead." In addition, we have another Republican move which many of us consider kooky, and have refused to take seriously. The Republicans have mounted a recall effort against Gov. Davis, who was just re-elected with a large majority. Although there are things for which the Governor can be faulted, guess what the Repubs have chosen for the issue on which to nail him—the budget! The Republicans have the money, and have gathered enough petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Many progressives are disenchanted with the Governor’s tough stance on prisoner sentencing, and his support of more and more prisons. There is also criticism for his great interest in raising campaign funds, and for his handling of the energy crisis. However, Gov. Davis has been very good on some vital issues. He strongly supports environmental laws; California has the only Global Warming law in the nation, and it is becoming a model. The Governor also actively supports women’s choice, and he also supports strong civil rights protections. Gov. Davis has taken courageous positions against the Bush Administration. I believe it is for these reasons that the Republicans want to get rid of him. Also, it may be a wag-the-dog situation. The emphasis on Gov. Davis as responsible for California’s budgetary woes takes the heat off the White House and the poor economy as partly responsible—in preparation for the coming elections. It will be a strange election. On the same ballot, we vote yes or no on the recall, and then vote for our choice for governor in case the recall wins. Among the likely Republican candidates is Arnold Schwarzenegger, famous for his role as Terminator. Many are saying that spending state money at this time for a recall election is irresponsible. Others say that furthering the reputation of California as politically unstable will discourage new business. The whole thing seems very odd, as well as destructive to good government. We do have some good news. The City of San Francisco, the State of California EPA, and the United Nations have all passed laws affirming the precautionary principle. This principle says that if some substance or action has the possibility of being harmful, we do not loose it into the environment. And conversely, the manufacturer has the obligation to prove that a substance is not harmful, rather than the victim or the State proving harm, as in the past. These are landmark affirmations. What was the theme of your connections in June? Gemini is the sign of my North Node of the Moon. Being in touch with information, and making connections is my destiny. June was a very people-oriented month for me. I had many client contacts, as well as family connections—especially with those members with Moon in Gemini. I spent a few days with my daughter Penelope in Santa Cruz, and we did a lot of moving around, making connections all over town. Santa Cruz has a very Gemini feel. |
