JULY 2006 FEATURE ARTICLE

Historically, the United States was referred to as a “Jupiterian” nation. This fits the July 4, 1776 Sibly chart, with Sagittarius rising. Jupiter is the ruler of Sagittarius, and thus is considered the chart ruler. Jupiter in the U.S. chart is very well placed, for it conjoins the U.S. Sun, as well as its Venus. The U.S. has indeed been a well-endowed, fortunate, and optimistic nation.

GW Bush was born on July 6 (1946, 7:46 a.m., New Haven, CT), with his Sun conjoined that of the U.S. His Jupiter in Libra is placed at the bottom of his chart, the “silver spoon” position, and conjoins his Moon, also fortunate. Juno, where research has shown me that that terror resides, sits crowded between his Moon and Jupiter—not so fortunate.

Donald Rumsfeld was born on July 9 (1932, 5:40 p.m., Chicago), also with Sagittarius rising, and Jupiter in a very strong position. His Jupiter in the dominating sign of Leo exactly trines his willful Uranus in Aries, is on his Sun-Moon midpoint, and conjoins Juno. The Juno conjunction relates to his mammoth insecurity and his desire to engage in torture.

In the heavens, Jupiter in the powerful, transformative sign of Scorpio turns direct on July 6, where these three birthdays converge with their Solar Returns, setting new cycles in motion. They are in sync.

Jupiter’s nature is expansive. In Scorpio, it seeks to expand power. A direct turn moves a planet—any planet—into powerful manifestation. Solar Return influences persist for the entire year. Jupiter will thus be extraordinarily potent for this trio.

It looks very much as though the U.S. will wheel right ahead with its agenda of military domination.

Saturn conjoins Juno in all of the returns. This looks like prisoner torture will continue, for the sake of “security.” Mars in Leo is part of this powerful quartet in Leo, and Mars in Leo can’t be stopped. In addition, Mars opposes Neptune, the fantasy planet.

Mercury, freshly retrograde, sits between Sun and Mars. There is a pullback somewhere.

In the U.S. Solar Return (July 5), Sun and Mercury are in the 12th house—the “closet.” The 1st house is full of the Leo planets, ready for take-charge action. The wheel here is almost exactly the same as W’s wheel, showing that he is in charge of the ship of state. His Solar Return is different, but these are the transiting planets for his natal chart.

Natally, Bush has Sun in the 12th house, so this chart reinforces his propensity for acting in secret and under cover as leader of the country.

The 4th house cusp exactly conjoin Bush’s 4th house, again showing how his foundation is that of the U.S., and vice versa. Moon conjoins Jupiter in the 4th house, adding to the U.S. secrecy complex—“for security.”

Pallas Athena in the 6th is great for problem solving, but the problems probably will be military problems. Pluto in the 5th trines the Aries midheaven (which conjoins Rumsfeld’s Uranus), showing the inexorable growth of power, most likely military power.

Chiron and Neptune in the 7th show inventive space ventures, and Uranus in the 8th shows that the transformation of freedom speeds up.

Bush’s Solar Return is also on July 5, but much later in the day. He has Pluto on the Ascendant, just as he does natally. It squares the Moon’s Nodes, showing that he can change the world.

His midheaven, where he shows his face to the world, is conjunct his natal Chiron. This emphasizes Chiron, which often relates to technology. The Solar Return Chiron is in his second house of resources, conjoined the ever-deceptive Neptune.

Uranus in Pisces is in W’s 3rd house of mind, giving his mind a weird twist. Venus in Gemini is in his 6th house of the services, midway between the U.S. Uranus and Mars, a warlike combination.

The retrograde Mercury, along with all of the accompanying dominating Leo planets (which now conjoin Bush’s ascendant and first house) are in the 8th house of crisis, birth, death, and regeneration. Interesting. His personal projection will change.

And finally, our Scorpio Jupiter-Moon is in the 10th house of the public. Bush’s magnetic emotional power may be at an all-time high.

Donald Rumsfeld’s Solar Return occurs on July 9. He has a very assertive and transformative chart.

Mars in commanding Leo is on top—the face the world sees. Tough Scorpio is rising, with Jupiter close, but barely in the hidden 12th house. He can keep his secrets while he wields his power.

Pluto, the volcanic chart ruler, is in the 2nd house of resources conjoined Moon in Capricorn. He is a wily, savvy operator. Sun is in his 8th house of crisis, as it is in his natal chart, and he feels quite at home operating there.

Mars and midheaven conjoin his natal Jupiter, and he will be feeling an enormous sense of entitlement. The world is his oyster.

Jupiter, remember, is King of the Gods. It appears that this Jupiter trio is well set up to take advantage of Jupiter’s expansive ruling power this next year.

However, we can ALL take advantage of Jupiter in Scorpio to grow our own power. Saturn in Leo can help each of us to assume our own authority. And Chiron in Aquarius can help us to invent our own social configurations, and prepare for independence from outer authorities.

The aspects this month are, in fact, superb for cutting the cord of dependence on Big Daddy (exemplified by TV, media, etc.) and focusing on our own personal resources.

I’ve written this whole article on those very authorities, but what really matters is our inner voice. Mercury retrograde this month can help us to discover and develop that voice.

Perhaps this article can help dispel illusions that change for the better is just around the corner “out there.”

We have to make our own change. This is our big challenge. But at the same time, the energy is here to help us make those necessary transformations.

We just need to ask for and open to help and guidance. Perhaps the greatest source of support is a sense of community, which is quickly disappearing from our cultural scene.

To promote community, Daykeeper will publish articles concerning working communities. Contributions are welcome.