APRIL 2008 GALACTIC PROFILE

On March 10 the political world was stunned to learn that Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York and a past exemplar of law enforcement as the state’s Attorney General, a man with a reputation for toughness, tenacity and probity in prosecution, was named in a federal investigation into the activities of an international prostitution ring. Spitzer’s resignation shortly followed on the March 12. Unlike many laissez-faire Democrats, Spitzer was a staunch proponent of law and order, tough on crime and corruption, with a sterling record as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense prosecutor, known as “Mr. Clean.” Time magazine termed him “Crusader of the Year” in 2002. His fall has been dramatic and complete.

Born in the Bronx to parents of Austrian Jewish extraction, educated at Princeton and Harvard Law, Spitzer made waves early on with his vigorous pursuit of organized crime figures in New York, primarily the Gambino family. A long list of successful prosecutions for the District Attorney’s office led to his political rise with the 1998 election, where he gained the post of Attorney General for the state of New York. In that capacity he continued his crusade for justice, taking on the securities industry, insurance companies, police corruption, the entertainment industry and computer manufacturers. He became a powerful presence in Lower Manhattan, where he became locally known as “the sheriff of Wall Street” for his indictments in the banking community.

In late 2004 Spitzer announced his intention to run for the New York Governor’s office, almost two full years before the November 2006 election. He spent most of 2005 raising his public profile by campaigning for mayoral candidates across the length and breadth of New York, making regional contacts and garnering favorable publicity. That summer three-term Governor George Pataki declared he would not run again, greatly increasing Spitzer’s chances of success, with an open seat and a Republican Party in disarray.

His landslide victory in November 2006 was the largest in New York gubernatorial history. Spitzer won 69% of the vote, carrying all but three counties. His January 1, 2007 inauguration was the first in more than a century to be held outdoors.

The term has not been a successful one. Budget disputes and a $4 billion shortfall marred the first year, and political infighting between Spitzer and Republican minority leaders in the State Assembly increased gridlock. A proposal to legalize gay marriage was introduced by Spitzer in April, passed the Assembly, but failed in the State Senate. The governor was also accused of improper use of state police in tracking the movements of political opponents. In September his executive order authorizing state offices to issue driving licenses to illegal immigrant residents of New York sparked a controversy that found its way into the Democratic Presidential campaign. Public outcry and opposition in the legislature caused Spitzer to withdraw the order’s implementation that November. Just a year after his 69% victory, Spitzer’s approval rating had dropped to 33%.

On Monday, March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Spitzer was part of an ongoing federal probe into a high-end prostitution ring, Emperors Club VIP. In the indictment he was identified as “Client 9.” Spitzer had spent the evening of February 13 with a 22-year-old call girl at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC, registering under his own name and address. The young woman, based in New Jersey, had crossed state lines to keep the assignation, thus making it a federal crime. Spitzer reportedly paid $4300 for the two-hour session, part in compensation for those services, and part as a credit toward future calls.

This was not the first instance of Spitzer’s involvement with the Emperors Club. He paid the service more than $15,000 for eight appointments in the previous year, and cumulatively perhaps as much as $80,000. His activities had first come to light when his bank reported suspicious wire transfers, in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires that the IRS be informed of transfers in excess of $10,000. To evade this provision, Spitzer broke the fee into smaller amounts, but his request to have his name kept off the wire transfers alerted the bank to the unusual nature of the transactions. At first, bribery was suspected, but when the FBI became involved in the case, Spitzer’s link to the international prostitution ring was uncovered.

Spitzer held a very brief press conference late the day the Times story broke, with wife Silda at his side, stating simply, “Today I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.” Speculation ensued that Spitzer was delaying resignation as leverage in crafting a deal with prosecutors. The Republican minority in the State Assembly threatened impeachment proceedings if prompt action was not taken. On Wednesday the 12th, Spitzer formally resigned his office, effective Monday the 17th.

As has been the case with former public sex scandals (see my prior pieces on New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and Florida representative Mark Foley), galactics and asteroids fill in the gaps in our astrologic knowledge. Born 10 June 1959, Spitzer’s Sun at 19 Gemini closely opposes the Black Hole at 18 Sagittarius and is exactly conjunct asteroid Eos. Black Hole Suns can be extremely secretive, living double lives and publicly espousing virtues and beliefs which in private they reject. Such is clearly the case with Spitzer, known for his zealous pursuit and prosecution of criminal activity while New York Attorney General. Black Hole Sun is also subject to the type of dramatic reversal of fortune which Spitzer’s fall betrays, and in many cases, this is due to the sort of Greek-tragedy-type character flaw which led to his downfall.

Eos was the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn, an apparently inapt combination, until we look more closely at her myth. She was drawn into an affair with Ares, Aphrodite’s primary paramour. When the goddess of love discovered this infidelity, she cursed Eos with a constant craving for erotic passion, thus effectively rendering her a nymphomaniac. Spitzer has reportedly spent upwards of $80,000 on escort services, thus qualifying him for the male version of Eos’ affliction. To add insult to injury, asteroid Aphrodite lies at 19 Virgo, in exact square to Spitzer’s Sun and her old rival Eos, and transforming the Black Hole opposition into a T-Square.

Mars and Venus at 4 and 5 Leo both conjoin a Black Hole at 2 Leo and square another at 6 Scorpio, but they also square a polarity of Quasars at 4 Taurus and Scorpio. Black Hole Venus inclines individuals to form liaisons with persons whom others deem inappropriate, and Black Hole Mars can exert a sexual obsessiveness that is impossible to ignore, difficult to sate. Compulsive and secretive, Black Hole Mars also tends to unconventional sexual practices, and craves multiplicity, and the native can expend vast amounts of energy and resources in sexual pursuit. The Venus/Mars combination also suggests a pairing of sex and money, central to this case (the duo is also inconjunct natal Saturn at 4 Capricorn, again linking romance or sex with business).

The Quasars promote visibility and exposure, shining a spotlight on whatever they touch; it is not possible to conceal for long what they illuminate. It is also interesting to note that Spitzer’s activities were “brought to light” due to suspect banking practices, another nod to Venus’ financial implications. The 4 Taurus Quasar is further conjoined by asteroid Arachne at 2 Taurus, named for that weaver whom Athena transformed into a spider; thus she is in square to Venus/Mars, and oh, what a tangled web we weave! The 4 Scorpio Quasar is also the seat of natal Neptune, lending its patented brand of confusion and an inability to see the situation clearly, also inclining the native to romantic and sexual fantasy. Indeed, one wonders what Spitzer could possibly have been thinking, or how he expected to evade detection, particularly as in making his arrangements he utilized the very methods of email and text messaging which he is on record as counseling others against. This is strongly Neptunian, an inability to see in oneself what one sees so clearly in others, and a lack of awareness as to the probable consequences of one’s actions.

The Venus/Mars conjunction is also broadly conjoined natal Uranus at 13 Leo, itself exactly atop a controversy-provoking Maser. Uranus with these personal planets inclines the native to form unorthodox or unusual unions, and adds a decided element of kink to intimacy, evoking actions which others would consider bizarre or eccentric. There is again a restlessness in sexual matters, an unwillingness to be fettered or restrained, and a tendency toward impulsive action or recklessness. The Maser’s presence here acts to magnify the salacious quality of the episode, evoking shock, controversy and disruption.

Uranus itself is exactly opposed by asteroid Damocles, conjunct the Black Hole at 13 Aquarius. Indeed, Spitzer’s unconventional sexual activities have been a sword suspended over his head, the precise nature of the thread being cut further defined by Damocles’ close pairing with asteroid Lust at 18 Aquarius, which is tightly trine Spitzer’s Sun. Lust rebounds in an exact opposition to Vesta at 18 Leo, adding an element of ritualistic need, and the likelihood of a precise patterning of practices. It also defines Spitzer’s passion for prostitutes, which is in fact what the original Vestal Virgins were, not chaste maidens but rather sacred whores.

Jupiter at 24 Scorpio retrograde is part of a Galactic Grand Cross, conjunct asteroid Sisyphus at 23 Scorpio retrograde, exactly opposed a Black Hole at 24 Taurus and squared to both the Quasar at 25 Aquarius and asteroid Eros at 23 Leo. Here we have that fatal combination of erotic passion (Eros) with politics (Jupiter), with the Black Hole motivating complete surrender and immersion in one’s desires, while the Quasar provides the ultimate revelation of these to the public. Sisyphus, named for that Hadean worthy doomed to forever roll the same rock up a slope, only to have it roll back down again, lends a quality of compulsion and signals the repetitive nature of Spitzer’s infractions. Jupiter also acts to inflate and expand Eros’ passions, and its square to Lust should not be discounted. Seemingly this was a behavior over which Spitzer had no control, which eventually attained a life of its own, bringing about his ruin.

Additional galactic contacts include an exact square from natal Mercury at 28 Gemini to the Black Hole at 28 Pisces, indicating deceptive communication and flawed reasoning; and natal Saturn exactly conjunct the Black Hole at 4 Capricorn. This expresses both the accruing of extensive executive power as governor of New York, and the dramatic and sudden reversal which drove him out of office, destroying his career.

Pluto at 1 Virgo conjoins asteroid Karma at 3 Virgo, an apt image of the devastation wrought by our actions. To inveigh against lawlessness in the manner of “Eliot Ness” Spitzer, and then to proceed lawlessly, is to court a karmic comeuppance of major proportions, and a fall of plutonic thoroughness.

Minor Planet Eris at 10 Aries is exactly conjunct a Quasar, conjoined by asteroids Fanny and Pandora at 11 and 12 Aries, and opposed asteroids Juno and Pecker, both at 10 Libra. Eris is the troublemaker, tetchy and quarrelsome, evoking conflict, which is doubtless something felt very strongly right now by Spitzer’s spouse, as represented by the opposition to Juno. The combination of Fanny and Pecker may well be an apt one, indicating what particular services Juno was unwilling to provide, and the myth of Pandora’s box is evocative of the hail of troubles which have redounded upon Spitzer’s head when the Quasar turned its spotlight onto these points.

The transits for the day the Times story broke are incredibly telling. Uranus and the Sun joined at 18 and 20 Pisces, in a tight, tag-teaming square to Spitzer’s 19 Gemini Sun, disclosing the shocking revelations. Mars at 2 Cancer opposed Pluto at 1 Capricorn, itself conjoined Spitzer’s 4 Capricorn Saturn, indicating the total devastation (Pluto) wrought to his career (Saturn) by sex (Mars). Mercury at 24 Aquarius, with Neptune standing by at 22 Aquarius and Venus at 26, was highlighted by a Quasar at 25, all bringing up the natal square from passionate Eros at 23 Leo to libertine Jupiter at 24 Scorpio. Saturn at 3 Virgo was exactly conjoined asteroid Karma and within orb of natal Pluto at 1 Virgo.

The asteroid placements are even more apt, with the entire cast of natal characters making important contacts in the sky that day. Transit Aphrodite at 13 Aquarius was exactly conjunct natal Damocles, while Chiron, the wounded healer, exactly conjoined natal Lust at 18 Aquarius, emphasis added by transit Icarus, the rash risk-taker, at 19 Aquarius. Arachne at 10 Libra was exactly on natal Pecker and Juno, while Karma at 9 Gemini was in a tight trine. Eros at 13 Aries exactly opposed a Black Hole and had just crossed natal Eris, Fanny and Pandora. Transit Fanny at 1 Leo was conjunct natal Venus and Mars, and transit Sisyphus at 4 Scorpio highlighted the natal Neptune/Quasar there, bringing out the T-Square to Arachne and Venus/Mars. Both Lust at 5 Sagittarius and Pecker at 16 Taurus were exactly conjoined Black Holes, Lust in trine to natal Venus/Mars and Pecker forming a T-Square with natal Damocles, Lust and Uranus.

A truly stunning Black Hole reversal of almost biblical proportions, ending the public career of a man once tapped as potentially the first Jewish president of America, the Sheriff of Wall Street, Mr. Clean, Client #9.

Alex Miller-Mignone is a professional writer and astrologer, author of The Black Hole Book and The Urban Wicca, former editor of "The Galactic Calendar," and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society.

His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex can be reached for comment or services at Alixilamirorim@aol.com.