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NewsScope for February 21, 2000 by WolfStar Mercury Retrograde Shifts Momentum To Bush Limping out of New Hampshire, George W. Bush engineered a scrappy comeback with Saturday's victory in the South Carolina primary. Bush poured some $3 million into an advertising blitz against McCain, and by drawing strong support from the religious right, captured the contest by a convincing majority. Astrologically, the shifting political winds can be seen in Mercury's path, which has just reversed itself. Mercury is now retrograde in Pisces, and this condition continues right through Super Tuesday on March 7 when a dozen states, including California and New York, hold their primaries. Mercury is the natural ruler of opinions, polls, and political policies, but the Communications planet is weak in Pisces (especially when retrograde). Mercury here all too easily creates a climate of misinformation, deception, and outright lies. Over the next three weeks the American people should be subjected to an overwhelming number of absurd accusations and phony campaign promises. Throughout the 2000 election season transiting Pluto trines Bush's natal Pluto, powerfully placed near his Ascendant. Then transiting Uranus trines his natal Uranus and Jupiter, forming a protective, lucky Grand Trine. At the moment, only a progressed Mercury aspect (a tri-octile to Pallas) shows potential trouble, which may lead to eventful verbal gaffes. Iran's Revolution within a Revolution Reformists claimed a major victory during last week-end's Parliamentary elections in Iran, a revolutionary development expected to bring historic economic and social changes. Iran's experimentation with democracy is leading the way among Mid-East Islamic nations which remains the only region to resist the global shift toward free elections. Iran's present incarnation began with the Ayatollah Khomeini's victorious return to Tehran on February 1, 1979 at 9:30 am. This national horoscope is unusual for it's large number of placements in egalitarian Aquarius, which includes the traditional planets of the Sun, Mercury, and Mars, as well as the asteroids Pallas, Ceres, and Vesta. The Aquarius planets and asteroids help promote a more democratic society, although they are opposed by a theocratic Jupiter in Leo, which represents the conservative clerics and who remain the ultimate power in Iran's government. Iran's chart shows an Aries Moon Rising, a symbol for the empowerment of the common people. The 1979 revolution was actually the popular approval of a counter-revolution against the 1953 CIA-led coup, the one which placed the Shah on the throne, and the oil companies in control. The Moon is also a symbol for women in general, and with three of the four major asteroids in Aquarius, the current revolution is demonstrating the growing empowerment of women in Iran's politics and culture. Among the promised reforms is a plebiscite which would de-list the United States as the Great Satan. The growing tension between the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus reaches a dramatic turning point in May. Watch for desperate measures from the hard-liners to squash western influence, and/or a spreading popular revolt in neighboring Islamic monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia. Jorge Haidar, Devil or Angel? Last Saturday about 250,000 Austrians gathered in Vienna to protest against the new coalition of conservatives which included Jorge Haidar's far-right Freedom Party. Haidar's participation in the government has sparked an international outcry, as simultaneous demonstrations were carried out across Europe. Haidar dismissed the rallies by saying that people were paid to attend. Jorge Haidar was born with his Sun in the ideological, progressive sign of Aquarius (January 26, 1950; at 10:15 am; Bad Goisern, Austria*), a position that is intellectually enhanced by a conjunction with Jupiter. Jupiter in Aquarius, according to the traditional interpretations, bestows an enlightened, detached mind which glorifies individual freedom and champions human rights. While Jupiter tends to be regarded as a beneficial planet with no particular downside, Jupiter-Pluto combinations can be boorishly self-righteous. Jupiter describes our belief system, and when in a challenging angle with Pluto, these beliefs tend to become extreme and intense. Haidar's Jupiter is opposed by Pluto, so that for him, the Aquarian ideals of freedom, equality, and brotherhood are true for the Austrian people, but constantly undermined by cheats and foreign enemies. Neptune, the planet of projected images, is transiting back and forth across Haidar's Sun throughout this year. No matter how much he apologizes for past sympathetic remarks about Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, Neptune guarantees that people will project onto him their feared, shadowy symbol of evil. Those who support his policies likewise project onto him their cherished ideals of perfection, seeing him as a savior and the one who will rid the Austrian government of corruption. * Birth time is according to Astrologie Heute (Astrology Today) issue #68, no source listed. An alternative birth time of 2:25 pm is circulating in European databases, also with no source, so the exact time must be considered speculative. Reader feedback is welcome. Click here for feedback.
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