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NewsScope for December 25, 2000 by WolfStar O'Neill Selected for Treasury Post President-elect Bush's choice to head his economic plan will be Paul O'Neill, the retiring chairman of Alcoa and a former colleague of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. If confirmed by the Senate, O'Neill will become the Secretary of Treasury and will engineer Bush's proposed $1.3 trillion tax cut over the next ten years. As a Sagittarius with his Sun perfectly aligned with the coming Saturn-Pluto opposition, O'Neill (b. December 5, 1935; St. Louis; time unknown) will certainly have his work cut out for him. As discussed in last week's NewsScope, transiting Saturn and Pluto will be forming a challenging aspect in 2001 and continuing through 2002, a celestial formation increasing the likelihood of a recession. Bush cited a possible economic turndown as a compelling reason to pick O'Neill. Another astrological factor to watch in 2001 is the path of Mars. Mars will remain in Sagittarius from mid-February through the first week of September, an unusually extended phase due to its periodic retrograde cycle. Following the astrological aphorism that "planets are people," Mars in Sagittarius is being personified by Sagittarian Paul O'Neill. In the U.S. Scorpio Rising horoscope, Mars will be spending most of 2001 in the second house of financial resources. Mars is the action planet, the promoter, and the one who cuts. We can expect O'Neill to be actively pursuing a $1.3 trillion tax cut to stimulate the economy. But Mars runs into trouble when it repeatedly hits Saturn and then Pluto, and also becomes less effective when retrograde. Political realities will eventually force Bush to drastically modify his campaign promise to cut taxes. Organic: What's in a Name? Last Wednesday the Agriculture Department announced national standards for the labeling and processing of organic foods. The organic food industry has soared in popularity over the past decade, increasing 20 percent each year since 1990, and reaching $6 billion last year. The asteroid Ceres governs the food industry especially as it relates to ecology and organic farming. The long, hard-fought process of determining exactly what constitutes "organic" can be seen in the cycle of Ceres and her nemesis, Pluto. In the ancient mythology of Ceres, Pluto plays a kidnapper, and the hostile encounter between Ceres and Pluto then can be seen in today's events. On December 16, 1997 the Agriculture Department arrived at an initial definition of what constitutes "organic." At the time transiting Ceres was in Pisces, exactly conjunct its natal position in the U.S. horoscope, indicating a new beginning for these kinds of food products. However, transiting Pluto was squaring Ceres (both natal Ceres and transiting Ceres), showing that the ruling was tainted. The Department, bowing to corporate pressure, had proposed to allow irradiated foods, biotechnology, and sewer sludge as fertilizer. Over the next few months consumers expressed their outrage through an unprecedented number of critical letters, faxes, and emails. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman retracted the ruling, and not until last week were consumers and organic farmers fully satisfied. Last week transiting Ceres and Pluto were conjunct, reflecting the popular acceptance of the new standards. Hillary Signs $8 Million Book Deal Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to accept $8 million for her White House memoirs, the highest advance ever paid to a member of Congress. In comparison, the record non-fiction advance was $8.5 million for Pope John Paul's book, while the Senator she is replacing, Daniel Moynihan, received $944.68 in royalties last year from his 18 scholarly books. As a celebrity politician, Clinton (October 26, 1947; 8:00 pm; Chicago) is well placed to cash in on her story, but her astrological profile reflects this money-making tendency. A lucky Grand Trine can be found to boost her financial circumstances. Prosperous Jupiter in the sixth house of work is conjunct the Part of Fortune and beneficially trine her Moon in the tenth house of reputation and career. The asteroid Vesta completes the Grand Trine and is found in the second house of money. Vesta's location shows where one is devoted, where one can focus, and apply a sense of sacred duty. Vesta here is in the sign of Cancer, and since the second house also describes our personal values, Vesta shows Hillary's deference to "family values,' the subject of her two previous books. Vesta in Cancer in the second house further describes Hillary's investment in homes. She plans on paying down the mortgage on her New York mansion, and has been eyeing a $4 million mansion in Georgetown, just a few blocks away from the White House. As one pundit put it, just as the Bushes bided their time in Texas to reclaim the White House, now she and Bill lurk nearby "plotting to take the White House from the Bushes." Reader feedback is welcome. Click here for feedback.
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