The Horoscope of GW Bush.
GW Bush was born in New Haven, CT, at 6.26 am EST on July 6, 1946. A study of his horoscope shows a number of factors that suggest there is more to this man than meets the eye.
1. General
All of the planets in his chart fall on the left-hand side, indicating that he is a person less motivated by thoughts of fate, destiny or history rather than words such as self-determination and free will. At the elemental level, he is nearly 50% air, indicating that issues around thought, communication, intellect and sociability do predominate, at the expense of the earth signs. With only Mars in earth signs in his chart, when it comes to grounded, common sensical, materially minded and practical attitudes and decisions he is not top of the pile. He has a balanced amount of fire and water (creativity and feeling), but the discrepancy between air and earth seems to indicate that whilst idea's and visions are commonplace, the patience and wherewithal to carry them out can sometimes be lacking.
Mars is the planet most commonly associated with warfare, aggression and violence, as well as bravery, heroism and courage. It's what you're like between the sheets, on the battlefield or down the gym. Your Mars position describes the ways in which you try and get what you want. GW's Mars is almost completely unaspected, wild in
Virgo (if that's not a contradiction in terms.....). There appears to be no sense of moderation or acceptance of other people's values. People with an unaspected Mars tend to swing wildly between periods of docility and periods of over assertiveness. The placing of Neptune in his horoscope also shows a lack of aspect, indicating that his capacity for vision, dream and idea is somewhat divorced from the rest of his make-up.
Saturn and the Midheaven are the two points in the horoscope most commonly associated with authorities in one's life (normally the father). In Bush's chart, they make aspect only to each other, indicating that things like structure, authority, the father and order are words seemingly isolated from the core issues of his chart/his life. Saturn (limitations and structure) in Cancer (home and family) is square (tension causing and energy releasing) his Midheaven (public image and authority) in Aries (spontaneous and assertive). In simple English, as the eldest child he has an ingrained expectation of living up to society's (Daddy's) ideals through traditional approaches based on might and right. But are the roots stable? Saturn does not like it down there in Cancer, and as I intend to show his relationship with his mother is as significant, if not more so than his relationship with his father.
2. Mummy and Daddy
The Bush dynasty seems to revolve around the 17 - 21 degree area of Gemini At 17 Gemini is Barbara Bush's Sun. At 19 Gemini is GW's Uranus, the change bringer, and Barbara's Ceres, the asteroid of nurturing. At 20 Gemini is GW's karmic North Node, and at 21 Gemini is Bush senior's Sun.
Apart from the aforementioned square between GW's Saturn and Midheaven, there is other evidence that GW is trying to emulate his father. The mutual contacts between their respective Uranus' can signify considerable scope for rebellion and revolution; however, Uranus is also the planet which is associated with fanatical and extreme behaviour, and I would suggest that the comparison between the horoscopes of Bush senior and junior show not so much a desire to finish Daddy's work for him, but a desire to outdo him - to achieve what his father could not.
The contacts between GW and his mother are much more obvious and intricate at the same time. GW has Uranus and the North Node at 19 and 20 Gem, indicating a rather strange taste in friendships and a desire to influence humanity in some way. At almost the same degrees, Barbara Bush has Ceres, the asteroid that deals specifically with issues around mothering, nurturing, food and sustenance, as well as her Sun. From her perspective, she shakes her head and clucks at the rebellious tendencies of "youth" whilst feeling content at being the matriarch. She is as American as apple pie.
Ceres stands for the great mother, one's mother, one as mother, children issues, parenting skills as well as issues around land, food, cereals and grains, and the home or motherland. In GW's chart Ceres is opposite his Ascendant very strongly, indicating that his notions and ideas of mother, motherland, nurturing and home and family are not just important to him, but vital. It's as if he associates every challenge to his homeland as a direct threat to his family and his way of life.
Far more relevant is the square between his Sun and his Moon, Jupiter and Chiron, all in Libra in the third house. The Sun/Moon square is sometimes known as the angle of divine discontent, never being quite happy but never able to put a finger on exactly why. The Moon and Chiron together indicate a kind of sibling rivalry from the word go, constantly vying for mummy's attention. It's endemic in the charts of people who feel inadequate in some way relative to the parents. Its as if they can never match the expectations that they feel are expected of them by Mummy and Daddy, by one's peer group, relationship partners, society in general etc.etc. And having both the Moon and Chiron square to his 12th house Sun reinforces feelings of impotence and even inadequacy.
For a different viewpoint, look at the horoscope of Sylvester Stallone. Born the same year, same day, very close to and thirteen hours later than GW, he is someone who specialises about saving the western world from mad terrorists, as well as having a mother fixation.
3. Mentality and Intellect.
GW is an enigma at communication. There are a number of attributed stories describing how fast, witty and snappy he can be when in an unguarded or offhand situation, yet in public it appears he got his training from Ronald Reagan.
He has a very powerful Mercury/Pluto conjunction in his chart, less than one degree from exactness. Add to this that the conjunction is not only in the first house on the Ascendant, making it doubly strong, it is also in the sign of Leo, which is perhaps the hardest place in the sky for Mercury.
Stephen Arroyo, in his book "Astrology, Karma and Transformation" (perhaps the single most influential astrological book I have ever read) writes about strong Mercury/Pluto contacts "...at times the mind gets out of control and manifests in an unusually secretive and fearful way. There is often an awareness of the ability to use mind power in a directed and purposeful way, even to the point of being able to overpower the minds of others through either sheer force of will or subtle manipulation."
Further on, he also writes that Mercury/Pluto individuals "are especially prone to compulsive talking, opinionated ideas, and using power to foist their ideas insistently onto others, even though the ideas themselves may not be particularly meaningful when viewed in calm retrospect......In certain people, so much inner tension is felt that they find it difficult to express what they feel to be the truth with any degree of consistency or clarity. Occasionally, one finds that these people therefore develop a noticeable inhibition of verbal expression,..."
Of course, not everybody with Mercury/Pluto has these attributes. But GW's conjunction is in Leo, which can tend to focus primarily on ego needs and justification, and it's on the Ascendant, which is sort of OK for Mercury, but can be difficult for Pluto. Pluto rules the underworld, the hidden, the atomic - that which can't be seen. It represents one's innermost psychological urges. On the negative side, it deals with obsession, compulsion, fanaticism and things like guilt tripping, fear, jealousy and manipulation. At a neutral level it's about endings and new beginnings, death and rebirth, recycling and renovating. Positively, its about transformation, regeneration and renewal. It's the phoenix from the ashes - or at least, that's the ideal. The point that I'm trying to make is that there appears to be the potential for some type of mental obsession with control and power. It's as if he has to make the outside world conform to his ideals in order that he can reach a peace of mind within himself. When dealing with this configuration with clients, I tell them that the relationship they have with anyone else is reflective of the relationship they have with themselves, and that it's about working and flowing with power instead of being "in control" of power.
The root cause of this may be found in the very strong opposition from GW's Mercury, Pluto and Ascendant to the position of Ceres in his chart. To emulate and outdo father is a clear desire, almost need, but to forgive mother for having other children instead of putting him at the forefront of her life? There appears to be a blockage in his ability to express his nurturing needs, to be able to ask for affection or to demonstrate feeling or emotion. The Pluto/Ceres myth is that of ending and beginning, death and rebirth. For someone who grew up from the word go with guns around him, killing animals by the thousand when he was younger, and being prolific in his signing of death warrants as Governor of Texas, I sometimes wonder in moments of extremity if GW has some kind of personal crusade to do Pluto's work on planet Earth at this time.
4. Summary of the Natal Horoscope
The mental obsession with power and a potential anger at women is clearly indicated by Mercury/Ceres/Pluto/Ascendant, and amplified particularly with regard to the mother and female blood family by the Sun and Moon/Chiron/Jupiter. The contact between GW's Uranus/North Node to both of his parent's Sun's shows the self-righteousness and the fanaticism of his desires. His Saturn/Midheaven contacts create the father dynamic, and his secret desire to outdo and replace him as patriarch. This only leaves Venus - which is healthy. Everyone's got something nice about his or her charts!
5. Late 2002 - mid 2003
Throughout 2002 Neptune, the planet of illusion, deception, confusion and vagueness (as well as imagination, spirituality and intuition) has been opposite GW's Mercury/Pluto conjunction, as well as on his Ceres. Since September 2002 Jupiter has become involved, amplifying his rhetoric and expanding his personal justification that he is right. (At this point I would like to comment that this configuration is also affecting the horoscopes of Dick Cheney, Saddam Hussein and - bizarrely - Robert Mugabe). Any Astrologer worth their salt will tell you that when Neptune is opposing your Mercury, you should not make important or long term decisions, as you are literally in a state of changing your mind (your mind set, opinions, sensitivity, attitudes and even philosophies).
The period of this transit is from about the start of 2001 through to early spring 2004. Of this three-year spell, the prime time is from September 2002 through to the end of May 2003. Of this nine month period, the peak time for development at a personal level is from December 2002 to February 2003, as the progressed Moon in GW's chart moves to square his Mercury, Pluto, Ceres and Ascendant axis, whilst at the same time passing square to Jupiter and Neptune in the heavens. A further and perhaps definitive time of potentia arrives in the first two weeks of May 2003, when Mars conjoins Neptune in Aquarius, in opposition to Jupiter, on the afore-mentioned axis.
America's birthday is July 4, and GW's is July 6. Due to precession, the Sun in both horoscopes is in the same place. GW's Sun is strongly square Chiron, and America's Sun is strongly square Saturn, in the same place. From September 2003 onwards, for nine months, Saturn is going to be standing on GW's and America's Sun. This is not a time for expansion.
130506 - never did get this one finished.