Bush’s
solar return horoscope can help us to see the picture of
his year ahead. (See
my related article, posted a year ago, “Astrology
Forecast: George Bush’s Year Ahead”).
A
solar return horoscope is one which is set for the exact
minute that the Sun returns to its natal degree each year.
The solar return chart is set for the individual’s
location at the time of the solar return. Solar return charts
are predictive tools which can help to spot events and emerging
themes for an individual in the year ahead.
The solar return chart should be used in connection with
the individual birth horoscope. The sign on the solar return
Ascendant, for example, corresponds to a house cusp in the
natal chart, representing an area of major emphasis during
the year. Aspects between solar return and natal planets
are also significant.
President Bush’s 2006 solar return (scroll to end
of article to see horoscope), which shows what will happen
in his life through July, 2007, has no
planets in the earth element. This is
a significant imbalance, indicating a lack of support with
little to ground him. The bottom drops from under his political
footing. This is what has started to happen with the Democratic
takeover of Congress, and it will continue for at least
the next eight months. Bush has not reached the end of his
plummet.
Pluto, the point of transformation in the horoscope, is
conjunct his solar return Ascendant. Bush’s whole
public façade will continue to undergo intense change through
the first half of 2007. He will confront issues of personal
power.
Closest
Aspects in Bush’s 2006 Solar Return
Here
are the closest aspects in Bush’s 2006 solar return
horoscope, all closer than one-quarter of a degree: Moon-Jupiter
conjunction, Mars-Neptune opposition, and Venus-Uranus square
The
Moon
and Jupiter are conjunct in the 10th house of career, indicating
an increasingly large tidal ebb of public opinion.
That does not mean he will be impeached, but his political
career will be the subejct of intense public
feelings (the solar return Moon is in Scorpio). Saturn
squares the Moon-Jupiter conjunction, so the change will
not be a pleasant one for Bush. He’s not getting a
promotion. We can already see this happening with his “demotion”
by voters in the midterm election.
The Moon-Jupiter
conjunction in the tenth house has some potentially positive
meanings, but given the trajectory of Bush’s presidency,
one would have to say this would not be positive—especially
since this conjunction is squared by Saturn.
The Mars-Neptune
opposition indicates uncertainty regarding goals and actions,
job insecurity, misguided actions, drifting away from one’s
purpose, and confusion. Since Bush is already six months
into this solar return, we can already see how some of this
has come to pass--with his mishandling of the Iraq War and
loss of power through the recent midterm elections.
The Venus-Uranus
square is indicative of changing relationships. Since the
solar return Venus is in the sixth house, the changing relationships
will be at work, i.e., the White House. Bush has already
parted from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, the first of
several yet to follow. This is further emphasized by the
solar return Sun being in the seventh house, the house of
relationships and partnerships. That does not mean that
he will form new relationships during the year, just that
there will be an emphasis on that area of his life. Relationships
may be empowering or restrictive, but they will be very
important for Bush in the next eight months.
The 2006 solar return Midheaven just happens to conjoin
Bush’s natal Chiron. His is a wounded presidency.
Bush’s
2007 Solar Return
What does President Bush’s solar return chart have
to say about Bush’s last year as president, 2007-2008?
(Scroll to bottom of page to see Bush's 2007 solar
return chart). We know without consulting a horoscope that
the last year of any president’s final term in office
will be stymied by a whole range of factors: attention turning
to his potential successors, his staff beginning their own
exit strategies, and—in Bush’s case—a
recalcitrant Congress.
In Bush’s 2007 solar return chart, Saturn and Venus
are conjunct, indicating restriction or limitation of relationships.
This would be natural in the last year of a president’s
term, and we can already see long-term political allies
of the president beginning to desert him (see
the recent article in The
Washington Post titled “Embittered
Insiders Turn Against Bush”).
This will accelerate in the president’s last year
in office. Compounding the Saturn-Venus conjunction in the
solar return chart is a “double whammy”: the
solar return Saturn also happens to hit his natal Venus.
Bush is in for a rough time in his relationships with his
former political partners. As president, Bush also has a
relationship with the nation and this too will continue
its difficult descent into separation—if not downright
“divorce.” A final possibility for this Venus-Saturn
theme is the death or serious illness of one of Bush’s
parents.
Mars
is rising in the first house of Bush’s 2007 solar
return chart. The solar return Mars also squares Bush’s
natal Ascendant. In addition, Mars is the only planet in
an earth sign in the 2007 solar return, meaning that Bush
will seek to ground himself through over-emphasis on that
first house Mars. The solar return Mars does not make a
major aspect to any other planet, so its energies will be
expressed without the boundaries of other planets—a
lot like a dog which is freed from its “leash”
(aspects to other planets) in a public park.
Bush also has only one solar return planet—
Neptune—in an air
sign. This is significant and indicates a highly subjective
experience during the year. Bush will be unable to step
back and get an objective view of situations—especially
since the only solar return planet in an air sign is nebulous
Neptune.
The 2007 solar return Ascendant is Aries, which is also
the sign on the cusp of Bush’s natal tenth house:
His career (as president) will be the dominant theme of
the year. One could easily say that this has been a big
theme for the past six years. However, Bush will strongly
attempt to shape perceptions of his years in the White House
during his final year, a time when most presidents become
more acutely aware of their place in history.
