Starlight News Blog

The action of the planet Uranus is often compared to a lightning strike: sudden, transformative, potentially very destructive, and offering a brief moment of bracing illumination. At the moment, the US is being besieged by the impact of this very disconcerting, shattering energy. One of the recent events set off by this planetary force is the shooting at Chardon High School in Ohio, where the deaths of three students and the sense of horror and tragedy in that community have ripped the heart of the entire nation.

In addition, in the past week we have seen the fatal mid-air collision of Marine helicopters at the Arizona and California border, a Coast Guard chopper crash in Alabama, and fierce tornadoes slash through the Midwest and the South, with more violent weather being predicted for today. Uranus has also been visible in the sudden revelation of draconian abortion-suppression and “personhood” laws concocted by patronizing, misogynistic, and womb-obsessed Republicans, as well as in the furious reaction of newly-awakened American women who are rising up in rebellion.  Meanwhile, as the US tries to unwind its never-ending war in Afghanistan, the inadvertent burning of several copies of the Koran has engulfed that country in an unanticipated surge of enraged riots, assassinations, and bombings.

All of these events have been unexpected and fierce, unalterably transforming the lives of the many people who were touched by them. Some, such as the stirring rebellion against right-wing overreach at home and the building Afghani vitriol against Americans abroad, may have huge ramifications over the next several months or even years. Although we have passed the peak energy of the Uranus square to US Venus (3Cancer06) as of February 29, the Uranus opposition to the Ascendant of the US solar return (3Libra26) and the square to President Obama’s solar return (3Cancer23) will continue to wax through March 5. These transits will extend the potential for agitating and unexpected events impacting some segment of the country over the next few days. The transiting Moon square to Uranus (3Aries17), on the afternoon of March 2, and the transit of Mercury conjunct Uranus, from March 3 through the morning of March 5^th, are likely to act as triggers to this unpredictable and volatile force. Extreme weather, random accidents, or sudden violence are all possible.

For President Obama, the pressure has begun to build on some critical front – perhaps regarding Afghanistan’s deteriorating situation, perhaps regarding aid to Syrian rebels, perhaps regarding Israel’s restiveness in the face of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, perhaps exacerbating a chronic conflict with Republican leaders – due to the progression of his Moon now in quincunx to natal Pluto (6Virgo59) through March 25. We can expect this tension to erupt into some kind of more aggressive confrontation during the second half of March as transiting Mars (7 Virgo) and transiting Node (7 Sagittarius) square in aspect to Obama’s Pluto, followed by transiting Mars quincunx transiting Uranus during the final 5 days of March. A crucial situation will significantly escalate, albeit briefly, during that time. The transiting Jupiter square to Obama’s Sun (12Leo35) at the end of March suggests initial success in his handling of the situation.

……………………………………

In a total departure, I want to briefly discuss a series of books I recently read, the first of which is soon to come out in movie form. Because the underlying themes of this story so profoundly address many of the most salient issues of our time, I think it is worthy of a mention here. The book is The Hunger Games, the first of a trilogy. The series describes how those with centralized power can suck all the wealth and strength from everyone else, while maneuvering to have different groups of the downtrodden compete with each other for scarce resources, or even life itself, rather than confront the real source of their oppression. There is also the theme of how easily we lose the awareness of our common humanity and shared goals and how it is ultimately only this awareness that can save us. It is a brilliantly written and compelling story even if you don’t dwell on the deeper themes. But I think that the growing popularity of the book The Hunger Games and the likely megahit that the coming movie will be are signs that this story has hit a deep nerve in the general population. Ultimately, it is only a well-crafted story, but I think it reaches into and grips the collective psyche with unusual force.

What is likely to be the most momentous planetary configuration of our time, the Uranus/Pluto square, is set to make exact contact no less than seven times over the three-year period from June 2012 through March 2015. Astrologers everywhere have been buzzing about this impending Clash of the Titans for years.

Both of these extremely potent planets bring forth profound transformation, but each in its own unique way. Uranus awakens people to a sudden realization that the old restrictions or entrenched patterns are no longer acceptable. In “mundane” astrology, this energy is frequently associated with large, popular rebellions focused on breaking free of systemic limitations or perceived injustices. The very dramatic and unexpected events that Uranus unleashes can abruptly shift the political landscape and often significantly alter the status quo.

Pluto transforms by taking situations to such an extreme that they implode. There is an almost obsessive buildup of dominance – financial, political, or military – that ultimately crosses from immense potency into disintegration. During the period of ascendancy, enormous power struggles are unleashed in what is subjectively experienced on both sides as an existential threat to survival. But Plutonian supremacy contains within it the seeds of its own destruction. Those who exercise it usually take things a bridge too far, causing the underlying foundation of their strength to eventually fracture: the despot’s heavy-handed methods are so despicable that the people turn to revolution; the entrenched global capitalists mistreat and underpay workers in exchange for a greater profit margin, leading to anger, rebellion, and a shrinking purchasing power in the marketplace.

At present, the square aspect developing between Uranus and Pluto suggests that these two energies will be increasingly at cross purposes in the immediate future. On the one hand, there are mass movements in many parts of the world that are waking up to a vision of greater equality and universal justice and that are struggling, sometimes violently, to overthrow the status quo. On the other hand, there are the huge concentrations of power found in dictatorial regimes and global corporate financial behemoths that are fighting to maintain and expand their reach, sometimes brutally or with duplicity, while simultaneously feeling profoundly threatened by the rebellion bubbling up from the masses. We can expect to see more and more confrontation between these two forces, in a myriad of different forms, over the next three years.

If we look at the astrological charts of many of the world’s leading nations, as well as the charts of their leadership, we find a striking number of them will be strongly impacted by the Uranus/Pluto square as it agitates from 7 through 15 of the cardinal signs in the years 2012 through 2016. I have picked a few to discuss below, though the list is by no means complete.

In the natal chart for Russia, there is an exact Mars (8Aries49) square to Uranus (8Capricorn17) that is part of a T-square also including a Jupiter (15Cancer13) opposition to Neptune (13Capricorn48). This configuration, when strongly activated, suggests times of extreme and precipitous aggression (Mars/Uranus) that may be overconfident and rash (Jupiter) and based on grandiose or illusory (Neptune) considerations. As of January 2012, transiting Pluto began four years of triggering this very volatile configuration.  As of May 2012, Uranus will join in the melee for three years of inciting the same points in Russia’s chart.

What this indicates is a period during which Russia will become far more aggressive and prone to sudden, possibly military acts, potentially inspired by grandiose and expansionist ideas. This will be most apparent between the spring of 2013 and the late summer of 2014 when converse progressed Mars will be square to Russia’s Sun (21Gemini10), transiting Uranus will be conjunct natal Mars, and the progressed Sun will be opposite Neptune. It should also be noted that President Vladimir Putin will have both transiting Uranus and transiting Pluto in hard aspect to his Sun (13Libra55) at various times from April 2014 through November 2015, suggesting he will be in a huge struggle at that time either against internal foes, a grass roots rebellion within his country, and/or against some element of the international community.

China has also already begun its encounter with the very volatile Uranus/Pluto square due to the transit of Pluto square to China’s Sun (7Libra46) which began in December 2011. The Sun in China’s chart is in a natal square to Uranus (4Cancer59), suggestive of periodic upheaval and shifts in direction. Due to the impending action of Uranus and Pluto on this Sun/Uranus square, the likelihood for significant disruptions and upsets within the government or due to rebellion arising within the population, as well as the possibility of a natural disaster of some kind, seems very strong between May 2012 and early March 2013. This period will include Pluto square the Chinese Sun, Uranus opposite the Chinese Sun (simultaneous and therefore very strong in June and July 2012), and transiting Uranus in a long station square natal Uranus from October 2012 through early February 2013. With the natal Chinese Sun in the 8^th house of finance and hidden wealth, at least some of the coming tumult could relate to economic upheaval.

Iran has been much in the news of late as tensions build within the international community over Iran’s development of nuclear power.  Although the Mars retrograde period may agitate and escalate Iran’s conflict with Israel and the US during March, April, and May 2012 (see Double Whammy), this seems more likely to be a skirmish than a war. A period of far greater turbulence will come to Iran from 2013 through 2015, when we can expect to see an upsurge of rebellion, upheaval, and the attempted repression/destruction of either domestic or foreign foes. Uranus will be conjunct the Iranian Sun (11Aries06) and Pluto will be square to it during 2013 and 2014. By 2015, the progressed Iranian Sun will be quincunx progressed Pluto (17Libra03), triggered for much of the year by hard aspects from both Uranus and Pluto. These configurations point to a continuing and overwhelming power struggle of some kind between the Iranian government and forces that oppose it for at least three years. Because the Sun in the Iranian chart is in the 9^th house and rules the Leo Ascendant, much of this battle could be over the ideological foundation for the country (9^th house) and very directly impact the citizens (Ascendant).

Although some unpredictable and upsetting circumstances and conflicts are very possible involving Israel in March through May 2012, as well as from October 2012 through early January 2013, due to transiting Uranus square to natal Venus (4Cancer49) and transiting Pluto sesquiquadrate the Sun (23Taurus41),  the configurations most indicative of significant military confrontation occur from late 2013 through early 2015. It is during this period that both Uranus and Pluto will be in a sesquiquadrate with natal Mars (28Leo19), and solar arc Uranus will be conjunct natal Mars. Moreover, the same Uranus and Pluto aspects will impact Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s Mars (26Leo42) within the same time frame. So much energy focused on Israel’s Mars in 2014 and early 2015 suggests a much more aggressive stance in the world and greatly increases the potential for significant confrontation.

In the US chart, the coming Uranus/Pluto square will stir up some very consequential volatility, agitation, and transformation between late 2012 and early 2015. During the progressed US Sun square to Uranus (8Gemini55), from September 2012 through September 2013, both transiting Pluto and transiting Uranus will activate massive rebellion and confrontation with authority, similar to the huge demonstrations in Wisconsin in early 2011 and the Occupy Wall Street movement later in the year, both of which occurred during activations of progressed US Sun square progressed Uranus (7Gemini02). The most notable periods of future agitation related to this progression will be late November and December 2012, and March, April, July, August, and September 2013.

In addition, first Uranus, from May 2013 through March 2014, and then Pluto, from January 2014 through December 2014, will be semisquare to the US Moon (27Aquarius12) and sesquisquare President Obama’s Node (27Leo19). This suggests an ongoing mood of rebellion (Uranus) and power struggle (Pluto) among the US population (the Moon), as people struggle, with increasing awareness, against constricting and problematic economic, political, and social inequities.

In 2014 and 2015, the full force of the Uranus/ Pluto square will come to America when both planets will be in major hard aspects to the US Sun (13Cancer19) and US Saturn (14Libra48). Simultaneously, Pluto will be quincunx President Obama’s Sun (12Leo35), with Uranus in a trine aspect. It is worth noting here the power, impact, and speed of transformative events during the last Uranus/Pluto square, from 1932 through early 1934, during Franklyn Roosevelt’s first term and the First New Deal.

It seems very likely that with the coming Uranus/Pluto square so directly impacting the US chart, the US will be fully engaged in a forceful and relentless confrontation of some kind (Pluto), with unexpected events and fast-moving shifts (Uranus) continually altering the geo-political landscape. A major international imbroglio during this period seems quite likely, especially in 2014. The US will definitely be in some kind of patriotic fervor, often associated with military action, from January through April 2014 when transiting Jupiter is crossing the US Sun. It is also possible we will see domestic unrest in some form during these turbulent times given the potency of the planetary configurations.

Due to the relentless and pervasive impact of the Uranus/Pluto square over the next few years, it seems likely the world will have changed significantly by 2016, although exactly how is impossible to predict. But it is clear that many, if not most, of the major players in the international community will be embroiled in this global awakening and in the exhilarating, rebellious, fast-moving, and confrontational energies sweeping the planet. We can hope that this significant paradigm shift will bring greater freedom and a more just planet once the dust settles, but the process could be quite dramatic and quite stressful during the journey.

With Rick Santorum’s surprising sweep of victories on Tuesday, the GOP is all a-flutter. The Republican base has once again proven itself more fickle than a butterfly in the spring, as it flits from one potential nominee to another, never resting for more than a moment. Every time we think we know what is going on, the wind blows and rearranges the landscape. This week’s narrative is that Santorum is the new savior of the party, and Romney is weak and flailing. Just don’t get too comfortable, for the restless hordes of GOP voters are likely to soon shift again.

I often think that presidential campaigns bear a great resemblance to a courtship, with the candidates wooing the electorate and hoping to gain acceptance for a four or eight year “marriage”. This means that the candidate who is most beloved, as indicated by the strongest Venus progressions and transits, will usually win the day. Indeed, it is the most Cupid-blessed candidate that will draw the most adoring crowds and the highest level of enthusiasm. The problem with this year’s crop of GOP wannabes, however, the reason none of them has really ignited the electorate, is that none of them have enough of a Venus glamour for the seduction to succeed for more than a few days at a time.

Mitt Romney, the limping frontrunner and the one still expected to get the coveted nomination, has a converse progressed Venus opposition to his Ascendant through March, which is certainly helpful and adds to his appeal. But the Saturn station of January and February 2012 (29Libra30) has been in a long sesquiquadrate with Romney’s Mercury (13Pisces55) where it remains through March 4.  This has brought a considerable drag to his campaign in the form of numerous unscripted gaffes and mistakes.

Moreover, transiting Neptune is currently square to Romney’s Ascendant (00Gemini43) which brings with it the very destructive narrative that Romney is inauthentic and has no real core of values other than wanting to be president. This tendency to mirror back one’s surroundings rather than having a strong center of integrity, and thereby seeming untrustworthy, deceptive, and changeable, is the hallmark of Neptune. The transit will remain very strong with Romney through late February, returning in full force in late August through mid-December 2012.

The best news for Romney is Jupiter’s path through Taurus and early Gemini: square to his Midheaven (6Aquarius28) from February 21 through February 28; square to his Venus (8Aquarius33) from March 3 through March 9, which suggests a likely big win on Super Tuesday; conjunct his Ascendant (00Gemini43) and North Node (5Gemini29) in June and early July; and square to Mercury (13Pisces55) in late August and again in mid-November 2012. In addition, transiting Venus will be square to his Sun (21Pisces11) and sesquisquare to his Venus during most of May. These aspects point to some noteworthy short-term successes when they are active.

The worst news for Romney is the solar eclipse on his Ascendant on May 20, which suggests some major loss or failure during the following year, especially when strongly triggered. As noted, Neptune will be square Romney’s Ascendant during most of the last four months of 2012, potentially setting off the difficulties inherent in the eclipse. This can indicate an electoral loss, with the above-noted Neptunian characteristics a major factor, or it could conceivably mean a loss of the nomination or a very weakened candidacy due to the confusion and chaos (Neptune) within the party. Unfortunately for Romney, there are no strong Venus progressions that could help to counteract these struggles with a potent dose of charisma and popularity. Instead, it will be the Neptunian narrative that will stick: the candidate as cypher, the hollow man who says whatever he thinks people want to hear and who therefore cannot be trusted. In short, it will become painfully clear that there is no there there.

Rick Santorum, on the other hand, is a reliable social conservative. With his recent wins, he is poised to take over the anti-Romney vote from the beleaguered Newt “Moon Mayor” Gingrich.  As with Romney, however, there is no indication of any sustained progressed Venus energy that would be strong enough to really pull Santorum across the finish line. His big win last Tuesday came with the quick-moving transit of Venus quincunx his natal Node/Neptune conjunction (1-2 Scorpio) and transiting Mars sesquiquadrate his Venus (5Aries45) from February 7 through February 11. The Arizona and Michigan primaries on February 28 may also bring some wind to Santorum’s sails, with Venus crossing his Mercury (24Aries), Jupiter square his Uranus (7Leo49), and the Sun conjunct his Mars (10Pisces00).

Santorum may gain some strong momentum and excitement from March 28 through April 15 when Uranus crosses his Venus (5Aries44), but that thrill seems likely to be crushed between mid-April and mid-May with a long series of Saturn transits that will repeat in July through mid-August in case they don’t get the job done the first time. Saturn will sesquiquadrate his Mars (10 Pisces00), oppose his Mercury (24Aries06) and conjunct his Jupiter (23Libra50) during these times. Perhaps Romney…or his PAC… will be bringing  out the scorched-earth tactics in full force around then.

As is being noted by the punditocrisy, much of the enthusiasm and energy of the campaign is now building up on the Democratic side, with President Obama’s popularity growing and his approval ratings moving into positive territory, while that of the GOP contenders plummets. At the moment, Obama is enjoying the building progression of his Sun square to natal Venus (1Cancer47), exact in late June, and then granted an extension in July and August with transiting Neptune trine to natal Venus. This progression, along with the transits of Uranus (1Aries) and Jupiter (1Taurus) in the past few months, has helped Obama consolidate and re-energize his base, as well as luring back a significant number of independents.

As for the rabid Republican base, two further things are worth mentioning. Using the Sagittarius rising US chart, the progressed Moon will be conjunct progressed Mars in August 2012, exact on September 1, at 18Libra28. If this chart is accurate (and no one really knows the birth time of the US), it suggests a great deal of anger and upset at the end of August among some sector of the US population (US Moon). One possible manifestation of this would be an eruption of dissent and turbulence at the GOP convention, which takes place from August 26 through August 30.

The final point I want to make concerns the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric of the Republican candidates and their surrogates as they describe the president. He is being characterized as some kind of existential threat to America, and his potential second term is being represented, in the most dire terms possible, as signifying the ultimate doom of this country and all we love about it. The GOP base is already wild with rage and feelings of paranoia and victimhood. This kind of rhetoric could easily create a tidal wave of rebellion should President Obama win the election in November. I am mentioning this because of the hugely volatile aspects that will hit the US chart in late November and December 2012. The progressed US Sun square to natal Uranus (8Gemini55) will begin to take effect in September 2012, but it will be intensely triggered by Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter from late November until Christmas. There will be some kind of upheaval and rebellion during that time. It remains to be seen if this will be a response to some of the election results or something else entirely. But when I listen to the wild, histrionic, outrageous, and dishonest accusations about President Obama at the CPAC conference this week, I can’t help but wonder.

On the whole, things have been going well for President Obama during the past few months.  He stood up to the Republicans in December and got an extension of the payroll tax cut. He has taken his argument against income inequality to the American people and garnered a significant uptick in his approval ratings as a result. The recovery, though weak, is back on track, and people are generally more hopeful about the future than they have been for a couple of years. And finally, he has been blessed by the dissonant rhetoric and extremism of his opponents in the GOP mud-slinging, freak-show primary, which has served mostly to bolster the president’s standing as the only reasonable adult in the room and the only one with an actual interest in helping the American people rather than the super-rich.

For Obama, this heightened charisma, success, and popularity is indicated astrologically from October 2011 through January 2012, by the strong activation of his progressed Sun square to natal Venus (1Cancer47) by both transiting Uranus (1Aries) and transiting Jupiter (1Taurus). This very positive year-long progression, which will peak in late June 2012, will also receive a boost from transiting Neptune (1 Pisces) trine to Obama’s Venus from February 25 through March 24. In addition, late March will bring a transit of Jupiter square to Obama’s Sun (12Leo35), from March 23 through April 2. Thus, whatever the Fates throw at our president through March, he will land on his feet, glow with charisma, and be well appreciated for his actions.

But the world these days is littered with hidden landmines and simmering volcanoes, any one of which could explode into a full blown crisis at a moment’s notice. Two of the most significant are the European debt issue, which continues to threaten the anemic recovery in the US, as well as potentially devastate the European economy, and the building tensions with Iran over its development of nuclear weapons. The latest news on that front is that Iran is considering attacks on US soil.

As of March, we can expect the stress lines to crack open in a number of areas. One of the first will be Greece, which is very likely to erupt into rioting and upheaval between March 5 and March 23, due to transiting Uranus square to natal Uranus (4Capricorn24), which is currently being squared by progressed Mars (4Libra). This angry volatility will be further exacerbated and potentially quite violent from March 11 through March 14 when transiting Mars makes a slow crossing over natal Mars (9Virgo39). The population of Greece will likely remain quite agitated through most of April, as a slow-moving, transiting Mars stations quite near the trine to natal Uranus, activating the square with progressed Mars.

Many of Europe’s leaders and national charts will be adversely impacted as Saturn crosses and recrosses several sensitive degrees from March through August 2012. Some indications of the very difficult economic times expected in Europe due to this Saturn transit from late March through August are: the Saturn square to Angela Merkel’s Sun (24Cancer33) from April 24 through May 8, and remaining active through mid-August; the Saturn station square Greece’s Sun (22Capricorn45) from late May through June; and the Saturn station square Italy’s natal Saturn (23Cancer21) from May 10 through most of July.

A corresponding economic strain can be seen impacting the US from mid-April through mid-May and again in August 2012. The recovery seems to gain much more momentum as of September and beyond. Again, it is the sensitive points in several charts that will be transited in some way by Saturn that point in this direction: Saturn will conjunct the Mars/Neptune conjunction (27Libra) in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s chart in April and square his Node (24Capricorn26) in early May; Saturn will square Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner’s Saturn (24Capricorn28) in late April and early May; Saturn will square the US Mercury from late April through mid-May (24Cancer12); and square President Obama’s Saturn (25Capricorn20) during the second half of May.

Perhaps the most ominous indicator for mid-April through mid-May comes with the progressed US Moon conjunction to natal Saturn (14Libra48) which suggests a period of increased anxiety and upset among the American population. This can relate to something general like the economy or a particular situation that impacts some segment of the population but becomes a national story. It is my opinion that it may be both.

Prior to this difficult Moon/Saturn aspect, which begins around April 11, there are some extremely disruptive and potentially violent planetary configurations that will come during the second half of March. These suggest President Obama and the US may suddenly become involved in some kind of high-stakes altercation. It is possible that these events may set the stage for the significant strains of the following two months. There will be a week-long transit of Mars square to the transiting Node from March 15 through March 22. During most of this period, Mars will be conjunct the president’s Pluto (6Virgo59), as well as square to the US Uranus (8Gemini55) and progressed Uranus (7Gemin03).  This will be followed by transiting Mars quincunx transiting Uranus (4Aries55) from March 26 to March 31. It is very clear that the President will already be engaged in a major power struggle during March, due to his progressed Moon quincunx to natal Pluto all month. This tension will be go into high gear when Mars crosses his Pluto during this very volatile period. Moreover, the Jupiter square to Obama’s Sun in late March indicates some kind of bold action that seems initially successful.

The most critical period will be from mid-April through mid-May, and it seems to have national security or military implications. As of April 10 through the end of the month, transiting Uranus will be square to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s Sun (6Cancer26), suggesting some sudden, jarring events related to the military that will be simultaneous to the loss, sorrow, or anxiety indicated by the progressed US Moon conjunction to Saturn. The second half of April also brings Saturn into a square with Obama’s Saturn (25Capricorn20), suggestive of heavier than usual burdens and frustrations.

Another potentially brutal and confrontational period, which is likely to bring sudden attacks, aggression, or disruptions involving the US and its interests will come from May 2 through May 15, during which transiting Mars will again be quincunx transiting Uranus (6Aries52), with transiting Mars conjunct Obama’s Pluto (5/2 to 5/9), as well as transiting Mars square to US Uranus and progressed Uranus (5/4 to 5/15). This is a very volatile mix that suggests unexpected upsets and possible violence (Uranus/Mars).

The first half of May will also bring transiting Saturn into the first phase of its station square to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s Venus (23Capricorn52), an aspect that points to some very difficult and disturbing issues that impact Homeland Security. Moreover, National Security Advisor Tom Donilan will be under a Saturn transit opposite his Venus (24Aries05) through the first half of May as well, underlining the extreme stress that is likely to involve the military, intelligence, and security systems in late April and the first half of May.

In summary, it seems that some significant confrontation or agitation will be unleashed during the second half of March. This will be followed by a very stressful, anxious, and volatile situation impacting the country from mid-April through mid-May. A further period of intensified aggression and conflict is very possible during the first half of May. I think the economy will be under some strain during April and May but the primary focus will be circumstances with national security, military, intelligence, and diplomatic implications. It seems likely the country will calm down increasingly as we move into late May, although the diplomatic, security, and intelligence teams may be working overtime for a few more months to get things fully back on track.

News junkies everywhere are feasting on the reality-show slugfest known as the Republican Primary. TV pundits and web bloggers alike are in a perpetual state of hyperbole, gleefully refereeing who most efficiently and brutally attacked who in every debate skirmish and media ad, with each event universally described as if it were an Ultimate Fighting match-up.  Meanwhile, despite Newt Gingrich’s huge win in South Carolina and his strong polls nationwide among the foaming-at-the-mouth Republican base, the panicking GOP elders are doing everything in their power to crash his candidacy before his momentum cannot be stopped. Their fear of a Gingrich nomination is palpable. His gargantuan grandiosity, his incendiary attacks, and his bizarre ideas may be red meat for the unhinged fringe, but they are largely repulsive to the rest of us who will vote in the November election.

At the moment, Mitt Romney has retaken the lead in Florida, where the next big primary battle will take place on January 31.  As predicted in previous posts, Romney began to get his mojo back when Mars turned retrograde and once again began to move toward its opposition to his Sun (21Pisces11). This began with the first debate of the past week and had strengthened considerably by the second, during which Romney clearly had the stronger performance.  This aspect, which signifies a much more aggressive and focused candidate, as well as more and more attacks against him, will strengthen through February 10.

Romney has enough fast-moving, positive aspects just after the Florida primary to suggest he will win it. On the morning of February 1, the Moon will oppose Romney’s Moon/Jupiter (27 Scorpio), and Mercury will conjunct his Venus for the day. By evening, Venus will move into a semisquare with natal Venus (8Aquarius33).  His very upbeat mood for over 24 hours after the voting indicates success.

It should be noted that on February 3 and February 4, Gingrich will have transiting Venus square to his Sun and Moon, and is therefore likely to have some beneficial circumstances for a few days. But with Jupiter semisquare Romney’s Sun and square his Midheaven for the second half of February, followed by Jupiter square his Venus from March 3 through March 9, it seems likely he will be well on the road to the nomination very soon. It may be that by mid-February, with the waning of the Mars opposition to Romney’s Sun, most of the Gingrich-inspired attacks will diminish, although I anticipate Gingrich’s last gasp of aggression to be quite brutal through February 12. Transiting Mars will be semisquare to his Pluto (5Leo41) while it simultaneously opposes Romney’s Sun.

I am not ready yet to predict who I think will win the November election, although I strongly lean toward President Obama at this time. I am waiting to see who Romney’s VP nominee will be and what his 2012 solar return looks like. For now, Romney is under the solar arc progression of Venus opposite his Ascendant, peaking in March 2012, which adds some degree of attractiveness to his generally stiff personality.  The threefold Venus transit in May square to his Sun will also lend him a flush of brief charisma.

As of April 2012, however, solar arc Moon/Jupiter will move into an opposition with natal Saturn (2Leo24) through April 2013, suggesting that the issue of an unappealing and standoffish personality will become increasingly significant. In addition, there will be a solar eclipse on Romney’s Ascendant (00Gemini43) in May 2012, which will have an impact of up to a year or more. Exact eclipses to the angles or the Sun or Moon are usually seen as malefic omens unless very positively aspected. This one will be square to Neptune, with transiting Neptune coming back to exactly square the eclipse point and Romney’s Ascendant from late August through mid-December 2012. This configuration suggests that Romney’s penchant in the campaign for distorting the facts, hyperbolic pronouncements, and opportunistic repositioning depending on his audience (Neptune) may prove the fatal flaw that derails his election. Thus, the eclipse on Romney’s Ascendant may indicate a dramatic failure in 2012 for someone whose life has otherwise been cloaked in unending success.