February 24, 2006
Roe v. Wade
 "PIERRE, S.D. — Legislation meant to prompt a national legal battle targeting Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, was approved Wednesday by the South Dakota Senate, moving the bill a step closer to final passage. . . . The bill, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison, would make performing abortions a felony. ..." (Quoting the Associated Press, February 23, 2006).
South Dakota is one of several "red" states gearing up to test whether Roe v. Wade can be overturned banning a woman's right to an abortion. The only exception to the ban would be in extreme cases where the woman's life is at stake.
The majority of those in support of overturning Roe are the same people who praise the war efforts in Iraq, and turn a blind eye to the daily genocide in Sudan, starvation in East Africa, prison torture in Abu Ghraib, the growing poverty and infant mortality rates in the United States, and the fact that 46 million hardworking Americans can't afford medical insurance (this Astrologer is one of them).
Roe and stem cell research (using maybe 3-4 blastula from a petri dish) and gay marriage are so egregiously evil and desperately frightening to these people that all life on the planet could explode into instint extinction from global warming, but that's okay so long as Jesus finds a few stray blastula in a beer bottle in the back seat of an abandoned SUV.
South Dakota's chart shows a Neptune-Pluto conjunction in Gemini, an outer planet connection that happens once about every 500 years. (I'm very serious). Neptune-Pluto conjunctions set off half-millennium cycles of growth and development that are impossible to analyze with pinpoint precision. We generally rely on much shorter term planet cycles to get our bearing. The 20 year Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is but one example. Currently, Neptune and Pluto are in a sextile relationship and have been for several decades.
(Adolf Hitler is an example of one born during the last Neptune-Pluto conjunction (April 20, 1889, 6:30 pm, Braunau am Inn, Austrua, Asc: 26 Libra). The conjunction is unaspected in his chart which allowed him (and Germany) to run amok.)
South Dakota's Neptune-Pluto conjunction is squared by uptight Saturn in prim, proper Virgo on the 7th house cusp. It's safe to say that new fangled ideas, such as those thrust into the human consciousness by the likes of Neptune and Pluto won't be welcome in South Dakota.
Squares find the mind under pressure to "side" with one side of the square or the other. Honoring both sides of a square is hard, but is possible, and is the course taken by individuals who work at being highly focused and "conscious." But the masses are not very conscious and they don't really care to be. Bling-bling and gasoline are sufficient unto the day.
The bible thumpers of South Dakota, or at least the Legislature and Governor Mike Pounds of South Dakota, seem to be siding with strait-laced Saturn in Virgo against slippery and devious Neptune-Pluto in brainy, experimental Gemini.
There's more uncomfortable pressure for South Dakotans from the 8th house (sex! OMG!) conjunction of Mercury-Uranus in Libra. Venus is there, too. Big, bold new ideas (Uranus) get channeled through Mercury and Venus in the classical marriage sign, so what's going to happen? The Sun (heart of the chart) and Juno are conjoined in Scorpio in the 9th, assuring that deep, reformative, irrevocable change will eventuate once long-term transits to the 8th house have carried their light to next house cusp. Hard choices have to be made by South Dakotans when it comes to marriage, joint finances, sex, mores and the religious values that issue from these decisions via the 9th house (with Scorpio on the cusp!)
South Dakota is a cardinal chart with lots of planets in Air signs making it a "Libra" identity signature. There is no fire in the chart, so fire, the enthusiastic, optimistic, intuitive element of the zodiac (the USA has no fire in it's chart either) gets integrated into the state's anima (soul) through its people, it's governor(s), it's legislative initiatives, foreign settlers and business ventures, etc. It can also overcompensate for the lack of fire by being too jacked up by overwrought or irrational ideations.
By becoming the first of several states to desire an abortion ban; to make it a felony conviction for the performance by a physician of an abortion; by overreaching by believing that this law will make it to the Supreme Court, is certainly lack of fire run amok. The higher courts in the state will probably knock down this ban. Even if they don't and the case makes it to the Supreme Court, there are still 5 justices sitting who will actually uphold Roe. The confirmation of Alito and baby Scalia (Judge Alito) to the court quite probably won't change the minds of the 5 long-sitting justices who have upheld Roe.
That being said, one of the 5 could retire leaving the court open to another Bush debacle where the majority will tilt against Roe. Advocates of women's reproductive rights (this Astrologer is one) are not out of the woods.
Monday, February 27th's New Moon in Pisces (7:30 pm, Washington, DC, Asc: 28 Virgo) seeds South Dakota's Pisces Moon in the first house of "self," the identity; the house where the "inside" figures out how to meet the "outside" and goes forward to fulfill the destiny shown by the Midheaven.
South Dakota's Moon (the people) is ruled by religious Jupiter (traditionally) and Jupiter is in Saturn-ruled Capricorn. The Midheaven's sign is Sagittarius, giving culiminating Jupiter the highest place value in the chart. Here is where administrative law and traditional religion are likely to be upheld rigidly as "self" definitions.
It doesn't appear that South Dakotans are worried about religion or "law by divine revelation" crossing the boundary between church and state. Boundary-less Neptune, the Moon's modern ruler, is joined to "resurrection" Pluto, ruler of the "heart of the chart," which is that 8th house Scorpio Sun. Jupiter as ruler of Pluto in Sagittarius has been called the marriage of heaven and hell. But Pluto conjunct Neptune in this chart could mean that nobody knows the real difference between heaven and hell, so South Dakotans had better be careful what they create.
Mike Pounds, Governor of South Dakota (chart not shown), has Libra Sun in SD's 7th house, and Juno, Neptune, Sun, Saturn and Mercury in SD's 8th house! (you can make this stuff up). His Venus at 0 Sagittarius OPPOSES SD's Neptune-Pluto conjunction and thus creates a T-square with SD's Saturn in Virgo. Pounds is widely believed to be ready to sign the SD abortion ban bill. Saturn is the focal point of the T-square just described, so prim-proper Virgo will, indeed, sign the abortion ban bill.
Transiting Mars entered Gemini on February 17th and currently conjoins SD's Neptune-Pluto conjunction and is still in orb of an opposition to Pound's Venus. Mars opposite Venus? Men against women? Men against women's rights? No, I don't blame men per se, for what is taking place in South Dakota because clearly there are plenty of pro-life women in South Dakota and throughout the USA. However, what must be made clear, is that the Governor is male (Mars) and transiting Mars in the "documents" sign of Gemini turns the pen into a sword. Or is it the other way 'round?
Uranus is also transiting very close to SD's Pisces Moon. Uranus on Moon is a very uncomfortable, disruptive aspect. This merger is close in orb to an opposition to SD's Saturn. What we've got now, by transit, is a grand mutable square when drawing in Pound's Venus and transiting Gemini Mars. This battle is going to get hot. Particularly with Mercury retrograding in Pisces at present! Mercury is, of course, "the messenger." What is SAID will be RESAID and said again when the little guy with the hat goes retrograde on March 2 to March 25.
Here's your personal Mercury Timer: March 2, 2006, Mercury retrograde at 26 Pisces; March 25, 2006, Mercury direct at 13 Pisces; April 14, 2006, Mercury at 27 Pisces, or one degree out of retrograde shadow phase. Mercury hit 13 Pisces on February 16, the degree at which it will retrograde back to.
FN:
State of South Dakota, November 2, 1889, 2:40 PM CST, Asc: 3 Pisces, Yankton, South Dakota.
South Dakota State Capital: Pierre, South Dakota, December 6, 1880, 10:18 AM, CST, Asc: 14 Capricorn
(Chart data for State of South Dakota, "Horoscopes of the USA & Canada, Marc Penfield)
Gov. Mike Pounds (October 24, 1954, Huron, South Dakota. No time known). Wikipedia.com
Roe v. Wade CHART
December 24, 2005 signaled Venus retrograde in Capricorn. The lady went direct on Feb 3, 2006. She still lingers in the sign of establishment, propriety, harsh conditions, "male" dominance, gray suits, and administrative justice. Roe v. Wade is having her own Venus return (13 Capricorn) and a long one at that. The North Node at 16 Capricorn alerts us to 16 degrees as "sensitive." Whenever a hard-hitting planet reaches 16 degrees, or recalls a strong celestial event at 16 degrees (such as the August 1999 fixed grand square eclipse), we know that the Roe chart will be set off like the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyessy.
Looking at Roe's Saturn, ruler of its Venus, North Node, Jupiter and Mercury (even its 2 degree Aquarius Sun traditionally!) we should take note of the mutual reception between Saturn in Gemini and Mercury in Capricorn. When you swap mutual reception planets by placing them back and forth, you learn a lot. Take Saturn at 14 Gemini and place it at 14 Capricorn. That would mean, because of it's relationship with Mercury in mutual reception, that there is a conjunction relationship between Saturn and Venus even though there is no Ptolemaic aspect drawing the two together in the chart. Hence, we find the harsh taskmaster in a very close dialogue with Venus who is none too happy in Capricorn.
Placing Mercury at 28 Gemini (remember, we're playing swapping because of the mutual reception relationship) We find a wide trine relationship between Mercury and Uranus, and by original placement, we find Mercury and Uranus in square aspect. The trine works to "help" the square aspect "identify" with the Uranian "new ideas of freedom" signified by Uranus.
On August 25, 2001, less than one month from the horror of September 11th, transiting Saturn first visited Roe's Saturn, signifying the SATURN RETURN of Roe v. Wade. This is significant because George Bush's very first act as president (the day after his inauguration) was to sign a bill into law forbidding the USA from giving funding to women's clinics abroad (so often located in poor countries!) in case those clinics may advocate in any shape, manner or form, counseling a woman about abortion or providing abortions.
The war on women by the Bush administration had begun.
The war now escalates because transiting Mars in early Gemini is now conjoined to Roe's Saturn and opposes Roe's Mars. This is a lethal planetary set up, particularly since the USA's natal Uranus is at 8 Gemini and is taking a hard square aspect from transiting Uranus at 10 Pisces. We've got another explosive, rage provoking, mutable grand square which will escalate the deeper Mars moves into Gemini.
The USA is set for it's Mars return on March 29th, the day of the biggest eclipse of 2006: a total solar one at 9 Aries. While this eclipse and Mars' return to the USA's Mars signal huge and frightening developments across the world (Iraq and Iran, for instance), at the moment I'm confining my scope to the Roe chart.
While, at present, it appears unlikely that Roe will be overturned in the very near future, the current Mars transit atop Roe's Saturn (and opposite Roe's Mars) ramps up the Bush administration's and the religious right's war against women.
At noon on the day Roe v. Wade was passed, the chart angles repeated the angles seen at each presidential inauguration in the USA: 16 Taurus rising and 27 Capricorn on the Midheaven. At noon Roe's Moon conjoined the USA's Neptune in Virgo. As transiting Mars moves toward a USA Mars return, it will set off the USA's natal Mars/Gemini square Neptune/Virgo. The 12 noon mark of Roe is caught inside that lethal square currently opposed by transiting Pluto.
Roe v. Wade, the decision and history of the case Wikipedia.com
February 24, 2006 -- Starcats
Charts for Future Starcats' Commentaries:
Iraq CHART
Iraq history and current events Wikipedia.com
United Arab Emirates CHART
UAE history and current events Wikipedia.com
UAE Supplemental Wikipedia.com
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