Posted on by malvin

The US Midterm Report

Unless you have been sleeping in front of the television for the past year, tomorrow we have yet another of the seemingly endless elections in the US. At least that appears to be a big part of what we hear about on American television – who will be running for president in a few years, or Congress and so forth. This one has been touted as being special, though, and especially for the world at large. Why? Because the outcome will likely have far-reaching implications for foreign policy, for international relations between the US and its allies/enemies, for financial markets, and on and on. Yes, it is an important set of elections, because it will determine whether or not Trump becomes a lame duck, or emboldened as to his policies. And that will play heavily upon the national mood, which becomes more and more restive with the passing of years. So, are we going to hear a prediction as to the outcomes of those elections here?

No. But before you go, there is much that we are about to examine that will be of real interest in the years ahead and what we will be facing in the immediate future. You see, the US, at least from outer appearances (which are always deceiving) is currently suffering under what we might call a ‘sickness of the soul’, which is the driving force behind much of what we have presented to us in the media.

To start with the astrology for the US, then, this is a particularly loaded election setup. For the past months (since January, really) we have had transiting Saturn opposing the US Venus/Jupiter conjunction, either directly or as a background energy, and transiting Neptune sitting on the progressed/directed US Sun. This indicates a frustrated administration, a dampened public mood, but also a concerted effort to obscure the real actions behind the scenes and the facts on the ground, indicated by the Sun/Neptune, as we see below (bigger):

It is perhaps useful to note that Donald Trump was elected to the White House when the directed/progressed Sun was square the US horizon. At the same time transiting Neptune was tracking the directed Sun and squaring the US horizon. In a real sense, we have the same sort of dynamic happening with this election – quite a bit of smoke and mirrors, deceptive campaign posts and advertising – but that is part and parcel of mud-slinging rough-and-tumble politics anywhere.

The big thing, though, with that progression/direct/transit in 2016 was the presentation of Trump as some kind of maverick or outsider. He was nothing of the sort. Trump has been rubbing elbows and sharing meals with Washington establishment types on both sides of the political aisles for decades. Trump was vetted by the establishment in Washington, and with media support he was projected into the White House.

The thing to keep in mind about Trump is that he is primarily a media figure and a salesman. An what a sales job he did – and is still doing! His most recent moves have been aimed at domestic politics, such as revocation of citizenship for children of illegal immigrants born on American soil, sending 15,000 troops to the southern US border, the sanctions on Iran that go into effect today, talk of a possible trade deal with China, and so forth. It all plays directly to his voter base. And, it may just work if the Democrats and independents are unable to motivate their voter base to any great extent. There is another thing of particular note that is being activated in the US chart at the moment, though.

One of my first posts on this blog was about the so-called ‘death axis’, the Mars/Saturn midpoint axis, which lies at 3° cardinal and 18° of fixed signs (45° modulus). The layout is such as we see below (bigger):

Another note here is that Venus sits directly on that midpoint axis. We find the same setup in Bolsonaro’s chart, from the Brazilian elections The reading of that combination, from Ebertin’s[1] work, is as follows:

“Coldness of feeling and frigidity, an absence of feeling and sensitive perception, a loveless disposition. – The inability to love and to express love. – Illness, separation, loss (death) of female persons.”

But that is not all. There is another midpoint axis that sits on those same degrees – the so-called ‘illness axis’, or the Saturn/Neptune midpoint. And with Venus at that midpoint, we have the following, also from Ebertin:

“Inhibited sex-life, lack of energy and initiative, faintness or feebleness. – Inhibited gland activity. – Suffering in love.”

The general sociological reading for those midpoints is for depression, poor or sick persons (Saturn/Neptune) for laborers, especially miners, and for people who are able to overcome great difficulties through hard work (Mars/Saturn). Then, we need to consider that Venus is conjunct optimistic Jupiter in the US chart. So, it is a real mix of factors, as we see, at one and the same time speaking of optimism in the face of difficulties, of healing in the face of disease and death, of victory over conflicts. The US has exhibited all of these qualities and often all at the same time. We might spare a thought that one of the biggest issues in this election campaign relates to health care, which has been in an abysmal state in recent years, with elevated violence, an opioid crisis, health insurance costs through the roof and so forth. In that regard, although it is not shown in the first chart, the progressed Moon is opposite the US Venus, and thus activating both of those midpoint axes in the US chart as we speak. A few examples of how that has manifested can be illustrated in the following examples from the past, when the progressed Moon was at the same point:

  • A parade in Washington celebrating the return of soldiers from the 1st Gulf War, 200,000 in attendance (1991). Of note is that the directed Venus, and thus the directed death axis, was on the US MC at the start of that war, as was the directed Neptune to the US meridian.
  • Surgeon General announces that smoking is harmful to health, shortly after the Kennedy assassination (1964)
  • Last public execution in the US. Public executions were outlawed after that one. There were 20,000 people in attendance at that hanging in Kentucky. (1936)
  • Walter Reed Army Hospital opened in Washington (1909)
  • The US joined the International Red Cross. Polygamy is outlawed by Congress. Morgan Earp and Jesse James are both killed (in separate incidents). (1882)
  • Lincoln gave his first speeches against slavery (1854)
  • Race riots in Cincinnati (1827)

Then in recent times there have been other activations of those axes, at successive 45° points:

We could go on and on, and this is not even considering transits and progressions/directions from other factors to those points. It makes for a very rich field of study. The point to all this is that the US is in a very deep crisis now, but so far it is mostly on emotional/mental levels. There could easily be violence, though, especially with militia groups headed to the southern US border to ‘help’ with warding off the migration caravan from Central America, for instance. And this is not even considering what might happen if – and this might be a big ‘if’ – Democrats manage to win a majority of House seats. We can already hear the calls of vote rigging, contested results and the like. It is very doubtful they will win a majority in the Senate, though. If I were to make one prediction, it would be that this will be a hard-fought and tight race, much as what we saw with the presidential elections. I would not expect to see a ‘blue wave’ or even a ‘red tide’. Bernie Sanders probably had it right when he said it would be a close race.

What we know for certain is that the public mood is dark, divided and increasingly strident. What we need most is calm – and not “calm before the storm”. As much as some people might like to see it, a storm would not be helpful, but would only invite repression and more violence. So, let’s consider what we know: That in the words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We have gerrymandering, people struck off of ballots, strong voter apathy (at least in the last election), crises of confidence in national institutions, restrictive voter ID laws (which are racially based), and political parties that discourage innovation, long-range thinking and which favor the wealthy classes in the US. And then there is foreign interference – and it ain’t the Russians. Instead what we get is interference from two of what we call our closest allies, those being Israel and Saudi Arabia. That is why we see the sanctions on Iran and troops in Syria. Russian and Chinese influence comes nowhere near the clout those two wield in Congressional circles. ‘Russian meddling’ has simply been a convenient domestic political tool, and false at that. Yes, we do have enemies of our democracy, but they are home grown. We need look no further.

I have read commentary saying that we have never been so divided as a nation. Well, what about the Civil War? Or the Civil Rights Movement/Vietnam? The fact is, we have been this divided before, and we lived through it. And, no matter who is elected to the congressional seats or who wins the election in 2020, we will live through that, too. We just need to avoid poking at the bear so that we are not all incinerated in the meantime. But more than that, our beloved mainstream media is actually one of our worst enemies and sources of disinformation, such as a recent story about ‘Russian interference’. We won’t go into all the examples here. There have been far too many of such articles. With only six corporations owning most of the media outlets in the US, and with the point being that they are corporate entities and thus not independent, the chances for corruption of those outlets is just too high. And, the indication is that those media outlets do not play to the voting public, meaning that the opinions expressed through those outlets are condescending to US voters. We are not seen as capable of making good decisions about who the oligarchs have chosen for us.

I mentioned at the start of this piece that the US is experiencing a sickness of soul. That sickness lies in the warlike nature of our society, speaking as an American, a society that is constantly told to fear an outside aggressor, that we will lose our way of life if we do not spend vast sums on our military, that our military might makes us safer, and so forth. If we were to cut defense spending in half we would still spend far more than the other major regional powers, and have a calmer world as a result, strange as that might sound. The key to a safe neighborhood is good relations with one’s neighbors. It is the same in international affairs. And with the speed at which the world is changing we need friends far more than we need more arms. People the world over want our government of the US to come to its senses, and it has been that way for a while, especially since 9/11. Our troublous journey into our present state of affairs has been building for a long time, especially since September of 1947, with the creation of the CIA and the cementing together of what we now know as the military-industrial-intelligence complex (MIIC). And now we can add to that the MIIC-Congressional complex, with their revolving door policy. Washington is geared toward war.

However, with the progressed Moon having returned to its position opposite Venus, we have another chance for healing with this election, for setting things right. And, if you noticed in looking at the first chart in this piece, the directed Pluto is circled. When it conjoins the US Midheaven it will mark a major life milestone for the US – a real chance for change at the top. These midterms will set the scene for that. When does that happen? In the election cycle of 2020, in mid-summer. It can be either a midsummer night’s dream or a nightmare, but either way, change is coming, and this time real change, not media circus, man-behind-the-curtains stuff.

And as a final note about the ‘enemy within’, Republicans and Democrats alike depend on campaign donations from oligarchs and corporate interests, and the Republican party especially favors corporate interests. Since the amount of campaign contributions is a pretty solid indicator of who will win elections, how do we think this election will swing? With that in mind, here are a few points to maybe keep in mind, then, as we go off to vote tomorrow:

  • The US was built by immigrants and their descendants. If you are American, like me, you probably fall into this class. Remember that next time you go out for pizza, or tacos, or Chinese food, or matzo ball soup or have a shot of vodka.
  • If you think the Mexicans are taking our jobs, are you telling me you want to pick fruit, clean floors and toilets and do menial labor, and that one of these people has taken away your opportunity?
  • No one is trying to take away your guns. We just want more common sense laws. You need a license to drive a car. Like cars, gun ownership is a privilege, not a right, unless you are in the military or police, and even then, it can be taken away from you if you misbehave
  • If you vote against someone, then you play into the establishment’s hands. If you vote out of hatred for Libtards or Republi%$*ts, same deal. The world is not going to end because either party gets in or stays in power. Only we will create the change we want, not the politicians.
  • The television really is what we used to call it in my time – the ‘idiot box’. Turn it off, or watch something useful besides news – like reruns of The Andy Griffith show or My Three Sons. At least they carried a positive message and made us smile.
  • Want to make a real difference? Demand that we bring our troops home and close a lot of those overseas military bases, that we take a big chunk of that ‘defense spending’ and plow it into infrastructure improvement, universal health care and so forth. That will bring the jobs home. Certainly not the Dems or Repubs.
  • We are the 99%. Let’s vote for us, not what the media or politicians would have us believe, unless they actually do work for you.
  • Forget the Russians, Iranians and the Chinese. They are not the problem. Our problems are at home, not overseas. They want to be on good terms with us anyway. Really!

So, if you are an American of voting age reading this, vote tomorrow, but in so doing, vote for a candidate who is really going to help the common person – us in other words. We don’t have to agree on particulars, but I think we can all agree the system doesn’t work for us any longer, and neither of the major parties seem to want to change that. Vote for the real America tomorrow. ‘Nuff said. And, at 3:00 PM EST, take five minutes, find a quiet spot, at least within yourself, and rise above all the emotion and confusion, finding a common thread with the other people in line, or even across the world. We’re all in the same boat. We always have a chance to make a brighter, safer world.

Feature pic from the comic strip by Walt Kelly.

[1] Ebertin, Reinhold, The Combination of Stellar Influences

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