"The natal chart is like a seed and progressions are the unfolding in time of that into the plant it is to become. Transits, are like a daily weather report. In political astrology, these three factors have to be taken into account!"
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NewsScope has been published continually since 1997. Links to NewsScope articles from September 2015 through December 2017 can be found in the Menu. Back copies dating from 2009 through 2015 are at
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Unless otherwise stated, all data is rated A or AA from AstroDataBank
Recent NewsScopes
Jan. 1, 2018 - Trump’s 2018 prospects; Protests break out in Iran; Gordon Ramsay, Celebrity Chef.
Jan. 8, 2018 - Trump’s 12th House Pluto; Saturn Opposite the U.S. Venus; Wolff’s “Fire and Fury”
Jan. 15, 2018 - Astro-Anatomy of a Comment; Total Super Blue Moon Eclipse; Stormy Daniels
Jan. 22, 2018 - Saturn opposes the U.S. Venus; Laurence Fink Touts CEO responsibility; Tom Petty
Jan.29, 2018 - Fake News and the Uranus-Neptune Cycle; Top 5 Astro-Evenys for Feb; Wynn Takes a Hit
Feb. 5, 2018 - Rosenstein, FBI Deputy Director under Fire; Millennials Embrace Astrology; The NYSE
Feb. 12, 2018 - Rachel Brand Heads for Walmart; The Pentagon; Kim Yo Jong’s Historic Visit
Feb. 19, 2018 - Mueller’s Indictment of Russian Meddlers; The Nov. election; Melania Trump’s Juno
Feb. 26, 2018 - March for our Lives; March’s Top Five Astro-Events; The NRA’s Saturn Return
March 5, 2018 - Washington Chaos Going Global; “Trade Wars are Good”; Hope Hicks’ White House Diary
March 12, 2018 - Trump’s Chart in Pyongyang; Stormy Daniels Sues Trump; Oprah Winfrey in 2020?
March 19, 2018 - Stormy Daniels’ Birth Time; Trump and Black Moon Lilith; Stephen Hawking is Smiling.
March 26, 2018 - China Counter-Attacks in Growing Trade War; Top 5 Astro-Events for April; John Bolton
April 2, 2018 - Health Care Industry; Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream; the astrology of Royal Weddings
April 9, 2018 - The NYSE and Trade War; Mark Zuckerberg goes to DC; Kate Hudson’s Love Life
April 23, 2018 - Kim Jong Un, Peacemaker; Michael Avenetti, Stormy’s attorney; Allison Mack arrested.
April 30, 2018 - Trump’s High-Risk Style; May’s Top Five AstroEvents; Paris Hilton’s Online Fame
May 7, 2018 - Trump’s New Lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; NASA’s Mars Mission; Cheryl Burke’s Venus-Pluto.
May 14, 2018 - Strong and Proud, Israel at Seventy; Viktor Vekselberg; Hawaii’s Kilauea and asteroid Pele
May 21, 2018 - Trump’s 2018 Solar Return; Michael Avenatti Update; Meghan Markle's Part of Fortune.
May 28, 2018 - Kim Jong Un Makes Nice; June's Top 5 Astro-Events; Meghan Markle and the Great Mother
June 4, 2018 - Mars Rx in Aquarius; SpaceX Becomes Profitable; Roseanne Barr’s 12th House Mars
June 11, 2018 - Saturn-Pluto Culture Wars; Ambas-sador Dennis Rodman; Spade and Bourdain
June 18, 2018 - Trump on the Offensive; July 12 Solar Eclipse; Cristiano Ronaldo, the best soccer player
June 25, 2018 - Immigration Crisis; China Imposes $50b Tariffs; Atul Gawande, Healing the Health System
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July 2, 2018 - Mexico has a new President; July’s Top Five; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Upset Victory.
July 9, 2018 - The Trump-Putin Summit; Jefferson and Adams Validate the U.S. Horoscope; Mr. Rogers.
July 16, 2018 - Louise Hay, th Queen of the New Age, how thoughts become reality with Mercury-Chiron.
July 23, 2018 - The Lunar Eclipse as Mercury Rx; Roe v. Wade Re-Visited; Maria Butina, the Kremlin link
July 30, 2018 - Astro-Event #6: the Uranus Station; August’s Top Five Astro-Events; Tech Takes a Dive
Aug. 06, 2018 - Neptune Conjoining the U.S. Prog. Sun; Hemingway’s Over-Active Mars.
Aug. 13, 2018 - Trump Declares Economic War on Turkey; Women Politicians Trending Up; Omarosa
Aug. 20, 2018 - Mercury in Trump’s 12th House; The Trump Taj Mahal; Brennan: “Trump is Drunk on Power”
Aug. 27, 2018 - Trump’s Midheaven Eclipsed; Mike Pence, Waiting in the Wings; September’s Top Five
Sept. 03, 2018 - Election Day Astrology; SA-PL and Neo-Nazis on the Rise;
Pope Francis Under Fire
Sept. 10, 2018 - Crazytown, USA; Canopy Growth, Weed Stocks Soaring; Jocelyn Bell Burnell recognized.
Sept. 17, 2018 - The Astrology of U.S. Disasters; Hurricane Florence; Willie Nelson Gets Political
Sept. 24, 2018 - Echoes of Anita Hill; October’s Top Five Astro-Events; Chris Hedges on Totalitarian Capitalism
Oct. 01, 2018 - Senator Flake Moved by Venus; Brett Kavanaugh’s Mercury-Neptune; Elon Musk's tweets
Oct. 08, 2018 - The #MeToo Movement advances; October’s Astro-Event #6; Is it Art? The Banksy Effect
Oct. 15, 2018 - Jamal Khashoggi’s Silence is Deafening; Market Sell-Off; Two Stars are Re-Born
Oct. 22, 2018 - Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman; Post-Election Developments; Elizabeth Warren in 2020
Oct. 29, 2018 - Mars in the U.S. 4th House; Top Five for November; Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s Next President
Nov. 5, 2018 - Mueller’s Mercury-Uranus Config; The Migrant Caravan; Gwyneth Paltrow and Madame Ovary
Nov. 12, 2018 - Matthew Whitaker’s App't; Florida Re-Count; Somalian Ilhan Omar Elected to Congress.
Nov. 19, 2018 - California’s Uranus Return; To Brexit or Not to Brexit; The 2020 Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction
Nov. 26, 2018 - Top 5 Astro-Events for Dec; Trump fights for the Wall; Nancy Pelosi Fights for Leadership
Dec.03, 2018 - Mercury Direct Energizes Mueller; George H. W. Bush, the 41st President; Barbara Bush,
Dec.10, 2018 - Echoes from the Watergate; NYSE Update; Ariana Grande’s Generational Influence
Dec. 17, 2018 - Top Five for Trump in 2019; Chief Mick Mulvaney; Loesser's "Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Dec. 24, 2018 - The Jan. 5 Solar Eclipse Lilith Derails the Markets; Trump Signs Farm Bill, legalizes hemp.
Dec. 31, 2018 - January’s Top Five; Mitch McConnell, GOP Leader; Joe Biden, the Leading Dem. candidate.
re: Bush - In a published biography of GHWB, he actually had a long time affair with a widow --I believe the couple had been friends of both George and Barbara, and after the husband died 41 had a long ‘relationship’ with the widow. Barbara was aware of the affair, published in well regarded biography —name escapes me at the moment. The important point is that George and Barbara stayed together and supported each other until the end. Also, the biography implied that the relationship was well known but kept quiet in high Republican circles.
re: Bush - Your birth time of 10:30am is INCORRECT for Bush, SR. Isaac Starkman, official rectifier for ASTRODATABANK using 52 events has rectified his time of birth to 11:31:18 AM, Ascendant 8Virgo30, with Mercury, ruler 1st and 10th conjunct his MH. There’s a reason why Starkman is Astrodatabank’s official rectifier. Please submit another article with the correct birth time.
A. I'm using the time and chart provided by ADB and Starkman is not mentioned at all in the source notes, although 11:38 am is mentioned as a possible time. See for yourself: astro- databank/Bush,George_H._W.
re: Mercury - Have you considered doing a NewScope article on Freddie Mercury and Rami Malek (the guy playing him in the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody)?
A. thanks for the suggestion.
re: NewsScope - Thank you for the terrific service you provide with your weekly columns. You make Monday mornings a time of anticipation! I’ve learned from Rachel Maddow that court documents can provide useful information for astrological work. In case you may write about the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting, <snip>
A. Thanks for the data and positive feedback. I've already described this phase as likely to be violent, and generally prefer to not get into the details of a bloody mess.
re: Elizabeth Warren - This week's issue has prompted my response about Elizabeth Warren. She is born the same month, day, and year as Meryl Streep a phenomenal, woman herself. About the tie-in to the USA Moon, which I agree works, would having an angle, especially the MC, at 25 Aquarius work?
A. That's a great question, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. However, it may be true. The problem is we don't have reliable birth data on the Presidents before WW2, so the sample size is small.
re: post-election - You seem pretty sure that the Democrats will re-take the House of Representatives on November 6. Can we count on that? Shall we brace ourselves for the backlash?
A. The astro-conditions post-election look dire indeed, from many angles. To mention a few: transiting Uranus in the last degree of Aries squaring the transiting Lunar Node axis; Mercury turns retrograde squaring Neptune; Robert Mueller's ready to report, perhaps subpoena Trump.
re: economy - Our current sky map shows very close connections between now and Oct 1987 when the markets crashed from Asia to America.
re: mailbomber - He scrubbed his Facebook account which showed he was a Bernie supporter. He had a dozen or so arrests but repeatedly released and under the supervision of Broward County, Florida. The perfect patsy. The bombs were duds, intended to terrorize and most likely create sympathy for the addressees, hence a political act and attempt to sway the election.
Do you think we will see a decrease in these disruptive actions when transiting Neptune clears its conjunction with progressed US Sun
A. I'm sorry, but I don't buy your conspiracy theory on the mailbomber. Transiting Neptune conjoining the U.S. progressed Sun has more to do with the nation's disingenuous, scandal-plagued leadership (ie, Trump) than the media or any violent episode.
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Recent NewsScopes
Jan. 7, 2019 - Trump Threatens lengthy; China’s Slowdown; Merc. Rx on Election Day 2020.
Jan. 14, 2019 - Gov't Shut downs; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Social Media Star; Aquarius Beckoning
Jan. 21, 2019 - Michael Cohen Timeline, with his 15º Cap.Ascendant; Lauren Sanchez, the Other Woman
Jan.28, 2019 - Roger Stone, the Dirty Trickster; Feb.sTop 5 Astro-Events; Tom Brady’s Swan Song
Feb. 4, 2019 - Kamala Harris in 2020; Russia under Pluto spell; Evan Rachel Wood’s Bout with PTSD
Feb. 11, 2019 - AOC’s Green New Deal; Ceres: Co-sponsor; Virginia’s Black Moon Lilith Problem
re: AOC birth time - Here is an article with the birth time for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
from the NCGR Newsletter: <snip> “Before we get to the astrology, a shout-out to Anne Ortelee and her student, Arthur Lipp-Bonewits, for contacting AOC's office and getting her birth time. She was born October 13, 1989, 11:50 a.m., in Bronx, New York.”
A. That’s great! Thanks for the data. We’ll have an update on her chart soon.
Re: Buttigieg - Like many, I just read the WP article on this young man from South Bend,
Indiana: Pete Buttigieg. What say the stars? I'm hoping they're more than hopeful. Thanks for your Monday morning enlightenment.
re: Pelosi - What do you think of the fight between Godzilla/ Pelosi and Trump/ KingKong...how do these two find a wayout of this standoff... not really asking about the government shutdown(yes part of it) but more how these two tough peopleever get out of the mud and move things forward and even work together inthe future as it is still awhile till the next election in 2020.... concerning.Look forward to your thoughts
A. As I noted when I looked at Pelosi's chart a few weeks ago, his Mars squares her Mars. It's a classic ego conflict being played out on the national stage... But another look or perhaps deeper look is in order.
re: Pelosi - I was looking for some glimmer of hope over time concerning the Pelosi-Trump standoff and I feel sadly this could be ...the long wait. Thanks for all you do with the great articles... really love them!
re: Gov’t Shutdown - The shutdown in 1995 presaged the fall of Newt Gingrich well before Clinton. Newt was out of the House speakership in late 1998, and out of the House in Jan 1999, all due to his own behaviors. He even took out the next speaker before he ever started, also because of affairs. Clinton, however, did finish his term. And even had positive polling approval after the impeachment.
re: Pelosi - If Trump is ousted, and Pence with him, the leadership will fall to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Does she have the "right stuff" to connect with the US chart to become President?
Thanks for your thoughts. Always enjoy your Monday morning insights.
re: Ms. Wood - I meant to write the minute I read your article on Ms. Wood. It gave me goosebumps to read it: what she experienced, the astrology correlated with it. Thank you for the work you do, the world is a richer place because of it.
re: Trump/Russia - Trump acts like Putin’s puppy. Russia’s destiny drives Trump. I’m not suggesting/don’t know that Trump is knowingly a Russian agent – but he is undoubtedly a Russian tool – Putin’s useful idiot. Where’s that weak spot in Trump’s synastry?
Thinking out loud: It would make an utterly unforgettable historic study if you could now use that Russian chart to show the connections between Russia’s “big transits/progressions’ and Trump’s pro-Russian decisions. If you could “front run” that analysis before Mueller publishes his report - and send it ahead of time to your contacts @ the NYTimes, Washington Post et al… well. That might be the best astrological prediction/analysis ever. Certainly for this century. And I think you’d be the right person to do this. The moment is now.
A. Thx for the suggestion. I've tried contacting both the NYTimes and WaPo in the past, and a few other reputable papers. They're of one mind in thinking that astrology is for entertainment purposes only, and they won't consider a more serious piece. In any case, the explanation for the Trump-Russia connection would be beyond mainstream readers' comprehension.
re: rapper - Have you profiled Chance the Rapper (Chancellor Jonathan Bennett, born April 16, 1993 per Wikipedia) yet on Neptune Cafe? He’s such a talented rapper but also a social justice warrior. He donated $1M to the Chicago school system and started a Twitter campaign to stop gun violence for 48 hours. His father worked for the Obama administration and some have called on Chance to enter politics. Do you see anything in his chart to indicate how he will grow in political stature and what role he might take? Thanks so much for giving me something to look forward to reading every week! I so appreciate you!
re: candidates - Thanks for printing Ms. Harris' and Ms. Woods' time of birth. About the Kamala Harris article, you wrote: "Most significantly, her Gemini Ascendant conjoins the North Node at 25º Gemini, which is the only link she has to the U.S. Moon at 25º Aquarius." IMO, most astrologers would say her Saturn at 28+ AQ is conjunct the US Moon at 25+ AQ. Your insights into people, nations and events are always valued. Thank you.
A. Thx for the feedback. I use a tight orb of less than one degree to consider whether a candidate is resonating with the US Moon as a symbol for connecting with the American people and their needs. Greater than one degree doesn't make the cut, and this guideline can separate the wannabes from the real contenders, the winning candidates. It's a definitive way of differentiating between the Scorpio Rising and Sagittarius Rising national horoscopes.
re: Pelosi - I'm increasingly believing that if another shutdown is to be averted, and/or anything gets done in DC, like holding the government together and forestalling Trump's worst foreign policy blunders, it will depend on Pelosi and McConnell achieving it through Congress. I know you've done reviews on each of them recently, but what about A) a comparison of their leadership styles, and/or B) a relationship chart for working together? Thanks as always for your insights.
NewsScope for February 18, 2019
By Michael Wolfstar
The U.S. Pluto Return
A disgruntled reader sends this note: “Ocasio-Cortez’s green thing is delusional. I am sick of your constantly defending the Democrats and never once having anything remotely respectable to say about Donald Trump. It’s people like you who continue to drive and push the hatred agenda and divisiveness in this country. I used to enjoy your column, but every week you consistently disappoint.”
The U.S. is now under the spell of its Pluto Return, and like all major Pluto transits, it brings a time of death and re-birth. Extremists of all kinds (both liberal and conservative) proliferate. In the U.S. national horoscope, Pluto’s network of aspects includes a square to Chiron at 20º Aries. As Pluto returns to its natal place in 2022-23, it begins shaping events by first making this square to Chiron, a phase that began in February 2018.
Pluto-to-Chiron awakens the national psyche’s deepest wounds, which include slavery and its aftermath. In the Scorpio Rising national horoscope, Chiron is located in the 6th house which, in traditional astrology, is known as the house of slavery. In 1861 the Civil War began as transiting Pluto was exactly opposite its own Scorpio Ascendant, and as the nation divided itself over the issue of slavery.
Transiting Pluto’s initial square to the U.S. Chiron corresponds to Trump’s inauguration, so his style and tenure personify this aspect, which is ongoing. Trump’s solid 35% support derives almost exclusively from white Americans, while many people of color routinely call him a racist. In geopolitical scenarios, Chiron-Pluto aspects can be associated with the wounds created between factions of people. For example, Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, convicted of genocide, was born with a Chiron-Pluto conjunction in his 4th house of domestic conditions.
The Saturn-Pluto Conjunction of 2020
Over the coming year, as Pluto nears its natal place, it will be joined by Saturn, creating a powerful celestial dynamic that’s shaping events worldwide. Richard Tarnas has given us an historic overview of the Saturn-Pluto cycle in Cosmos & Psyche and, in general, it’s associated with increased authoritarianism, nationalism, and conservative agendas. The conjunction takes place in the corporate, institutional, patriarchal sign of Capricorn.
The re-making of America as a corporatocracy has been going on for decades, and is culminating under the aegis of the Saturn-Pluto cycle. Financial and political power is accruing in the billionaire class. That’s the atomic nature of Pluto, which concentrates immense power in a tiny physical place. According to Forbes, the CEO of an S&P index firm now earns 380 times more than the rank-and-file worker, up from 20 times more in the 1950s.
Another way of looking at the skewed wealth is that since the 1970s, 60% of the increase in national income went to the top 1%. Astrologically, Pluto offers the formula of increased wealth through dividends. Since capital increases faster than wage growth, the rich have been getting extraordinarily richer, while wage growth has remained stagnant. That process took a quantum leap forward under Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut, which gave 60% of the benefits to America’s richest 5%.
One can’t blame the brutal state of American politics entirely on Trump. He’s the product of what the nation has become. He’s the head of organized gangster capitalism, the bloated, morally corrupt façade of the American Empire, now entering its Pluto Return. But major Pluto transits can bring horrific catastrophes, sending the nation back to its core values for the re-birth phase. What form will this Plutonian collapse take?
The 2020 Election and Beyond
To my disgruntled reader, yes, AOC is naïve in many respects, but it’s also correct that I have nothing respectful to say about Trump -- except that he may very well be re-elected in 2020. When Jupiter enters Capricorn this coming December, the primary season will begin in earnest. By November 2020, transiting Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto will be forming an epic triple conjunction, and all favorably trine Trump’s Midheaven.
Currently, transiting Jupiter is conjoining Trump’s Sagittarius Moon and opposing his Gemini Sun. Astrologers generally consider this an easy, expansive transit bringing feelings of success and enthusiasm. Ultimately, Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over his Wall will likely be upheld by the courts. For the showman, the con artist, it brings an opportunity to distract from the real problems, which are global warming, economic inequality, epidemic violence, and Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
Naturally, the counter-movements to concentrated power are also becoming stronger and more ferocious. These include environmentalists, women, any ethnic group that doesn’t originate from Europe, and the politicians who voice their needs. America’s re-birth might manifest as leadership by a Gaia-conscious woman president. Equally likely is that Trump’s opposition will be split between moderates and the far left.
With Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in the patriarchal sign of Capricorn, Trump’s leadership over dominating white men is a natural expression of the times. The horoscope of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction does feature two prominent feminine archetypes: Ceres is exactly conjunct Saturn and Pluto, and all three square Eris in Aries. These awakening archetypes (Ceres and Eris) potentially represent the seed forms of America’s renaissance. The 2020 election will tell us if the re-birth can take place without the total collapse of the American Empire.
