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(Published March 16, 2000)

 

Like Father, Like Son

It is difficult to see George "Dubya" Bush without seeing his father—the forty-first president and once head of the CIA—standing, or perhaps I should say crouching, behind him, and his father before him as well. The father image in George W.'s horoscope—Saturn in Cancer—is represented by a large, maternal Kronos.

Kronos—who is the astrological Saturn—was a Greek deity, the eldest of the Titans, and is famous for devouring his own offspring as they birthed. In turn, Kronos/Saturn's own son, Zeus (Jupiter), liberated the swallowed offspring, instigated the war of the Titans and ushered in a new social order. This mythic dynasty seems contemporaneously reenacted in the Bush legacy.

It is hard to see George Jr. without the template of his father, but this is unfair to him. His father saw him as an extension of himself—and, even though they are individuals, they are enmeshed as only a DNA print and a horoscope can illustrate.

Two Suns Entwined

George W. Bush's progressed Sun is at 5 degrees Virgo this year. So is George Bush Senior's. This means that when George Jr. was born, the Sun was in the same degree as his father's progressed Sun, 13 degrees Cancer. Because of this, their solar purpose is enmeshed for as long as both are alive.

The Lunar Bond

Also, George W. has his natal Moon at 16 degrees Libra, and his father's natal Moon is 17 degrees Libra. This is why they look so much alike, and have so much affection and genuine love for each other. This has its serious drawbacks in the maturation and development of the younger George, however. The problem that arises with this kind of familiarity in parent/child dynamics (conjoined Moons) is the parent oftentimes cannot see the child as being separate from himself. Hence the metaphor of "devouring" one’s own children—fundamentally stealing their creativity and individualism—represents the parent crafting the hapless child in "his own image.”

George Jr. would like to cut the ties—his planet of raw identity, Mars, is on his father's Ascendant (persona, image)—and move on toward this “new social order,” as Jupiter did in the Greek myth. However, it would wound both, so George is running both himself and his father for president, which is a little weird for most voters.

Mercury and His Image

Part of the media speculation that is plaguing George Jr. in his candidacy for president is that he is not very bright. Well, he is, but his intelligence is not the kind that is generally effective in political rhetoric. He undergoes a process of layering meaning, and then having to unlayer meaning. By the time he sorts this out, the moment has passed. As a result, he is not good at quick repartee unless he is comfortable and in a social environment.

He has Mercury (the agent of perception and articulation) exactly with Pluto (our deep unconscious reservoir of knowledge) both rising in Leo, and Venus, the charmer, there too. This combination is played out in George's inability to “think fast.” The Leo Ascendant gives him charm and charisma, and what psychologists call the "entitlement complex"—he sincerely feels that he is entitled to the ruling class.

His mind is deeply complex and works in layers. In fact, he not only double-thinks, he thinks in webs, links and layers. It likely comes from the subterfuge in which he was “trained” in his childhood. Nothing would have been straightforward, especially with his father, where communication required strategy. The background of secrecy that laces through the family shows in his Twelfth House Sun, in the territorial, family-oriented sign of Cancer.

The Neptune Influence

The quantum enmeshment between father and son prevents George W. from fully individuating away from his father, whom he idealizes. This is confusing for both George W. and the voters. George Jr.'s Venus in Leo is conjunct his father's Neptune, thus it is unlikely that he resents his father's instinctive control over him. Rather, he sees him as a kind of god or guru (Neptune). This has its positive side in their relationship, but it is hard for the son to act independently. He doesn't want to hurt his father's feelings.

George W. has the Moon, Jupiter and Neptune in the sign of Libra, all in his Third House of communications, perception and understanding. He intellectualizes his feelings (Moon in the Third) all the while idealizing grand schemes (Neptune, Jupiter). He comes across as a "fuzzy thinker” and a dreamer (Neptune); but most importantly, though unconsciously perhaps, he is dangerously easily deceived and capable himself of deception.

Hidden in the Twelfth House of institutions (government) and self-undoing is his natal Sun, which in turn, is square to Neptune, the planet of fantasy and dreams. His core life-force (Sun) is not grounded in tangibles (Neptune), but in theoretical potentials, and thus he can succumb to inflated self-importance. Conversely, he could lay his trust in aides who enact his dark side for him, and he would not know this until too late.

The feeling one might get from an encounter with George W. Bush is an uncomfortable sense that there is “something” unsaid and hidden, something lurking in the background that tacitly informs all his overt actions. Time will tell what this might be, because the bloodhounds will be on him as he slides closer to the main event.

Author’s Notes

This characteristic of secrecy and mystery has also to do with George Jr.'s stellium (cluster of three or more planets) in Libra in the Third House. His natural mental vacillation was likely exacerbated by his father expecting clever answers immediately and training his son to be like him intellectually. His “hidden” Sun position, in square to Neptune, is lethal in times of politically sensitive circumstances—basically, he could lie and not be concerned about it. His capacity for rationalization and self-justification is vast.

Neptune (vague, foggy, unclear, possibly even deceiving, although not necessarily consciously) found in the house of the mind and communications, is a planetary placement for a dreamer, not a logical thinker. Also, Neptune is an agent for spiritual or religious thinking. To confuse religion with the state is part of Bush's problem—he is very unclear about just what role religion plays in politics, and indeed, if it should play a role at all. In addition, with the Moon there, we have a man who believes his feelings are coming across as clear thoughts. Jupiter simply exaggerates this grandiosity and inflated concept of what one is thinking or saying and its anticipated impact on others.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Erin Sullivan has been a consulting astrologer for over 30 years. Author of five books; tutor at the Centre for Psychological Astrology in London; editor for Arkana's astrology series from 1989-99; consults from, writes and teaches in Tucson, AZ. Depth pyschologically orientated work including predictive; high technical knowledge; classics background - business advisor and coaching available.

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For more information about Erin Sullivan, click here.

Other StarIQ articles by Erin Sullivan:

  • Terence McKenna: Modern Shaman   6/25/2000
  • Oprah: Finding Her Spirit   5/27/2000
  • Madonna: Mighty Aphrodite   5/20/2000
  • Ronald Reagan: Bedtime for Bonzo   4/27/2000
  • Hillary Clinton: By Herself   4/13/2000
  • Vladimir Putin: Russia Elects a Libra Leader   3/30/2000
  • Donald Trump: Peter Pan in Midlife   3/9/2000

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