Astrology & The 2008 US Presidential Election

Astrology represents a piece of the celestial puzzle; there is no doubt about that. Mike O'Hare and Elfreda Pretorius, co-authors of the book this site, The Meadow Blog.com, is dedicated to - have a very unusual story to tell, and it is not the one in the book! Astrologically, their circumstances are extraordinary: they are direct opposites in the Zodiac to the day and to the hour. They did not meet until their epic novel was completed, but discovered some mind boggling things as they progressed: they both wrote to music, and they were always unbeknownst to each other, writing with the same piece of music. And there is much more! Now, what was it again about the stars, did you say? -- Elfreda Pretorius and Mike O'Hare

There is a spiritual hunger in the world today - and it cannot be satisfied by better cars on longer credit terms. - Adlai E. Stevenson (1952 / Democratic Presidential Candidate)

I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center.

Can you imagine Barack Obama uttering the first quote? What about John McCain as the deliverer of the second? Neither is a stretch, is it?

A recent business event at which gifted political pundits Tucker Carlson and James Carville squared off for some lively chat about the upcoming election brought this thought to light. It was Carville, a Hillary supporter who now puts her prospects of becoming the Democratic nominee as akin to drawing to a 16 in blackjack, who noted that an Obama - McCain duel resonates with nothing so much as the Stevenson vs. Eisenhower election of 1952. Certainly there are some mammoth differences---most significantly, at the earlier election the Democrats had controlled the presidency for two straight decades---but one gets the gist of Carville's observation in the elevated populism of the highly educated Obama and the iconoclastic centrist tendencies of former military-man McCain.

True political history fans will note a number of nifty in-fighting parallels in the respective nomination processes of Stevenson/Obama and Eisenhower/McCain, but there are certainly far more compelling cultural kinship ties between 1952 and 2008. One can see the correspondences in the entropic drag of unpopular ideology-driven wars (Korea, Iraq) and in the bullying domination of 'right-thinking' political forces (McCarthyism, The Patriot Act). And surely the bogeyman of terrorist attack that is paraded before us on a daily basis today is somewhat resonant with America's first test detonation of a hydrogen bomb, 30 more times more powerful than the Hiroshima A-bomb, in November of 1952.

Quite thrillingly (if one is an astrologer) the strongest cosmic tie between the two years is to be found in the identical placement of the nodes of the moon. Now as much as I'd like to get all astro-pedantic here, suffice it to say that the moon's nodes, which astronomically have to do with orbital inclination and intersection, are an essential calculation in any horoscope cast by a reputable astrologer. These extremely powerful points are said to deal with evolutionary direction, from the south node (where we have been, what we know, and where we are most comfortable) to the north node (where we must go, what we must learn, and where we are challenged to grow).

Right now, as in 1952, the nodes are suggesting that mankind is confronted with a choice on a path between a south node Leo foundation and a north node Aquarian destiny. Without intending this to sound judgmental, one may think of Leo as representing every human endeavor that grants preeminence to personal predilection and self-satisfaction. Aquarius, the diametric opposite of Leo, is emblematic of selfless social consideration and preeminence granted to the requirements of the collective.

Now it has rarely been a smart bet to push all of one's chips onto the self-sacrificing community-mindedness square of the humanity craps table. This is especially true at an astro-historical moment that emphasizes how familiar and comfortable (south node) it feels for humanity to be selfish. When one factors in the sheer anxiety of the times, how can anyone be blamed for worrying about numero uno?

The answer in 1952 was, of course, to go on a frenzy of production and consumption and baby making...and to elect as president a retired general who history suggests would rather golf than govern (although some historians celebrate the generally laissez-faire Eisenhower for not breaking anything, including the peace). It is now fashionable to disparage the values formed with the advent of Ike's election as selfish but, dammit, everybody was war-weary, anxious, and ready for the pay-off promised by victory in WWII - The Big One. It was about time for life to provide a nice car, and a decent payment schedule, and an interstate highway system to facilitate suburban living and personal adventure.

So where do we go this time around? Does a less promising environment for economic growth force our hands? Do we have to become socially-concerned citizens because we've run out of stuff...or maybe even the desire for stuff? Is social concern where we have to go inevitably, whether we want to go there or not?

Now a truly wise person might suggest that the issue of the nodes is not a case of either/or but, rather, one of both. May we not simultaneously be wise stewards of our personal desires and our social obligations? Is the hybrid car a sort of religious object?

Anyway, the suggestion here is that McGovern may be best understood as a symbolic step back towards Leo, and that Obama may be a symbolic step towards Aquarius. But don't count out Hillary just yet. As Tucker Carlson was prepared to concede, "Hillary Clinton is the toughest person who has ever lived...she's been attacked for everything since 1978 and she's still a game fighter who expects to win."

To contact Steve personally: [mailto:smw@stevenmarkweiss.com]smw@stevenmarkweiss.com

Steven Mark Weiss is an award-winning journalist and the author of SIGNS OF SUCCESS:The Remarkable Power of Business Astrology (Amacom, New York, 2008). The cosmically curious may learn more at http://www.stevenmarkweiss.com or http://blog.stevenmarkweiss.com

THE MEADOW -- A SPIRITUAL ROMANCE

"The Meadow" is an epic love story unlike anything told before. The storyline threads an earthly path through four life times, from ancient Mexica to contemporary Pakistan, and affords the reader glimpses of a place known as "The Meadow" - an inter-life waterhole where souls rest between lives.

This is a story about life and all its complexities. It is about the eternal love of two characters that seem destined to be together but who repeatedly fail to bond due to a nemesis that tracks them from life to life, tearing them apart.

The stage of "The Meadow" includes hate and retribution, international espionage and political deceit, interspersed with the brilliance of an autistic savant, offspring of the female protagonist, who tries to solve the secret and mystery of the eagle in order to save his mother.

The frustrated lovers thus have only one option - to unite in the Meadow - a place they forget all about each time they incarnate into a new life.

This site is dedicated to "The Meadow", a book of more than 600 pages and has yet to be published, but it is also devoted to sharing information about life beyond the trapdoor of death, inviting the reader to question everything, from dogmatic beliefs to the establishment.

There are many related articles here and we hope that there will be something for everyone. We hope to encourage communication and discussion between likeminded individuals willing to share their experiences to further our common goals of advancement into the future whilst learning from each other.

Astrology & The 2008 US Presidential Election - 1952 Deja Vu?