(27 August 2018) The passing of Republican Senator John McCain on Saturday has highlighted the deep divisions in US politics.   McCain was one of the longest-serving and most respected Senators who was known for his sense of honor and human decency and his ability to rise above partisanship when necessary.  He also staunchly opposed President Donald Trump and the changes he has wrought in the Republican Party. Trump’s ascension to the White House has transformed the GOP from a "big tent" right of center party into a vengeful, ethno-nationalist populist party. 

There was no love lost between McCain and Trump.  Trump famously insulted McCain during the 2016 campaign when he cast aspersions on McCain’s long captivity and torture in North Vietnam.  But McCain got the better of Trump when he delivered the famous ‘thumbs down’ deciding vote against the GOP’s repeal of Obamacare in July 2017.  Trump has maintained his disdain even with the death of McCain as he never even mentioned his name in the official White House announcement of his passing, let alone offer any praise for his life of public service.  Before he died, McCain also expressly stated that Trump was not allowed to attend his funeral which will be held on Saturday.  He called instead for eulogies to be given by former presidents and political rivals, George W Bush and Barack Obama.  Even in death, the bitterness remains.

It is interesting to see how this level of rancor and enmity manifests itself in the horoscopes.  While it can be useful to do a standard overlay comparison of the charts (e.g.  A’s Mars is opposite B’s Sun, etc.), I am currently in the thrall of Davison Relationship charts.  These are derived charts that take the temporal midpoint of the births of two people in order to cast a third chart.  This halfway mark between the dates of birth of two people is often very telling in terms of describing the nature of their relationship.  It can also give an accurate timing of events that impact the relationship through transits and progressions. 

Trump was born on 14 June 1946 while McCain was born 10 years earlier on 29 August 1936.  Their derived relationship chart therefore takes the halfway point in between — 22 July 1941 at 7.09 p.m.  The resulting chart is very clearly reflects their mutual disdain.   Saturn is sitting on the 7th cusp directly opposite the Ascendant.  Cold, austere, no emotional connection at all.  Saturn is aspected by Neptune-Rahu very closely and thus makes the Saturn influence even more harsh, unbending, and unusually intense. 

The other thing to notice is that Venus is also part of that large Saturn alignment as it sits up in the 10th house in a close square with Saturn.  While it would be tempting to think that this strong, angular Venus might somehow offset the exaggerated and harsh Saturn influence, it actually makes it worse.  A Venus-Saturn square nullifies all the pleasant, social Venus side of a relationship.  The fact that it is highlighted on the angles with the Ascendant in focus adds an additional layer of cold detachment.  Since the Venus-Saturn-Rahu-Neptune alignment is so closely aligned with the Ascendant, it may well reflect the public nature of their mutual dislike.  The angularity of the planetary alignments pushes those qualities into the public sphere.  As a result, Trump and McCain are famous for hating each other. 

The Moon-Mercury conjunction in Gemini in the 8th house is almost exactly squared by Mars.  This is clearly a relationship characterized by conflict, frustration and anger.  A close Mars aspect to either the Moon or Mercury would have been sufficient to generate some conflict but this is a double whammy since both the Moon and Mercury are subject to the energy of Mars.  It is difficult to imagine a more hostile alignment of planets between two people. 

At the time of McCain’s deciding vote against the GOP Obamacare repeal, Rahu was sitting near the 10th house cusp conjunct Venus and activating that Saturn alignment.  Since Rahu is the planet of disruption and surprises, this placement was an apt reflection of the sudden nature of McCain’s vote.  It wasn’t clear how he would vote until perhaps an hour before the roll was taken.  The Sun-Mars conjunction at 10-11 Cancer was exactly conjunct natal Pluto, the planet of power and coercion.  Clearly, this was McCain’s power play against Trump as the senator stuck to his principles.  The vote was the defining political event in their troubled relationship.

The upcoming funeral on Saturday, 1 September also should highlight their rancorous relationship.  The near-stationary and powerful Mars is in close opposition to the Sun suggesting that the memorial service will be another instance where their mutual dislike will be on display.  Venus will be conjunct the cusp of the 12th house of loss and isolation.  This symbolizes the absence of any Venusian sense of sociality or mutual empathy.  Mercury’s placement near the top of the chart could represent how their dysfunctional relationship will be communicated and shared with a wider audience through the media coverage of the event.

Weekly Market Forecast 

Stocks have continued to march higher as the summer nears its end.  Most of the major US indexes have hit all-time highs, with the notable exception of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  I thought we might have seen some weakness come into the market last week as we approached the Full Moon and the Mars direct station. That really hasn’t happened yet, however, and Monday’s rally on the possible NAFTA breakthrough did not hint at any imminent declines. 

While stocks could rise a bit further from here, I still think the clock is ticking on this rally.  The time around the Saturn-Uranus-Rahu alignment in September is likely to shift the market logic.  Saturn is due to station direct on 6 September so that first week of September is definitely one to watch.  But this week there is more of a mix of alignments.  Today’s gain was fairly predictable on the bullish Moon-Mercury-Jupiter alignment.  Tuesday looks much less positive, however, so we could see some profit-taking and some downside.  Wednesday also looks suspect as the Moon will still be close to Full and also in the 8th house from the Sun.  I wouldn’t expect anything too dramatic this week but maybe the tides will begin to turn on the market.

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