Note to readers: This story is continued at this link.
In a news conference today, the US government declared a public health emergency over the recent swine flu outbreak. I’ll post the salient portion of the news conference below this diary. For our purposes, the important part is that the state of emergency was announced today at 12:34 pm in Washington, DC. Thankfully the White House time stamps its documents.
This chart reminds me of a Jaguar with someone riding the clutch. The engine is roaring and the power is not getting to the wheels. It’s an extraordinarily powerful chart — but the Moon is void of course. That is to say, the Moon has made its last aspect and is essentially drifting through Taurus at the time of the announcement.
Mars is square Pluto to one arc minute — 1/60th of a degree. This is just stunning. Check out the 9th house — that is the house of international things. We are likely to see a big response here. Mars is in the international house and Pluto is in the health house, the 6th. They are in a perfect square and that says action: international response.
Mars, Venus and Pluto are all activating the Aries Point (the personal is political), so this is a chart with far-reaching public energy. Uranus is close behind, in Pisces, right on the 9th cusp, adding a sense of urgency, though it’s in Pisces — more emotional than mental. But the Moon void is the first factor that leads one to wonder where it’s all going. Generally, you need a strong Moon to have a strong chart. The activating agent in this horoscope is the very precise Mars square Pluto.
The second factor that raises doubts is that Mercury is in a tight square to Neptune. Actually this is Mercury square Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron. I have to be cautious describing this aspect; appearing in a natal chart I would want to interpret it carefully in a personal context before saying too much. In a public chart, it warns us that what is being announced simply may not be true. I don’t doubt that there is a flu outbreak; I doubt the importance of the issue, and the relevance of the findings. I know I would look like an ass if the Mexican flu wiped out half the planet, but I don’t think it’s going to do anything of the kind. I have the luxury of talking about this as an astrologer and not a government official responsible for millions of lives. We do NOT know the truth here — the chart is warning this in spades. What is the source of the lie, or the motive? I am not getting data on that, but that group of Mercury aspects is sounding a loud warning.
Death anxiety is the big theme of this chart. Pisces is on the 8th house, and the rulers of Pisces are taking this square from Mercury; Mercury to Neptune being the most precise of the three squares Mercury is making (it is also square Chiron and Jupiter). The Moon is involved; it has just squared Neptune and has made a conjunction to Mercury before going void, which adds to the argument that what we have here is dominated by anxiety and confusion.