Predictions Check -- September 30 VedicLeaks Concerns were primarily twofold -- the impending government shutdown and hurricanes. These result from the continued Saturn/Rahu conjunction (with global reach) and very tough Dasa (planetary cycles) lineup in the U.S. chart, Mars/Ketu/Mercury from October 3 to October 25,
The next day, October 1, the Federal Government shut down, and it remains thus -- with the Federal debt limit increase also not approved by Congress. While the Treasury has stated it will run out of cash October 17, it also acknowledges the cash shortfall date can arrive sooner as actual tax receipts come in. Some tax payments are being depressed by the shutdown. As for hurricanes, even though the media has down-played this season as being remarkable for its lack of activity, there truly have been serious tropical cyclones. I've been updating all the areas of concern in Special Section -- A Whirlwind Summer And Fall 2013 on the Home Page, including naturally the Hurricanes section. Here's a screen shot of Hurricanes updates since September 30. Notice that hurricane activity (typhoons in the Far East) continue and that even the U.S. winter storms have been stimulated by tropical cyclones.
(As a screen shot, these links do not work.. Go to the Hurricanes section for live links.)
Starving The Beast A popular term for this is Starving The Beast. Wikepedia explains,
The last government shutdown in 1995 was basically over cutting Medicare. (Bill Clinton stood firm then, and Obama is following that successful strategy.) And we all remember G.W. Bush's second term effort to privatize Social Security. The current effort is actually the second second part of a double-decade plan to effectively Starve The Beast. By reducing taxes and fighting two unfunded wars, G.W. Bush in his eight years wiped out the budget surplus and wrecked the economy. He then naturally lost to a Democrat, who inherited a ship of state stuck on a shoal and leaking badly. Deficits remained high and the national debt ballooned in response. The Republicans called FOUL!This guy is a bum. Spending must be cut to avoid the national debt overwhelming the nation! That Obama is black and got the Affordable Care Care passed were just more grist for the Republican mill of Starving The Beast. They appealed to the continued stain of racism in America and yelled, This is socialism! With today being October 11, the October 3 through 8 sensitive date is over. Yesterday, everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, agreed to raise debt ceiling without conditions. Well, that just leaves the government shut down issue. Everything will be fine, right? No it won't. Remember, this is a long double-decade plan. Finally, for those who claim the Republicans don't have a health care plan to replace Obamacare, they do! They've been remarkably successful in states controlled by their party. This September 16 article, How to Cut $42 Billion in Spending in the FY 2014 Continuing Resolution, from the Heritage Foundation, begins with, It’s no surprise that the two chambers disagree over how much to spend and funding for the President’s damaging health care law. One reader comment addressed that issue, "Damaging healthcare law" huh? Does the GOP have a plan to provide non costly health care to the American public . . . a plan that is more effective? If not, spare me the "damaging healthcare" crap. Yours truly submitted this comment, which Heritage amazingly printed!
Debt Limit Showdown So, even if Congress increased the debt limit as the last moment, debt defaults could begin. This Politico article, U.S. never defaulted on its debt? Not so fast, recounts that's exactly what happened in the spring of 1979,
And, we can use the 1979 issue to ballpark the cost of a minor default, or perhaps even just being so close to default. The national debt in the spring of 1979 was just $845 billion. Now it's 16.7 trillion, a twenty-fold increase. Multiply the $12 billion debt payment increase in 1979 by 20 results in a $240 billion hit today! This is perhaps simplistic but also alarming. Add in the sequester's 10% across the board government spending cuts and the government now being shut down, and we got ourselves a whole nest of financial rattlesnakes.
Will Congress Increase The Debt Limit By October 17? The above October 11 VedicLeaks entry stated, Yesterday, everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, agreed to raise debt ceiling without conditions. Well, that just leaves the government shut down issue. Everything will be fine, right? No it won't. This concern results from four harmful planetary karmas striking the U.S. chart. First, that chart is running a very difficult Dasa (planetary cycles) lineup, Mars/Ketu/Mercury from October 3 to October 25. Mars/Ketu is the seething anger I've written about many times. The hard right has certainly been seething! That is reflexive excess, the opposite of objective thinking. So, don't expect the Tea Party Congressmen to suddenly moderate their positions. Second, Mercury (communications and government officials) is a harmful planet for the U.S. chart. Mercury goes retrograde October 20 for three weeks -- turning this dangerously volatile planet backwards to cross over the destructive Saturn/Rahu combination. Mercury retrograde is confusing in itself. And recall that when forward-moving Mercury first approached Saturn/Rahu on September 39, the next day Congress shut the government down. So, how bad can Mercury retrograde crossing Saturn/Rahu be? Very bad. Third, what is really intriguing here is that the 1979 debt default rings a bell with regard to Saturn/Rahu transit conjunctions, which occur every ten years or so. The August 9 In-depth Forecast, Mideast Karma Peaking Again, tracked Saturn/Mars conjunctions back, including the 1979 Iranian Revolution. So, we can see a direct link in the Saturn/Rahu conjunction and U.S. debt ceiling problems, including default. Fourth, why did Saturn/Rahu in 1979 signal a debt default and other Saturn/Rahu conjunctions did not? The reason is simple -- the underlying karma of the Dasas in the U.S. chart. (Remember, Dasas are primary karmas and transits are secondary karmas.) In the spring of 1979, the U.S. chart Dasa planets were Venus major and Mars minor. (Venus is also a tough planet for the U.S chart, notably in ruling the sixth house of debts.) Now we have Mars major and Ketu minor until October 25, following by Mars major and Venus minor, which continues until the end of 2014. In conclusion, even if Congress manages to raise the debt ceiling limit and reopen the government, there is so much planetary turbulence, the U.S. economy must suffer -- and as the globe's reserve currency, cause worldwide harm.
Special Section -- A Whirlwind Summer And Fall 2013
Four Harmful Karmas Striking The U.S. Chart
Stepping Back For A Longer Perspective
As you can see, we're in #5 -- spring 2013 for a year. Popular discontent is the key, which we've seen in this summer and fall, notably in the budget and debt crisis. But there's also light at the end of the tunnel.
Mercury Retrograde The problem is not Mercury retrograde, for this is quite common, always lasting three weeks and happening three times a year. The issue is where Mercury is retrograding. As explained in the above October 15 entry,
The ObamaCare health exchanges launch on October 1 was troublesome from the start. Then, forward-moving Mercury was getting close to the damaging Saturn/Rahu combination in Libra. Problems continued, actually increased as Mercury crossed Saturn/Rahu from October 3 to 8. There was some respite until today, when Mercury went retrograde. See, Tech ‘surge’ to repair Obamacare websites and First Thoughts: Admitting there's a problem. The new three week retrograde will take Mercury back over the Saturn/Rahu combination. Returning to forward motion November 11, Mercury will cross Saturn/Rahu a third time, finally beginning to get free of this destructive energy on November 26. This three-time crossing Saturn/Rahu is the problem. At this time, there appear to be two other major issues that will fester until late November, which relate directly to Mercury's retrograde and affliction by Saturn/Rahu. First, the last-minute agreement to extend the debt ceiling and reopen the Federal government has a cost -- credibility in U.S. debt. The above October 15 entry finished with, In conclusion, even if Congress manages to raise the debt ceiling limit and reopen the government, there is so much planetary turbulence, the U.S. economy must suffer -- and as the globe's reserve currency, cause worldwide harm. This today article Treasuries Lose Cachet on Lowest Foreign Demand Since ’01 is timely. A simple quote tells it all, Default or no default, the damage is already done. This inflation, which has been building, has already hit the housing market, and doubtless will get worse, Mortgage rate rise reduces home resales, price growth slows. Remember, the Millennium Contraction was a housing bubble burst. The recovery has only been partial, and inflation will push housing back into the toilet. Second, the hard right Tea Party Congressmen who tried, and lost, to defund Obamacare by holding the budget and the debt ceiling hostage, is causing the Republican Party to split apart, Could the tea party split from the GOP? This results from Saturn/Rahu in Libra being the U.S. chart's eleventh house of friends and groups. Additionally, Libra is the seventh sign in the natural zodiac beginning with Aries. Libra is relationship, and not just romantic but truly all relationships, for it determines the social nature. Since the Democrats aren't splitting apart, sticking with their party and with President Obama, the Republican party is the logical alternative. The last minute deal to reopen the Federal government and extend the debt ceiling is a temporary one. This article, House Approves Debt Ceiling Agreement to Reopen Federal Government, explains, The agreement raises the debt limit until February 2014, fund the government through January 2014 and establish a joint House-Senate committee to make spending cut decisions. The Tea Party Congressmen fully intend to rejoin the last battle. And with the health insurance exchanges in disarray, they have a new argument against Obamacare. Even as their leader, Ted Cruz, failed completely in his effort to defund ObamaCare, and worse, harmed the economy in that effort, his base adores him, Senator Cruz returns to Texas welcome after shutdown battle. As difficult, and quite frankly scary, as this political game is in battering the economy, the Republicans splitting into moderate and extreme factions must reduce their influence. That will pave the way for Democratic Party achieving long term solutions to the budget, and thereby the growing debt that restore shared democratic values. As those solutions cannot just be cutting spending, but also must protect the safety net and increase taxes on the wealthy -- who keep gaining from the gutted out middle class. The Second Progressive Age thereby has an opportunity here for a huge win.
More On Mercury Retrograde Visuals can be helpful here, for this Mercury retrograde is complex and especially challenging for that. Plus, although world events are naturally important, because Mercury is one of the inner personal planets, it always affects us individually -- personally. This, then, is one VedicLeaks entry to which you want to pay close attention, incorporating the information into your daily lives and plans ahead. Below is a Vedic chart for Oct 1, when Mercury was first afflicted by the difficult Saturn/Rahu combination in Libra. For clarity, I've used the natural zodiac beginning at Aries, a transit chart representing global planetary karmas. I've also erased the other planets, except for the Sun. Note that the planets move clockwise.
Here is a blowup of just the sign of Libra. At the bottom are Saturn at 28 degrees and Rahu at 13 degrees. Above is a green line for Mercury. The first date, October 1, was explained above as the date Mercury first became afflicted by Saturn/Rahu, coinciding with the health care website launch the the government shutdown. Mercury was at 9 degrees then. Mercury passed over Rahu and then Saturn October 3 to 8. The second date is October 20, when Mercury reversed course, turning retrograde. Mercury will again cross the Saturn/Rahu combination from October 28 until November 3. On this latter date, the Sun will have moved out of Virgo (see above) and into Libra. It will be powerfully eclipsed November 3 by Rahu in a hybrid solar eclipse -- essentially a total eclipse. The location is 17:12 Libra. By then, slow moving Saturn will have advanced to 19:50 Libra. Still, the eclipse is close enough to shadow Saturn as well.
The third date is November 11. Then, Mercury will end its retrograde, turning around again to forward motion. This will begin Mercury's third crossing over Saturn/Rahu, November 18 to 26. The challenges are a wicked combination of Mercury being hammered three times crossing Saturn/Rahu from October 3 to November 26, plus a powerful solar eclipse November 3 in the middle of the second crossing. See, Healthcare.gov will work smoothly by the end of November, government pledges. Specific harms are difficult to forecast. After all, it's already Mercury retrograde, making composing this VedicLeaks a challenge! We can look to Mercury's natural significations for some specific information. Everyone knows Mercury is communications, including writing/speaking, as well as electronic equipment and systems -- because Mercury signified these in both Western and Vedic Astrology. It is also commonly understood Mercury is also the calculating mind, relating to business transactions, memory and counting. These, then, are sensitive areas. Writing everything down and checking your bank balances and appointment calender every morning is a good idea. Mercury's physical significations, however, are not well known. These are the nervous system, skin diseases, the respiratory system, addictions, the hands and the intestines. Problems can pop up in any of these areas, and because Mercury is also both acute illness and healing, disease can come on fast but take time to recover. Politically in the U.S., expect further fragmentation, and a lot of confusions, especially among the already-split Republicans. But the Democrats will also do some fighting among themselves. Certainly too, the Federal health care website repairs will continue. Don't expect that system to be smoothly functioning until early December.
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