Thursday, March 12, 2009

Saturn Strikes Back: Bernie Madoff And Dr. Phil McGraw

Two cases of Saturn Gone Wild are in the news today: one is getting a lot of attention, the other isn't... yet. But the second case is a definite matter of "stay tuned."

First, hypermegacrook Bernie Madoff has pleaded guilty to eleven charges related to his investment scheme that defrauded people of some 50 billion dollars.

Stop and think about that for a second. One man's scheme... 50 billion dollars. That's a full time, operational moon base. Or two hundred and fifty Mars probes. Or if you prefer to think of these things in slightly more down-to-Earth terms... lunch, for every man, woman, and child in Africa. For a month. With a fortune cookie. With a dollar in it. Each.

Bernie Madoff was born April 29, 1938 in Queens, New York. The time of birth isn't known (so I won't speculate in great detail), but his Moon is in either late Aries or early Taurus. It's tempting to leap to the conclusion that it's Taurus (based on the nature of his life's work), but let's be honest... Aries can be greedy too.

Two things about his transits really stand out. First of all, Neptune is rolling into a conjunction with his natal Jupiter, and a square to his natal Venus. In anyone's birth chart, this would automatically raise questions about the financial and material situation. Neptune has a tendency to bring delusion with it... but it also has a tendency to dissolve things.

Don't expect this story to go away any time soon: even with the guilty plea, there is still a small matter of "where the hell did fifty billion dollars go?" And given the Neptunian nature of the transits... although Bernie doesn't appear to be fighting the charges, don't expect any easy or sensible answers.

Second: Saturn is now exactly conjunct Madoff's natal Neptune. Just as Neptune can bring delusion and confusion, Saturn has a tendency to drag your delusions into the cold light of day. Bernie is 70 years old, and it's probably not too much of a stretch to say that he will likely spend the rest of his life being punished (Saturn) for the delusions he spun (Neptune).

On a more personal note, I suspect part of the reason why Bernie was able to get away with so much for so long was because for the last 20 years or so Western Culture seems to have become obsessed with a culture of what I am now calling "Greed Porn."

If we had a time of birth for Bernie Madoff, we could be more exact about what happened and what is to come. We don't. However, we do have a time of birth for another case of the Saturn Blues. It's one you haven't heard nearly as much about yet. But I believe you'll be hearing more about it in future.

***

Six months ago I wrote about Dr. Phil McGraw, the loud and annoying relationship expert, and the largest spin-off from Oprah Winfrey's media empire. At that time, Dr. Phil was going through a tough stretch at work.

At that time, I noted that Dr. Phil wasn't out of the woods yet as far as his transits. And I ended with this: "Phil has Saturn smack on his Seventh House (marriage and partnerships) cusp. And who is that stern little gimlet-eyed woman staring at him from the audience all the time? Yup. That's Mrs. McGraw."

Although Dr. Phil is currently getting a lot of attention for his work with Octomom, there is a story brewing about a four million dollar lawsuit against Dr. and Mrs. Phil regarding an alleged breach of promise, where Mrs. Phil apparently convinced a cosmetics company that Dr. Phil would hype their products on his show.

This story hasn't gotten too much attention... yet. But Phil is having his Saturn Return, and Saturn is on the 7th House cusp... marriage and partnerships. And in his birth chart it is ruled by Mercury, in Libra, also in the 7th... and it is being squared by transiting Pluto. And his secondary progressed Saturn is still in his 7th, and is rolling into a conjunction with the South Node... the Dragon's Tail, which tends to digest your plans and crap them out.

I wouldn't necessarily predict the end of Dr. Phil's marriage, but I can say this much: I believe Dr. Phil's marriage is running less smoothly than we've heard, and it's going to get worse. And all of this is happening while the ongoing square from transiting Saturn to Dr. Phil's Midheaven (career) is just starting to kick in.

Phil, if you're listening: there is no shame in asking for help... even if you yourself are a member of what is called "the helping professions." And if it turns out you need someone with experience and a solid track record... I know a guy who does good work.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Will the long arm of the law also snare his family, buddies and the politicians who helped him?

No one handles 50 billion dollars alone.