Even conservatives are now reporting the likelihood that the Democrats will win at least one seat in the house in November. The number of emerging scandals decimating the Republicans is staggering:

• First Bob Woodward’s book State of Denial reports what many have been saying for years: that the Bush White House flagrantly ignored reports from his generals on the ground and the intelligence community that the insurgency was growing and the US-led attempt to transform Iraq into a democracy was a failure – all the while proclaiming success to the American public.
• Then the Mark Foley scandal erupted, indicating that GOP Speaker Denny Hastert knew about allegations of Foley’s improper conduct and did nothing to eliminate it. Yesterday an email was published from Foley to Jeb Bush where Foley complained about being snubbed by the President during a visit to Florida, and there is speculation that the knowledge of Foley’s misadventures went all the way to the White House.
• Next comes a new book by David Kuo, the #2 man in Bush’s Faith-Based Initiatives program, who claims that the Bush White House exploited evangelican supportives, promising faith-based initiatives and failing to fund them, all the while calling them “the nuts” and saying they were “out of control” and “ridiculous.”
• The parliament in Iraq passed a law allowing the formation of federal regions, a move that is likely to lead to civil war.

The opposition of Saturn to Neptune which began in late August and continues until next summer was predicted to bring the end (Saturn) of illusions (Neptune). It was, after all, the dominating planetary influence during the Watergate scandal. Neptune tends to erode the power structures of Saturn, and Saturn tests and challenges our idealistic fantasies and things that we would prefer to ignore. Americans have been willing to ignore the debacle in Iraq because by and large they haven’t really been personally affected. This is a very Neptunian way of looking at things: ignore them and they wil go away. Saturn comes and jolts us into realizing that our world is actually unraveling.

Last July, Saturn entered the sign of Leo – the sign of kings and leadership where the individual ego and Self is celebrated Saturn creates test and challenges in every sign with which it is associated, and while in Leo it has been testing the leaders around the world, asking the question “Who is in charge?”

I can’t ignore the fact that all of these events are occurring the week that Mars opposes the new planet Eris. In order to understand how Eris will operate in the astrological pantheon we are watching it carefully, and the image of the golden apple being thrown by the goddess of discord and strife to begin the Trojan War is a powerful one to me. One small event can change the world, and perhaps the presence of Eris is a clue that these events are the harbingers of greater change.