You may want to go back and read the original profile on George W from 2003 here, and the 2006 update here.

President Bush has famously wanted not to do anything the way his father did it. He wanted to succeed in Iraq where his father failed, and he became the willing puppet of the military industrial complex. Bush loves to play president and he has a weak ego (Sun square to Chiron/Moon/Jupiter) that relies on external props in order to maintain a sense of self-confidence. The fact that he has now brought in his father’s advisers (James Baker and the new Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Over the past year Bush has been pummeled by transits of Saturn (the Celestial Taskmaster) to his ascendant (identity), Mercury (thought process), Pluto (power base) and Venus (relationships), yet he has stubbornly held fast to his failed policies, not wanting to admit defeat. Chiron is approaching an opposition to Bush’s ascendant in the next month, forcing him to wake up to the realities of how his identity (ascendant) has been shaped by the partnerships that he has forged (descendant). Although Chiron is known as the Wounded Healer, it doesn’t come through with a magic wand, healing our psychic wounds with a flip of the wrist. Chiron strips off the layers of emotional protection we have built over our wounded places and asks us to walk into the fire of our pain. If we do the firewalk and face the hidden parts of ourselves we are are able to release the pain of that wound for all time. If we do not face that challenge we often find ourselves with disease or other physical health problems.

Chiron will proceed over the first few months of 2007 to oppose Bush’s Mercury, Pluto and then Venus, bringing his self-doubt (Mercury) into the field of consciousness. Chiron transits to Pluto tend to bring us face to face with our deepest compulsions and fears (Pluto), and the opposition of Chiron to Bush’s Venus will continue the process that Saturn began earlier in the year to force him to reevaluate the alliances and partnerships that he has forged. The next few months are likely to be fairly difficult for him on an emotional level and I suspect that he will begin to delegate more responsibility to new staff members and be less of “the decider.” Because he depends so much on the trappings of power to feel secure within himself, the loss of Congress has hit him hard. This may manifest in one of two ways: either he will lash out in a show of bravado to shore up his confidence, or else after an initial show of that bravado he will slink away and leave the real work to his advisers.

Pluto is inconjunct Saturn in Bush’s chart, beginning back in February/March of this year and returning next July through October of 2007, forcing him to face his own weakness and lack of individual power. Bush’s presidency has been marked by efforts to enforce powers unheard of in any previous administration. In early 2006 as this transit began, Bush faced mounting calls for his impeachment over his handling of the Iraq war. He signed into law a version of the Deficit Reduction act that had not been passed by the House of Representatives in violation of the US Constitution. During this period Bush’s approval ratings slipped to 33%.

The inconjunct (30 degrees) is a peculiar aspect: like the quincunx (150 degrees) the two signs have nothing in common, no connection at all. They don’t conflict, they don’t harmonize. They frustrate each other with no outlet for release. An inconjunct or quincunx by transit creates a buildup of distress but there is no crisis event that creates change. It therefore requires patience and a conscious effort to integrate internally.

The opposition of Saturn to Neptune over the next year will affect Venus in Bush’s chart as well, continuing the pressure on his alliances and other relationships. Already there is talk that the influence of Dick Cheney, the partner-in-chief (Vice President) is on the wane with the demise of Rumsfeld. Because Venus in the chart shows our attractiveness to others as well as the substance of our partnerships, the stress from this transit is likely to continue to diminish Bush’s standing in the world.

The planets seem to say that Bush will be a shrinking president over the next two years. Hopefully this means an increasingly empowered Congress.