WHAT'S UNDERNEATH THE BRAVADO

7.15.02

It's no surprise that not everyone followed my advice from last week to speak sparsely and evocatively. I warned, "Knowing ahead of time that you are apt to be misinterpreted if you say too much, it could be wise to say less and choose your words more carefully." Around me, I observed instances of one offhand comment leading to another and another, resulting in unforeseen consequences with deeper psychic resonance than might be expected. The surface of a situation can easily belie the complex feelings simmering in each of the people involved, with the truth coming to light only after it all blows up. In thoughtful hindsight do we later discover where we were blind to unspoken emotions imbedded in our speech patterns—and learn to reclaim our power over them through self-consciousness.

In honor of my dearly departed "17 Reasons" sign, Mission and 17th Sts., San Francisco. We miss you already!

I am hoping our Cancerian president George W. Bush learned this lesson from the embarrassing psychic dissonance seeping out from his comments to Wall Street last Tuesday. Bush sought to allay the nation's justifiable fears of a failing economy by traveling to the heart of the stock market to deliver a confidence-building, patriotism-inducing speech. He spoke strongly of the need to reform corporate accounting practices and hold executives to higher ethical standards. Yet, as he was busy cheerleading, Bush—as well as those who he addressed—-was acutely aware of the growing political scandal surrounding his own involvement in insider trading. Stocks continued to fall sharply, with the NASDAQ index hitting its lowest point since 1997. Bush's attempt to instill confidence seemed to have the reverse effect. Maybe he should have stayed quiet.

Through what wasn't said in his speech, I believe that Bush inadvertently revealed a split emotional state regarding the issue of corporate ethics. On the surface, Bush projected his usual confident charisma, as influenced by the strong Leo concentration in his birthchart (Leo rising, 1st house Mercury/Pluto & Venus in Leo). But underneath the bravado, Bush's Cancer Sun was being triggered by last week's New Moon in Cancer, intensifying his emotionality and sensitivity. Bush's Sun resides in his 12th house, the mysterious realm where psychic boundaries get blurred and intuitive exchanges flow. This combination of dramatic prideful passion and watery connectedness may help explain the wide and deep popularity he has enjoyed as president. But when secretive or submerged feelings linger underneath the persona—such as fears about a growing insider trading scandal—no amount of charm can dull Bush's true emotional affect being unconsciously expressed.

As we enter the last full week of Cancer and approach Leo, it is worth trying to understand the challenge of synthesizing the moody deep well of Cancerian feeling into the fun-loving performative Leonine attention-seeker. When these two energies are well integrated, having a healthy relationship with your emotional flows leads naturally into self-confidence and free self-expression. People like you and enjoy your company. But if psychological discomfort or denial hinder your ability to accept certain parts of yourself, those around you will instinctively read your casual charm as insincere or even grating. This is the negative stereotypical image of Leos, who keep trying different personality tricks in a desperate attempt to win you over, regardless of how they are actually feeling.

With first Mars and then Mercury entering Leo, the drive to act and speak will become freer and louder as we seek each other out for mutual ego-stroking. This can lead to some enjoyable evenings, engaging conversations, and playful flirtations. But as we are still finishing up the Sun's annual transit through Cancer, we should not allow ourselves to get too distracted from any unfinished healing business. Now is an opportune time to reflect back on the last few weeks, review what was opened up for us, and work it through to some level conclusion. By the weekend, when the Sun moves into conjunction with Mercury and Jupiter, you should be able to more easily express the fruits of any last emotional labors, let out a big sigh, and plan to party for the next few weeks.

I am moved to conclude this week's remarks by drawing our attention to an elephant, an apt image for a Sun-Jupiter conjunction and (coincidentally?) the totemic animal of President Bush's political party. The elephant's massive size and grandeur mirror the expansion of ego that can come when the Sun is influenced by Jupiter, the gaseous giant. People take notice of an elephant. They stand back in reverence and respect. They enjoy its power, its strength, its odd grace. And then a tiny little mouse, barely noticeable before, suddenly scurries past, hardly upsetting the environment but completely freaking the elephant out. The once graceful elephant stampedes clumsily away, in fear of a creature a fraction of its size. An elephant, like an ego, is surprisingly sensitive, despite its appearance. It may only take a mouse, or a few hundred thousand shares of Harken Energy stock, to bring it toppling down.