Zones of Intensity:

The Integration of Least- and Most Aspected Planetary Energies
in Natal Astrology and in Astrocartography.
The Case of President George W. Bush

In certain astro-maps, Leading (or most aspected) lines cross or are found in proximity to the least aspected or Primary Transcendental line. The midpoint-field formed by most- and least aspected lines forms a “Zone of Intensity.”
        At the very least, such regions present difficult challenges. These zones also raise the question of psychic integration: reining in the most aspected energy and channeling it into the Transcendental goal. Usually, this is a difficult task and many people, when visiting such a region, either fail to accom­plish this; flee the zone because of problems it poses; or (if they are insightful and a bit lucky) have challenging experiences that form an important part of their life jour­ney, especially when such experiences reflect an integration of the Leading and the Tran­scendental planet symbols.
        Because I’m not a deterministic astrologer, I wouldn’t advise someone to never travel to such an area. In fact, some are up to the challenge of a Zone of Intensity and do well in such regions (especially those who are consciously involved in the individuation process, i.e., engaged in psychological or spiritual work). Yet I have observed many cases in which clients have instinctively avoided such regions, often for a good reason. Rather than living under a Primary Transcendental within the Zone of Intensity, they move many miles away and reside under a Secondary Transcendental and prosper there, instead. (Or they move to the Tertiary Transcendental when the Primary and Secondary Transcendentals are each near the Leading Planet lines, i.e., when they are in the Zone of Intensity and when the Tertiary is the only Transcendental located outside the zone.)
        One of the dangers such zones pose is that some clients are drawn to the Primary Transcendental even when it falls within a Zone of Intensity. Yet, the proximity of the most aspected or Leading Planet in the same region may cause the Primary Transcendental to become greatly interfered with, to the point that it is usurped, eclipsed, or in some manner nullified by the Leading Planet energy.
        Because such regions are composed of most-aspected energies, Zones of Intensity often point to regions where we fall prey to hubristic experiences, i.e., overidentifying with an energy that is highly aspected within the horoscope and that is now acti­vated to an even greater degree in regions under such Leading Planet lines. While the Leader is connected to the experience of hubris, the additional dan­ger the Zones of Intensity pose is that the spiritual foundation that we rest upon, which is symbolized by the Primary Transcendental, is disturbed in such a location, since the overlapping of Leading and Transcendental principles leads to a distortion of our Transcendental purpose.
        Usually, hubristic behavior results in a reversal of fortune or a “fall.” Zones of Intensity frequently mark regions where historical personalities overreached, stumbled, or failed to achieve their goals in a clear, unobstructed manner. What is of special interest is how the nature of the fall is described so accurately by the symbol of the Leading Planet.
        A classic example is illustrated in the biography of Ché Guevara. Ché attempted to export the principles of the Cuban revolution to Bolivia: a location in the center of his Zone of Intensity. Shortly after his relocation there, not only was he unable to interest anyone in his goals, he was almost immediately captured and then tortured and killed.
        A more recent example is found in the astrocartography of President George W. Bush. But before we proceed, it will be useful to further define what is involved in a Zone of Intensity:

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ZONES OF INTENSITY:

When most aspected or Leading Planet lines are in proximity to least aspected or Transcendental lines, the result is called a Zone of Inten­sity. In such areas, there is an inherant danger that the most aspected or Leading Planets will overwhelm or usurp the role of the least aspected or Transcendental Planet. In such zones, we feel as if we are being pulled, in an extreme and intense fashion, in two rather different directions: (A) one direction representing the Tran­scendental goal in life, which is symbolized by the least aspected planet; (B) the other direction representing the hypo- or hyperactive aspects of consciousness, symbolized by the most aspected or Leading Planet (i.e., lacking proper measure of expression).

        The challenge posed in such regions is to make such qualitatively different energies work together in unison. The key to integration is for each to find its appropriate level of expression. Ideally, the Leader (the most aspected) should serve the Transcendental (the least aspected) in some manner. The Leader should not lead: it should follow. It must be used as a tool rather than followed as a guiding principle. The latter is the proper role of the Transcendental. Rather than operating as a split- off or independent agent, the most aspected planet must serve the Transcendental in achieving its goal.

        Such zones present objective existential challenges. We feel called upon to confront this energetic tug-of-war with the hope of consciously and constructively resolving it. If one exerts appropriate effort in understanding the symbolism involved with each particular planet, this may be possible. The more insight one develops into the nature of the sym­bols, the greater the potential for creative, productive work.

        Sometimes, clients travel to such areas for brief visits, dur­ing which something valuable is learned, but this often involves a challenging, difficult process.

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        Returning to the horoscope of George W. Bush, we see that Bush was born with the following most aspected planets:

Uranus  = 320 = Leading Planet
Jupiter = 301 = Secondary Leader (equally aspected)
Moon    = 301 = Secondary Leader (equally aspected)
 

And with the following least aspected or Transcendental Planets:

Mars    = 031 = Secondary Transcendental
Neptune = 011 = Primary Transcendental (equally aspected)
Saturn  = 011 = Primary Transcendental (equally aspected)

        Over which geographic regions do we find his Primary Transcenden­tals? Remember, Primary Transcendentals point a geo­graphic regions where we are offered a proverbial “golden opportunity.” In Bush’s astrocartography, Saturn and Neptune form a narrow (and therefore, highly potent) Transcendental Midpoint-Field directly over Florida: a location where, according to certain critics, the Bush brothers successfully conspired to overthrow the legitimate results of a presidential election. If this was the case, Bush became president due to what occurred behind-the-scenes in Florida, regardless of the fact that he may have lost the vote there. In fact, the crucial city that tilted the vote toward Bush–Miami–is almost precisely in the center of Bush’s Primary Saturn-Uranus Transcendental Mid­point-Field. (Some have even charged the mayor of Miami with secretly double-crossing Bush’s opponent, Al Gore, by helping to pre­vent a timely vote recount.)1
        Let us now examine Bush’s Leading or most aspected planet, Uranus. Leading Uranus rises along the West Coast, curving closest to California. Bush lost in California; he also lost in the other West Coast states, Oregon and Washington. (He had such little support in California that political strategists wondered why he devoted as much time as he did to touring there, as it was commonly believed California was a lost cause.)
        Next, we observe his equally aspected Secondary Leaders, Jupiter and Moon, run in tight parallel formation almost precisely over Washington, D.C. These lines con­tinue south along the eastern seaboard, and they intersect Bush’s Primary Tran­scendental, Saturn, just off the Florida coast (over the nearby Bahamas).
        Here, we note the first effect of Bush’s Zone of Intensity: he is forever besmirched with the reputation of being an illegitimate president, due to what happened in Florida. Thus, his hubris becomes a permanent part of the his­torical record. Secondary Leader Moon symbolizes an illegitimate use of social connections formed in childhood, e.g., his family’s power, specifically that of his father and of his brother, Jeb, who was the governor of Florida during and after Bush’s presidential run. Secondary Leader Jupiter symbolizes an appetite for opportunity that “knows no limit,” i.e., it is out of control because Jupiter is also a Leading or most aspected planet.
        With Secondary Leaders Jupiter-Moon over Washington, D.C., and with Primary Transcendental Saturn over Florida’s Atlantic coast, and with Bush’s other Primary Transcendental, Neptune, over the Gulf states in the south and over the east-central states in the north, we see that this places Washington, D.C. and Flor­ida along the edge of a Zone of Intensity: again, a field created by the combined force of Bush’s Leaders, Jupiter-Moon, and his Primary Transcendentals, Saturn-Neptune.
        Notably, the only Transcendental that is not involved in the Zone of Intensity (a zone that effects the entire East Coast) is Bush’s Secondary Tran­scendental, Mars. This is of interest because Secondary Transcendental Mars runs over the Rocky Mountain states (e.g., Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona; Mars is placed in a vertical, midnight position there): an area where Bush did exceedingly well in the election and where some of his greatest supporters live: for example, those who support unrestricted use of “gun ownership” (Mars) and the use of other “firearms and weapons” (Mars).
        If this were a private client, after explaining the inherent dangers involved with the East Coast Zone of Intensity, I might advise him or her to “head for the hills,” that is, to the Rockies, where Secondary Transcendental Mars functions with so little interfer­ence from the Leading Planet lines. Again, it is not surprising that this region represents a significant base of Bush’s electoral support. 
        Bush’s Secondary Leader, Jupiter, symbolizes “unchecked expansionism.” In addition, the “excessive (or obsessive) tendency to create unwanted unions”–unions that others experience as “emotionally suffocating maternalism” or as a negative mother complex (e.g., the Kali archetype) is symbolized by Secondary Leader, Moon. Indeed, Bush had already given a Leading Planet (hubristic) voice to this when he insincerely spoke of being “a unifier and not a divider.” It is no coincidence that this phrase was one of the principal slogans for his campaign. Since it is rooted in a Leading Planet complex, one should be that much more hesitant to believe it.
        Finally, Bush’s Leading or most aspected planet is Uranus. This clearly speaks of two things: “dystopias” (or negative utopian visions) and the reversals of social-collective institutions and structures. Indeed, Bush will probably try to smash positive cultural devel­opments and trends in favor of “perfectly modeled reformations that seek to annihilate any imperfections,” i.e., dissenters to the dystopian “vision.”
        What should we expect with Saturn-Neptune as Primary Transcendentals and with Mars as the Secondary Transcendental? In psychologically healthy or balanced figures, we might “hope for the best” as regards such planetary potentials. Here though, given Bush’s previous record as far as we know it, it is clear that this is a case of “psychic inflation” regarding the Transcendental potential. This means that Bush is misusing or abusing his Saturn-Neptune-Mars talents, opportunities, and resources, and one should expect him to continue to do so. (See my essay, “Psychic Inflation.”)
        For example, he has used and will probably continue to use “authoritarian methods of control / and deception” (Primary Saturn / Primary Neptune). He worships “law and order” (Primary Saturn) as long as his own criminality is not called into question (e.g., while he was governor of Texas, many were forced to serve long jail sen­tences for cocaine and other drug possession charges, yet Bush himself was alleged to have used cocaine in the past and was never punished for it). He has used and will probably continue to use institutions of “law and order / to victimize those who are power­less to fight against him” (Primary Saturn / Primary Neptune). As governor, his state ranked at the top of the list for death penalty executions, many of them of questionable merit.2 Finally, he owes everything he has to his “father” (Primary Saturn) and to his “father’s / oil money and oil connections” (Primary Saturn / Primary Neptune).
        It is perhaps of interest to note that the commercial “psychic,” Jeane Dixon, was born with this same Saturn / Neptune Transcendental pairing. After her death, newly released FBI files revealed that she had worked with the Bureau to “fabricate predictions with the purpose of deceiving, victimizing, and unempowering the Left / and in order to maintain the control mechanisms of the political status quo” (Neptune / Saturn). Indeed, when abused, this planetary pairing leads to disturbing behavior.
        With Mars as a key (and possibly inflated) Transcendental, we will expect Bush to be comfortable with exercising violence and extreme aggressive measures, including bullying approaches, to get what he wants. Bush campaign advisors publicly fretted over whether their candidate could hold his tongue and keep his temper checked. Again, his excessive–and even enthusiastic–use of the death penalty while governor of Texas comes to mind here. Finally, his sympathy with weapons manufacturers is a mat­ter of public record. Gun lobbyists were caught on tape saying that, if Bush were elected, they would have “their man” in the White House. With Mars as a Transcendental (rather than a most aspected or Leading Planet) instead of a scandal this exposé seemed to work in Bush’s favor, particularly with Rocky Mountain voters, where we find his Sec­ondary Transcendental Mars.
        Although I am averse to making predictions, I will say that since Bush’s Secondary Transcendental Mars is, at times, working more effectively than his Primary Tran­scendentals (since Mars is the only one not involved in the Zone of Intensity), this would be the principal line to watch on his astrocartography. In fact, on the world map, Bush’s Mars runs in a Transcendental Midheaven position directly over a part of the world where the Bush administration, barely a few days into office, is already rattling their sabers:
        Bush’s Secondary Transcendental Mars runs directly over Afghanistan, Pakistan, and central Russia. As we move in a westward direction, we see his most lightly aspected neutral (or Intermediary) planet, Venus (also in a vertical, Midheaven position) directly over the southern Iran-Iraq border (and over east-central Saudi Arabia). Therefore, Mars and Venus join here to form an Intermediary Venus / Secondary Mars Transcen­dental Midpoint-Field. One wonders if he will attempt to convince us of the “value” (Venus) of entering into war.
        In Bush’s horoscope, his Secondary Mars is positioned in the Second House. Therefore, he may be drawn into conflict in this part of the world in order to attempt to enhance his sense of self-esteem and self-image (qualities tradi­tionally ruled by the Second House.) Since this geographic region is so involved with petroleum investment, Bush’s inner, psychological dynamic (related to Second House issues of money, resources, and self-value) may be involved in a projective connection to the outer world’s constellation of these same issues.

– January 31, 2001, New York.

1. See Don Van Natta Jr. and Dexter Filkins, “Miami Mayor's Role a Riddle in Decision to Halt Recount,” New York Times, December 1, 2000. See also, “A double-cross by the Mayor of Miami,” Miami Drum, Thursday, December 7, 2000. 
2. By June 17, 1999, Bush “signed his hundredth death warrant” as governor of Texas. Christopher Hitchens, “Bush's Death Watch,” Nation (online), August 23-30, 1999.

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Postscript:

About two weeks after this was written and posted on the Internet in January 2001, U.S. warplanes bombed Iraq. On February 16, 2001, abcnews.com reported:

         “Coalition Jets Hit Command and Control Sites Near Baghdad. Feb. 16–Ten years after the Persian Gulf War, U.S. and British warplanes today launched an air attack on targets on the outskirts of Iraq’s capital, U.S. officials said. A strike package of 24 aircraft, comprised of (sic) Air Force F-15s, Navy F-18s, and four British Tornadoes, bombed five command and control nodes north of the southern “no-fly zone” in Iraq, Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold told a news conference at the Pentagon.
         It was the most aggressive attack by coalition forces outside the southern no-fly zone since U.S. and British planes staged a four-day air campaign against Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998.”

 

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