Linda Tripp’s Triumph and Clinton’s Humiliation

Zip Dobyns

Lois Rodden came through for us. She paid for and received Linda’s birth certificate. Fortunately for astrologers, Linda was born in a state which permits this. In some states, the subject has to authorize the release of his or her birth data. Linda’s B.C. data is November 24, 1949 at 8 A.M. EST in Jersey City, NJ. Study her chart. Could you imagine a more appropriate one for a professional moralist who apparently believes that the ends justify the means, so she can secretly tape record a “friend” in order to attack someone whose morals Tripp condemns?

Tripp identifies with God with her Ascendant in Sagittarius, Mars (natural 1st house ruler) and Saturn (ruling the 1st house Capricorn) in the 9th (Sagittarius) house, and Chiron conjunct the Ascendant, with its Sagittarius/Pisces nature reinforced by being in the sign of Sagittarius and the house of Pisces. Tripp also identifies her personal will and action with the LAW with Capricorn in the first house, the East Point, Antivertex, and ruler of the Ascendant in Capricorn, and Mars conjunct Saturn.

Remember, the horoscope shows psychological principles. An identification with God (the Absolute) can be manifested in a range from thinking we know final truth and our beliefs should be accepted by everyone to thinking that unless we are perfect, we are nothing. An identification with the LAW can range from believing that our personal will should be the law and enforced on everyone to feeling that the world has all the power and we are helpless. Tripp is clearly tilted toward the first in these examples, but obviously we can have a mixture. Preaching and trying to force others to conform to one’s own beliefs and standards may be an attempt to overcome inner doubts about personal beliefs and self-worth. Mixtures of letters six and ten (the critic drive to do a good job) with letters nine and twelve (the search for the Absolute) symbolize the total perfectionist. Individuals with this identification are either very hard on themselves or on others or on both. In a nutshell, they are feeling “you and/or I are or ought to be perfect. It is my job to make that happen.” Eric Berne’s psychological model offered a human-level version of this totally pervasive human dilemma with his four potentials: I’m ok, you’re not ok. You are ok, I’m not ok. Neither of us is ok. We’re both ok.

In addition to her own identity (all forms of letter one), Tripp connects the critic potential to relationships with Venus in Capricorn and conjunct Vesta, our super-Virgo asteroid, with Juno, the marriage asteroid, in Virgo and conjunct Saturn, and with Pallas, a Libra asteroid, in the Capricorn house. For the opposite side of the coin of perfectionism, Juno in the 9th house, Pallas conjunct Neptune, Neptune in Libra, Mercury ruling the 7th house and Sun ruling the 8th house with both in Sagittarius in the 12th house, all connect relationships to the search for the Absolute, for ultimate perfection. Even having Pluto, ruler of the 12th house, in the 8th house can be added to that theme. Anything important in a chart will be said repeatedly. Tripp is a driven perfectionist who decided that Clinton did not live up to her standards and she was appointed by fate to pull him down. Her Neptune in the 10th house, Jupiter in Capricorn, and Mercury ruling the 6th house Gemini and placed in Sagittarius in the Pisces house all show the potential of her role as professional guru. This is just one of many ways to manifest mixtures of letters six and ten (work) with letters nine and twelve (beliefs and values). The aspects could have been expressed by becoming a writer, and Tripp got as far on that path as searching for an editor, one of whom encouraged Linda to tape record Monica to get evidence to support Linda’s claims. Tripp ended by facilitating an outpouring of words by others, the media deluge we are undergoing, including the Starr report going to the world on the Internet. Ironically, in the face of her sanctimonious condemnation of Clinton, Linda is being investigated by Maryland, where secret taping is illegal. This is just one example of the religious extremism which can feel that the end justifies the means.

The interplay between Clinton’s and Tripp’s charts is as appropriate as her personal chart. Tripp’s MC (equivalent to Saturn) and her P Mars are on Bill’s Ascendant, Mars, and Neptune. Her Ascendant is on his P south lunar node in Sagittarius. Her actions have clearly forced him to work on his south node lesson involving ethics and morals which are based on our beliefs (Sagittarius). Bill’s N Williams is exactly on Linda’s N Sun and his P Williams will soon conjunct her N Williams in 26 Sagittarius, which puts them on the Galactic Center, a potential key to fame and power. Her P Williams in 26 Capricorn is octile her Chiron, which is often connected to legal matters as part of its Sagittarian significance, and it has squared Bill’s P Chiron for years. Their N Saturns are octile within just over one degree, and during the summer of 1998, Linda’s P Moon has squared Bill’s N Saturn. In a beautiful expression of synchronicity, Starr’s 36 boxes of data on Clinton, which were gathered at the cost of over $40 million taxpayer dollars, were delivered to Congress with T Moon and Saturn in 3 Taurus exactly on the event IC, opposite Linda’s P Moon which is on the event MC, and square Bill’s N Saturn. We will also look briefly at the charts for Bill’s deposition in the White House, his talk to the country the same evening, and the delivery of Starr’s material.

Returning to Linda’s chart, she has three asteroids conjunct her N Mars in the one-degree orb I use for all of the asteroids except the first four and Chiron: they are Monica, Attila (the Hun), and Ganesa (the elephant-headed god which I am testing as a key to the Republicans). Monica is within a one degree square to Linda’s Ascendant. P Monica is conjunct P Saturn and square P Paula. It is partly his testimony in the Paula Jones case which may get Bill on perjury charges. Linda also has her P Attila and P Richter (associated with earthquakes) in 26 Virgo square N Williams. In this case, Bill was hit with a legal earthquake in the 9th house for law courts, truth, and ethics, and his job (Virgo) is threatened. Linda’s N Starr for the special investigator is conjunct Albertina (for Al Gore) in 7 Libra, with both within one degree of Bill Clinton’s N and P Neptune. Linda’s P Albertina squares her P Sun and N Vesta as her self-appointed job brings fame to her and trouble to Al. As I have written before, I think the fall-out from this will help defeat Al Gore in 2000. Linda has P Starr semisextile P MC on one side and P Juno on the other. Juno can be read as an alternate Pluto, connected to committed relationships, sex, etc. Linda also has P Hillary on P Jupiter, reminding us that Jupiter does not represent “luck,” but is a key to beliefs, values, and ethics, including the search for Truth through churches, universities, libraries, travel, etc. In this case, Linda’s beliefs which produced her actions forced Hillary to confront some challenging information, and it may have put a final nail in the coffin of Hillary’s faith in her husband if she still had any.

Gingerich (which I am using for Newt Gingrich) is just past P Hillary in 11 Aquarius and octile N Williams as Newt in his position of Speaker of the House leads the debate on whether to bring a charge of impeachment against Bill Clinton. It only takes a majority of the House to vote for this, and the Republicans have a majority. If the House so votes, the Senate would then try the case, and a conviction would take a two-thirds vote which would require some Democrats to abandon the President. In the end, if the public continues to oppose impeachment, and if the Republicans decide they don’t want to give Al Gore a jumpstart on the presidency in 2000, discretion may win. As this is being written, the polls continue to show a majority of the public wanting Clinton censured but not impeached, and not forced out of office before the end of his term. Though there is nothing in the Constitution to provide for such action, and the only historical precedent was the censure of Andrew Jackson by one house of Congress which was reversed and expunged from the record by the next Congress, some form of censure seems the most likely outcome of this tempest in a teapot. The rest of the world thinks we are nuts to make such an uproar over the private sex life of our president, and I concur with that opinion.

Unfortunately, though other countries rightly see the uproar over the sex episode as much ado about nothing, its consequences may be much more serious. Conspiracy buffs on the liberal side see the attack on Clinton as simply a political effort to keep the president weak so the conservatives can pass their own legislative agenda and defeat the Democrats in the next election. The apparent partisan willingness of the Republicans to risk the stability of a world in crisis while they preach morality and family values to gain a political advantage is shocking, but their efforts may succeed in electing more conservative Republicans, including the next President. It has been fascinating to see previous sexual affairs exposed in the lives of several of Clinton’s most vocal opponents, including Henry Hyde, Helen Chenoweth, and Dan Burton. Personal license is not a new invention. Even George Washington is said to have had a mistress, and after Alexander Hamilton admitted adultery, he was rewarded with a position of increased power and honor. Cleveland was elected president despite the public's knowledge that he had fathered an illegitimate child. Chenoweth’s affair was with a married man, while Burton fathered a child out of wedlock. Liberals conclude that Starr is a Republican partisan carrying his investigations to extremes and into inappropriate areas of Clinton’s personal life.

Though less featured in the major media, the obviously partisan papers, magazines, and newsletters of conspiracy buffs on the conservative side attack Starr for not going far enough, for covering up evidence of far more serious crimes by Clinton, including complicity in murder. Some of the claims are incredible, from sabotage that produced headline plane crashes to the murder of Vincent Foster who has been officially declared a suicide. It is quite amazing to watch the polarization between the Clinton-haters and the individuals who used to adore Clinton and are now disillusioned about his personal character but still want him in office to protect the country against conservative extremism. The second group are acting out Clinton’s rising Neptune, having moved from idealization to disillusionment. The first group are acting out Clinton’s Vesta on the Descendant with its potential for alienation in relationships. The media keep the fires hot to sell their products. Capitalism has won the world after all. The ultimate effect of the distraction of the whole federal government at a critical period in the world, with a shaky world economy, as well as the weakening of the office of the U.S. presidency, may prove tragic for the world.

Returning again to Linda’s chart, she has many more significant progressions for this momentous year. Her P Mars was crossing her MC square her East Point and Uranus for several years while she was cultivating Monica and encouraging her to confide the details of her private life. P Juno, carrying the meaning of Pluto, followed P Mars and is currently on Linda’s MC square her East Point and Uranus. Linda’s local MC in Washington, DC is 1 Libra 13, on the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node at 1 Libra 12. What a message about her major lesson in handling power and dealing with authority figures, not to mention the inner form of Saturn and the MC, the conscience! Linda’s local East Point in 1 Capricorn and her Saturn/north node midpoint in 1 Cancer complete a grand cross with her local IC in 1 Aries. Aletheia, the asteroid named for the goddess of truth, is in 15 Taurus, trine Mars but octile/trioctile the cardinal cross. The Mars trine fits her personal action directed by her belief that her Truth is right for the world. The conflict aspects to the cardinal cross involving Saturn, the local MC and IC, and the lunar nodes suggest that her Truth is in conflict with the executive branch of the government but also potentially with the “rules of the game,” including possibly her own conscience, and with the basic security of the public and our country—perhaps of the world?

The asteroid Anacostia was named for the river in Washington, DC where the FBI headquarters is located. P Anacostia is also on the cardinal cross, retrograding just under 1 Cancer, and P America is in 2 Libra square P Uranus. Of course there are also appropriate aspects with the traditional planets, including P East Point conjunct P Venus with both quincunx Saturn and P Saturn. P Vesta has been quincunx Mars for some years, and the aspect ends this fall. P Mercury has been retrograding quincunx Uranus and is still in orb to P Uranus, while P Ascendant just started a quincunx to P Uranus in August 1998. P Moon has formed a grand trine in water signs during the summer to P Uranus and P Antivertex, an auxiliary Ascendant. The quincunxes fit the major changes in Linda’s life in light of the huge publicity, and also the alienation of associates and many in the public. With quincunxes, we may separate from relationships, jobs, homes, beliefs, etc. Or people or jobs may leave us. I am sure Linda is feeling vindicated by Clinton’s confessions, though many people have condemned her betrayal of a “friend.”

Ken Starr’s chart was discussed in a previous issue of The Mutable Dilemma, along with Monica’s chart. Like Linda Tripp, Ken has the potential to be a puritanical moralist. They are natural teammates. In contrast, Monica’s history of affairs with married men and her search for fame through contacts with others who are famous, not to mention the strong contacts between Bill’s and Monica’s charts which were discussed in a previous Mutable Dilemma, show they are natural playmates. However, Clinton’s 7th house Vesta shows that he wants a competent person when it comes to marriage. The fire-air dominance just shows that he wants a lot of playmates, too. Character creates destiny, and we are drawn where we “fit.”

Bill Clinton’s chart has been discussed repeatedly in the past, so we won’t print it again, but note that on the day when he was deposed by Starr in the White House, a ground-breaking event, Bill’s P Moon had mostly positive aspects, finishing a trine to P Pluto but still sextile/trine the P lunar nodes. His P MC conjunct N Sun is assumed to mean fame, honor, and power in traditional astrology, but the MC is like Saturn—the consequences of how we have handled the rules of the game. In the current situation, the consequences were dishonor, humiliation, and a challenge to personal power, though the fame is also certainly present. In fact, this whole circus is mostly being fed by the media to sell papers and magazines and get as much of any available audience as possible. Many, if not most of the public, are disgusted, fed up, and tired of the whole thing and wish it would go away and let our elected officials deal with the major problems in the world.

Clinton started his deposition very close to 1 P.M. on August 17, just two days before his birthday, so the T Sun was within orb of his N Sun and P MC. His talk to the U.S. public started that evening about 10 P.M. EDT. At the start of the deposition, the 9th house of law courts and the search for truth held Vesta, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, and the Sun moved into the house within a few minutes, while the north node followed soon afterwards. Chiron was exactly on the Ascendant at the start, fitting its Sagittarian association with the law/knowledge/truth. Linda Tripp’s cardinal cross described above was strongly aspected with the T Moon in 1 Cancer conjunct Saturn/north lunar node in 2 Cancer, Saturn/south node in 2 Aries, and the Ascendant/MC midpoint in 2 Libra. The south node of Jupiter in 1 Capricorn completed a cross. Though there are obviously stress aspects in the chart for the beginning of the deposition, it does not look like an impeachment outcome. The East Point in 26 Scorpio forms a grand trine in water signs and fire houses, including Mars in 28 Cancer and Jupiter in 26 Pisces and Pallas in 29 Pisces. Pallas is often a key to law and politics, including a concern with fair play and social justice. Saturn trines the north lunar node in earth signs and houses. Pluto trines Venus. The Antivertex trines the Sun.

The important role of the public is suggested by the Sun/Moon midpoint exactly conjunct Mars, and though the south lunar node in the 4th house points to a lesson involving the public, its close trine to the Moon is another sign that suggests that in the end, the public will support Clinton. Victoria on the MC is another key to a positive outcome for him. A quincunx from the Moon to Gingerich in 1 Sagittarius may show a parting of the ways between Newt and the public, which might be different opinions or desires. Kassandra on the IC could point to many of the public expecting the worst by the time Clinton reached this crucial deposition day. Kassandra was condemned by Apollo to only predict negative coming events, to always be right, but never be believed. A majority of the public say they no longer believe what Clinton says, though they still do not want him pushed out of office prematurely.

Bill’s battle is clearly shown in many ways in the deposition chart, including having Belisana, a war goddess, on the Sun. One of the asteroids I am testing for Bill is Jeffers for his middle name of Jefferson. Jeffers was exactly conjunct Starr (for Ken) and Justitia (for justice) in 21 Gemini. It was sextile the MC, but octile Venus. The principle asteroid I have been using for Bill Clinton is Williams. In Bill’s deposition chart, it was in 9 Capricorn conjunct Potomac, one of the rivers in Washington, DC, to stand for the city where Bill’s power is being tested. It was also conjunct Clinton’s natal Icarus, an asteroid of overreach and a crash. Potomac in the deposition chart is square Juno, which, like Pluto, can signify a deep love relationship or power struggles. Juno is conjunct Hela, a death goddess, and Ate, a goddess considered the personification of evil in Greek mythology. The Sun is octile Juno and trioctile Williams and Potomac, intensifying the potential for a power struggle, maybe for the death of Bill’s public image. The power struggle is shown again with a cluster of asteroids in the first house which are octile or trioctile the Moon and the Saturn-node midpoints. The Scorpio group range from Psyche in 15 Scorpio, often connected with feeling helpless and vulnerable, partly due to excessive self-absorption, to Monica in 16 Scorpio, to Nemesis in 17 Scorpio, to Bellona in 18 Scorpio. Nemesis was the god who “got you” if you flouted the divine law of Themis. Bellona is another war goddess and it is squared by Mercury (the media). In case anyone wants more examples, Karma is in 13 Aquarius square the Ascendant and Chiron. Damocles, the sword hanging over the head, and Anacostia, the other river in Washington, DC, are conjunct Uranus.

Saturn is, of course, our major key to executive power and the rules of the game, as well as the consequences of how we have handled the rules in the past. In this deposition chart, Saturn is sextile-trine the lunar nodes and sextile the Moon, but square Neptune and Venus and quincunx Pluto. The conflict aspects fit the struggle and shame over how Bill has handled his physical appetites (Taurus and Venus for personal physical pleasure, Pluto for shared pleasures, Sagittarius and Neptune for spiritual principles and ethics). But the harmony aspects suggest that the public will help Bill keep his job despite the editors of at least 120 newspapers in the U.S. calling on Clinton to resign. I have never seen a stronger example of the chasm between the elite and average citizens.

We need to move on to a brief word about Clinton’s talk to the nation on the same evening, starting about 10 P.M. The primary changes in a few hours include the Moon moving to 6 Cancer and major shifts in the houses. The choice of 10 P.M. Eastern Time was obviously made to let people living on the west coast get home from work. But there are no coincidences. At the minute Bill confronted the public from his official room in the White House, the asteroid Williams had just reached the MC opposite the IC. Remember, that also puts Bill’s natal Icarus on the event MC, which signifies power and the consequences of how we have handled the rules in the past. Juno opposed the East Point. The Moon squared the Antivertex. The Ascendant in 15 Aries was approaching a trine to Mercury but octile-trioctile the lunar nodes. There is no doubt that August 17 was a miserable day for Bill, when some karma came home with T Saturn square his N Saturn. We will see how the show plays out, but I suspect it will be maintained to the end of the term, until a new president comes in on January 20, 2001.

Starr’s 36 boxes, duplicate sets of 18 for the Republicans and for the Democrats, were the results of his years of investigating Whitewater, Clinton sexual and financial affairs in Little Rock, the firing of the White House travel staff, the presence of FBI files in the White House, and the death of Vincent Foster. The investigations ended up as a salacious description of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was a consenting and apparently eager adult. Starr’s meticulous work fits his Capricorn Ascendant, Saturn conjunct Sun within one degree, as well as Venus and Mars in Virgo in the 8th house for obsessive-compulsive potentials. His name asteroid, Starr, is also there in 4 Virgo in his 8th house. As I noted when we discussed Starr’s chart, the astonishing fact is that he and Clinton were born less than a month apart and the only differences in sign placements between the two are Saturn, Mars, Venus, and one of the main asteroids. Pallas is retrograding in early Capricorn for Starr and had moved back into Sagittarius by the time Clinton was born 30 days later. Even the Moon and three of the first four asteroids are in the same signs in the two charts. Yet, Clinton’s chart is totally dominated by fire and air while Starr has a strong earth component. No one who reads even a brief summary of the report could doubt that Clinton and Monica played on a good many occasions when Hillary was out of town. Clinton telephoned Monica as many as 50 times or more. According to my friend Doc Cottle, who is my invaluable source of mundane data, the Starr report was delivered to Congress at 4 P.M. on September 9, 1998. 10 Capricorn was rising, the degree of Bill’s natal Icarus and his personal name asteroid on that fateful August 17. By September 9, Williams had moved to 12 Capricorn, which put it on the Ascendant in New York. The stock market reacted to having the material finally out after the years of speculation on what new bombshells Starr might uncover by having a major rally on September 10, which was followed up by another rally on Monday, the next trading day.

The delivery chart is truly dramatic, with the Moon exactly conjunct Saturn on the IC, the MC on Linda Tripp’s P Moon, and all of them square Clinton’s N Saturn in 2 Leo. Yet, again, though these patterns could indicate a loss of power for Clinton, other aspects suggest protection by the public. The Saturn-Moon-IC conjunction is trine Venus, Mercury, and the north lunar node in early Virgo and the Descendant is on the midpoint of Sun/Moon trine Icarus in 10 Scorpio in the 10th house. If Clintford is a potential asteroid for Clinton, its position in 10 Virgo is also supportive with a trine to the Ascendant, a sextile to Icarus, and to the Sun/Moon midpoint. An ongoing power struggle is also clearly indicated. Uranus, Damocles, and Karma are all conjunct in Aquarius square Icarus in the 10th as well as Sphinx and Chandra in 10 Taurus in the 4th house. The mythical sphinx killed you if you could not answer its question, and Chandra is the Hindu name for the Moon, relating to the public again. Has Clinton sufficiently answered the public’s questions by now with his confessions of sin and guilt? For weeks during this past summer Mars has been moving within one degree of Guernica (the death of innocent victims) and Hel (a death goddess). In the Asteroid-World, we will see many more examples of events with this and other configurations which fit the events of our violent summer and early fall. In Clinton’s case, even if he manages to stay in office, he may experience the death of much of his personal power with the Leo trio quincunx Williams.

One of Starr’s charges is the abuse of power by Clinton, and this potential is shown in this chart by Atlantis and Anubis conjunct Chiron. Chiron, like Sagittarius, can symbolize the law, Atlantis is often associated with the abuse of power, and Anubis is an Egyptian god of death and the underworld, with Scorpio reinforcing that association. Themis, divine justice, and America are in 26 Scorpio, also in the 10th house and octile N Williams and the NY Ascendant. Looking at Kathleen closely conjunct the north lunar node in the 8th house, we wonder whether Starr will be successful in one of his expressed goals, to change Kathleen Willey’s testimony. Hillary is closely conjunct Gaea, the earth, in 21 Virgo opposite Attila (the Hun) and Richter (associated with earthquakes). As the world watches the attacks on her husband, which are bound to embarrass her, Hillary continues to support him. As I have written before, I think she will leave him after his term ends and they leave the White House. Hillary is positioning herself to play a leading role in the world, and she and Bill may just quietly do their own thing, with Bill moving to California where he is supported by some well-known movie people, and Hillary staying on the east coast and becoming a world citizen.

There are always many more relevant asteroids, but perhaps we can end with a few which point to the central issue in the Starr report when it was delivered to Congress. Amor (love) is conjunct Venus, Fama (fame), and Belisana (war goddess), and they are octile Hela (death) in the 9th house of law courts, truth, and moral principles. Linda Susan is quincunx Vesta. Linda Tripp did her best to separate Bill from his job. Starr in 29 Gemini is conjunct Jones (for Paula) and trine the mean south lunar node but quincunx the East Point and Neptune. The drama continues.

Copyright © 1998 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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