Thomas Canfield
One thing to watch for at the time of the Autumn Equinox may be a bit of upheaval with the Supreme Court. I have noticed that when Eris is conjunct the North Node, there has been some discord in the highest court. This may have been due to changes in values and the interpretations of legal matters. In 1968, when Eris was conjunct the North Node, President Lyndon Johnson had nominated Justice Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice. There was a lot of opposition in Congress to the nomination. Anti-Semitism may have been a factor since Fortas was Jewish. He was also considered to be “soft” on certain issues such as law enforcement and pornography. Because of lack of congressional support, his nomination was withdrawn. Ethics charges ended his career on the Supreme Court in 1969.
In 1986, there was upheaval when it became known that Robert Bork was going to be nominated for the Supreme Court. While Eris was conjunct the North Node, opponents to the nomination gathered every bit of information about Bork, including his support for “Originalism.” This meant the Constitution could only be interpreted with the original intent of the Founding Fathers. Since woman and black people could not vote in the days of the Founding Fathers, many feminist and civil rights groups felt that “Originalism” would be used to discriminate against them. So many negative details about Bork were brought up, that his nomination was voted down. “To Bork” a nominee meant to dig up so many details that the nomination could not go forward.
In 2005, Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement from the Supreme Court as Eris was conjunct the North Node. This caused an upheaval of activity to find a replacement. At first, John Roberts was considered as her replacement, but when Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, Roberts was pushed up to become Chief Justice. White House counsel Harriet Miers was nominated, but then she was opposed by the Republicans in Congress, even though she had been nominated by a Republican president. The conservatives in Congress made it clear that their goal was to overturn Roe versus Wave, and they did not want anyone on the court who would uphold that decision. Even though Harriet Miers was a Republican, the fact that she was a woman might have made her sympathize with other women. The Miers nomination was withdrawn, and the nomination was given to Samuel Alito.
What we may be seeing this Fall is more questioning about the ethics and actions of the Supreme Court. Mrs. Clarence Thomas was supporting “the Big Lie” that Trump had won the election in 2020. Questions may arise as to whether she was part of the criminal conspiracy leading to the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Word has come out that Clarence Thomas has received favors from a billionaire with a fascination for Nazis. Information is coming out that Samuel Alito has received favors from billionaires. It is possible that more revelations may come out as to whether the receiving of such favors were a corrupting influence.
In the Equinox chart, there are signs of contention that may be popping up during the season. Venus is conjunction Juno, the asteroid of marriage and political influence, and both are sextile Mars. It is possible that the women’s groups that were outraged by the overturning of Roe versus Wade may be taking a more militant political stance. Supreme Court Justices were spooked when a few protesters showed up at their houses. They might really freak out when they have to face the kind of crowds that are in front of Planned Parenthood centers. Venus and Juno are being squared by Jupiter, and there might be some court orders to restrict protest. Yet, Jupiter is being opposed by the Part of Fortune, and the legal rulings may not stand. Mercury is trine Jupiter and sextile the Part of Fortune. More sensible legal scholars may need to be brought in to sort of the details.
The big issue people may be arguing about this Fall may be “Family Values.” Vesta, the asteroid of Hearth and Home is being squared by the Sun and Pallas, opposed by the Moon, and in an out-of-sign square with Neptune. Saturn and Ceres trine Vesta, and there may be a lot of nostalgic appeals to old visions of motherhood, the home with a strong mother, and even Mom’s apple pie. Most of these arguments may be based on emotion. Counter arguments may be based on facts and science. The Sun is in an out-of-sign opposition to Neptune, and religious arguments may be shot down as fanatical attempts to control women.
Uranus is in a wide square to Venus and Juno. What we might see is an overflow of troll attacks against women and their political groups. There could be hacker attacks similar to the hacking of the Democratic committee server in 2016. However, helping the cause of the women’s groups may be Chiron trine Venus and Juno. Scientific evidence may be coming up that those who restrict woman’s healthcare are causing more harm to women. Statistics from Texas are already showing that infant mortality in increasing as woman are being forced to carry babies to term which had a known genetic defect. More women may be forced to carry dead or dying babies because of the law, and there may be some tragic cases before people see the law is wrong. Mars opposing Chiron might bring struggles for the medical community, and doctors could be bigger targets for conservative groups.
One final avenger waiting in the wings may be Pluto’s retrograde motion into Capricorn, which is entering into a wide square with Eris. I have found that the time of an Eris-Pluto square can be called a period of maximum incompetence. This was seen during the pandemic, when the major political issues were to attack the validity of the Covid vaccine, and to curse Dr. Fauci for years of disease prevention. The result was that a million Americans died, with many of them calling for quack remedies. Pluto square Eris one last time might bring a final resurgence of Covid. It may not be as fatal, but it could be very debilitating to many. With an anti-vaxxer trying to run for President, we shall see how far the incompetence will go. With Pluto squaring the Midheaven and Jupiter opposing the Part of Fortune, there could be another economic downturn if not enough people are going to work. Those who keep supporting anti-vaxx might be the final victims of the maximum incompetence.
