Woodrow Wilson and the invisible empire

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.”

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 28th US President (1913-1921)

Well, he would know!

~:~

Born Dec 29, 1856, in Staunton, VA (12:45 am LMT; Rodden rating B), Thomas Woodrow Wilson, entered politics in 1910 when he was elected Democratic governor of New Jersey.

Wilson received his PhD with the first of his major books on government, ‘Congressional Government’ (1885); he taught school and became president of Princeton University in 1902 (before it was known as “Princeton.”)

A landslide vote carried him into the White House in 1912 when the vote split among Republicans between W. H. Taft and Teddy Roosevelt. Also in 1912, New Mexico became our 47th state, and the Titanic sank losing 1,513 lives.

President Wilson called his reformist program the ‘New Freedom’ and he’s known for several breakthrough reforms while in office such as: a graduated income tax, an eight-hour work day, lower tariffs, the Federal Trade Commission created, child labor legislation; the Clayton Antitrust Law, and….the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

It’s doubtful that President Wilson expected the Fed, a private organization, to take over the government as it’s in process of doing this week. But he probably didn’t foresee that Wall Street would become a cesspool of fraud with its take-all-you-can-however-you-can-get-it creed of greed either.

(Speaker Pelosi is being quoted on NPR saying that Paulson’s Plan “lacks the necessary safeguards.”)

With his pledge to keep America out of the European war, Mr. Wilson won re-election in 1916 – so much for campaign promises being realistic. Facts and circumstances do change, of course, and pressures are brought to bear, but Campaign 2008 seems to be in part: Read my slips (not a typo.)

Following our nation’s laws, Wilson took the US into conflict by first petitioning Congress for a declaration of war on Germany on April 2, 1917; then his Fourteen Points peace plan brought Germany to the bargaining table in late 1918, thank goodness.

Wilson’s efforts toward establishment of the League of Nations garnered him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 although the US never joined. 1919 to 1920 was marked by the grand spirit of a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in the 9/10 Leo range. We have another triple conjunction of this speculative pair all through 2009.

So with Venus as his natal chart-ruler, Woodrow Wilson has 15Lib29 rising which conjuncts America’s natal Saturn at a time when we needed a father figure.  (Guess we could use one again, but not the false integrity kind, and not another megalomaniacal hothead – please, Lord.)

Midheaven is 17Can35 with Saturn 11Can00 Rx in 9th house. Sun is in 3rd house of Communications, with Moon conj Chiron in 4th house along with Mercury. Venus and Mars are Very Closely conjunct in AQ…17:06 and 17:05 respectively. (This is the “end of progress” degree although I have no idea why I’m telling you this.)

Woodrow Wilson was born in a New Moon phase (22:58 = very subjective and prone to meet situations and people as ‘symbols’ rather than as real) with Sun 7Cap42, Moon 00AQ46, an Earth-Air combination of practical idealism. So this practical blend surely improved his New Moon tendencies as he matured. Plus, Earth-Air gives a progressive yet conservative temperment with its ability to mix abstract thought with a down-to-earth viewpoint.

Earth-Air is the planner-builder-consolidater blend with a dry sense of humor and a way with languages. And as we might expect, dealing with emotions is not its strongest point.

Specifically, Sun Cap-Moon AQ is a sociable yet solitary blend – clear-headed, rational, and thoughtful. His book authoring on government benefited from these talents, and dealing with Washington politics was a good fit for Wilson’s personality. Mercury 18Cap47 gave his thought patterns Saturnian structure for writing and speaking on serious subjects.

Of this blend, Noel Tyl says, “innovation is the goal; significance is the prize.”

You see the stiffness of the ‘important man’ in the portrait which I snagged from Wikipedia (link to follow) yet this was the usual pose in photographs of the times. Still, I imagine he looked pretty much like this every day, don’t you?!

Yes, politics, economics, history, and academia are good professional channels for the Cap-AQ combo with its supportive interest in other people. Plus, Wilson’s diligence made him a success in office for the most part – but he was perhaps better with domestic issues than abroad.

My assumption is that when today’s politicians call themselves ‘Wilsonian’ they refer to Wilson’s ‘idealistic internationalism’ which sent America out into the world to fight for democracy.

But my thought is that it’s one thing to fight and defend democracy where it exists, but quite another to insist on establishing it (by fighting and bombing innocents) where it doesn’t. But then I don’t have to worry about being president – I just think Someone has got the two confused and jumbled up…on purpose.

Anyway, the Sun Cap-Moon AQ combo likes to make a practical difference in the world yet has a bit of a monkish streak in the personality that tends to withdraw in a self-reliant, independent way. There’s an Aquarian respect for the well-being of others even while Capricorn gives plenty of personal ambition.

A deep need to be in control can cause problems in relationships due to an inability to compromise and this is what kept him from compromising with Republicans in Congress to pass the motion for joining the League of Nations. This must have been a bitter pill for his Fiery and expansive Jupiter in Aries, sign of the pioneer.

While involved with the Paris Peace talks, Wilson collapsed from a stroke in Sept 1919, and with the aid of his wife, Edith, continued running the country until his retirement in 1921. Thanks to the devoted care of his wife, he lived three more years, passing away on Feb 3, 1924.

One more thing: here are Woodrow Wilson’s ‘Images for Integration’ which mix, in word pictures, the adult Sun Cap with the inner child Moon in AQ using ‘Sun Sign-Moon Sign’ by Charles and Suzy Harvey…and I quote:

“An historian points the way to the future…A prophetic poet is awarded high honors…Having struggled unaided to the peak, a mountaineer hitches a ride on a passing helicopter.”

Read more about President Woodrow Wilson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson

And get the official scoop here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ww28.html