Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2003 | 1:26 PM

Astrologers say Saturn may sink Bush in '04
By Dru Sefton
Newhouse news service
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Thursday, August 28, 2003

Out in the political world, the chances for President Bush's re-election look good. But celestial bodies suggest trouble. Many astrologers insist that Bush will not be re-elected, never mind all the common-sense facts that pundits and politicos and experts and authorities point out: He's an incumbent president with decent popularity ratings and a massive campaign war chest. The question of a second term "is an ongoing conversation all over the place" within the astrological community, said Washington-area astrologer Caroline Casey.

The big problem for Bush, astrologers say, is Saturn. Until now the president "has had nothing but what's called Jupiter transits to his chart," said Casey, a Brown University graduate and writer with her own radio show. "He gets anything he wants. But this month, Jupiter leaves and here comes Saturn. The free ride is over." Saturn brings a jolt of reality, reckoning and responsibility, astrologers say. Because it appears near the sun, it illuminates long-held secrets. This is the first time in 30 years that Saturn has been so close to the sun; the last time was during Watergate. As New York astrologer Michael Lutin put it, Bush is "about to have a major Saturn experience. It's like how you feel after your frappuccino wears off."

A spokesman at the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign headquarters declined to comment on the planetary predictions of presidential peril. But Charlie Black, a veteran GOP strategist and former Republican National Committee chairman, isn't worried. "I recognize that astrology is a much more exact science than politics or economics," he said, "but political analysis tells us that 2004 is going to be the worst year in history for astrologers and their predictions." Frank Luntz agreed. The respected Republican pollster, head of Luntz Research in suburban Washington, favors survey numbers. "I'm more likely to trust a science that is accurate 95 percent out of 100 cases than an art that's accurate 50 percent of the time," he said, adding: "Based on my own chart, I should be a liberal Democrat, but I'm not." [this is an incredibly stupid comment. Your natal chart wouldn't tell you what political party you'd belong to. -ed.]

Astrology, the study of how the heavens may affect human behavior, dates back some 4,000 years. It is controversial: 28 percent of Americans believe in it, 18 percent are not sure, 52 percent do not and 2 percent have no opinion, according to a May 2001 Gallup Poll.

The study of sky charts for nations, events and leaders is called mundane astrology, from the Latin word "mundus" for "world." Shawvan attracted attention when the Los Angeles Times reported that six days before the contested 2000 presidential election, he had said on an astrology Web site, "It may look very much like a Bush victory, but uncertainty may develop as the count goes on." Shawvan said absentee ballots could be an issue, and that charges of voting irregularities might occur.

Mundane astrologer Carrie Lever in Blue Bell, Pa., has interpreted 25 charts on Bush. "I could cite 10 different areas saying no to re-election," she said. She added that she'd like to view charts on his challengers. "But at this point, by himself, the answer is no."

Courtney Roberts, director of the Cosmological Research Center in Orlando, Fla., also doesn't see a Bush second term. "This is very obvious stuff" in the skies, she said. Roberts sees Bush's trouble beginning in late October or early November. "Specifically, difficult and dangerous personal situations," she said, "involving secret enemies and a possible attack of some kind." Astrologers in other countries concur about Bush's bid: Ibrahim Hazboun, identified in The Financial Times Jan.27 as "one of the Middle East's most renowned astrologers," said, "George W. Bush will not be re-elected." The Toronto Star reported Feb. 1 that Paul Ng, a Canadian expert in Chinese astrology, said it's "not a good year" for Bush. "Very mobile and very unstable. He's about to lose a lot of his so-called supporters." However, astrologers are not unanimous. "You're not going to get all astrologers agreeing, because it's a language we translate," Casey said. "It's like getting all doctors to agree on one diagnosis."

Lutin, astrologer for Vanity Fair magazine, sees Bush winning in 2004. "I think he's trapped in the White House," he said. "He can't get out." Lutin is known for his statement four days before the 2000 election, "The winner will be the loser and the loser will be the winner."

I sincerely hope that saturn punds the living shit out of that fascist.