Bad Cop Rahm and Good Cop Joe, Scorpionic Soulmates and The Voices In Obama’s Brain

Bad cop. Good cop.

So the smoke is starting to clear and Obama’s transition team has assembled. While I will stay away from editorializing too much on the likes of Penny Prtizker, Eric Schmidt and Robert Rubin, it’s clear that Obama is assembling more of a board of directors than a team grounded in democracy and statesmanship. This is all in alignment with the coming conjunction of Pluto in Capricorn. Government is passe. It’s all about the corporatocracy baby. But the one appointment that really stands out is Obama’s pick for Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel.

Emmanuel is one of the first popular figures whose chart that I have looked at, that shares some similarities with mine (I’m just a little spooked about this detail). Emmanuel was born in Israel on 11/29/59 and like Tzipi Livni, who is in a cage match against Benjamin Netanyahu for the top seat in Knesset, his parents were also members of The Irgun Gang, a group that supplied the early muscle for carving out the return to what was once known as Palestine. Irgun were known for their bloody tactics when it came to dealing with The British and The Palestinians including the 1946 bombing of The King David Hotel. While Livni (Cancer) seems to have taken a dovish and more moderate approach to the Palestinian issue, Emmanuel (Sag) is the personification of a hawk. It was no coincidence that Emmanuel was named COS just prior to Obama’s appearance before AIPAC late last week. If we have learned anything about the political process in post-millenial America, its that AIPAC and JINSA are near the center of influence when it comes to foreign and even domestic policy. Rahm Emmanuel seems poised to be the link between Obama and AIPAC. Raised by Irgun parents, served in the Israeli Army, worked under the notoriously corrupt Daley political machine, showed up with truckloads of money for Bill Clinton’s campaign, served on his cabinet, left when it appeared as though Clinton would not be as hawkish as Emmanuel would have liked, earned a cool $19 mill on Wall Street using his inside connections in his DC sabbatical and then became the muscle behind funding candidates on the Democratic side that would support a war agenda. His brother is a ballerina and apparently Rahm says “fuck” a lot.

He is positioned to be the bad cop to Biden’s good cop (what does that mean anyway?) in Obama’s new administration. This much we know about Rahm Emmanuel, the man who will sit in the nerve center of The White House, the traffic controller, a voice in Obama’s head. But what about astrologically? How does Emmanuel stack up in relation to Obama and especially Biden, the trinity of good cop, bad cop and the new chief?

I don’t have Emmanuel’s full chart, but based on the ephemeris and his 11/29/59 birth date, he is the following:

SUN IN SAG SIX DEGREES
MOON IN SCORPIO
MERCURY IN SCORPIO 25 DEGREES (RETROGRADE)
VENUS IN LIBRA 20 DEGREES
MARS IN SCORPIO 26 DEGREES
JUPITER IN SAG 11 DEGREES
SATURN IN CAPRICORN 5 DEGREES
URANUS IN LEO 21 DEGREES (RETROGRADE)
NEPTUNE IN SCORPIO 7 DEGREES
PLUTO IN VIRGO 6 DEGREES

Most of Emmanuel’s chart is located in the eastern part of his chart, from Virgo through Capricorn, with a very heavy emphasis on Sag/Scorpio. Such an intense placement in that area is usually indicative of an individual that is moving from the personal to the transpersonal, it’s the transitionary sectors heavily influenced by institutions such as law, business, banking, religion, government, psychology and medicine (surgery and pharmaceuticals). In short Emmanuel’s profile suggests that he is learning about power, not in an individual sense, but how it relates to institutions and his place within them.

When it comes to style and methodology, secrecy and sleight of hand appear to be his stock in trade, with a stellium in Scorpio (Moon, Mercury, Mars and Neptune). The Moon is in it’s fall in Scorpio and while folks with this sign can make amazing lovers, they are also often driven by deep insecurities, especially jealousy. Mercury in Scorpio confers the ability to understand the motives of others in a flash and and not only understand them, but take advantage of any weakness that is revealed. In a mind that is dedicated to service and healing, it’s a powerful aspect that can help illuminate dark areas in the psyches of others and lead them out of their mental and emotional prisons. However, when it is used in the the service of self, it can manifest in the most Machiavellian sort of of machinations. When it’s retrograde, as it is in Emmanuel’s chart, I view it as a mind that perceives imminent threat at most times and seeks to gain continued advantage from that threat, real or imagined.

With all of his Scorpionic influence in his chart, it would not be out of the question for Emmanuel to actually magnetize and draw threats into his life in order to strategize and act against them. This is a mind capable of great subterfuge with only the slightest provocation. Add a very close conjunction of Mars into the mix and not only is the mind clever but also shows a propensity for expressing extreme anger and even violence along with a will of steel. Dubbed as a war mongering hawk by many and even by those in the socially progressive circles which have faithfully supported Obama, his appointment has been alarming to say the least. Rabbi Michael Lerner recently expressed not only doubt and skepticism but moral outrage in a recent essay. As a result, the appointment of Emmanuel has struck a deeply discordant and note early in the Obama presidency.

Blessed with Jupiter in Sag conjuncting his natal Sun, he’s a gambler that wins more than he loses. He profits in foreign investments and despite the fact that he has a decidedly dark configuration of Scorpionic influence, his Sag aspects imbue him with a certain joie de vivre, which can be disarming to people accustomed to his tempermental and fairly vindictive nature. His Venus in Libra makes him charming and dependent upon relationships in order to access his powers. He can be diplomatic when he needs to be, with the abundance of Scorpio in his chart, driving his need for power, Venus in Libra serves his interests while appearing to serve others.

If you look at the progression of Pluto through Scorpio and Sag, it’s touched on nearly all of his major planets and as a result, Emmanuel has been dealing with the concepts of power for well over two decades, and during the nineties when he was accruing that 18+ mill, it was sitting right on his Jupiter and Sun. Good timing eh?

But what does Pluto in Capricorn have in store for Emmanuel? Straight out of the gate, he’ll have Pluto in a wide trine with his natal Pluto–again, more lessons about power, but this time it’s far reaching and will impact the collective due to his placement in such a high office. But he’ll also have to deal with transiting Pluto conjuncting his natal Saturn near the end of 2010. If you want to get a glimpse at what that transit looks like, check the first hand account of its impact by my astrologer pal, Elsa P. It will no doubt recast Emmanuel’s world and show him the true meaning of real power. He’ll also be dealing with a conjunction of Saturn on his natal Venus in September of 2011, making relationships more distant, remote and unavailable. If Emmanuel wants cooperation, he’ll have to work harder than ever to gain trust during that time. But from now until 2010, it seems as though the world will be his oyster as he sits on the left-hand-side of the seat of power, across from the good cop.

And what of his relationship with Joe Biden? Well they both share that stellium in Scorpio and Emmanuel’s Mars sits on top of Biden’s Sun, 26/27 degrees. I think they might actually be soulmates, especially since their natal Mercury(s) are just a scant four degrees apart. In fact, I bet they’ll be able to finish each others sentences with great ideas for global conquest before long.

The most revelatory experience they might have however is when the other reflects just how similar they are, especially in a negative light–the dark, obsidian reflection might be just too much information at times for either cop, good or bad to handle. When that dynamic occurs, look for the projection of the shadow onto the other and with Scorpio, that could get downright nasty.

During the past eight years as The Bush regime took a wrecking ball to the economy and The Constitution, many people cried out for a more transparent government in the midst of what appeared to be one, long, nightmarish, clandestine operation. With two major players like Biden and Emmanuel fueled by such intense, Scorpionic energy, surrounding Obama, nothing will be as it seems and the only transparency they’ll allow is what they will deign to show us.