The first thing astrologers do when a jaw-dropping piece of news comes out is check the time, which was precisely what I did when Sky News informed me that the chief of the International Monetary Fund had been hauled out of his first-class seat on an Air-France plane bound for Paris, and later charged with sexual assault. The time was 16hrs 40, EST. The moon was rising in justice-seeking Libra with Saturn, the Chief Commissioner of the planets, in attendance.
More importantly, from a hubris point of view, this little zodiac cluster was bang on Monsieur Dominique Strauss-Kahn's natal Neptune. And if there's one planet we look to for a spectacular fall from grace, and under some very murky conditions, it is Neptune.
I don't know why we should be surprised. It's not the first time someone in a position of great power and influence has succumbed to a folly of such grandeur it beggars belief. I remember being just as amazed when it turned out Major Ronald Ferguson, the father of Sarah, The Duchess of York, had signed his own name on a cheque for personal services at a London massage parlour.
It seems that many celebrities believe they are somehow above the law. So great is the light emanating from their superior being, no flaw can be seen, no crime committed. And, of course, they have an army of sycophants to support their illusion. But, almost always, in the end they are tripped up by an almighty banana skin. Remember Leona Helmsley? She who famously informed her maid, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." This remark was no doubt uttered shortly before her arrest for tax evasion.
Is there an astrological configuration that might give rise to this phenomenon? Are some signs more likely than others to be consumed by their own ego-bubble? The answer is yes and no. Yes, people with many planets in Fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius) can have very fixed ideas about their omnipotence but, no, just because you have a sun in one of these signs does not make you an ego-maniac.
DSK was born with Fixed Leo rising so while he will have all the warmth and presidential dash of this sign he won't be immune to its lesser traits of pride and vanity. And Leo can be a bully (think Napoleon Bonaparte). Mr Strauss-Kahn is, in fact, a Taurus - a Fixed sign noted for its peace-loving qualities, its green thumb and its inability to say no to a chocolate éclair, or, indeed, anything that is too delicious to resist. He also has the moon and Mars in arrogant, pugnacious Aries, which, on the one hand, gives him courage and charisma, but also makes him a hot-head driven by his desires on occasion. He has leadership qualities in abundance but a shortfall in self-denial.
What Monsieur Strauss-Kahn could also be suffering from is the Right Man syndrome.
I came across this psychological type, identified by Alfred Van Voigt and developed by Colin Wilson, when I was researching one of my books. As the category suggests, the Right Man is always right. He can be a domestic tyrant, someone who insists on fidelity and obedience from others but places no such restrictions on himself. According to Wilson in his book Mysteries, the Right Man "...has a strong desire for truth but the story of his life is an unconsciously distorted version which shows him to have been a hundred percent right and everyone else to have been wrong. And, paradoxically enough, this may make the Right Man a good scientist or philosopher. It is only where he is concerned that his perception of the truth is distorted..."
We know from his attorneys that Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be pleading not guilty, which is strange when you consider the widely known details of the incident that took place in the Sofitel that fateful Saturday lunchtime. It is clear the 32-year-old chambermaid from Guinea was not a willing participant in her incarceration in a hotel suite, nor delighted at the attentions of a naked and tumescent 62-year-old. And she has the bruises and the DNA evidence to prove it. But, somehow, Mr Strauss-Kahn believes in his innocence. He knows he is right and she is wrong.
The French people believe their former finance minister (and now ex-chief of the IMF) is the victim of a dastardly plot. The French media is notorious for its indulgence towards the peccadilloes of the governing elite, and it is clear they have played down, nay ignored, many of DSK's indiscretions, so it must be something of a shock to the nation to discover that one of its heroes could be guilty of such a heinous act. What else can they do but cry, "Mon Dieu, complot!"
Mr. Strauss-Kahn's horoscope is under Neptune at the moment, by which I mean this planet of mystery, intrigue and deception is forging a major connection to Saturn in his natal chart while Saturn is currently angling his natal Neptune. This is something of a double whammy, and redolent with the theme of karma and hubris. And there is an astrological argument to be made for a conspiracy.
Clearly, there is a vested interest on the part of the French right wing to keep itself in power and scupper the chances of the extremely popular Socialist, Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn, becoming France's next president. But, I doubt, even with duplicitous Neptune in play, that the events in New York on May 14 were anything other than the result of a gross mis-judgement on the part of Mr Strauss-Kahn himself. He was doing what he had done countless times before - he was allowing his testosterone to do the talking, and damn the consequences. But this time there were consequences.
His indiscretions finally caught up with him. He is tasting the bitter fruit of hubris. He is toast.
