Astrology and the Law: Landmark Decision Mirrors the Stars
June 30, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled one Hispanic and 19 white firefighters were unfairly denied promotion when the city [New Haven, CT] scrapped two civil service exams in 2004 because few minorities would have made rank.
The City of New Haven threw out the exams of 2004 fearing lawsuits because none of the black participants scored well enough to to be promoted to the vacancies at the time. City attorneys were concerned that because no blacks could be promoted the city may have been held liable for possible civil rights violations. Whether or not the test itself was flawed is an issue that has not been resolved.
In Monday’s ruling Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions.” He was joined in the majority by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters “understandably attract this court’s sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them. . .”
The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide, potentially limiting the circumstances can be held liable for decisions when there is no evidence of intentional discrimination against minorities.
Justice Anthony’s statement mirrors so precisely the positions of the stars that one wonders if the decision would have gone another way under another set of stellar influences. Let’s look at the sentence and parse it astrologically.
Fear of litigation
employer’s reliance
detriment of individuals
passed the examinations
qualified for promotions
On this day:
Moon is in Libra, the zodiac sign representing the law and social justice and harmony.
Sun in Cancer opposes the planet of transformation, Pluto. The issue here is security verses control.
Saturn is in Virgo in harmonious energetic connection to Mars and Venus in Taurus. This combination of Mars and Venus seems to represent here the “working man”, especially of those in martial occupations such as a firefighter and his concerns about the security of his family, which would include the gaining of promotions to secure the family income. Saturn in Virgo is representative of tests themselves and of decisions after careful analysis. Saturn also challenges Mercury in Gemini which indicates conflicts over workplace communications and methods.
Jupiter and Neptune in the sign of the individual, Aquarius, is in challenge aspect to Venus/Mars. Jupiter represents legal matters, and in conjunction with Neptune, indicates the overlay of many issues which muddies the waters. The Supreme court had to cut through this murkiness to come to a clear decision, no easy matter on a case that contained multiple powder keg issues.
Pluto also challenges Uranus in Pisces, which squares Mercury in Gemini. Uranus in Pisces represents the desire to honor individual efforts while reinforcing the common cause of the collective. Pluto is demanding a shift of priorities here. Pluto in Capricorn represents the employer who wants to control their employees.
So lets take a look at Justice Anthony’s statement again:
Fear of litigation–Saturn in challenge aspect to Mercury
employer’s reliance–Pluto in Capricorn opposing the Sun
detriment of individuals–Jupiter/Neptune challenging Venus/Mars
passed the examinations–Saturn trine Venus/Mars
qualified for promotions–Venus/Mars trine Saturn
The Supreme Court has ruled. How this shakes down in the long run is another matter. But this day, to this astrologer, it looks like the stars literally had their say.
Photo printed under a Creative Commons license from Flickr
If you have a single question you would like this astrologer to answer on these pages, please send your birth day, birth time, birth place to starrynightastro@aol.com. Sorry, time limitations prevent me from writing full chart delineations.
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July 14th, 2009 at 7:06 am
[...] notable thing about the whole process is not her qualifications, her political connections or the whiff of racial bias in her rulings, but the obvious posturing done by the political [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 8:54 am
[...] notable thing about the whole process is not her qualifications, her political connections or the whiff of racial bias in her rulings, but the obvious posturing done by the political [...]