Sometimes a horoscope tells a fascinating story, and this is what we find in the chart of Robert Swan Mueller III, the man who was appointed as special counsel to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
An interpretation of natal potentials is compromised when the time of birth is unknown because the Moon’s degree and house placement and the distribution of the planets throughout the houses are virtually unknown. However, Marc Edmund Jones offers techniques in his Essentials of Astrological Analysis that offer an abundance of tools that aid in circumventing the lack of a correct time of birth.
One of these possibilities is the T-Cross as a Focal Determinator. However, when one of the three prongs of the configuration is the Moon, again the accuracy of interpretation may not be valid. This is the case in the horoscope of Robert Mueller. The Moon moves swiftly through the degrees of a sign within an entire day and may or may not be in orb of an opposition to Neptune in Mueller’s chart to create a T-Cross. Looking closely because of this factor, we can assume that the Moon’s sign and degree placement throughout the 24 hours of the day of Mueller’s birth shows the Moon’s transit stays within close proximity of its 12-and-a-half-degree allowable orb to create a possible opposition to Neptune. This ultimately brings Saturn into Point Focus since its position is perpendicular to the opposition of Moon to Neptune.
Astrologers consider that aside from the frustrations, delays, and disappointments for which Saturn is known, it is also the planet of integrity, responsibility, maturity, and conscientiousness. This suggests a host of positive characteristics that can imbue an individual with extraordinary and honorable stature. These constructive expressions of Saturn explain why Mueller is known for his spotless reputation as a Marine Corps officer during the Vietnam War who received a Bronze Star for heroism and a Purple Heart. He spent his civilian years in both private and public service engaged in a stellar career that included 12 years as director of the FBI.
THE REVEALING SABIAN SYMBOLS
Mueller’s chart is especially interesting because the Sabian Symbol degrees play a compelling role when telling his story.
There are three Sabian Symbol degrees in Mueller’s chart that refer to the first light of day or the Sun in general. When symbols contain similar imagery they are supportive of each other and point to an emphasis on the native’s psychological patterning. These three similar concepts in the chart are symbolic of the revelatory effects of light as it illuminates hitherto unforeseen factors otherwise obscured by darkness. They are those that shine light on the “shadow” as it is defined from a Jungian perspective. These symbols refer to an awareness that overcomes darkness or “stormy” situations. They confirm Mueller’s dedication to truth and lawfulness, and most of all, to his personal integrity which always shines through when faced with the challenges of humankind’s propensity for wrongdoing.
Neptune, 2 Libra 17 rounded to 3 degrees:
The dawn of a new day, everything changed This is a symbol of the illimitable potentialities to be found when it comes to any personal participation in everyday affairs, and of the thoroughness with which each individual remains the recurrent expression of his own self-consistencies. There is here the necessity for an ultimate self-dependence, and the consequent need to blaze a path of special recognition for each particular characteristic of selfhood. The keyword is INNOVATION. When positive, the degree is man’s insatiable appetite for experiment, and continuing self-discovery in every possible area of human experience, and when negative, inability to catch the challenge of living in even the most trivial matters.
Venus, 26 Leo 27 rounded to 27 degrees:
Daybreak This is a symbol of the cycles of change as an ultimate assurance to the human heart, with an emphasis on reason, as the means by which man knows the nature of his own continuance. No matter what may be the course of events in their over-all unpredictability, there is always dawn, or springtime, as the promise of resurgence, or a new potential in every manifestation of self and its world. Reality is ever a beginning in the sense of the immediacy it offers the individual. The keyword is GENESIS. When positive, the degree is an untiring capture and recapture of life throughout the constant and confusing shifts of being, and when negative, wishful thinking and satisfaction in a vague tomorrow.
Sun, 15 Leo 00 round to 16.
Sunshine, just after a storm This is a symbol of personal stability through man’s recuperative powers, emphasized in terms of his psychological or inner orientation. Here is nature’s inevitable return to enduring values, as this occurs after every major issue of life, and the consequent opportunity for self to regrasp itself and to enlist every element of its environment in some new effort or fresh approach to experience. Everyday stress and strain are found of high use, either as a clearance or a reconstruction in all human affairs. The keyword is RECOVERY. When positive, the degree is exceptional steadiness of perspective and fidelity to individual responsibility, and when negative, continual upset over petty issues.
The Sun in any chart points to the purpose or role a person plays in life. It is Mueller’s destiny to usher in the light, in answer to infractions that have held their sway over good. This he has done valiantly in his long career as a prosecutor and public servant.
One of the most delightful Sabian degrees suggesting a curious nuance in the story of Mueller’s natal horoscope is 7 degrees Cancer, Two fairies on a Moonlit night. Interestingly, this image contains a reference to the moon and compliments the symbols in his chart associated with light. This symbol plays a prominent role because it characterizes natal Saturn, the Point Focus of the T-Cross.
Two fairies on a moonlit night. This is a symbol of nature’s illimitable potentialities on the side of the release she offers man from his physical or psychological involvement, and of the necessity that he achieve some measure of lightness in self-expression as a balance for the strain of everyday existence. Here is exaltation of fancy, as a dynamic factor in all self-realization, and of the quiet moments of experience as a real opportunity for self-orientation. The magic of selfhood lies in its ability to rise above whatever may threaten its well-being. The keyword is ASCENDANCY. When positive, the degree is a transforming sensitivity or a healing imagination. And when negative, a senseless retreat to make-believe.
A study of symbol definitions allows astrologers to penetrate deep within a native’s psyche to reveal the theme of life in general when taking all of the symbol definitions together as a whole. The planet configurations have their job through the signs and houses to suggest the overall potentials. Cancer 7, accompanies a “handful” of otherworldly elfin degrees that take part in the Sabian Symbols’ collection of visionary imagery.
Planets, together with these special Sabian Symbol degrees, vibrate to a higher frequency and encourage the native to reach beyond the conventional expression of planetary energies. Robert Mueller’s chart is an example of the rich resources the symbols have to offer. The elfin degree confirms a highly deviant yet refined character which, normally with Saturn involved, relied on once-respected old-school principles.
The following images are the group of elfin symbols in the 360-degree Sabian series. They are rounded to the following degree.
Aries 16, Brownies dancing in the setting sun.
Scorpio 23, A bunny metamorphosed into a fairy.
Scorpio 28, King of the fairies approaching his domain.
Cancer 7, Two fairies on a moonlit night.
Capricorn 26, A water sprite.
Virgo 5, A man dreaming of fairies.
THE SOLAR ECLIPSE AND PROGRESSED SATURN STATION
The solar eclipse of July 2, 2019, at 10 degrees 37 Cancer, synchronized with the compelling presence of Mueller at congressional hearings where he confirmed the findings of his investigative report which was disseminated but not widely read by the American public. The eclipse fell 4 degrees 37 minutes from Mueller’s natal Saturn and brought into public view signs of his declining, physical vitality noticeable through his sometimes feeble responses to questions by House Representatives. The eclipse intensified his reserved demeanor by landing within 10 minutes of progressed Saturn.
The ephemeris graph for October 1944 shows Saturn station retrograde in Mueller’s secondary progressions on February 15, 2021. The station actually occurred 76 days after birth and corresponds with the native’s 76th year of life. Two important circumstances related to the Saturn station are Mueller’s resignation from the Justice Department on May 29, 2019, because his investigation on election interference by Russia was completed and his attendance at the hearings before the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on July 24, 2019, that also may prove to be his last personal appearance before the public.
Both events are well within the time period expected of a slow-moving progressed station. However, the station has not culminated as yet, and more details of his retirement and possible acceleration of physical limitations, indicative of the expression of Saturn, may be reported in upcoming years. In general, it could be said that the entire two-and-a-half-year period of the historic investigation fits perfectly into the theme of a stationary Saturn. The station going retrograde and inward, rather than direct and outward, points to the disdain for public comment and the general secrecy that surrounded the investigation as Mueller orchestrated it.
With his stoic appearance before Congress, Mueller was able to confirm the truth that the report did not exonerate the president, and with quiet yes-and-no answers, with occasional enlightening comments, Mueller set the story straight, and in that way, starkly contrasted the President and Attorney General’s mantra, that there was “no collusion, no obstruction.” He furthermore confirmed to Adam Schiff, the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, that the investigation was not a witch-hunt when responding to Schiff’s request for verification which would ultimately counter the President’s habitual false accusation in that regard.
Mueller is a man who has maintained over time a reputation of unequaled integrity and wholehearted dedication to the precepts of American democracy. There were headlines criticizing Mueller for deliberately sticking to the “four corners” of his report, and in answer to his own inquiry, he conceded to the written response from the Justice Department, compelling him to withhold information about ongoing investigations. But these limitations are to be expected when Saturn takes center stage through its natal position receiving a recent eclipse and its progressed position stationing to go retrograde.
Remaining within boundaries and withstanding grave and perhaps undeserved criticism all relate to the functioning of Saturn and are unavoidable. One cannot manipulate planetary forces, but advantages do exist when noting any planet’s correspondence to everyday affairs and adjusting to them with humility and a conciliatory attitude.
There was no drama or theatrics in Mueller’s manner at the hearings, and in contrast with Trump’s often bombastic and unrestrained hyperbole, Mueller seemed almost docile. But the man will go down in history as the person credited for documenting the unprecedented acts and intractable behavior of the Trump administration.
No doubt, Russia will continue to aggressively tamper with America’s central core of its democracy; the citizen’s right to vote. Point by point, Volume I of the “Mueller Report” openly lays bare how and what the Russians did in their manipulative interference in the 2016 presidential election and outlines in Volume II President Trump’s efforts to obstruct the Special Counsel’s investigation.
History will look back at the report as it shone a light on right as opposed to wrong and truth as opposed to falsehoods. Time will tell if Mueller will be recognized for his distinguished and honorable investigation into the facts of the 2016 presidential election and whether the effort will have assisted in supporting the original blueprint of America’s constitution and its guiding principles.
“This is what is at stake; our next election . . . our democracy . . . This is why your work matters Director Mueller, this is why our investigation matters. To bring these dangers to light.” – Adam Schiff