The “Spirit” of the Times

By Alex Miller

On Background:  One man’s socialism is another man’s crony capitalism.  On 22 April 2026, news broke that the government had offered sinking Spirit Airlines a $500 million lifeline, in exchange for up to 90% control of the transportation company once it emerges from bankruptcy.  The Trump administration has dipped its toes into the murky waters of government/private sector collusion before, committing $10 billion in federal funds to such companies as Intel, Nvidia, Westinghouse Electric, MP Materials, US Steel, and a host of rare earth element firms, including USA Rare Earth, Vulcan Element, Korea Zinc, Lithium America and Trilogy Metals.  In return, the government reaps a share of the profits, varying from 5-15%.  The enmeshment of federal and private funds creates a fertile field for all types of fraud and corruption, such as awarding of contracts and insider trading.

The Lede:  A conjunction of Venus (28 Taurus), ruler of material assets, money, finance and banking, and Uranus (29 Taurus), arbiter of shocks, upsets, controversy and boundary-smashing, heralded the announcement of the pending deal with Spirit.  The Sun (2 Taurus), recently entered into Venus’ ruling Sign, casts a spotlight on the transactional nature of the bailout.

In Brief:  The move represents yet more fallout from the recent union of Saturn (8 Aries) and Neptune (2 Aries), separating now, but still with a few tricks up its sleeve.  The pairing suggests just the sort of erosion (Neptune) of boundaries (Saturn) between government and business (both Saturn) which the deal provides, with its inherent risk of fraud (Neptune).  Turbocharged into action this week by Mars (9 Aries) in the mix, the government puts the pedal to the metal, with Mercury (11 Aries) bringing news (Mercury) about the rescue (Neptune) deal pulling a transportation (Mercury) company (Saturn) out of bankruptcy (Saturn).

Deep Dive:  Right on cue, asteroid Spirit (23 Leo), reflecting Spirit Airlines, made its direct station (1) a week prior, on April 16^th, indicating a major turning point for the company had been reached, for good or ill.  The recent surge in jet fuel prices from the disruption in oil supply due to the war with Iran seemed poised to push the struggling company over the brink, until the Trump administration’s eleventh hour intervention.  Not surprisingly, Spirit conjoins asteroid America (17 Leo), mirroring the unholy alliance between the US and the beleaguered company.  Spirit also squares (90 degrees, challenging and stressful) the telltale Venus/Uranus conjunction, tying Spirit Airlines’ fortunes directly to fiscal (Venus) rule-breaking (Uranus).

Underscoring the potential for corruption inherent in this type of collusion, the Sun (2 Taurus) is conjoined exactly by asteroid Swindle (to cheat, trick or defraud), anchoring a T-Square (2) with squares to asteroid Washingtonia (5 Leo), the US federal government, and asteroid Whitehouse (1 Aquarius), the presidency, with Pluto (5 Aquarius), ruling corruption and criminality.  Further evidence of the extreme fraud potentially to come is offered by Jupiter (17 Cancer), which inflates, increases and exacerbates whatever it touches, conjoined asteroids Bilk (15 Cancer), synonym of “swindle,” and Donn (23 Cancer), indicating Donald Trump as the mover and shaker behind the “crony socialism” turn taken by the feds during his second administration.

Notes:  (1) Stations are periods when, from our perspective on Earth, a planet appears to slow its movement, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  This is an optical illusion created by the triangulation between the sun, Earth, and any third celestial body; astrologically, it represents a focusing of the energies associated with that point, and often coincides with major life events or a radical recalibration of how that point has functioned previously.

(2) A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third.  It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.

Sources:  reporting from CNN, NBC News; chart data from serennu.com

Title Image Credit:  drawn by Chat GPT