A MAGA-nificent Sh*tshow

As you’ve likely already heard, the U.S. government officially shut down at 12:01 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. A shutdown happens when Congress, which holds the power of the purse per the Constitution, fails to pass a federal budget before the fiscal year ends on September 30.

In this case, the Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate, the White House, and have a conservative majority of justices on the Supreme Court. They have the ruling majority in all three branches of government. It is fully their responsibility to work with their Democratic colleagues in order to draft legislation that works for all Americans, but they have chosen not to do that.

Instead, they have created a MAGA-nificent shitshow that benefits the broligarchs at the expense of We, the People. That is Money Culture, and they are shoulders-deep in it. This is a Republican government shutdown, and it is intentional. Do not let them tell you otherwise.

Passing a budget may seem like an ordinary and even boring task, and for many years, it was. In fact, the mere thought of a shutdown was horrifying, but sadly, it has now become an increasingly frequent reality. How did it get that way?

To answer that question, we need to rewind to the very beginning of our government, then see what clues astrology has to offer about this Republican shutdown. Let’s take a closer look!

The Treasury Department writes the checks to pay America’s bills, but the Constitution gives Congress, and specifically the House of Representatives, control over the budget. Why? Because they most closely represent the “People” of “We, the People”! This responsibility is outlined in Article 1, Section, 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution, otherwise known as the Appropriations Clause and Accounts Clause:

“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”

In other words, Treasury can only write checks for the items that Congress has approved through their appropriations bills, and they must publicly account for how that money is being spent. These are legislative duties - they MUST happen.

The U.S. had a surplus budget until around 1850, but ran into a deficit for the next 50 years. This was due to several factors, including the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and multiple financial panics and depressions. This was also a period when the economy operated without a central bank thanks to Andrew Jackson (the 2nd worst U.S. president in history.)

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By World War I, the U.S. operated under a more balanced budget, but war debt prompted the ratification of the 16th Amendment, implementing a permanent federal income tax. Prior to this, income taxes had been issued temporarily for specific periods of time. However, the tax revenue complicated budget matters a bit. How do we account for and spend this new source of funding?

In 1921, the Budget and Accounting Act assigned the responsibility of preliminary budget setting to the President. The Executive branch created their wishlist of appropriations and sent it to Congress, which then decided what would be approved. This created the framework for the modern budget process and was intended to streamline the spending discussions between the Executive and Legislative branches. However, it also significantly expanded the size, scope, and powers of the Executive Branch, a problem with which we are still dealing with today.

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 also established two additional offices to help craft the budget and oversee how funds were used: the Bureau of the Budget (now Office of Management and Budget, or OMB) and the General Accounting Office (now Government Accounting Office, or GAO). OMB helps the Executive branch draft the preliminary budget, and GAO acts as an auditor reporting to Congress. You will often hear about these offices when new legislation is proposed.

The budget power granted to the Executive branch was not unlimited, though. There were still checks and balances. These were put to the test when Richard Nixon did not like some of the spending Congress had appropriated, so he repeatedly withheld funds for programs he opposed. This is called impoundment. It had existed in limited form dating back to 1801, but Nixon went HAM on it.

Needless to say, Congress was not pleased, and they countered with new legislation that took back some of those expanded Executive powers. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 created a process called rescission, where the president may request that Congress rescind previously appropriated spending. In order to take effect, the rescission must be approved by both chambers of Congress within 45 days of the request, but they can also just choose to ignore it entirely.

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act also added standing budget committees to both the House and the Senate, and created the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO. The CBO independently conducts its own budgetary research and shares that information with Congress and the public. Like with OMB and GAO, you usually hear about CBO regarding the true cost and return on investment of proposed legislation.

So, how exactly does the budget get passed? It’s the same as any other bill! First, the House debates on a draft bill until they vote on it. If the vote passes, the House-approved bill heads to the Senate, which does their own mark-ups, debates, and votes. The Senate sends their version back over to the House, and then it’s lather, rinse, repeat until both chambers agree on a finalized bill. That legislation then goes to the president to sign. Simple, right?

Not exactly. The budget is not one single bill. It’s actually 12 separate bills that each cover a specific portion of the government and the budgets for those agencies. Those 12 bills are:

• Agriculture - Dept. of Agriculture; Food and Drug Administration

• Commerce, Justice, and Science - Dept. of Commerce; Dept. of Justice; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation

• Defense - Dept. of Defense

• Energy and Water - Dept. of Energy; Corps of Engineers; Bureau of Reclamation

• Financial Services - Dept. of Treasury; District of Columbia; Executive Office of the President; Judicial Branch

• Homeland Security - Dept. of Homeland Security

• Interior and Environment - Dept. of the Interior; Forest Service; Indian Health Service; Environmental Protection Agency

• Labor, HHS, and Education - Dept. of Labor; Dept. of Health and Human Services; Dept. of Education; Social Security Administration

• Legislative Branch - Legislative Branch

• Military Construction and VA - Military Construction; Dept. of Veterans Affairs

• State and Foreign Operation - Dept. of State; Agency for International Development

• Transportation and HUD - Dept. of Transportation; Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

These annual bills usually take several months to sort out and approve before the current budget expires at the end of September, so what happens if only some or none are passed in that time? Congress can pass a Continuing Resolution, or CR. A CR extends the current budget for a short period of time until the unpassed appropriations bills are approved.

If neither all 12 appropriations bills, nor a CR, are passed by the time the current budget expires, then we have a government shutdown. A partial shutdown occurs if some, but not all, of the new spending has been approved, and a full shutdown occurs if none of the appropriations bills have been passed.

When that happens, federal employees deemed exempt are still required to report to work even though they are not currently being paid. Non-exempt employees are furloughed and will also not receive a paycheck during this time. The same goes for federal contractors, which include people like the food service workers and janitorial staff that support government buildings.

All federal workers should receive back pay once a funding bill is passed and the government reopens, but the prior shutdown under the Mar-a-Lago Menace was the longest in government history. It lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to February 9, 2019. While some employees were able to apply for unemployment insurance during that time, there were processing delays and UI only paid a percentage of the applicant’s salary, leaving them so financially fragile that meal assistance programs were set up. So much for the Art of the Deal…

These shutdowns, which have now occurred 23 times since 1974, have in part led to the U.S. credit rating being downgraded to AA+ from AAA by the three major reporting agencies, Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s. Clearly, a government shutdown benefits no one, so a CR is usually passed in time to avoid it, but that did not happen this time. That’s because there is another even larger problem…

… and that is the House of Representatives itself. Well, more specifically, it’s the Republicans in the House led by the Evil Keebler Elf himself, Speaker Mike Johnson.

The House did pass a CR that would keep the government open until November 21, but that bill would not restore the ​Affordable Care Act tax credits​ that were removed when the current spending package - the One Big Bunch of Bullshit Bill - was enacted in July. Those tax credits enable low- to middle-income people to afford healthcare coverage from the marketplace. The result will be approximately 4.2 million people losing access to health insurance in 2026, which will drastically drive up premium costs for remaining members on the plans. Healthcare providers could lose up to $32 billion. EVERYONE LOSES.

ACA open enrollment begins on November 1, meaning insurers are calculating rates and premiums for everybody right now. Some folks have already received renewal bills that are double what they currently pay. With inflation rising, tariffs mounting, and a seemingly fresh round of layoffs every week, people cannot afford to absorb this extra expense. This is why the Democrats are insistent on negotiating these tax credits back into any potential budget legislation.

The House-approved CR was ultimately rejected by the Senate, where both Democrats and Republicans voted against it. The Democrats put forth a counterproposal CR that funded the government for a shorter period of time and added back in the tax credits, but it also failed. With Republicans still refusing to negotiate in good faith, the impasse left us with the nuclear option - a shutdown.

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During the shutdown, core disaster relief programs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continue as they have a $10 billion Disaster Relief Fund. If that runs out, FEMA will require Congress to approve additional funding. Grant approvals are paused, and the National Flood Insurance Program ceases to issue new policies. Any mortgages requiring flood insurance will be stalled until the government reopens.

Medicaid and Medicare programs continue to issue payments, although they may be delayed due to staffing shortages. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) also issues payments to eligible states. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still monitors public health threats, food recalls, and drug shortages, but halts many inspections and other programs.

The biggest impact could be seen at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). The CDC furloughed more than half of its workers, halting work on disease prevention and public communications. They will continue to monitor disease outbreaks and maintain laboratories. NIH furloughed about three-quarters of employees, halting new studies, enrollment in experimental therapies, and applications for research trials.

The 400 sites governed by the National Park Service are a mix, with some open, some closed, and some open, but unstaffed (no visitor’s centers.) The State Department furloughed more than half of their domestic personnel. The Environmental Protection Agency continues criminal investigations, disaster assistance, and Superfund clean ups with just over 10% of their workforce remaining on the job.

Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Internal Revenue Service has supplemental funding through 2031, so it will not suspend any services during a shutdown. The Secret Service and air traffic controllers also continue their work as these agencies are all deemed vital to national security.

Most of the Department of Homeland Security continues to operate as normal, with a mere 14,000 of their 271,000 employees being furloughed. This includes fan-favorite agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CPB), Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).

Is all of this an unfortunate consequence of the hardline Republican refusal to negotiate with Democrats, or was it always the intended outcome? Good question. Let’s look at what happens now.

A shutdown impacts vital services that citizens rely on, with a myriad of programs screeching to a halt. The only functions remaining are those deemed essential to safety and national security. However, those halted services can still negatively impact your personal safety and security.

As many agencies fall under the Executive branch, Dear Leader has significant power in deciding what keeps operating and what does not. The federal workforce has already been gutted by DOGE and the administration’s appointees. Over 100,000 workers who accepted the delayed resignation “fork in the road” offers officially separated from government service on September 30, although some of them have already been offered reinstatement.

Now Russell Vought, head of the OMB and architect of Project 2025, has announced he will issue a RIF (reduction-in-force) for federal employees furloughed during the shutdown. That means he would fire them. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimates that nearly 300,000 federal positions will be eliminated by the end of 2025, or approximately one-eighth of the total workforce at the start of the year.

Since federal employees do not receive pay during this time, the immediate economic impacts of a shutdown are felt by their families and communities. They spread quickly as people stop dining at restaurants, going to salon or barber appointments, shopping for non-essential items, and otherwise spending disposable income. These impacts will become even greater if furloughed employees are terminated.

This may seem like a bluff, but it’s not. In fact, it was the plan all along and that plan is called Project 2025. Yeah, the thing we warned folks about. The thing that was dismissed as a hoax. The thing Tangerine Tyrant said he knew nothing about, but now openly embraces and says he will implement in full starting with “Democrat” agencies (whatever the hell that means.) Yeah… THAT Project 2025.

We fucking told you that he spins bullshit like cotton candy, but did folks listen? Nope! Now we’re all stuck in this mixed-up bucket of shit together. Grab a shovel because it’s time to start mucking. Let’s see what guidance the cosmos has for the work ahead.

The chart has a 12° Cancer ASC, the sign of homeland, family, and patriotism. This shutdown will have a huge impact on this nation and her people. How big, you ask? With Jupiter (22° Cancer) just a few degrees away in the 1st House of identity, this shutdown will be bigger than others. Bigger does not necessarily mean longer, but the impacts will be larger.

Not-So-Fun-Fact: The U.S. government is also in the midst of its Jupiter return and transiting Jupiter is making a 2° conjunction to Jupiter’s natal placement in the 8th House of death rates, taxes, and shared resources. This double-Jupiter expansion energy is going to blow up how we view these topics, but it also explains the extreme fanaticism we’re experiencing.

The U.S. government is also in the midst of a Pluto return (Aquarius), ending a Saturn return (Pisces), and starting a Neptune opposition (Aries-Libra). Meanwhile, the U.S. as a country is experiencing a Chiron return (Aries), a Jupiter return (yup - this one is in Cancer, too!), a Uranus return (Gemini), and just completing a Neptune opposition (Virgo-Pisces). Clearly, there is no shortage of cosmic activity in these charts, which explains *gestures broadly* all of this nonsense.

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We’ll come back to Jupiter in a moment, but let’s take a moment to discuss our chart ruler. Cancer is ruled by the Moon - the luminary of We, the People. The Moon is in Capricorn, the sign of government, which is fabulous. Citizens are finally paying attention to what is going on in D.C.! Unfortunately, they are a day late and a dollar short on that.

The Moon is in the 7th House, which is often associated with foreign affairs and wars, but it also rules victims of an event. The true victims of this shutdown will be We, the People. With Pluto just a few degrees away in Aquarius, this shutdown could be deeply transformational for the collective. Some folks have to learn the hard way or no way at all, and this could be that time.

No government, country, culture, or system is perfect. They are all made of humans and humans are messy, but there is beauty in those flaws. However, We have forgotten how to be We, the People. We’ve handed over privacy to power in the name of protection. We have disengaged from voting or if we do, we only look for the letter next to a name.

We complain about Washington and broadly paint politicians as immoral useless grifters who do nothing but collect lobbyist’s checks, not giving a damn about constituents. We gripe about paying taxes without realizing those tax dollars fund programs we rely upon every day like Head Start, school lunches, and social safety nets. We bitch about the headlines without even stopping to read the story.

That’s not how democracy survives and thrives. Democracy does not die in darkness; it dies in the grey muted shades of apathy and cynicism. That doesn’t mean people aren’t hurting. They are, but they are also ignorant to their own participation in, and perpetuation of, that pain. We ALL have work to do, and it starts with getting our asses re-engaged in our still very much alive democracy. Yes, it’s hard work, but the work is easier if we’re all in it together.

If you want to see what happens when we don’t do the work, just look at the Sun and Mercury (both in Libra) in the 4th House of home and family. Right now, the Current Occupant of the White House (Sun) is controlling the communications (Mercury) about this shutdown, and it’s disturbing AF. The entire nation is suffering from secondhand embarrassment.

However, that discomfort is what we need to face in order to move ahead. Mercury is quincunx the Pisces MC, showing how this event appears to others. It is in a loose conjunction to the North Node, also in Pisces. A quincunx is a 150° angle of uncomfortable irritation and with it, the world sees us dissolving in real time.

Coming back to Jupiter, notice that it is squaring Chiron (25° Aries) in the 10th House of the Executive branch. This house also has a lot to say about national reputation and how we are seen by the rest of the world. Jupiter is also in opposition to our Moon (21° Capricorn - 7H) and squaring Mercury (21° Libra - 4H). Together they form a Cardinal Grand Cross.

A grand cross is two oppositions that intercept one another at right angles, creating a series of squares. Squares (90°) and oppositions (180°) are all challenging aspects and since these placements are in cardinal signs, the grand cross takes on that quality.

Cardinal signs are about initiating things, but they lack the staying power to actually get shit done. That could work in our favor if the people (Moon) pose a big enough opposition to the shutdown. One challenge will be to craft effective messaging (Mercury) to Americans about exactly who is causing the pain (Chiron) they are feeling.

Mr. Twice-Impeached-34-Times-Convicted has flat out said he and his ilk will make this as painful as possible for folks even though they are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Some furloughed federal workers have even found their out-of-office message changed without their knowledge or permission to include partisan language. That likely violates the Hatch Act prohibiting political positions by federal employees, and since there is no statute of limitations, this could come back to harm those employees in the future.

Finally, we have the same Grand Air Trine, mini grand trine, and kite that we discussed in depth during last week’s post, For What It’s Worth. Go ahead and read that piece for the deep dive, but we’ll do a quick recap.

A grand trine is three points that are 120° from one another, creating an equilateral triangle. In this chart, that’s the Sun (08° Libra - 4H), Uranus (01° Gemini - 11H), and Pluto (01° Aquarius - 7H). They are all Air signs, highlighting thoughts, creativity, and communications. The Sun is in a looser aspect here than we usually like, but we’ll get to why that’s important in a moment.

Butting up against that grand trine is a mini grand trine. They share Pluto and Uranus at the base, and both are sextile the Neptune (Aries) and Saturn (Pisces) conjunction in the 10th House. Trines and sextiles are harmonious aspects that let energy flow easily. Usually, that is a positive thing, but not always.

When we put these two aspects together, they form a “kite”, which like its name, can allow us to soar high. BUT. As we discussed last week, the 4 planets that comprise the mini grand trine are slow moving outer planets, and they are all in retrograde. With Agent Orange (Sun) at the apex, this feels less like a kite and more like an anchor weighing him down. The Sun is moving farther away from its place in this pattern, like he’s trying to break free and swim away.

From what is he escaping? Saturn is restrictive and Neptune when poorly expressed brings illusions, delusions, addictions, illness, and cult mentality. These two planets conjunct feel like he is being constricted by health issues, pushing him deeper into his cult leader behaviour. They are in the 10th House of the Executive branch, so this behaviour is of full display for the world to see.

Pluto is the planet of deep transformation, but it also reminds us that everything comes to an end eventually. EVERYTHING. In the 7th House of committed relationships, he may be finding out the people he thought were his cronies are actually there to further their own agendas. With Pluto retrograde, those masks are now falling away.

Most specifically, they are the masks worn by the broligarch technocracy, who we see sitting in the 11th House of the Legislative branch with Uranus in Gemini. Who is really pulling the Congressional puppet strings? Is it the Commander-in-Tweet, or is it those waiting in the West Wing who only used him as a Trojan Horse to enter the Oval Office and have now harnessed the power of that position?

Neptune retrograde means reality may be catching up to Dear Leader in more ways than one and he is trying to break free from that undertow. The WWE-style funeral of Charlie Kirk was seen by many as a transition from MAGA Trumpism to Gilead Christian Nationalism, with the red hat of hate being passed to the movement’s next iteration. The writing (and ketchup) is on the wall that his days as the party’s center of attention are numbered, something that his Leo ASC cannot abide.

How long will this shutdown last? The simple answer is: Until Republican members of Congress find their current position untenable and decide to work with Democrats. That motivation will not come from the Evil Keebler Elf, who locked the doors to the House chamber, sending members home on vacation as a shutdown loomed. Nor will it come from any member of the Executive branch, who all see this as their free pass to fascism. This is exactly what they wanted and they are convinced it will work in their favor.

We, the People, however, have other plans. Look for things to start taking shape somewhere around October 13, when Pluto in Aquarius stations direct, giving power to the collective. We also have a Last Quarter Moon that day at 20° Cancer - conjunct that Jupiter in the 1st House and activating the entire Cardinal grand cross. Something big is starting! The next No Kings protest is scheduled for the following weekend. Could Republican Congresspeople start to see the People as more important than their puppeteers?

Either way, this is not an easy fix. The government reopening also does not mean the war is won. This is one battle of many. We may be weary, but that is when we must find something worth fighting for.