D.C.’s Twin Rivers of Filth
It is darkly poetic that Washington, D.C.—a city long associated with political corruption—now confronts millions of gallons of actual sewage contaminating the Potomac River. The capital’s deteriorating infrastructure can no longer contain what flows beneath, perfectly mirroring the breakdown of the city’s institutions: neither are capable of holding back decay any longer.
Adding a cosmic punctuation to this reality, an annular solar eclipse—a “ring of fire”—occurred at 7:01 AM EST this February 17, 2026. The Moon moved between Earth and the Sun, obscuring the center and leaving a glowing ring around its edge.
For those familiar with astrology’s symbolic language, this eclipse precisely aligned with a deeply sensitive point in the nation’s horoscope.
The Sibley chart, the standard natal chart for the United States cast for July 4, 1776, 5:10 PM in Philadelphia, places America’s natal Moon at 27 degrees Aquarius in the third house governing communication, media, and public expression. This morning’s eclipse struck at 28 degrees and 50 minutes Aquarius—within a single degree of the nation’s Moon.
In mundane astrology, the Moon reflects the general populace, collective feelings, and public mood. An eclipse conjunct this point does not merely hint—it shouts loudly, signaling an unavoidable shift in what citizens perceive, feel, and understand. Hidden realities come to light, even as the Sun is momentarily darkened.
The timing seems uncanny. Just as untreated waste seeps into a river flowing past monuments dedicated to democratic values, so too does a torrent of revelations break into the public sphere, exposing a political elite accustomed to operating above the laws they impose.
Take the Epstein files as an example. For years, influential figures worked tirelessly to keep these records secret. When they surfaced, the implicated crossed political lines—financiers, politicians, and public figures from both sides. The persistent avoidance of full disclosure indicates a deeply entrenched, protected rot at the heart of the system. The filth flows both ways.
The immigration issue further illustrates this. The Biden administration’s determined efforts to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation—often contradicting federal law and court rulings—reflect not just a policy stance but a deliberate choice to prioritize political gain over legal integrity, corroding public confidence as surely as untreated sewage taints a watershed.
Congressional insider trading remains one of Washington’s most brazen, unspoken scandals. Both parties’ members have been caught making suspicious stock trades timed with insider committee knowledge and legislative activity, perpetuating a system of permitted corruption that the ineffectual STOCK Act of 2012 failed to curb.
Even the ruling families are not immune. The Biden family’s complex business dealings and Hunter Biden’s foreign connections reveal influence-peddling that would wreck careers outside politics. Meanwhile, the Trump family has transformed political influence into commercial ventures with audacity reminiscent of Gilded Age tycoons—from foreign licensing agreements to cryptocurrency enterprises founded on presidential sway.
Astrologers tracking the Sibley chart note that eclipses near this degree of Aquarius have marked major shifts in American public awareness before. A comparable solar eclipse occurred on February 15, 2018 (during Trump’s presidency), amidst the upheaval of the Mueller investigation, national discord, and the Parkland shooting that galvanized a mass movement.
Looking back further shows February 16, 1999, amid Clinton’s impeachment crisis, and February 16, 1980, when the Iran hostage crisis undermined Carter’s presidency and national confidence. Each time this eclipse cycle touches America’s natal Moon, collective sentiment fractures—sometimes violently, always irreversibly.
This morning’s eclipse coincides with a rarer event: Saturn conjunct Neptune at zero degrees Aries on February 20, an alignment unseen in this sign since America’s founding. Saturn-Neptune breaks down old illusions and strips away denials. Paired with the eclipse on the nation’s Moon, the astrological message is clear: the American people are being forced to confront the true condition of the nation’s infrastructure—both physical and political—whether they are willing or not.
What underlies these scandals is not partisan division but a mutual disdain for accountability. While the Potomac’s pollution can be remedied through engineering and investment, the political contamination is far more difficult to fix, since those charged with reform benefit from the dysfunction.
The Potomac will be restored. The eclipse will pass. Yet the “ring of fire” leaves an indelible impression—an imprint on the American public’s collective consciousness. Whether the republic can honestly face and respond to what this reveals remains the profound question placed before us today by a cosmos indifferent to comfort.
The stench from both rivers intensifies with each passing day.
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