STARFIRE

August 2008

August 2008 - Barak Obama: Sign of a New Mood for America?
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Barak Obama: Sign of a New Mood for America?

Will Barak Obama be our next president?

I don’t know. I didn’t look. But don’t leave yet.

I didn’t look at the outcome because I found his natal chart too fascinating to ignore while I chased down predictions. And it would be a chase. For one thing, Senator Obama’s birth data is published and accurate, but Senator McCain’s comes down to two conflicting guesses from his mother’s memory. Inaccurate data makes fools of the best astrologers.

There are techniques, of course. One method is called a geodetic chart, which assesses one’s strength in a specific location and is less dependent on specific timing than most valid astrological methods. Neither candidate is at his strongest and most resourceful in Washington, D.C. (I predicted George W. Bush’s election based on his being stronger in D.C. than Al Gore, and that proved to be correct when the election was decided by the Supreme Court.)

There are other ways to predict an election. In recent decades, one party or the other has usually announced its candidate (officially) while the Moon was void. And the other candidate won. But we have to wait until September to know about a void of course Moon at the Republican convention. By then, we may all be more interested in the events of September 8 and 9, when Jupiter and Pluto will go direct while Jupiter trines Saturn (powerful forward movement that could help the economy).

Senator Obama’s chart, like that of any powerful achiever, would be interesting even if he weren’t a presidential candidate.

Eight of the ten planets in his chart are on the right hand side of the chart, suggesting that eighty percent of his total focus and energy are involved in responding to the needs he meets in the world. Forty percent of that energy would go into direct responses to people (or groups of people) and forty into creativity and personal effort. All of that energy pours itself out into the two planets that form the handle of the bucket, Jupiter and Saturn, the business planets.

Jupiter and Saturn are tucked away in the 12th house of Senator Obama’s chart. The conjunction, with Jupiter moving slightly ahead of Saturn, shows a person with a well-grounded ability to expand and grow, building a stable base as he goes. The 12th house is the house of social institutions of all kinds, so we can probably attribute much of his early success as a community organizer (and his current political success) to this conjunction. Jupiter is mildly in conflict with his idealistic thinking (Neptune in the 9th house of the higher mind and deeper studies), which ties his ideals into his plans and actions.

I was curious about other presidential charts with Jupiter and Saturn conjunct. After all, we Americans expect our presidents to make the economy work. The only former president with this conjunction was Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was the first American president who was not of British descent, the first whose first language (Dutch) wasn’t English. Van Buren was a political strategist who helped shape modern political parties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Van_Buren Van Buren served only one term, largely because he was blamed (perhaps unfairly) for economic problems that were looming when he took office.

Like President Kennedy, Obama has Mars in the 8th house. Mars in the 8th can spend tax money like water–but it can also act quickly to cut spending or redirect it. President Kennedy’s Mars gave him the courage to fund the space program and give Americans a new image of ourselves. President Kennedy’s Mars in Taurus was more deeply rooted in values than Obama’s Mars in Virgo, but Obama’s Virgo Mars is more capable of cutting waste out of a budget.

Obama has four planets in Leo, and Leo is the royal sign. Our only president with four planets in Leo was President Clinton. So there was Senator Hillary Clinton, vying for public attention with two Leo’s showing off at every moment–one opposing her and one supporting her. It’s a wonder she got any air time at all! You can expect Obama to thrive on public contact, be wear well on the long campaign trail.

But we also need to look at his sub-signature. When astrologers add up all the planets by elements (fire, earth, air, water) and modalities (cardinal, fixed, mutable) we summarize the energy and call it the tone or signature of the chart. (In Obama’s chart, the tone is the same as the Sun, Leo.) Then we do the same thing, looking at the houses by purpose (life, substance, relationships, endings) and mode or placement (angular, succedent, cadent). Obama’s subsignature is compassionate Pisces, looking at the past and the future at the beginning and ending of cycles.

Pisces is ruled by Neptune, which I’ve already mentioned as a powerful significator for Obama’s idealistic vision. Neptune is the highest placed planet in his chart, which adds power and emphasis to the vision. Neptune is in its element (water) in Scorpio, which adds power and sustained energy to Obama’s vision. (Former President Carter has Pluto, planet of nuclear energy and irreversible change in his own 9th house. He was a nuclear engineer in the Navy before running for political office, and exalted Pluto in Cancer has contributed to his legacy through projects like Housing for Humanity.)

Even if Barak Obama were not running for President of the United States, an astrologer looking at his chart would expect a powerful response to people and a legacy on his own terms.

When candidates get elected and move to Washington, they may gain or lose a subsignature. The tone or signature remains the same. President Clinton lost executive power when he left Arkansas for Washington, D.C., but Senator Hillary Clinton became more powerful and executive in Washington than she was in the Midwest. Although the details change, Obama retains his Pisces subsignature in Washington. Among politicians, he has the rare quality of appearing to be the same person he was before he went to Washington–just more experienced.

Obama’s geodetic chart for Washington makes the strategist more visible, though, and makes him seem more private and hidden than he is. Neptune with its vision moves into the house of daily effort (and issues such as health care become even more important than in his natal chart.) His conflicted feelings and personal curiosity are hidden in the 12th house, and his Leo energy becomes a platform for change.

In his traditionally relocated chart, the strategies (Jupiter and Saturn) function through the 10th house. People who question his executive abilities can relax. We’ve never had a president with more executive talent than Obama.

One of the issues that fascinates me is Obama’s view of the public. In his chart, the public is capable of massive growth and change. In his vision, we–and perhaps the world–are ready to make lasting changes, to be more creative and change faster than we’ve ever done in times of peace. His faith in us will lead us–or let him down.

The most intriguing aspect in Obama’s chart may be the inconjunct between Saturn and Uranus. Saturn was the traditional ruler of Aquarius before Uranus was discovered. Many astrologers see them as co-rulers, although astrologers are more likely to talk about Uranus as the ruler of Aquarius. All our modern technology is related to Uranus and Aquarius (unless it’s nuclear and related to Pluto and Scorpio). So while he expects great things of people, he also knows he has to provide structure and step-by-step approaches to change.

What can a birth chart alone (without information from transits and progressions) tell us about a candidate? And what can’t it tell us?

For one thing, the birth chart alone can tell us whether we’re seeing a real person (who matches the chart) or a public relations image on the air.

We can’t look at a chart and say that every word a candidate utters will be an accurate and deeply considered expression of his philosophy. (We can’t even say of ourselves that we’ll be deeply committed to every word that slips out of our mouths at family dinners.) We can say that what he promises reflects the abilities his chart promises.

We can say he’ll weather public exposure, thrive on it, and have a successful legacy.

President Kennedy left a long legacy even though he didn’t complete his term in office.

President Carter served one term–and has created a greater legacy since leaving office than he created while he was in office.

Former Vice President Al Gore has emerged as a world leader who will perhaps leave a greater legacy as a citizen than he would have as a president.

As important as a Presidential election is for the public and the candidate, it’s important to remember it’s just one event. It sets the stage for other events.

When we look at Senator Obama’s chart, we are looking at a chart with a legacy. Other detailed work, which I deliberately didn’t do yet, would be necessary to determine the outcome of an election. But focusing narrowly on the outcome of an election takes our eyes away from the vision and leadership role of the man himself. Sometimes we Americans need to look at those qualities and decide whether or not we want to live up to the vision, not just decide who seems electable.

Mary O’Gara, Ph.D.