Astrology Explored

November 3, 2008

Think of astrological prediction as a chess game. In chess, each piece has a point value. Pawns are worth one point, Bishops and Knights, three points; Rooks are worth five, and the queen, nine points. If you lose a pawn, but win a Bishop, you are up two points.

In astrology, certain planets are weightier than others. Except for the Sun, any of the personal planets is no match for the outer planets. Saturn trumps Mercury; Pluto overcomes all the planets. So when you compare the planets of the two major candidates, what do you get? Who trumps whom?

One thing to measure is how well the candidate fits with the chart of the United States.
Sitting at the top of the chart of the United States is Neptune in Virgo. Neptune is not well placed in Virgo. No matter how hard one tries, the ethereal nature of the planet of illusion does not lend itself to the sense of perfection and craftsmanship that Virgo demands. At least some part of our national identity is an illusion. McCain has Venus sitting on the Neptune; Obama, Mars. Neither opponent tops the other in national identity. These aspects are a wash. No points here for either side. However, McCain has the planet of illusion, Neptune, conjunct his Venus. Neptune, as we have seen is a powerful in projecting popular image. Both Obama and George Dubya have Neptune square their Sun, and they are perceived as very “likeable” and even “charismatic” figures. With McCain’s Neptune sweetening his Venus, in terms of public image, McCain gets a point in terms of “presidential image.”

The United States Mercury in the sign of home loving and protective Cancer, has Obama’s personal Mercury sits in an out of sign conjunction with Natal Mercury. Whenever something is out of sign, it weakens its position. McCain, by contrast has powerful Pluto sitting within four degrees of the Natal Mercury. Another point for McCain.

Obama’s Sun sits on the North Node of the Natal Chart. McCain’s Mar’s sits on the North Node, but here Obama’s Sun is stronger than Mars. One point to Obama.

McCain’s midheaven sits on the U. S. Sun. The Midheaven is the career point, where we shine the brightest. McCain, despite his age, would be seen as the perfect representative of the United States. Obama has nothing here, so another point to McCain.

The tally so far is three points for McCain, one for Obama, but we are not finished yet.
Obama has two heavy hitters, Saturn and Jupiter sitting on the U. S. Pluto and his South Node on the U.S. Moon, giving him three additional points. But McCain has his ascendant sitting on the United States ascendant, so he chalks up another one.

Tally for the U. S. Chart and the presidential candidates have them even. Let’s then take a look at election night and see where that leads us. Well here, we have a similar situation where Obama’s Sun, Jupiter, Neptune and Ascendant makes favorable points for him while Saturn, Moon, Jupiter and North Node makes an equal number for McCain.

What tells the tale is Transiting Saturn, opposite Uranus of the Election night chart. It tells a story of social and monetary disappointments. It talks about the shouldering of impossible burdens built on the quicksand of rapidly shifting priorities. It talks about a house of cards that quickly folds. Some astrologers are talking about election night shenanigans, vote stealing and poll fixing.

Saturn opposing McCain’s Saturn may be a blessing or a curse. He may be called to shoulder additional responsibilities, or he may walk away, frustrated in a life’s ambition. One thing for sure is this election is still up for grabs and it may take more than election night for the dust to settle. It is an election that is too close to call.

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