Universal Man: Barack Obama As President

If there were ever a miracle to turn around the world’s, and the nation’s, belief in America as the land of opportunity and equality, the election of Barack Obama to the presidency is it. In the space of a day, the wave of the hand of fate, the US is on the path to recover its image and its role of responsible leadership in the world.

If anyone can lift the country out of its troubles, it is President Obama. He is an able leader, and he has shown every sign of being able to hold to his Great-Man Potential when granted power. There is much more to say about this, but in a nutshell we can tie this to his Leo-Aquarius emphasis.

Sun in Leo naturally shines out a beacon of love and generosity. It is the sign that the Sun rules and is strongest in. The Sun is the leader, the hero, the heart. With his Sun in Leo, he is a natural uniter because it is a sign that is responsive to others.

Because of the time of day of his birth (7:24 PM), he has Aquarius rising, the opposite sign from Leo. This produces a tempering process in his nature, building strength and balance. It forces a balancing, so that Leo never rises too high into arrogance and selfishness. It is the constant reminder that humility is the path to accomplish his goals.

David Axelrod described Obama as a person who stays on a even keel, who never allows his mood to rise too high, who “puts one foot in front of the other”. (This is a paraphrase.) I was startled when I heard him say this, because this is nearly verbatim the description of the Great Man in the I Ching.

We have a First Quarter Moon at 11:03 PM in Washington DC today. In that chart, the degree of Obama’s Sun rises in the chart. If that’s not a sign of hope for America and our presidential rising star, I don’t know what is.

I have great optimism for our future today, an optimism that I know many people share.

It’s More than an Election: The US Chart, the Saturn-Uranus Opposition, & the Start of a New Era

As the average world citizen warily waits for Election Day, another event is taking place under the radar for most of them. That is the opposition of Saturn and Uranus, which occurs at 8:33 AM on November 4 in Washington DC. (See the chart at left.)

Saturn and Uranus represent a strong dynamic of change that pits tradition against revolution, or the status quo against an innovative force. This occurred twice in the 20th century: in 1919-20 (the badly handled end of WWI) and in 1966-67 (the Sixties Revolution, also involving transformative Pluto).

The Current Opposition
Saturn and Uranus make five oppositions in a series beginning November 4 and ending July 26, 2010. These oppositions will occur at degrees between 18:58 Virgo-Pisces and 0:25 Libra-Aries. These degrees contact the positions of the US Mars and Neptune, which are square each other (90̊ apart) in the US chart. In the chart I use for the US, cast for a time found in recently uncovered historical records, the oppositions fall across the 1st and 7th houses of the US chart.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes for the United States
This indicates a major change in the character and identity of the US in three ways that are intrinsic to the US Mars square Neptune. This square carries many meanings, but in the main it stands for the pursuit of the American Dream, and the exploitation of the disadvantaged. These two are in many ways intertwined. Exploitation is perpetrated against those who are already weak or those who are made weak. This includes the working class, recent immigrants, racial “minorities”, and women. It is easier to fulfill an “American Dream” if you take advantage of others, and this has been a pattern throughout US history, but it is not the only pattern of behavior or the only way this configuration in the US chart is used. In particular, the issue of race is tied to the Mars-Neptune square.

As the Saturn-Uranus opposition plays out, Saturn will move over Neptune, and both Saturn and Uranus will square Mars. This suggests a major shift in the consciousness surrounding the American Dream, the way that the disadvantaged are treated, and the issue of race.

We can already see the emergence of all three issues, and this is a good sign. In the coming election, it seems that the public is turning away from market fundamentalism and trickle-down economics (without understanding quite what it is they are rejecting) because they realize its oppressive outcome on all but a favored few at the top of the scale. We can also see the death of the old materialistic form of the American Dream in the failing economy. Finally, the issue of race is being brilliantly turned on its head by one Barack Obama.

Over the next two years, we can expect to see all three of these areas go through a dramatic shift, and all of them will be better for us in the long run. This is not to say that there won’t be pain, even unimaginable pain. What’s more, each nation will experience Saturn-Uranus in its own way and go through its own unique process of re-invention.

A New Day Dawns
When we tie this to the other challenges we face as a planetary citizenry, it is daunting; but it is not impossible. Over the next two years, we will see the people of the United States reveal a deeper side of their nature. There were many people who have always been there, but it will begin to be a visible part of the American identity. Americans will move away from materialism (not willingly) and racism and start reaching out to each other again. Maybe it’s only because we need each other more, but whatever brings it about, it’s not a bad thing.

This is first glimmer of a new era for the US, when the values of the old revolution become the truths of the new revolution.

Who’s Gonna Win? A Lazy Way to Predict the Outcome of the Presidential Election

By now we can see the widening poll numbers in the presidential race, and it seems like Obama will win. It would be easy to predict then that he will, whether or not I used planetary cycles and configurations to see what is going on from that inner perspective.

But, I predicted that he would win even while McCain was ahead in the polls in early September, and I found it possible to note that “something unfortunate” would happen to McCain between September 8 and 14. The latter date was the one where he said that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong.” This reiterated what his advisor Phil Gramm said about the economic downturn being in people’s heads. (There is a mental aspect to the financial markets, but no one is imagining it when their job is shipped overseas.)

So, how do you see who’s gonna win? Most people look at the candidates’ charts on Election Day. However, as was pointed out to me by Maria Kay Simms, both candidates are strong on Election Day. Their birth charts will be lit up like a Christmas tree. To find out which one is lit up more is a lot more work and carries more chance of error or bias than it needs to. Besides that, what chart do you use? Elections begin days, even weeks, before actual Election Day. If we use the beginning point of an event, what data do we use?

As she points out, why not use the inaugural chart? It has a predictable, set time. And the differences between the contacts to the candidate charts will be greater. One person will be on the dais taking the oath of office, while the other will be no more prominent than a member of the audience. This will be reflected in the number and quality of interconnections between the winner’s chart and the inaugural chart.

The Inaugural Perspective
The inaugural charts are found here.
Here are my findings. I used planetary picture formulae from Rules for Planetary Pictures by Witte-Lefeldt as the foundation for my interpretations. (I = inauguration; N = natal)

Obama’s “Hits”
• rejection, denial, destruction, infection [Mars(SA) conj. Neptune(N)]
• public eye on him, “the whole world’s watching” [Moon(I) conj. MC(N)]
• acclaim [Merc Rx/Sun/Jupiter(I) conj. Jupiter(N)]
• to feel a burden, to take over a duty [MC(I) conj. Saturn(N)] - same every inauguration
• increased workload and effort [Saturn(I) conj. Mars(N)]
• change in relationships, social circle, life with kids [Pluto(I) opp. Venus(N)]
• happy family life disrupted for unrelated and understandable reasons [Pluto(I) yod to Moon & Merc(N)]
• abrupt change [Uranus(I) opp. Mars(N)]
• karmic/destined role of leadership [S-Node(I) conj. Sun(N)]/triggered by eclipse 8/1
• many angular planets in return charts for the year; planets on 3 angles in year-long return

McCain’s “Hits”
• deep emotions, feelings of powerlessness [IC(I) conj. Pluto] - same every inauguration
• transformation of destiny [Pluto(I) conj. N-Node(N)]
• sudden separation [Uranus(I) conj. Saturn(N)], chronic illness [Saturn(I) conj. Neptune(N)]; hindered inclinations, love’s sorrow [Saturn(I) conj. Venus(N)]
• destined focus on effort/workload [S-Node(I) conj. Mars(N)] exact ~11/20
• no contact to his MC/IC
• no contact to his Sun
• Return charts:
• solar return (8/29): Moon in Leo on Asc opp. S-Node/Chiron/Neptune on Dsc [choice of wounded or debilitating running mate]
• 1st quarti-return (11/28, under which inauguration takes place): Pluto conj. IC [dramatic transformation in status, buried underground]

Biden’s “Hits”
• to feel a burden, to take over a duty [Saturn(I) conj. MC(N)]
• journeying, social gatherings at home [IC(I) conj. Jupiter(N)]
• destiny bringing a great (personal) transformation [S-Node(I) conj. Pluto(N)]
• public eye on him [Moon(I) conj. Sun-Venus(N)]
• activation of his career & acclaim [Mars(I) trine MC(N)]
• help from unusual women [Venus-Uranus(I) trine Merc trine Jupiter - grand trine]

Palin’s “Hits”
• focus on her “colorful” family, in the public eye [Merc-Sun-Jupiter(I) conj. Merc/Moon(N)] - same every inauguration
• wounded, overlooked, rejected, denial [Chiron-Neptune(I) conj. Sun-Mars-Saturn(N)]
• partnership in obscurity, rejected, denied [DSC(I) conj. Neptune(N)]

I did not examine the return charts for the VP candidates. As you can see, there are much better key phrases for Obama’s contacts at the inauguration, and this tells me that he will be the winner.

There is one more thing to mention. There is a First Quarter Moon on the evening after the election (11/5). The chart for this lunar event, cast for Washington DC, has (very nearly) the degree of Obama’s Sun rising in the chart. The vice-presidential chart results support this finding.

There are many obstacles to Obama being declared the winner, the greatest of which is the concerted effort by Republicans of many stripes to institutionalize ways to disenfranchise Democratic voters. In some swing states, enough may have been disenfranchised through various means to change the electoral result. For more on this and what to do about it, see Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Greg Palast’s article, “Block the Vote”, posted today (although it says October 30, 2008 on the article). I had more to say about this in my post, “Will Election Fraud Change the Vote Again?”, and I will keep you updated in future posts.

This is another reason to use the inauguration chart. If we can’t rely on the person actually winning the election to be inaugurated, we are more assured of a correct prediction when looking at this chart.

Attack and Anger Didn’t Work: The Final Presidential Debate

McCain was the attack dog, Obama the imperturbable, magnanimous, rational sage in last night’s debate. Post-debate polls say that Obama won, and even McCain supporters were disappointed in his performance, including Joe the Plumber. Several undecided voters in the various focus groups have decided to vote for Obama after this debate. I expect Obama to get a brief but considerable bump immediately post-debate, but then for the spread to narrow a little after the weekend.

Mercury Was Stronger than I Thought.
My debate analysis was pretty close to the mark, as far as what would happen during the debate is concerned. I was off in one respect. The moderator (Mercury) was, even though unconnected in the chart, very important. Schieffer asked relevant questions that brought out the underlying issues for each candidate. (This is testimony to the power of a stationary planet, even though disconnected from the rest of the chart or the candidates’ charts.) In fact, Schieffer was masterful in getting substantive discussion instead of talking points by asking the most authentic (there’s that lesson of Mercury retrograde in Libra) questions of the four debates. Schieffer was not dazzled by greatness or polite when the B.S. was flowing. He gave each candidate a chance to showcase key issues of their domestic policy, from education to the economy to free trade to women’s privacy rights (aka Roe v. Wade).

John McCain reliably played Saturn. He was called “too serious”, “scowling”, and “negative” — Saturn words. He also portrayed Mars pretty well, attacking Obama with every response. Obama responded by not responding — true to Neptune’s nature, whose energy he fulfilled very well. As I suggested, Obama was not symbolized so much by Jupiter but more by Neptune, called “cautious” and side-stepping contention, such as when he was asked about the qualifications of Sarah Palin to be president.

Obama’s numbers have gone up when the stock market goes down, but let’s hope that as the economy gradually stabilizes people remember what is in their best interests.

For Viewers It’s Economy, Economy, Economy: The Final Presidential Debate

As the economy continues to unwind, the final presidential debate is the candidates' last chance to sway a large audience. By looking at the planetary patterns, we can see what’s in store. Unlike the last two debates, the Moon is active. It is in mid-Taurus (9̊), making connections with Jupiter and Saturn. Each of these planets is in an Earth sign, and they form a grand trine. This is a stable and beneficial pattern. This suggests that the public (the Moon) is engaged and concerned about material things — the economy springs to mind, perhaps?

It’s the Economy, Stupid.
Viewers are desperate to hear about what the candidates’ will do about the economy. They want to know how much each candidate knows and will vote for the one who will reassure them the most convincingly. The chart screams out the importance of this issue, and it implies that the candidates will succeed in meeting their needs.

In this triangular configuration, the Moon represents the public, Saturn McCain (due to age, conservatism, and contacts to his chart), and Jupiter Obama (age and progressiveness). Because of the difficult contacts triggered in McCain’s chart, he has been inconsistent in describing a clear policy on the economy, and this will continue to be the case on Wednesday evening. He will make simple blustery pronouncements that sound like he has yet to convince himself.

Obama, on the other hand, will sound more self-assured and calm. However, his chart does not particularly connect with the Jupiter of the debate chart. Consequently, he may not be able to completely set aside people’s concerns with the resounding clarity that Jupiter can represent.

What Obama Will Do
To see what Obama will do, we have to consider the planetary icing to the cake. Connected to the Moon-Saturn-Jupiter grand trine is a very strong Mars in Scorpio. It is the capstone of a new pattern, called a kite. Mars occupies the “top” of the kite and so is the focal point. This is opposite the Moon, and it tells us that the public is angry and wants Something Done. Focal planet Mars is directly on Obama’s Neptune. This suggests that the pressure is most on him. People are looking for answers, and they’re pinning their hopes on him. For the public, it may be as if John McCain is a sideshow that is taking time away from Obama.

This configuration could also indicate a debate where there is more of an attack mentality. However, the main indicator of this, Moon opposing Mars, happens earlier in the day so its energy is dissipating. I think this symbolically indicates the people at McCain rallies who have been on the attack toward Obama; it suggests that this phenomenon might also be dissipating. Will McCain attack Obama directly? It is possible. His campaign may be preparing him to do so, but whether McCain will do it is another thing. McCain’s sense of decency does not square with this type of approach.

Obama has had to learn to deal with Neptune — he has worked long and hard on it over his lifetime. (See my post on his Sun-Neptune contact, “Obama, McCain, and the Great-Man Potential”.) Sun-Neptune is a sticky wicket. It can inspire or it can be vague or confusing. His book, Audacity of Hope, is about Sun-Neptune. Audacity = Sun; Hope = Neptune

It is clear to me that Obama has learned to deal very well with his Sun-Neptune, or he would not be where he is. He has learned to grind and grind the grist-mill of consciousness until he reaches the kernel of truth, but it is an art not a science and one he will be honing all his life. During the final debate, he may be the inspired and idealistic speaker that he can be. Or he could be still working on inner clarity and not shine out the way the audience wants him to. In a debate format, he doesn’t have the opportunity to build passion the way he does in a prepared speech. But if he has inner clarity, he will find a way to speak truthfully, confidently, and inspiringly. The audience will feel it. If he is not there yet, his statements will lack the punch that this clarity gives.

The state of the economy is an evolving situation. It is not possible to be truthful and confident that one has all the answers in this ever-changing scenario. So each candidate must tread the line between confident proclamations and more truthful vagueness if they are to convince the public.

Mercury and the Moderator
Mercury has been retrograde (traveling backward through the zodiac from our perspective) for the previous three debates. It returns to forward motion at 4:06 PM (Eastern Time) before the debate, but it is still barely moving. When a planet is stationary, it bathes us in its energy. We will be very aware of Mercurial processes: Are the candidates on message? What questions are being asked? Can we have some answers, please?

During the Mercury retrograde, a comment I heard frequently was that the questions were boring. Now that Mercury is moving forward, Bob Schieffer could be more direct as well with some direct questions and burning follow-ups. However, Mercury is in the placating sign of Libra and not well connected to the chart, so he may be weak on that score.

Who’s Going to Win the Debate?
There will be a lot of excitement about the debate, and the candidates are well aware of what the public wants to hear about. They will try to work in their economic message as much as possible. In some ways, the debate chart favors McCain. His connections to it suggest that he will finally give a good debate performance with clearer messages than before. However, he continues to have the same triggers that brought out his anger, avoidance of the questions, and lack of attunement to the problems we face. These contacts also suggest that McCain is going to try to throw game-changer comments, but they will not be successful.

Obama’s chart contacts are less problematic and suggest that he will be the winner, and the public will see it that way. He has Midheaven contacts both to his birth chart and in the debate chart. Midheaven connections put the person on top.

So, this debate is not going to be a game-changer, but it may convince many undecided voters to vote for Obama. He'll get a bump after the debate, and then his numbers will settle into a new, slightly higher margin over McCain. This could be a decisive debate for some people in swing states - enough to make the electoral map a little bluer.

Obama, McCain, and the Great-Man Potential

There is an idealism, enthusiasm, and trust felt by many people toward Obama that is matched only by the fear, hatred, and dread felt by others. Never mind the myriad of lies and propaganda spread to undermine his reputation — what’s real?

Obama's Sun Square Neptune and the Missing Father Archetype
Some people who know about astrology have been troubled by the fact that Neptune is in a challenging connection (a square) to Obama’s Sun. This can have many manifestations. The fact is, squares indicate that events have happened in a person’s life that undermined their ability to use their solar force — their confidence, wholeness, and ability to shine. It may prevent them from stepping forward into the realms of experience where they encounter challenge, conflict, and unknown experiences. It can engender fear. Tied in with this are the ways he and others deal with his racial background. In his environment, he has often been the “only one” like him. As he grew up this remained true, even after he was able to become more a part of the black community. Still he spoke differently, had a different background, was educated differently. This is one of his trademark characteristics — that he doesn’t fit stereotypes. This is both his strength and, in a man who is trying to get elected, a weakness.

The primary experience of the Sun square Neptune was just prior to his birth (about three days) and then over the first two years of his life, as Neptune wandered over the degree of his Sun five times. The Sun is a father archetype. The father, ideally, is a shining example of how to succeed in life. Well, Obama’s father wasn’t there. ‘Abandonment’ is a word that can be associated with Neptune. This gave him the chance over the years to idealize his father and to imagine less wonderful things about him. He had to construct his own masculine side without the benefit of a father’s influence. The chart indicates that his mother did her best to fill the gap by telling him about his father, doing some of the things that fathers do, and remarrying. However, she was not his father.

His maternal grandfather helped fill the gap. The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn suggest the role that this man played in Obama’s life. His Indonesian stepfather also would have fulfilled the Jupiter-Saturn archetype for him, which is particularly complex in his chart (and will be the subject of another post).

But this doesn’t take away the Neptune. No one can replace the early influence of the father. The Sun square Neptune is about a feeling of loss over what can never be and what we cannot change. Barack Obama has had to deal with this all his life. It has been a big deal to him, sliding to the background only to threaten to weaken him in times when he most needs confidence.

Obama's Sun-Neptune During the Campaign
So how has he dealt with it? I have watched him over the course of his campaign, and he deals with this part of his nature by stepping back from it and plunging ahead anyway. It tempers the ebullience of his Leo Sun, but not enough that he doesn’t fill the room when he enters it, as all Leos do. He seems to manage this energy fairly well.

He remains idealistic and imaginative, qualities honed in the early period of his life when he had to imagine what his father was like to fill the gap. As for negatives, Sun-Neptune can indicate a tendency to avoid what is unpleasant, including one’s own flaws. He is sensitive to abandonment because he experienced it early in life (as have many people). A square also indicates what others will (try to) do to you. He may have to deal with others trying to undermine him, whether because of his race or whatever other projections they want to place on him.

The Mars Triple Threat
He has been attacked during the campaign on several occasions when this part of his chart was contacted. In addition, he has an additional key planetary contact to this part of his chart (solar-arc directed Mars is currently on his Neptune) that lasts several months. This indicates “attacks from outside”. It is worth noting that McCain’s attack planet, Mars, is exactly on Obama’s Sun, feeding into this part of his birth chart. As the War God Mars himself transits over Obama’s Neptune in the coming days, it peaks in exactitude on October 16. This is in essence a “triple threat” — the three Mars contacts of solar arc, transit, and McCain. (Note that McCain’s Mars will receive the transit as well, and McCain feels the contact with Obama’s Sun-Neptune.)

Is it any wonder that the McCain campaign has gone negative? And of course it’s not to his face: Neptune is about whispers, not an out-in-the-open fight. This negativity reached a recent peak on Thursday as the Moon triggered this Mars complex, but yesterday McCain made palliative remarks to try to calm the angry mob he had collected at his rally. It is also worth noting that Obama's campaign have issued attack ads that lack verity, though fewer than McCain.

What happens next is a test of both Obama and McCain. It is possible that McCain will step back and decide that he has no taste for blatantly false character assassination. Obama could decide to cower inwardly and accept these slurs. He could also choose to stand up for himself, and to tell his campaign to be more honest in their content.

The Great-Man Potential in Our Candidates
It all hinges on the Great-Man potential in each of them. The Great-Man (or Superior Man) potential is an I Ching concept about the ability that each of us has to at any time listen to the angels of our better nature and act in response to them. (Here “man” is meant in the generic sense.) McCain’s Great-Man potential is what pulled him through his POW experience and has made him a good senator. It is the basis for his popularity.

When we fulfill our Great-Man potential, we do not respond to the goadings of the inferior voices inside our head (called by the I Ching the Inferior Man or “the inferiors”, telling us to protect ourselves or behave in a meaner fashion. How the Great-Man potential is accessed and expressed is complex and the subject of the entire I Ching philosophy; it is the goal of the I Ching to teach us how to do this in all areas of our life.

The question with any part of our astrological chart is — will we use this configuration in a superior or inferior way? If we can access our Great-Man potential, we will use it well and embody a more conscious and enlightened expression of its energy.

I have observed the Great-Man potential being accessed and expressed in both our presidential candidates, but in McCain I have seen it less frequently. With Obama, I have been constantly and pleasantly surprised to the Great-Man potential win out time after time. Now, this is not to say that there is not internal struggle for Obama; that there are not times when the inferiors win; that he does not have moments of weakness and feel like giving in to fear; that he will always express the Great Man. Rather, I think that he has learned about the two sides and has found ways to challenge himself in his private life to trigger the expression of the Great Man over and over again. I think his wife plays a major role in this. Her piercing clear-sightedness makes her the perfect devil’s advocate for when he indulges in weakness (Neptune) or grandiosity (Sun).

Where I might worry about how another person would deal with the triple threat of Mars that will peak over the next week for Obama, I am instead waiting for him to again say, “ENOUGH!” I am waiting for the moving gathering of force that he mustered when he used the Jeremiah Wright situation to make a major policy statement on race. He sublimates the negative over and over again. This is not to say that he has or always will — just that he has the best chance of anyone I know to be able to do so in such circumstances. He is human, but he has been tempered by the fires of life.

Post-Debate Planetary Pondering

It all hinged on the Moon. It was in late Capricorn during the debate, past any other planets in the heavens when measured by zodiacal degree. In energetic terms, the Moon is a trigger of action through our urges. When it is past the other planets (called void of course), we get down time, or as the I Ching says, “No action furthers.” This means that whatever actions we take during this time (until the Moon enters a new sign) will only work if they are the end of a matter. Activities started during the Moon’s void of course period tend not to develop.

The Town Hall Debate and the Void-of-Course Moon
The Moon was in its void period all during the debate. This says that activities begun during this time will come to nothing. We can extend that interpretation by noting that the Moon is associated with the public. This means that the public will not be changed by whatever happens during this time. The end result? Public opinion will not be changed by the debate; the debate will have no effect on the polls or electoral prospects of the candidates.

More precisely put, whatever trajectory the candidates are on, this debate will not change it. This is exactly what happened. Obama is up in the polls since yesterday, but this is unlikely to be due to the debates, since he is continuing on the rising trajectory he experienced beforehand. There was no bump from the debate itself, at least so far.

Beyond the Polls
This is quite separate from the notion of who won the debate, but the Moon can be used to ascertain who was favored by style and mood. Here the favor goes to Obama. Even though the Moon was past all the planets in their current positions, it was in direct contact with McCain’s Moon and Obama’s Saturn, both in late Capricorn. The Moon magnetizes energy to wherever it’s found in the heavens. Therefore, it drew energy to each of these planets in the candidates’ nature.

This was amply displayed in their demeanor and influenced the debate’s outcome. Whenever the Moon contacts our own Moon, it makes us more sensitive and moody. This was noted in the feisty attitude that came across in McCain’s speech and body language. He tossed the microphone, fidgeted, grimaced (that was not a smile, folks) in anger. When the Moon contacts our Saturn, we may feel more responsible, burdened, or work harder. If we use it well, we will rise to the challenge it presents. Barack Obama uses his Saturn well, as we’ve seen by his sense of responsibility, ability to bear up under hardship, and (nearly) unwavering focus on the good and the true.

This suggests that Obama’s demeanor will trump McCain’s and according to the pundits and analysts, as well as overwhelming public opinion, it did. In addition, we who observe the planets know a secret about Saturn and Moon when they are placed in Capricorn. That’s that Saturn is always going to trump Moon in this sign. This is because Saturn naturally does well here, while the Moon is very uncomfortable with this sign’s energies.

It is no surprise that both candidates were described as aloof or cold, because Capricorn is considered cold, and that’s where all the energy was during the debate.

For the next and final debate, the Moon is active, and Mercury is still and beaming its concentrated energy our way like a spotlight, and the whole world will be watching. Stay tuned to get a forecast of what will happen at the next debate.

What Could be More Unusual?

In my last post, I mentioned longer term planetary cycles at work in the economic crisis. One of these is the Saturn-Uranus opposition. This is a planetary contact that builds over months to a peak on the day when it becomes exact, then dissipates slowly over months. However, since both these planets retrograde (apparently turn backward), they interact five times through July 2010. From now until then, we’ll feel the swinging pendulum of tension and release, tension and release as it changes structures in the world around us.

This is a planetary event that occurs about every 42 years; the last time was in a period that should stand out in the memory of anyone who was over the age of 10 at that time — 1965-67. This signifies a period of rapid and often startling change in the structures of government and society. At this point in the cycle, structures that have not changed through gentler means have become so entrenched that they are stretched like a rubber band. At the opposition the rubber band breaks as society makes a sudden adjustment to a reality that has (often forcibly) revealed itself. In the mid-sixties, we saw such a time of rapid change in society (made more intense then by Pluto’s involvement). This is not a bad thing — it is a necessary thing.

This makes September-October “more than your average __________”, which can be filled with the words “Mercury retrograde”, “election”,“economic crisis”, or “social revolution”. The first culmination comes on Election Day, when I at first thought that we would not be likely to come up with a definitive winner of the US presidential election (or many other races). However, now I’m having second thoughts. (We astrologers learn too.) One of my colleagues, Claire-France Perez, is predicting a landslide election, which she defines as a 22 point spread between the two candidates. This occurred at the last Saturn-Uranus opposition in the election of the incumbent Lyndon Johnson in 1964. While I’m less sure that this will occur with an exact contact between Saturn and Uranus on Election Day, such a landslide will make it possible to give a result more quickly. The word ‘landslide’ was first used by a pundit last week to describe a possible outcome in this election.

The key words here are unusual, sudden, and significant. So that leads me to what I’m pondering. On the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC yesterday, she interviewed New York Times columnist and Princeton Professor of Economics Paul Krugman in her “Talk Me Down” segment. He was worried and suggested boldly that "as soon as the election is over we're going to have to have - we can't wait until January 20th - we may have to have in effect the incoming Obama team move into the Treasury and start coordinating the rescue, because this is going to be a very, very bad transition period if we don't do anything until we actually have a new administration." The implication was, I hasten to add, that this would not be a takeover but an effort to support the country through a hard time with new energy and perspectives.

As an astrologer and observer of planetary cycles, I can assess the likelihood of this. With the dominant energies of the time being “unusual”, “sudden”, and “significant”, I would not rule this out as a beneficial possibility. Unusual steps for unusual times.

Obama-McCain: Who Will Win the Town Hall Debate?

The next debate is tomorrow night, and millions are waiting with baited breath to see what will happen. Will Obama warm to the crowd? Will McCain continue to show disdain for his opponent? Will either make a game-changing gaffe? Behind in the polls, it’s clearly up to McCain to DO something; he’s going to have to do some fancy footwork to leap ahead. But will he be able to do it?

If he’s hopeful of doing so, the stars tell a different story. Right now we are in the middle of a Mercury retrograde period, when Mercury appears to travel backward through the zodiac. In fact, we could call these the “Mercury retrograde debates”, because all of them occur while Mercury is retrograde. What’s more, the first debate occurred as Mercury turned tail and the last debate happens as it returns to forward motion.

Such planetary periods establish a theme that can be detected in the political arena as well — one that colors events from August 28 through the morning of November 4. The key word for this theme is authenticity. Voters (and the candidates) are learning to recognize the difference between truth and appearances, and with the economy in catharsis it’s a steep learning curve.

The Candidates and Mercury Retrograde
It is possible to see how each candidate will fare during this Mercury period by looking at where it falls in their birth charts. In Obama’s chart, it makes no difficult contacts to his natal chart (trining his Aquarius Ascendant), so it should not be greatly troubling. What’s more, on the last two Mercury retrogrades (February and June), he did very well: He overtook Hillary Clinton in the primaries in February, and in June she conceded.

It’s a different story in McCain’s chart. Mercury is making difficult contacts to points that have to do with his identity (Ascendant) and reputation (Midheaven). While stretching the truth is common in political campaigns (and, sadly, so is outright lying), it is worth noting that McCain seems to be more concerned with saying what he wants voters to believe instead of what is true. While the Obama campaign is not innocent of prevarication, the number of falsehoods coming from McCain, Palin, and their surrogates is unusually high. This seems to be backfiring in the media and among the public. In my presentation "Who's Gonna Win," I was off by one (astrologically insignificant) day when I predicted that a critical day for McCain would be the 14th. The 15th is when he said that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong”. These were days when a difficult pattern in his birth chart was being contacted heavily, and he did not handle it well.

Debates #1 and #2
So the context for the debates is the search for authenticity. It is not surprising then that Sarah Palin’s performance was generally viewed with disfavor, since she focused on responses that were high on winks and rehearsed talking points, and low on credibility. The voters are looking desperately for real answers to their real-life problems.

Within the context of authenticity, each debate has its own planetary fingerprint, and its outcome can be discerned by examining it and its connections with the charts of the candidates. In Debate #1, the planets showed favor for both candidates. The Moon represents the public, so its position in early Virgo made contact with both candidates’ birth charts (McCain’s Sun and Obama’s Pluto). This suggested that the focus would initially be on differences in style, but that substantive differences in substance would emerge later. This was in fact the case; McCain was imperious, while Obama’s quiet authority on the facts eventually won the day.

In the vice-presidential debate, the Moon is again important. It was in late Scorpio and void of course, meaning that it was in a “no-man’s land” where it was done making contacts with any planets until it changed signs. However, this Moon made a very harmonious contact with Biden’s birth chart (Sun and Venus) and a difficult contact to Palin’s (Sun-Saturn-Mars). This told me that Biden would win handily, but the polls and public opinion would not be substantially affected. There was a slight up-tick for Obama-Biden after the event, but that could be due to the economy.

The Town Hall Debate
Now, as Debate #3 looms, what can we expect? This time the Moon is in Capricorn, and once again it is void of course। This tells us that the debate will have no affect on the campaign. However, it’s placement in Capricorn does contact the birth chart of each candidate (Obama’s Saturn and McCain’s Moon). In this case, Obama wins again because Saturn is stronger in Capricorn than is the Moon. Obama will present substance, structure, and reassurance. He will show leadership and confidence. McCain may seem defeated, emotional, and pessimistic. With Moon in Capricorn, the mood will be somber and serious. Watch for the media to use these words and their synonyms as they provide post-debate analysis.

The most important debate is the last one on October 15. It has the potential to have the most influence of all the debates. For more on the final debate and other thoughts on the campaign season, stay tuned.