INAUGURATION 2001
PART 5
Albert Arnold Gore in 2000
by Zip Dobyns
In early February 2000, I started this series on the
contenders seeking to be the next president of the U.S. Since then,
McCain has dropped out and said that he will support the presumed Republican
candidate, George W. Bush. I had assumed that Bill Bradley would lose
the contest with Al Gore, so the latter would be the Democratic candidate.
By now, in early May, with the two major candidates determined, it is
time to look at Al’s chart. According to his birth certificate, Al
was born in Washington DC on March 31, 1948 at 12:53 PM EST.
The major angles in George and Al’s charts are conjunct
within about 3 degrees, and George’s local angles in Washington D.C.
are even closer to Al’s, with George’s P Saturn on Al’s Ascendant within
one degree. Individuals with the same house cusps can have rather intense
relationships, whether they are cooperative or competitive. In addition
to having his major angles in fire signs, Al has additional fire with
his Sun and Pallas in Aries in the natural house of Sagittarius, his
Pluto, Saturn, and Mars in Leo in the house of Aries, and his Jupiter
in its own sign of Sagittarius in the house of Leo. Most astrologers
are surprised when they see that much fire in his chart, since he has
typically appeared rather restrained and stiff. Among close friends,
he is reportedly very funny and spontaneous, but his public image is
of a controlled and cautious person. His chart is a good example of
the importance of the planets. Their basic nature is more important
than their zodiac signs or house positions, which qualify the drives
symbolized by the planets. Al’s rising Pluto-Saturn conjunction marks
a deliberate, careful nature, with a strong need to be self-controlled.
The rising Saturn also points to a major impact from
a father figure. Al’s father was a politician, but during many summers
while Al was growing up his father made him work on the family farm
in Tennessee. His father apparently drove him to do the work of an
adult, almost to the point of cruelty, though his father certainly loved
him. The close T-square to the Leo stellium from the lunar nodes in
the parental houses is an appropriate indication of the power issue
in Al’s formative years. The pattern could have signaled a struggle
with poverty, or even a truly abusive parent. Al was financially secure,
but never pampered. Ceres in his tenth house suggests that it represents
his mother, so the south lunar node in the fourth house points to a
lesson he was learning from his father. Chiron’s position in the fourth
house fits his father’s domination and excessive expectations.
With his Ceres in the tenth house and his Moon in Capricorn
in the Leo house, Al’s mother also seems to have been a powerful person,
and the Jupiter-Moon conjunction points to high standards, which may
have equaled his father’s, though perhaps tempered with love by the
Leo house position. With his own family, Al has expressed the idealism
of Chiron and Jupiter by trying to be a “perfect” father, obviously
placing a high value on his family. The Capricorn Moon in the fifth
house also shows his desire to be a responsible parent, but hints at
the challenge of combining the parental role with career ambitions.
The planetary emphasis in his transpersonal houses, nine through twelve,
points to the high career ambitions and a commitment to public service.
As has been mentioned in the previous sections of this series on the
coming election and inauguration, individuals seeking to gain power
usually have combinations of one-ten and/or five-ten in their charts.
Al has Mars on Saturn in his first house, and since Mars rules his tenth
house and Saturn is the natural ruler, the one-ten message is said repeatedly.
Having two rulers of the tenth house in Leo gives us the five-ten mixture
twice, while a factor in Capricorn in the Leo house says it again.
Factors in all three water signs and houses form a
close grand trine, showing Al’s empathy and compassion. Neptune’s sextile
to the first house trio in Leo is additional support for his sensitivity.
His rising Saturn, Capricorn Moon, and tenth house Taurus factors show
his practicality and work ethic. Vesta, our ultimate Virgo asteroid,
on his East point, an auxiliary Ascendant, repeats the information.
Air is Al’s weakest element, though he does have Neptune in Libra in
the Gemini house, and his Antivertex and Uranus in Gemini in the house
of Aquarius. I interpret letter eleven in our astrology alphabet as
potentials which will be developed further as we grow, so Al is learning
to be more expressive and spontaneous. Air shows intelligence, but
so do other basic drives/desires in our astrological alphabet. Al’s
Sagittarius and ninth house emphasis, plus his strong Vesta, show ample
mental ability. Also, since the Antivertex is like an Ascendant, picturing
tendencies present from birth, it suggests some natural Gemini mental
versatility and fluency. It is the position of the Antivertex and Uranus
in the eleventh house which tells us he is developing this ability even
more. The major gift of the air element is the ability to “see a broad
perspective and to take things lightly.” The other three elements tend
to be more intense, though Taurus would help if it were not held down
by the puritan instincts of the tenth house.
Turning to the asteroids, we have Albertina and Arnolda,
which are feminized versions of Al’s two personal names, Albert and
Arnold. As previously described, astronomers used to feminize the names
of asteroids with “ordinary” orbits when they were named for men. Very
recently, the asteroid named Albert was relocated after having been
“lost” for years. It had been spotted in 1911 and named before its
orbit was adequately formulated. The math to calculate its orbit is
now determined, and it will probably be published in the next set of
Minor Planet Circulars, which Mark uses to calculate ephemerides. I
will put it in Al’s chart as soon as it is available. Gore’s wife,
Tipper, was originally named Mary Elizabeth, and we have asteroids for
both of her names. We do not have an asteroid for her nickname, her
maiden name, or for Gore. Unfortunately, there is another famous woman
named Elizabeth who might play a role in this year’s election: Elizabeth
Dole. I plan to write another part of this series on her chart, and
why I think George W might pick her to be his running mate. For the
moment, we will use the asteroids Mary and Elizabeth for Tipper. We
also have asteroids named George and Georgia for Al’s opponent and Williams
for Bill Clinton.
Al’s N Albertina and his N George, like the two men’s
chart house cusps, are close, though not quite in the one-degree orb
I use for the multiplying new asteroids. N Albertina was in 24 Pisces,
and N George in 25 Pisces. They have continued to hold approximately
the same relationship, moving to 23 and 24 Aries by the time of the
coming election on November 7, 2000. Their current positions put P
Albertina into Al’s tenth house of the executive, but he could be past
the peak of his power since the asteroid is no longer exactly conjunct
the angle. The asteroid was going over his MC when Clinton might have
been impeached, putting Al into the Presidency. The preceding assumption
obviously depends on having a very precise birth time for him. Al’s
P George in 24 Aries is in a one-degree conjunction to the MC of George
W. The aspect could simply point to the power struggle between the
two men, but it might also hint at Bush holding an edge. Saturn and
the MC carry the same principle, so George W’s P Saturn on Al’s Ascendant
is a related message. The Saturn principle can point to an increase
in one’s executive power, or it can signal failure and a fall if we
have been unrealistic in our handling of the “rules of the game.” Both
P Albertina and P George are forming quincunxes to Al’s N Chiron, suggesting
potential changes in home and/or career. Al will change both whether
or not he wins. Bush will change both only if he wins.
Arnolda, the asteroid for Al’s middle name, was exactly
on his Ascendant at birth, one of those impressive “coincidences” which
I never get used to. P Arnolda in 11 Leo is trine his N Sun and sextile
his Neptune, but trioctile his P Jupiter. As will be noted repeatedly,
harmony aspects could point to achieving his goals while stress aspects
could mean problems after the goals are achieved. Or, vice versa, harmony
aspects might mean an individual is lucky to lose the contest and to
escape a very difficult experience, even though he is initially disappointed
by being denied his goals. Al’s N Georgia in 13 Sagittarius 55 is quincunx
his north lunar node, square Hestia (the Greek name for Vesta) in Virgo,
and trioctile Phaethon in 29 Aries. The focus on tension aspects in
earth and fire houses and signs fits a power-struggle relationship.
P Tyr, the Norse name for Mars, and P Fortuna are conjunct N Phaethon,
joining the trioctile to Georgia and Hestia, and holding the aspect
for several years. Phaethon and Icarus, among other factors, signify
the danger of overreach, especially when aspected by fire planets or
asteroids. Al’s P Ascendant in 15 Virgo has been conjunct Hestia since
mid-1999, adding to the intensity. The vestal virgins symbolize commitment,
dedication, and devotion to one’s chosen job.
The fire-earth theme keeps being repeated with P Mars
(fire) having moved into Virgo and the Taurus house from its original
position on Saturn (earth) in a fire sign and house. P Sun (fire) adds
to the theme with a square to P Mars and a sextile to P Vesta (earth),
while the latter is conjunct N Arnolda. Remember, we can take the basic
nature of the “identity” angles, Ascendant, East Point, and Antivertex,
as equivalent to Mars, hence fire: “actively being oneself.” The personal
name asteroids provide another key to an individual’s basic “identity
in action,” along with Tyr. P Vesta has moved into the fire sign of
Leo. Astrology has many ways to say the same thing, and we are always
looking for themes, for emphasis. P Fortuna’s presence in the aspect
network could point to good luck for Al’s drive, but, as indicated above,
luck could mean winning what we want, or with hindsight, we could be
better off if we lose.
It is important to remember that harmony aspects mean
an individual’s different desires are complementary, so they reinforce
each other. However, this does not guarantee positive events in the
life, since it can lead to excesses and consequent problems. On the
other hand, conflict aspects indicate tension between different desires,
but if we manage a compromise which permits some satisfaction of all
of the desires, serious problems can be avoided.
N Mary is rising in Al’s chart in 7 Leo trine
his N Pallas, our most political asteroid. I think that she has been
helpful to his career with her warm, outgoing personality, which is
strongly connected to fire in his chart. Perhaps Al has been projecting
some of his fire into his wife, with both of her names in fire signs
and houses and one conjunct a fire planet. P Mary in 21 Leo trines
Al’s N MC, but squares his P Chiron. There are always mixed aspects,
with some stress and some harmony, so trying to guess the details in
the life is an educated guess. Al’s N Elizabeth is also connected to
fire in a dramatic way, with its natal position on his N Jupiter and
its P position back in the same degree after turning retrograde. Do
the mostly harmonious aspects to his wife’s name asteroids mean that
she will help him win? Or do they just confirm the public impression
that they have a positive relationship in their marriage? Or might
she be relieved if he loses? Tipper is a sensitive person who has reportedly
suffered from periods of depression, and the role of First Lady is not
an easy one.
Al’s traditional factors have many conflict
aspects during this election year. As already mentioned, his P Sun
squares his P Mars and they form a T-square with N Juno. Juno is similar
to Pluto and in the natural house of Pluto, emphasizing a focus on joint
resources. If Al is defeated, the financial elite of the U.S. will
play a major role. The T-square in 1 to 2 degrees of the mutable signs
is also octile/trioctile N Vesta. His P Mercury on P Uranus points
to much media attention, but their squares to N Albertina suggest a
lot of it could be negative. The two planets are also quincunx his
fourth house N Chiron for his change of career and home, which will
happen whether or not he wins. P Venus squares N Pallas and will move
into squares to Neptune and the Sun. P Neptune has opposed the Sun
since birth, and the aspect will continue for years. The P lunar nodes
also have aspects which last for years, holding an octile/trioctile
to Jupiter, while P Saturn holds a long square to the mean lunar nodes.
Many other difficult aspects could be listed. Life is not easy for
Al Gore.
Among the challenging aspects, several involve
the asteroids connected to death, reminding us of the history of U.S.
presidents who were elected at the periods of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions
in earth signs. Except for the first such president who was elected
in 1820, each president elected in these twenty-year intervals has died
in office. Reagan was elected with the first conjunction in an air
sign. He was shot, but medical science saved his life. 2000 marks
the last earth conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, to be followed by
approximately 200 years in each of the other elements. Astrologers
will be looking intently at the chart of our next president, wondering
whether the jinx will hold.
Among Al’s aspects which warn of a need for
caution, his P Icarus (overreach and the danger of a crash) is retrograding
opposite his P Antivertex, with the latter also square P Chiron and
N Ceres. P Venus is quincunx N Hela in 9 Sagittarius. P Hela is retrograding
in 3 Sagittarius octile P Hel in 19 Capricorn. P Ceres and P MC are
quincunx N Hel in 12 Capricorn. Hel and Hela are two different asteroids
named for the same death goddess. Our word “hell” comes from her name.
P Pluto is also quincunx N Hel, forming a yod with P Ceres, and P Karma
conjuncts Hel to add to the picture. P Atropos, a Greek goddess of
death, is in 10 Capricorn square Al’s Sun and Neptune, with P Venus
moving to complete a cardinal grand cross. The T-square in the early
degrees of the mutable signs, which was mentioned above, is octile/trioctile
N Libitina, the Roman goddess of death. P Libitina in 5 Taurus is trioctile
P Washingtonia in 20 Virgo. The latter can signify our national capital.
P Mercury and P Uranus square N Washingtonia in 25 Virgo 2. I would
want the CIA to be on its toes if Al wins.
To repeat what has been said before, astrology
shows one’s state of mind, and many different events are possible with
the same psychological principles. Bill Clinton also had strong death
aspects during much of his time in office. Many of his associates died,
but he is still with us and I expect him to serve to the end of his
term of office. IF harmony aspects mark the winner of this presidential
contest, George W Bush is a shoo-in. IF harmony aspects protect one,
he may win and also beat the 20-year jinx. We will wait and see.
Zip Dobyns
Copyright © 2000 Los Angeles Community
Church of Religious Science, Inc.