The New Political Elite?
Zip Dobyns
The question mark in the title of this article could refer to questions about the identity of the “real” power people in the current U.S., about the duration of their “reign,” and about their times of birth since we lack that for two of the most prominent men; Phil Gramm, and Rush Limbaugh. Lois Rodden just got the birth time of Newton Gingrich from Daniel Giamario who got it from Newt’s family. As our readers know, we lose a lot of our data when we do not have the time of birth. The common practice in such cases is to calculate a chart for sunrise or noon, but I prefer to speculate on a possible birth time using whatever events in the life are available. We do have the birth certificate time for Robert Dole and for Pete Wilson, who is exploring a run for the presidency in 1996. But Wilson remains a problem since he was born in Illinois when his city had daylight saving time and Illinois still had the law that standard time was to be put on birth certificates. Since not all hospitals complied with the law, we are left with an uncertainty of one hour in Wilson’s chart.
We will start with Newt, who was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives when the Republicans became the majority party in the November 1994 elections, and who seems to be currently wielding more power than the President. Newt’s data is: June17, 1943 in Harrisburg, PA at 3 A.M. Like Bill Clinton’s horoscope, Newt’s chart is loaded with air and fire. His Sun and three planets are in Gemini, including both of the major air planets, Mercury and Uranus, which are conjunct each other and thus strengthen the element. The placement of the air planets in the first house makes them part of the personal identity; our instinctive self-expression. The south lunar node is in Aquarius. In fire, Newt has the East Point and the Antivertex, two auxiliary Ascendants, plus Mars and Pallas in Aries, Chiron, the north lunar node, and two planets in Leo, and the Moon in Sagittarius. The fire is really intensified by having Mars in its own sign as well as the two extra angles which, like Mars, symbolize personal identity in action. If Chiron is like Sagittarius as I think, its position in a fire sign repeats the emphasis on that element.
Newt’s Ascendant, Neptune, and three asteroids are in earth signs, including Ceres and Vesta which seem partly or wholly Virgo. The placement of earth in the first house and the grand trine in earth signs also strengthens the element. Water is obviously the weak element in terms of signs since Jupiter is alone in Cancer. The fire shows the confidence to initiate action. The earth shows the follow-through to get results in the material world. The air shows the verbal facility, the ability to learn and communicate. Weakness in water can indicate a lack of real empathy and compassion. Newt does have most of his fire sign planets in water houses, so he does not totally lack water, but there is an inherent conflict between fire and water, and I think the fire is winning.
Individuals who are strongly identified with fire and earth can function as “steamrollers.” Or you can think of fire and earth combinations as like a flow of molten lava. Four factors in the first house and four in Aries are similar to having eight factors in Aries. Three factors in Taurus and two in the second house are like having five factors in Taurus. Newt obviously knows what he wants and goes after it. When you add four factors in Leo with two of them in the Leo house and with one of them the ruler of the Ascendant in a conjunction with Pluto to bring the Scorpio principle into the picture, you have an astonishing combination of fixed will and power drive.
The first house Vesta adds the capacity for tunnel vision in achieving personal goals, but it carries the danger of becoming so intent on them that the individual ignores the effect on other people and may alienate them. Saturn and its sign and house are keys to where we learn to handle the “rules of the game,” we learn what we CAN do, what we CAN’T do and what we HAVE to do in order to survive in this world. Once we learn this, we can control our share of the power of the world in some kind of managerial or executive role. Newt has Capricorn in its own tenth house and its ruler, Saturn, is in Gemini in the second house. This placement suggests that he sees executive power as his personal possession and source of pleasure. Gemini attains power through intellectual ability. Newt has also been very successful in his career as a fund raiser though there are some serious ethical questions about some of his handling of finances. If the over-confidence of excessive fire leads us to overreach, to claim the LAW as our personal possession, eventually we will fail and fall; be brought to our knees which are “ruled” by Saturn. When we discuss the extra asteroids, we will see a strong potential for such an outcome.
Despite Newt’s emphasis on and identification with air , two major keys to lessons, Saturn and the south lunar node, are in air signs and Juno is in Capricorn, all suggesting that equality could be a lesson. Air symbolizes the conscious side of the mind where water indicates the subconscious. Air is a natural spectator and commentator, observing the whole scene from a distance, trying to understand it, talking about it, and accepting it. It is the natural element for dealing with other people as peers, understanding and accepting them rather than trying to change them. Air is a natural teacher and counselor that can usually work cooperatively with others. It is the element of democracy and openness, interested in everything.
Letter eight in our astrological alphabet is the only other one of the twelve sides of life which calls for equality. But unlike the air which is naturally inclined toward equality, Pluto, Juno, Scorpio, and rulers of the eighth house are often torn between the need to share money, possessions, pleasures, and power to achieve the goal of pleasure which is intensified by being shared and the intense desire for self-mastery. Air is naturally inclined to “take things lightly,” to say “so what?,” or “if it isn’t going to be important in 100 years, don’t worry about it.” It is easier to be detached and objective when you have space (air) between you and others. It is easier to let others “be themselves” when you are not too close. But letter eight is fixed water, probably the most emotionally intense of our twelve sides of life, though letters four and five may give it a run for its money. Pluto, Juno, and the other keys to the eighth side of life show where we are trying to reconcile the water instinct of connectedness, fusion, oneness, with the goal of self-mastery and equality with the intimate other.
The other water sides of life are not conflicted in the same way, since equality is not an issue. The Moon and its sign and house mark the mother/baby relationship. Neptune and its sign and house mark the savior/victim relationship or god and human. But letter eight calls for a peer relationship with an equal mate, whether marriage or business partnership or counseling relationship. If we follow the water instinct, we swallow or are swallowed, and then we have to learn to let go, to avoid controlling or being controlled. Both individuals have to learn self-knowledge, partly through the mirror of the mate, and to learn self-mastery, partly out of respect for the rights of the intimate other.
So Juno in Capricorn marks a lesson in learning to handle equality versus executive power. Saturn in Gemini is a variation on the same lesson without the emotional intensity of the Pluto principle as expressed by Juno. The south lunar node in Aquarius is a confrontation between the equality of the air sign and the dependency or nurturing instincts of letter four since the Moon’s nodes carry the same principle as the Moon. Individuals with strong fire and earth are usually very threatened by the dependency side of water, but the individual may be very nurturing of others. An emphasis on air tends toward emotional detachment.
Newt’s identity, letter one, does include all four elements since Mars in Aries is in the twelfth house and Venus ruling the Ascendant is in the fourth house, but I think his excessive focus on the first two sides of life, on personal will and pleasure, has tilted the scales against his potential capacity for empathy and compassion and against his willingness to be an equal. Despite his air verbal skills, I think that Saturn, the south lunar node, and Juno are pointing to a lesson in equality and I think it is losing out to his drive for personal power.
Newt has enough letter four (mostly the fourth house, though Jupiter is in Cancer) and letter five (both Leo and the fifth house) to need emotional relationships. Ceres in the first house shows a mother and/or grandmother as a role model, and both were there in Newt’s early life while his stepfather was often away on military duties. An individual with Ceres in the first house and an Ascendant ruler in the fourth house can also identify with the parent role though Ceres, especially in an earth sign, is more practical than emotionally warm. Newt married young and had two daughters.
Any mixture of letters four and ten (parents) with letters seven and eight (partners) points to an issue involving power/responsibility and/or dependency in peer relationships. Newt has Juno, the marriage asteroid, in the sign and house of Capricorn, the conditional love parent. Venus, the ruler of Libra, and Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, are in the fourth house, the unconditional love parent. The Moon, the unconditional love parent, is in the eighth house (part of partnership). Newt married his high school geometry teacher who was seven years older, and she helped support him through college. But he has too much fire and earth to be comfortable with dependency. He left his first wife and two daughters to marry a younger and more attractive wife who would let him be in control and hopefully enhance his ambition to achieve executive power. A friend has reported (and Newt denies) that he said he divorced his first wife because she had cancer and was not young and pretty enough to be the wife of the president. Divorcing a mate who is in the hospital is not the action of a compassionate person.
As indicated above, the water sides of life can be manifested by being dependent or by caring for others. With a healthy balance, we can be interdependent, able to both give and receive. Fire and earth are uncomfortable with dependency. Newt’s dumping of his first wife on whom he was financially dependent for some years is a normal reaction to the discomfort felt by someone who is rejecting former dependency. But, instead of replacing the dependency with nurturing, Newt went into detachment, finding greater comfort in his increasingly strong air. Newt’s Neptune, symbolizing the potential for universal compassion, is square his Gemini Sun. The Sun and all forms of letter five represent our self-esteem, our growth potential, the area where we want to do more than we have done in the past and to be admired for it. Uranus and all forms of letter eleven are also associated with the future. We tend to expand our Uranian activity, especially once we have raised our families (if we have them), so we are freer to downplay the interpersonal and to move into the transpersonal parts of life, to deal with humanity, society’s issues, and larger ideals. To further emphasize the increasing air, Ceres and Vesta both progressed into Gemini. Meanwhile, Jupiter progressed into Leo to reinforce the high value which Newt placed on power.
Newt’s chart is a fascinating picture of a complex personality who is expanding the verbal skills of air, using them to achieve the fire-earth goals of personal power, but (so far) falling short in the air capacity to respect others as equals and to work out real compromises. It is also fascinating that Bill Clinton’s chart has many similarities in terms of strong fire and air plus adequate earth. But Clinton has Neptune exactly on the Ascendant and Mars, showing the capacity for genuine empathy and compassion. Also, Clinton’s air is almost all Libra, which is much more concerned with fair play and social justice and much more willing to compromise than the other two air sides of life. Newt’s first house Uranus added to the heavy emphasis on letters one and two is a major key to a drive for personal freedom, to a resistance to pressure from others. All of the fixed sides of life represent “enduring self-will.”
Naturally, there are some fascinating asteroids in Newt’s chart. As our readers know, I watch the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node as a potential key to major lessons. Natal Aletheia is on that midpoint within 1 minute of longitude and just two plus degrees past his natal Mars in Aries. Does his lesson involve a lack of integrity in his personal actions? Or is the opposite tendency more of a challenge—the “foot-in-mouth” bluntness which is characteristic of an air-fire emphasis? Or are both of the preceding part of the picture? Astrology shows psychological principles which can be manifested in many possible details. P Aletheia at 26 Aries is square natal Jupiter and Juno, fitting a conflict involving executive power (Capricorn and the tenth house), peer relationships (Juno), personal action (Aries), ethical principles, faith, and ideals (Jupiter and the twelfth house), the homeland and people (fourth house) with the “truth” (Aletheia) under siege and challenged in some way (squares).
The asteroid Newtonia is at 10 Cancer 35, so Newt’s P MC was closely trine it when the Republicans swept the elections and Newt became Speaker of the House. I am also watching an asteroid named Gingerich which differs from his name with the extra “e,” but the “name” asteroids often “work” for individuals with names which are almost the same. Gingerich was retrograding in 27 Scorpio when Newt was born. It turned direct and is now in 28 Scorpio, just past its natal position and holding a grand trine to natal Icarus in 28 Pisces and P Newtonia in 28 Cancer. Icarus, as our readers know, can be a warning against overreach and an eventual crash. (Icarus ignored a warning and flew too close to the sun, which represents the ego in astrology.) The grand trine shows inner harmony—”I know what I want and I have the right and power to get it,” which can encourage the tendency to overdo. P Icarus is in 7 Gemini on P Uranus, which offers additional encouragement to overreach. The Uranus motto is “don’t accept any limits or let anyone tell you what to do.”
Other asteroids which carry a similar warning are Phaethon and Hybris (hubris). Phaethon couldn’t handle the horses which pulled the carriage of the Sun. They came too close to the earth, which caught fire, Gaea screamed, and Zeus (Jupiter) threw a thunderbolt which knocked Phaethon down to his death. The asteroid named Phaethon was just past the Sun when Newt was born but it turned retrograde and P Phaethon will conjunct the Sun in the fall of 1999. Hybris in 4 Sagittarius was square Laverna, the goddess of thieves, when Newt was born. Another Hybris aspect at birth is a fascinating one: a sextile to Williams in the tenth house in 4 Aquarius. The aspect suggests that ultimately, and possibly unintentionally, Newt and Bill Clinton might help each other. Conceivably, this could point to one or both gaining favor with different groups due to the actions of the other, perhaps because they stand for very different principles. In the current aspects, P Mercury is conjunct Laverna and square Hybris and P Ascendant just started a quincunx to Hybris. P Hybris has many aspects currently, including an opposition to Aten, a Sun god for fame and power, a sextile to P Neptune suggesting that Newt’s faith is supporting his overreach and trioctiles to Mars and Pallas with the same message.
Dionysus is another asteroid associated with a myth that involved excesses. He was a god whose rituals featured drugs and alcohol and his crazed followers ended up tearing him apart. Newt was born with Dionysus exactly conjunct his Sun. P Dionysus is now conjunct Newtonia and in time will move into a trioctile to Gingerich. (Readers will remember that astronomers used to feminize the names of asteroids which had “ordinary” orbits when they were named for a man by adding an “a” or “ia” so Newton became Newtonia.)
Orpheus was another mythical figure who was torn apart. At Newt’s birth, Pluto was conjunct both Orpheus and Halley’s comet and P Halley continues to hold a one-degree conjunction with P Pluto. I have found Halley prominent in the charts of people in power in the U.S. since we got an ephemeris for it in the early 1980s. Readers will remember that in January 1992 I predicted that based on Halley’s position, Kerry would drop out of the presidential race first, then Harkin, then Tsongas, and that Clinton would be the Democratic nominee facing Bush. But Clinton had such difficult aspects in his chart, I thought that Bush would win. Instead, obviously, Clinton won and the stress aspects manifested as a very difficult presidency.
There are several asteroids named for the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table, but I have not worked with them much. At Newt’s birth, Gawain was just past his Gingerich in 28 Scorpio. It turned direct and is now back to 27 Scorpio, so there is a double conjunction between the two asteroids. So far, the information I have on Gawain is that he was noted for reaching the peak of his power at noon after which it declined rapidly. Obviously, the other knights preferred not to fight him in the middle of the day. Gawain was also one of the most controversial figures in the Arthurian myths in that different accounts pictured him very differently. In some versions of the myth he was described as a positive figure and in others as a villain. He was noted for his loyalty to his own clan and his determination to take revenge against anyone who injured clan members. It will be interesting to see whether Newt displays qualities like Gawain. He is certainly seen very differently by the world; attracting both love and hate with a tendency to polarize people.
As astrologers know, transiting Uranus is about to move into its own sign for approximately 7 years, staying there most of the time until 2003. Pluto will be in Sagittarius for most of the next 12 years, reaching Capricorn in 2008. Both Aquarius and Sagittarius value freedom—Sagittarius in order to pursue the quest for TRUTH with a capital T. We can put our faith in science, in traditional religions, in philosophy, in metaphysics, etc. The constructive form of the search for the Absolute acknowledges that this is a goal we never reach but the journey is thrilling and we give others the same freedom to search that we want for ourselves. The constructive form of Aquarius resists any limits but also wants others to have the same freedom.
Unfortunately, many people are too insecure to permit such broad freedom to others. The interval while Uranus is in Aquarius will undoubtedly accelerate the expansion of knowledge, including new technology. But freedom unaccompanied by compassion can mean the freedom to be jobless, homeless, hungry and ill; in other words, the Republican Contract with America that seeks to reduce the power of the government which would obviously enhance the power of big businesses or anyone with big money. The Pluto principle, as described above, involves a need for intimate others, but also a need for power over oneself. In insecure individuals, the outcome may be an attempt to dominate others to guarantee one’s own needs, or a retreat into exclusivism that shuts out others to maintain personal security. While Pluto moves through Sagittarius, the world is challenged to combine two basically incompatible desires. There is a danger that the response of many people could be more religious fanaticism and power struggles in the name of exclusivist gods. “Final truth” (Sagittarius) is my “passion and possession” (Pluto) and “My God has authorized me to kill you if you refuse to become part of my group and accept my beliefs.”
I think that we are born where our character (habits developed in the past) fits the state of the world. Newt fits the increasing emphasis on Sagittarius and Aquarius, and he might ride the wave for some years. The asteroids spell out the message again and again. One of the most dramatic is ARA, which is conjunct Newt’s natal Ascendant in both his birthplace and in Washington, DC, while P ARA is conjunct Newt’s P Mars and his P Antivertex in Washington. ARA was named for the American Relief Administration which was headed by Herbert Hoover and brought help to Europe. This was years before Hoover became the U.S. President and his name became associated with the failure to help people in need. Welfare was formerly known as “relief.” Note the incredibly precise picture given by that single asteroid as it tells us that Newt’s personal action (Mars, birthplace and local Ascendant, and Antivertex) will have a financial effect (Taurus) on America’s ability and/or willingness to offer relief to others who are in need (ARA)!
I happened to have a news program on the TV when Newt was sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives. If my watch was accurate, it was just after 2:11 P.M. EST in Washington on January 4, 1995 when he took the oath of office and assumed the mantle of power. Would you believe that ARA was on the Ascendant to the degree? You stop believing in chance when you work with astrology! Other aspects included Jupiter on the Descendant, Nemesis on the MC, and Fiducia on the IC. Nemesis was the god who punished you if you flouted the divine law, Themis. Themis was exactly conjunct the tenth house Saturn in Pisces as well as square Godiva at 8 Gemini. Godiva was the lady who protested the high taxes imposed on her people by the foreign conqueror who had taken power in her town of Coventry. Most people have heard of her famous ride but don’t know that its purpose was to persuade the conqueror to reduce the taxes. The asteroid Coventry was at 8 Libra trine Godiva but quincunx Saturn and Themis. Coventry was also conjunct the asteroid named for the famous oil millionaire Armand Hammer. The combination hints at the tax reductions for the rich which the Republicans are seeking, but conflict and a possible denial of the use of the law (Saturn) for divine justice (Themis).
(There are so many relevant asteroids in Newt’s chart, I gave up trying to include more than a few, but I have to add here that his P Moon was conjunct P Nemesis when he was sworn in as Speaker. It was also on P Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec war god who demanded a human sacrifice every day. That looks like Newt playing Nemesis and Tezcatlipoca to the public—the Moon.)
Allowing wider orbs for the traditional planets, the swearing-in chart has a grand cross in mutable signs, including the Ascendant (Newt’s personal power in action), Saturn in its own house (executive power and the law), Jupiter (beliefs and moral principles based on them), and Mars retrograding in Virgo in the fourth house (the ordinary public—the workers worried about their jobs and stressed into turning inward). The public could still revolt and turn their frustration outward. Pluto and Venus in late Scorpio fit the increasing power and wealth of a minority, and their squares to Mars and the Moon show the potential for overt power struggles involving the public, the elite, and the law/authorities, but for the moment a good many of the public are conned or cowed. Fiducia is the Latin word for “confidence,” and it is obviously in short supply, with many people pulled between anxiety and anger. Repeating the message of anxiety over jobs and finances, P Pluto (joint resources, including money and possessions) in the Virgo house of jobs holds a long quincunx to Vesta, the Virgo asteroid, in the Taurus house of personal income. Vesta is also quincunx the three planets in Capricorn in the ninth house, bringing the power of the law and authority figures (Capricorn) and faith (ninth house) into the picture. The double quincunx or yod is typical of major new directions.
P Venus will reach an exact square to Mars in 1999 and still later cross the Descendant and reach Jupiter to mark possible times of change. But P Venus is still on Pluto, square the Moon, and quincunx P Vesta for the election in November 1996; not encouraging aspects for the welfare of ordinary people. The lunar nodes continue their square to the MC, Nemesis, and the Sun/Saturn midpoint. The latter can be a power point as a mixture of the King and the Executive. The nodes, like the Moon, symbolize the homeland, the people, and their security needs. Yet the chart is loaded with trines in earth signs and fire houses which suggest Newt will be successful in changing the physical world. P Moon in Pisces will be sextile the ninth house Neptune for the 1996 election, suggesting that Newt will still be successfully conning the public.
With natal Newtonia in 19 Aquarius and the P MC reaching it just after the inauguration in January 2001, we might even be living under President Gingrich. There are many separative aspects (oppositions and quincunxes) in the swearing-in chart when it is progressed to the election in 2000. P Ascendant will oppose Juno, be quincunx the mean (average) north lunar node, and be trioctile Mercury and Uranus. P Moon will be conjunct P south lunar node, opposite the north node and quincunx Juno. P MC will oppose P Ceres and P Sun will be quincunx Ceres. There are also both conflict and harmonious aspects which could signify the power struggles needed for Newt to achieve his ambitions. P Mercury is sextile Jupiter, while his P Venus squares Mars. Predicting details is not astrology’s major gift. It shows us the psychological issues and the timing when we have to confront them, but the detailed results depend on human decisions and actions. The separation aspects could mean that Newt will be separated from his position as Speaker of the House, but they do not guarantee that he will gain the Presidency.
Phil Gramm is another would-be power person. Gramm is running for the presidency and seeking to position himself as the most conservative candidate. Gramm was born on July 8, 1942 in Fort Benning, Georgia. Unfortunately, we do have his time of birth. His mother was a divorced southern girl and his father a Yankee in the army. His father’s heart attack in 1944 left him an invalid until his death in 1956. Like Clinton and Gingrich, Gramm was raised by his mother and grandmother, but his father who had never finished high school used to read aloud to Phil. Gramm was bright but rebellious, managing to flunk grades 3, 7, and 9. But he settled down in college, acquired a Ph.D. in economics and taught in a Texas university, another parallel with Gingrich who taught in a Georgia college. Gramm married a Korean-American on November 2, 1970 and has two sons. He was first elected to the House of Representatives from Texas in 1978; reelected in 1980 and 1982, and elected to the Senate in 1984 and 1990.
Money is a major obsession with Gramm. He grew up poor and has been supported by the government most of his life; the disability pension received by his father, funding for his education from GI insurance and a National Defense Fellowship (both of which he later voted to cut) and his salary in Congress. He is the source of a new term in Washington—Grammstanding—which refers to his habit of saying one thing and doing something else. For example, he vigorously supports a balanced budget but is one of the most successful producers of pork for his state. He is a hawk on defense and opposed a Democrat because the latter never served in the military but Gramm managed to get five deferments between 1965 and 1969. He attacked Bentsen for running for president while he was in the senate but Gramm is currently doing the same thing.
An article in the February 20, 1995 Newsweek called Gramm Mr. Relentless and described him (with more than a soupcon of sarcasm) as having Nixon’s guile and charm, Johnson’s glands and hunger for campaign cash, and Reagan’s note cards and disregard for inconvenient facts. The anti-abortionists will vote for him. Big business loves him and has given him the biggest campaign fund of any of the current candidates. A dinner following his formal announcement of his candidacy raised over 4 million dollars, the largest single “take” in history. He and Newt are “birds of a feather”. Newt managed to get a Gramm supporter elected to the next-in-power position in the Senate instead of the man Dole wanted. So when Dole leaves to campaign, Gramm and Lott will do whatever they can to undermine him. Howard Fineman, author of the Newsweek article, says the presidential campaign for the Republican nomination will be “nasty, brutish, and short”.
In light of Gramm’s insatiable drive for money and power, my speculative chart has Scorpio rising with its rulers, Mars and Pluto, both in Leo and straddling the MC. Chiron closely conjunct the tenth house Mars is a further support for the worship of power and money, and Jupiter in Cancer repeats the association of faith with security. Cancer in the ninth house would say it again IF this birth time is close to accurate. Gramm’s Taurus Moon and Juno in Scorpio offer still more support for his hunger for financial security. Even his personal name asteroids repeat the theme. Of the two named variations of Philip, one is in Taurus and the other in Cancer. But Gramm also has four planets in Gemini showing ample verbal facility. He is noted for his cutting, angry, scornful sound bites—another support for this birth time since Gemini in the eighth house can use language as a weapon. Still, this remains a totally speculative chart, and we can only be confident of the zodiacal signs and the planetary aspects.
Gramm was born less than a year before Newt and they have Mercury and the planets from Jupiter on out in the same signs. There are many aspects between the two charts, including Gramm’s Mercury conjunct Newt’s Sun, an exact trine between the Mars of each man, and a very close sextile between the Venus of each man. Since Gramm shares Newt’s war against welfare, I was curious to see where his ARA would be. Gramm has natal ARA opposite Chiron and Mars and his P ARA is opposite Pluto. Oppositions can be manifested in compromise and partnership or in power struggles. In Gramm’s case, it is obviously the latter. The “enduring self-will” associated with the fixed signs may manifest in relentless and unforgiving behavior. Gramm also has a mutable dilemma with the nodes of the Moon square his early Gemini planets. His Pisces south lunar node points to a lesson involving faith, ethics etc., and, as with Newt, Saturn in an air sign may indicate a lesson in equality in light of Gramm’s hunger for power.
It is fascinating that at the two elections in which Gramm might conceivably be the candidate, in November 1996 and 2000, Gramm’s P Sun squares Saturn. In 1996 he also has one of his name asteroids, Philippina, and Ate, a goddess considered almost an incarnation of evil by the ancient Greeks, in 8 Gemini conjunct natal Saturn and square P Sun which is conjunct P Toro (a possible key to money), P Columbia (for the District of), and P America, with the latter in orb of P Karma so there are three factors in Gemini and five in Virgo with overlapping aspects. By the election of 2000, Gramm’s P Sun will reach the square to natal Venus, P Saturn, and P Urania which may be a variant on Uranus. P Karma will still square natal Saturn, and its conjunction with P America and P Columbia pulls them into the aspect. Many other aspects could be listed, but these may be enough to indicate that despite his 20 million campaign kitty, Gramm is likely to be rejected by the American people. Yet, even with this picture, we can never be positive about details. Clinton was elected with very stressful aspects and, in his case, they pointed to a stressful term of office rather than to a defeat in the election. Ross Perot demonstrates the other side of the coin. His harmonious P Sun trine to P Saturn did not win the 1992 election for him. He will have P Sun trine natal Saturn in the 1996 election along with P Ascendant conjunct Neptune and trine P Moon, but I don’t think his odds in 1996 are any better than 1992. It does look as if he will influence the election.
Our third power person (the second with an unknown birth time) is the far-right radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Rush was born on January 12, 1941 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As with Gramm, I am offering a totally speculative chart, so only the zodiacal signs and aspects are reliable. As our readers know, Vesta is a key to the potential of a tunnel-vision focus which can lead to success when it is prominent in a chart but which also can be associated with alienation in relationships. In Gramm’s case, I considered that Pluto on the MC and Vesta on the IC were appropriate for a steam-roller approach to life. My speculative chart for Rush puts Vesta on the Ascendant, Uranus on the MC, and Pallas, our most political asteroid, on the IC. Rush’s father was a conservative, Republican lawyer in a mostly Democratic area, and Rush followed his example in politics. But Rush was not interested in being a lawyer. He was an introverted, somewhat insecure child who got a job in a radio station at age 16 and never dated in high school. After one miserable year of college, he dropped out and went back to his beloved radio, but he did not become successful until age 32 when he went to Sacramento, California and evolved his current style of attacking liberals, women, gays, abortion, AIDS, etc. His three favorite targets are Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy and Mario Cuomo. In the 1992 election, he initially supported Buchanan but was courted by Bush and gave him some help. When Clinton won, Rush set out to destroy him, pouring out lies in his three hour monologues. No one is allowed on the show who might disagree with him.
Rush is described as basically optimistic, very funny, but also very thin-skinned and vulnerable to criticism and needing constant flattery and attention. This combination sounds like an insecure person with a Leo Ascendant combined with the initial self-criticism and self-doubt of a rising Vesta to produce a silent child who never stopped talking once he developed enough confidence to release his Sagittarius. Rush is on his third marriage now after two wives left him, but his phenomenal rise to fame as a radio guru is now bringing him both the adulation he craves and an estimated 25 million dollars a year. His principal audience is white men who are pro-business, anti-government and anti-taxes.
Rush has enough fire and earth to qualify as a steam-roller with his grand earth trine of Uranus, Neptune, and Sun and Mercury in addition to a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in early Taurus which trines Juno in Virgo. His grand trine in fire signs includes Pluto, Mars and the south lunar node. There is also an exact fire trine between Venus and Vesta. Ceres is widely conjunct Mars. Pallas trines Chiron in water signs and the Moon is in its own sign, but without his birth time we can’t be sure of its aspects. In terms of the planets, signs, and aspects, omitting the speculative houses, Rush’s chart is weakest in air with only the north lunar node in Libra. Air is not needed for verbal facility. No sign can out-talk Sagittarius and Rush’s close Sun-Mercury conjunction shows that he is very ego-invested in his ability to learn and communicate. But weakness in air can manifest as a lack of capacity for equality in relationships, adding to the steam-roller tendencies of the fire-earth emphasis.
Newt’s chart had so many relevant asteroids with close aspects that I only included a fraction of them. One that I have not yet mentioned showed the kinship of Newt and Rush. Greek mythology included two brothers who were called Prometheus and Epimetheus. The first was noted for looking forward, toward the future, while the second looked back toward the past. As readers know, I think that the south lunar node is initially a key to a lesson. Once we have learned to handle that part of life effectively, to integrate it with the north node so they work together, the south node can become our gift to the world. Both Newt and Rush have P south lunar node conjunct Epimetheus for many years of their lives! Talk about turning the clock back! Rush’s P Epimetheus has caught up with his P Gingerich to repeat the message of their ideological brotherhood. P Gingerich is still in Aries and currently it is conjunct P Hephaistos, who made the weapons for the gods of Olympus, while they both square Icarus in Capricorn. P Phaethon, our other overreach figure, will catch up to P Gingerich in time.
Another interesting configuration in Rush’s chart includes the midpoint of Saturn/south node which is often a major key to important lessons in 21 Aries in a cardinal cross to the Saturn/north node midpoint, the Sun, and ARA, the asteroid associated with America’s ability or willingness to help others in need. You will remember that Newt’s natal Ascendant and the Ascendant when he was sworn in as Speaker were both exactly conjunct ARA. Rush has Toro also in the picture, conjunct his ARA. Toro means “bull” in Spanish and may be related to money and other Taurus associations. Natal Juno in 6 Virgo, Mars in 5 Sagittarius, and P Venus in Pisces form a T-square which connects to the cardinal cross with octiles and trioctiles. The network of aspects includes the power struggle potential of the cardinals and the ethical issues of the mutables in a confrontation. Many other asteroids might be mentioned, but we’ll return to Rush when, hopefully, we get his accurate birth time.
As this is written, Senator Robert Dole is considered the front runner in the race to be the next President. Dole was born in Russell, Kansas on July 23, 1923 at 0:10 A.M. CST. He is the current majority leader in the Senate since the Republican triumph in November 1994. In fact, the Republicans have increased their margin since Campbell, the only Native American in the senate, changed from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Campbell made the switch after the proposed Constitutional amendment to force Congress to balance the budget was narrowly defeated, mostly by Democratic votes. Dole has been in the senate for years and is considered a “moderate” conservative in contrast to Gramm who has staked out a claim to the far right. Dole was critically wounded in the Second World War, spent months in the hospital and is said to suffer from chronic pain as a result of his war injuries. He is noted for his dry, sharp wit and has mellowed slightly over the years after establishing an early reputation for meanness.
Dole’s chart is very tied to Newt’s chart! They have an incredible number of conjunctions between the two horoscopes, including all of their natal angles, Dole’s local Ascendant in Washington, DC on Newt’s Uranus, Dole’s Washington MC within three degrees of Newt’s P south lunar node, Dole’s Washington East Point on Newt’s Vesta, Dole’s Sun on Newt’s Jupiter, Dole’s Mars on Newt’s Pluto, Dole’s Juno on Newt’s Venus, Dole’s Neptune on Newt’s north lunar node, Dole’s Vesta on Newt’s Neptune, and Dole’s Antivertex on Newt’s Mars, Pallas, and Antivertex. With the intensity likely from so many really close conjunctions, the two men could be really bonded partners working closely together or, as seems to be the case, really intense rivals. I’m afraid that Newt is pushing Dole farther to the right than he might have chosen to go. Dole’s current opposition to affirmative action, which tries to encourage job opportunities for minorities and women, is a shift from his former position.
Even the asteroids repeat the theme. In Dole’s own chart, the asteroid Gingerich is on Dole’s Uranus within the one degree orb I use for the new asteroids, and P Gingerich is quincunx natal Mars and P local Ascendant, opposite P Newtonia, and both P Gingerich and P Newtonia are square Dole’s Washington Ascendant at the election in November 1996. It would be hard to imagine a clearer picture of war between the two men whether or not it is openly acknowledged. Newt is apparently supporting Phil Gramm, who is Dole’s primary rival.
There are asteroids named with two versions of “Robert;” Roberts and Roberta. The midpoint of Dole’s natal and P Gingerich is exactly on his natal Roberta at 10 Pisces and P ARA opposes Roberta. Dole was old enough to be aware of the trauma of the depression of the 1930s and his chart suggests some empathy for people who need help with his natal Antivertex trine his natal ARA which is conjunct Hoover, the U.S. president at the start of the depression. But Dole is being pushed into a more hard-line position by Newt and Gramm. As with Robert, there are two versions of Philip; Philippina and Philippa. Philippina was right on the Ascendant when Dole was born and P Philippina at the election is quincunx Dole’s P Sun, square natal Newtonia, octile America and Aten (a sun god) and moving into an opposition to Jupiter. Natal Philippa was retrograde in a square to natal Roberts. P Philippa is back within 2 degrees of its natal position and their midpoint is square Dole’s Antivertex, opposite Venus, and square P Venus to form a cardinal cross in the mutable houses.
The asteroid Williams for Bill Clinton is also connected to the cardinal cross with P Venus conjunct it while P Williams is conjunct P Jupiter. The aspects fit Dole’s battle with Gramm, but the conjunctions of the so-called benefics to Williams are not easy to interpret. Will Clinton’s activities or situation help Dole in some way? Or vice versa, will Dole perhaps inadvertently help Clinton? Dole might win in 1996, but his aspects are very mixed, so I would not bet on it. He will have his P Moon coming to his natal Sun and trine natal Moon at the inauguration in January 1997. P America is on his Mercury, sextile Vesta and opposite Ceres for a change of job. P East Point is on three asteroids; P Washingtonia, P Jackson, and P Dionysus. The mixture includes personal action in our capital which could include Jesse Jackson and a danger of some kind of excesses. P MC squares the preceding combination and the angles and asteroids are holding octiles or trioctiles to Dole’s conjunction of ARA and Hoover. Whatever the outcome, I’m afraid a lot of ordinary people are going to feel like the ‘30s have returned. Another asteroid which has been prominent in all of these charts is Epimetheus, the brother who looked back. Dole’s natal MC is on the midpoint of his natal and P Epimetheus. Like Saturn, the MC represents a lesson until we learn the “rules of the game,” the necessary limits for survival and effectiveness in the physical world.
As mentioned previously, Newt and Rush both have the “other” major lesson factor, the south lunar node, on their Epimetheus. Gramm has P Mason-Dixon, P Philosophia, and P Williams conjunct his natal Epimetheus. The combination fits a confrontation with Clinton over basic philosophical issues involving blacks. The Mason-Dixon Line was an attempt to confine slavery to the southern states in the pre-Civil War period. Gramm’s P Epimetheus is on P Gaea (earth) and P Elba (the island to which Napoleon was exiled but from which he escaped for his final effort to regain his power). Will the earth be able to send Gramm into political exile or will he escape from threatened exile and succeed in pushing the clock back for the “ordinary” citizens of earth?
It would fit Gramm’s similar Saturn-Sun squares in 1996 and 2000 if Dole won, since Dole has said he will only serve one term. If Dole kept his word, it would mean the Republican nomination would be open in 2000 for Gramm to try again. But it would also be possible for Clinton to be reelected in 1996 and Gramm to again try for the crown in 2000. I plan to do more work on the charts prior to the election, but this article will give readers a start on the political sweepstakes.
At this time, California’s governor, Pete Wilson, is said to be exploring a run for the presidency in 1996. He is considered a “moderate” Republican since he is pro-choice, but his announced goals are tilting right. He is talking of reducing taxes in California despite the state’s financial troubles. He supported Proposition 187, which cuts off education and health care for illegal aliens. He is for more jails and longer sentences for criminals rather than preventive programs. But he is good at fund-raising despite his less than inspiring speaking ability. His reasons for hesitating to throw his hat in the ring include the fact that when he was campaigning for governor in 1994, he promised that if he won he would serve the full four-year term. Also, if he resigned, California’s Lieutenant Governor who would become Governor is a Democrat and more liberal than Wilson. Instead, he could run for senator against Barbara Boxer when his term as governor ends in 1998.
Wilson was born on August 23, 1933 in Lake Forest, IL at 4:10 P.M. Unfortunately, Illinois had a law requiring standard time on birth certificates even when daylight saving time was in effect. Doubly unfortunately, many hospitals did not observe the law and recorded daylight time without so specifying it on the B.C. So, we can’t be sure whether Wilson’s 4:10 P.M. is CDT (which was in effect in his birth city) or CST if the hospital was obeying the law. I am tentatively working with CDT which gives him late Sagittarius rising, but it remains questionable. I do not have many events in his life and have not tried to rectify the chart.
The theme of freedom is emphasized in Wilson’s chart, especially if the CDT is accurate, A close opposition between Mars and Uranus with Jupiter semisextile Mars and quincunx Uranus connects the three planets which signify resistance to limits. Additional emphasis comes from four factors in Aquarius; Saturn, Pallas, the north lunar node, and the Antivertex which is in the sign in both CDT and CST. If the CDT is right, Wilson also has Eleutheria, the Greek goddess of freedom, on his Ascendant in an exact grand fire trine to Uranus and the south lunar node. Individual freedom is the main siren song of the Republicans. Of course, the more money you have, the more freedom you have. The underclass is to receive less help to force them to assume more personal responsibility. If they lack skills and there are no jobs or none that pay a wage one can live on, they can choose between hunger and homelessness or jail which will provide food and shelter that costs the society more than a college education.
One of the fascinating features of Wilson’s chart is the number of asteroids in 0 degrees of many signs which consequently aspect his Sun in 0 Virgo as well as 0 Aries, often called “the Aries point”. Aspects to this point, which is the intersection of the ecliptic and the equator the sun passes through in the northern hemisphere spring and the beginning of our zodiac, can theoretically connect the subject to the world situation, suggesting the potential of an impact on the world. Also, readers will remember that one of the clues to an individual likely to affect the world is the sheer number of relevant asteroids with close aspects. Wilson has Roberta (which could stand for Dole) conjunct his Sun at 0 Virgo. Washingtonia (for our capital) and Siva (Hindu god of destruction) are in 29 Sagittarius and 0 Capricorn respectively, both within the one degree orb of a quincunx to the Sun. Philippina (for Phil Gramm) is in 0 Cancer, Juno is in 0 Scorpio, Gingerich is in 0 Aquarius, Thule (with a connotation of the remote north) and Astarte (another Venus associated with love and fertility) are in 0 Gemini, Calvinia (the harsh religious leader) and Armisticia are in 0 Aries, Sapientia (wisdom or a need for it) is in 0 Leo, and these are only a sampling. I do not remember ever seeing a chart with so many asteroids in 0 degrees. At the 1996 election, some of the progressed asteroids include P Victoria in 0 Leo and P Themis (divine justice) in 0 Pisces, opposite Wilson’s Sun.
P Themis was retrograde at birth and it is now direct moving very slowly, so its aspects will last for as long as Wilson is likely to live. It holds a grand trine to Juno and Philippina—another of those puzzles which would fit some kind of assistance to or from Phil Gramm. As suggested in other charts, this could be inadvertent assistance if the positions of one man helped to define the other so voters were influenced for one and against the other. P Themis is also holding a mutable grand cross to Atropos (one of the Fates) in 0 Sagittarius, Roberta and the Sun, and Thule and Astarte. With such a massive network of aspects, it is almost impossible to pick out a theme, but we can certainly say that the first half of 1995 is important with two major transiting planets, Pluto and Uranus, in 0 degrees of Sagittarius and Aquarius. P Gingerich, which was retrograde at birth, is now direct and back on its natal position along with P Epimetheus, the brother who looked backward. The latter two form a grand fixed cross with Juno, P Victoria, and Lacrimosa (defined as whining and deplorable) in 1 degree of Taurus. The implication is that someone will not achieve victory and will be unhappy, but either Wilson or Newt might be the someone.
The asteroid Newtonia in Wilson’s chart is in 9 Aquarius, on his Antivertex if daylight time is right for him, and P Saturn holds a long conjunction with both factors. Saturn is always a key to the “rules of the game” and the authorities who enforce the rules. As former mayor of San Diego and current governor of California, Wilson has held a power position for years. Newt will certainly play a role in any run for national office. Gramm and Newt do not want him complicating the scene at this time. P Saturn holds a long quincunx to Neptune and P Vesta is moving into a conjunction to Neptune and a quincunx to P Saturn. The fact that these aspects are not yet in orb suggests that Wilson will later change his handling of attempts at a higher office. By November 1996, P Vesta will have reached a trine to P Pyotr Pervyj in 9 Taurus. The asteroid was named for Peter the Great of Russia so I am watching it to see whether it “works” for Pete Wilson. There is also an asteroid named Wilson which is natally in 23 Leo and will have progressed to 17 Virgo by 1996, where it will conjunct P Pandora (who opened the box of troubles), square P Venus, and oppose Arachne who was turned into a spider for her hubris. That combination is not encouraging for success.
I have not mentioned one of the most dramatic aspects which depends on the type of time that was recorded. P Williams, which I am using for Bill Clinton, is in 28 Sagittarius which puts it on the Ascendant of the daylight saving chart from 1995 through most of 1998. But even such a clear picture of a confrontation between Wilson and Clinton does not tell us they will face each other in a presidential race. Wilson is already confronting Clinton over many California issues, including the law to stop giving education and health aid to illegal immigrants which federal courts are opposing, an attempt to get more money from the federal government to pay for the costs to the state of illegal immigrants, a refusal to implement the motor-voter bill due to its cost to the state, etc.
Another important aspect also depends on the accuracy of the daylight chart. Wilson’s P Sun will reach the CDT MC in early 1998 and hold the aspect for two years. The aspect may support the deduction that Wilson will either not become a candidate for the presidency this year or that he will not get very far, but could achieve a new level of power in the federal government in 1998-9. That timing would fit a try for the Senate against Barbara Boxer. P Neptune holds a very long conjunction with natal Barbara and P Barbara will be in 5 Libra conjunct P Apollo (a sun god for fame and power) with octiles or trioctiles to P Juno and P MC in Sacramento (the California capital, which is Wilson’s home while he is governor) and to P Pallas, our most political asteroid. Wilson’s P MC in Washington will trine P Vesta, our workaholic asteroid, and be trioctile natal Wilson and Icarus among other aspects. The preceding aspects are obviously selective. There are so many, it would be possible to write a book about a single chart, so we have to look for repeated messages. My guess at this point is that Wilson won’t win the presidency, but he might win a senate seat in 1998.
I also have birth data including birth times for Al D’Amato and Jesse Helms, who have become more important since the Republicans gained a majority in the senate. But in view of the length of this article, we’ll save them for another issue.