Richard Lamm Revisited

Zip Dobyns

The birth date of Richard Lamm, about which I wrote briefly in the last Asteroid-World, was given to me over the telephone from a local library. I later found that it was wrong, and was able to get both the accurate date and the birth time for Lamm. Apparently, the librarian mistook an 8 for a 3. Even though Lamm is now out of the race, since Perot won the nomination of his Reform Party as expected, it is important to correct the erroneous chart in the Spring 1996 Asteroid-World. If you save your Asteroid-Worlds, please put red lines through the chart and the analysis!

Richard Lamm was born on August 8, 1935 at 7:50 A.M. in Madison, WI. His chart shows intense idealism as a major theme, with a mutable dilemma but enough conflict in fixed and cardinal signs to produce a power-struggle life. Politics and the legal profession in general are fine places where we can engage in power struggles. What keeps them healthy is remembering that it is a game, being able to play by the rules, win some and lose some, and not turn the situation into life and death. The major mutable dilemmas are either too many interests and talents which call for clear priorities, or (more commonly) conflicts between the ideals and what is possible in this world at this time. Everyone has at least a little of the latter potential, including the desire to improve ourselves or our world. But if we can enjoy the journey as we continue to move toward our ideals, it need not be a problem. If we wait until life is perfect to be happy, it is a long wait.

Lamm is obviously highly intelligent and articulate with a stellium in Virgo including two keys to identity, the Ascendant and the East Point. Mercury closely conjunct the Sun in the Sun’s sign and the natural house of Uranus suggests a dramatic and expressive mind in which he is ego-invested; that is, being bright and verbal is necessary for his self-esteem. The identification with Virgo demands personal effective functioning which can be sought through a job or can be focused on health. Virgo needs to do something worth doing which can be done well and which gets tangible results in the world. The placement of the East Point in the twelfth house adds an identification with the Absolute in some form, especially since it is tightly conjunct Neptune, the natural ruler in its own house. The hazard of being identified with God is mainly the danger of impossible expectations. “I should be perfect, know everything, never make a mistake, be able to save the world single-handed, etc.” Virgo needs to look for flaws so we can correct them and do a good job, so when we are identified with Virgo, we have to look for the flaws in ourselves. The mixture connects the two sides of perfectionism—wanting the ideal and aware of the flaws, which often manifests as intense self-criticism. The first house Venus may help, since the Venus principle is the search for pleasure. In the first house, we MAY like ourselves and enjoy ourselves even when we are not perfect. But there is no guarantee that will happen.

The theme of idealism is repeated by the close conjunction of Chiron, which is similar to Jupiter, with the MC, which is similar to Saturn. With this birth time, Lamm’s P Chiron is holding a lifetime conjunction to the MC, connecting his career, role in society, handling of power, etc. to his ideals. Obviously, the pattern reinforces his need to save the world. Gemini calls for a career involving communication in some form. This can be teaching, preaching, counseling, selling, promoting, media work, etc. The Virgo need for tangible results adds writing to the potentials. Saturn (career in the larger sense of our role in society) and Vesta (like Virgo, the details of the job) are both in Pisces to repeat the desire for an idealistic job which will make a better world. The asteroid Ceres can also be connected to one’s work. It seems to be a mixture of Virgo and Cancer—an earth-mother. Lamm’s Ceres in Virgo in the Pisces house is thus another statement of the desire for work which will make the world more ideal. Jupiter’s wide conjunction with Mars is another statement of Lamm’s identification with ideals. Naturally, the life desires can be manifested in many different details. Individuals who are identified with God can keep trying to be more perfect and never feel they are good enough. Or, they can feel that they ARE God and have a right to everything they want. So, similar patterns in a chart can belong to a savior or a con-artist criminal. And, it is possible to do both in the life at different times or in different circumstances. Obviously, the safest place is a compromise in the middle. “I will be God tomorrow. Today, it is OK to be human, growing toward my ideals but enjoying the journey.”

As indicated above, the fixed and cardinal factors share a different dilemma than the mutables. Their basic issue is the challenge to share the world with fellow humans, to be able to meet personal needs while also respecting the needs and rights of others. With factors in Cancer, Leo, and Scorpio and in the fifth and eighth houses, the need for personal relationships, for home, family, and mate, is certainly present. But the emphasis on the transpersonal houses, nine, eleven, and twelve, pull toward a public life, dealing with humanity, with social issues, etc. Life should be big enough for all of our twelve basic drives, but it does take clear priorities. We can’t do everything perfectly, which takes us back to one form of the mutable dilemma. Lamm’s major focus in Leo calls for a leadership role in the world and the eleventh house fits an elected role in a democracy. Leo-Aquarius mixtures may be seeking to integrate the need for both personal love and personal freedom, for passion and detachment, for personal power and equality with peers. Any part of us which is denied expression will make trouble for us. Life is a juggling act, trying to make peace between all twelve basic drives.

Similar messages are present with Juno in Aries and Uranus in the eighth house—a repetition of the freedom-closeness dilemma. Juno and the eighth house want a committed marriage “till death do us part.” Aries and Uranus want space—no strings—don’t tell me what to do. The lunar nodes in the fifth and eleventh houses repeat the message. In Cancer-Capricorn, they show the need to reconcile home and family with one’s public work in the world, or dependency versus power. As far as I know, Lamm has managed to work out a reasonable integration, to be married and a father along with his public service.

As usual, some of the asteroids are mind-blowing! I never get used to the precise way they fit the situation. We have an asteroid named Richard for Lamm, and an asteroid named Henry for Perot who was named that but only uses the initial ‘H.’ Lamm has natal Henry in 15 Pisces 44 square the MC and Chiron. P Neptune opposes Henry for many years, forming a T-square with Chiron and the MC. P Mars and P Antivertex are more briefly, but still for a few years, opposite Chiron-MC and square Henry and P Neptune. There could not be a more graphic and appropriate configuration to show Henry in conflict with Richard as a person (both Mars and the Antivertex symbolizing the identity of the individual) and with Richard’s goals (Neptune and Chiron) and ambition for executive power (MC). Most of the pattern involves mutable planets, signs, and houses, but Mars and the MC bring in cardinal principles for action including the potential of power struggles. Mars opposite the MC carries the same meaning as Mars opposite Saturn: personal will and power confronting the limits of personal will and power. Lamm’s chart showed the probability that he was overreaching, trying to do more than he could. Putting Henry in as the fourth corner to complete a mutable cross was icing on the cake. But there is even more! P Richard at the November election is in 3 Virgo. P Henry has retrograded to 4 Pisces. They are just coming to an opposition to each other, which can be expressed as a partnership or as competition or war. Though I normally limit aspects to one-degree orbs for both the new asteroids and progressions, when there are other factors with overlapping orbs, everything is connected into an interrelated network. Lamm has P Mercury in 2 Scorpio, P America in 4 Libra, P Uranus in 4 Taurus, P Saturn in 4 Pisces, and P Atlantis in 2 Leo, in addition to a variety of octiles and trioctiles pointing to tensions involving power issues. Atlantis is often a key to the abuse of power, as fits the legend of the sunken continent. It squares P Mercury and both are octile the Ascendant. P Richard is octile P Siva, Hindu god of destruction, in 18 Libra, and octile/trioctile the P lunar nodes, which fits his tense relationship with Henry.

Many other relevant asteroids could be mentioned, but I will just list a few. Long-time subscribers will remember that Gary Hart, another idealist from Colorado, tried for the Presidency but dropped out after being photographed with young women other than his wife. Hart had P Icarus, an asteroid for overreach, on his MC at the time in a cardinal grand cross with P Moon and P Circe (who turned men into pigs) in Aries, P local Ascendant and P Aphrodite (another Venus) in Cancer, and natal Mars and Asmodeus (the demon of lust) in Libra. Lamm has P Phaethon, another overreach mythical character who crashed like Icarus, on his MC along with P Psyche, an asteroid which can be a key to healing or to a feeling of helplessness that needs help from others. Lamm’s natal Richard is in 6 Leo, octile his rising Venus and Aletheia in 21 Virgo. Aletheia was the goddess of truth, and Lamm is noted for his blunt speech, for calling a spade as he sees it. Lamm’s P Ascendant in 6 Scorpio holds a square to his natal Richard through 1996-7; a self-blocking aspect since both are keys to his personal identity in action. Of course, P Ascendant is octile Venus and Aletheia at the same time to repeat the message.

Though I admire his intelligence, idealism, integrity, and honesty, I disagree with Lamm’s almost fanatical obsession about the U.S. budget deficit. Readers will remember the article in a previous issue which quoted a historian who had noted that our only serious depressions had all come after the federal government tried to reduce its deficit and overdid it. A slow reduction such as Clinton has been achieving is a much safer path than the “take no prisoners” approach of Perot and Lamm. They can continue to be gadflies, reminding us not to repeat the Reagan policies which ran up the deficit yet primarily benefited only the already wealthy, but I am glad neither one is likely to be President.

Since a busy life (which is typical for mutable dilemma people) means something has to give, I’m sure some of our readers find it hard to keep up with politics. Others may just find the whole subject too frustrating to spend time on it. So, for any such readers who still take time to read Mutable Dilemma or Asteroid-World articles on politicians, a little background information might help. H Ross Perot is a billionaire who ran for President in 1992, using his own money to promote himself. He won 19% of the votes, which is an impressive amount for a candidate outside the two major political Parties; the Democrats and Republicans. Many think he took more votes from Republicans than from Democrats, so is responsible for helping Clinton win over Bush though Clinton did not get a majority of the votes.

I have analyzed Perot’s chart in previous issues of either The Mutable Dilemma or Asteroid-World. He was born on June 27, 1930 at 5:34 A.M. in Texarkana, TX. I agree with the way Perot is described in most news stories. He is a very patriotic dictator who thinks he knows best and is the only one who can “save” the U.S. For the current election, he used a good bit of his own money to fund a new political party, the Reform Party, which is now on the ballot in every state. He insisted that he would welcome another candidate for the Presidency, other than himself, until Richard Lamm began to campaign for the nomination. The day after Lamm announced his willingness to run, Perot announced he was a candidate, and, of course, Perot won the nomination. It is His Party. When I analyzed his chart in 1992, I wrote that he would probably run in both 1992 and 1996, but had no chance of winning and would not do as well in 1996. In a later article about the founding of the Reform Party, which was announced to the public on the Larry King show on September 25, 1995, at 6:04 P.M. PDT in Los Angeles, I wrote that the Party was obviously not going anywhere in the 1996 election. The chart for its public beginning emphasizes a power struggle and unrealistic expectations which will be crushed by the public.

As this is written, polls only give Perot about 3% of the votes. He decided to take matching funds from the government for the campaign this year. If he can raise his numbers to 5% of the votes, the Reform Party will also be eligible for matching funds for the election of 2000. Perot is not likely to run again, but is likely to continue to play parent to his Party and wish that he could play parent to the country. However, it is doubtful whether the Party will ultimately survive as a real force in U.S. politics unless Perot is able to release his control. He still has many admirers but he also has been written off as a nutcase by many people. His intuition, which is shown partly by a Cancer stellium in his horoscope, helped make him a billionaire when applied to his business, but I think his intense emotions about what he sees as peril for the U.S. has interfered with his ability to be open to any kind of guidance in his politics. He has picked an economist named Dr. Pat Choate to be his vice presidential running mate. I think that Choate was a co-author of a book with Perot, and shares most of his economic ideas, but most economists disagree with them. If I can get any birth data on Choate, I will include it in a future issue.

Copyright © 1996 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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