More Presidential Contenders
Zip Dobyns
Our Pisces 1983 issue of The Mutable Dilemma offered the charts of five men, all potentially in the race to become President of the United States in November 1984. Additional data now permits me to offer the remaining figures in the contest. A revised chart for John Glenn is included, based on new information, and a firmed-up time for George Bush, presumed candidate with Reagan on the Republican ticket. We will know more after the summer conventions when the large Democratic slate has been narrowed to a single candidate, but our readers can amuse themselves in the meantime, trying to judge the likely winner in the nomination and in the later election. Anderson has announced that he will run as nominee of his own third party, so three of the charts presented in this issue or in the Pisces 1983 issue may be competing in the final showdown.
Earlier information had placed Bush’s time between 11 A.M. and 12 noon, EDT. I have been assured by a family friend that the correct time is 11:05 A.M. EDT. The MC for this time falls on the Descendant of the chart I am using for Reagan, fitting his career as a partner to Reagan. Reagan’s natal Venus would fall on Bush’s Descendant, again fitting a partnership between the two. Such connections between two charts are not a proof, but do support the times used. The chart puts Mercury closely conjunct the MC in the tenth house, with the Gemini Sun sharing the tenth; both emphasizing a career centered on the mind and communication. Mercury rules the Virgo Ascendant, so its placement in the tenth house is a one-ten combination, a key to the drive for personal power; “My will is Law.” The Sun in the tenth house gives us a five-ten mixture; the king and the executive. But the Gemini tempers the drive to some extent, and indicates the potential for talking things over and compromising. Mars, another key to identity, is in the Virgo house widely conjunct Vesta for more Virgo, repeating the identification with work and accomplishment, but more willing to get the job done without having to be on top. The Aquarius-Pisces mixture in the sixth suggests that the work will affect many people, tying it to the transpersonal part of life. The high focus on mind, peer relationships, and communication is repeated by the Aquarius as an air sign. Saturn, another key to career, again repeats the air emphasis in Libra and in the Gemini house, while the Libra Moon, a ruler of the Cancer in the tenth house, says it again.
The Cancer-Leo emphasis (three factors in each sign counting the Antivertex and East Point as auxiliary Ascendants) added to planets or asteroids in fourth, seventh, and eighth houses, shows a need for home and family and mate, the interpersonal side of life. Often, when the interpersonal and the transpersonal are mixed as they are here, signs of one in the houses of the other, the person may choose a profession involving people (including any form of counseling, consulting, law, politics, etc.) and/or may be so involved in the transpersonal scene that the interpersonal is neglected. It is possible but not easy to do justice to both. But Jupiter in Sagittarius in the fourth house and Pisces in the seventh house with Chiron conjunct Ceres in the eighth house, all connect idealism to relationships, showing a strong need to do justice to both family and work in the world.
Bush has interesting aspects for Election Day, Nov. 6, 1984. His progressed Sun will have been conjunct his twelfth house Neptune for nearly two years, with another two years to go on progressed Neptune. Neptune can symbolize an artist, a savior, or a victim, with many variations possible within each of these larger subdivisions. The air-earth emphasis in the natal chart suggests a potential for being highly logical and practical, sometimes to the point of being considered opportunistic. If Bush has such tendencies, the four years of Sun-Neptune will challenge him to his depths, to face his potential for subjugating personal ego (Sun now in Leo) to the good of the whole (a positive potential for Neptune). The other side of the coin is a risk of ego-inflation: “my will is God.” Fidel Castro was born with Sun conjunct Neptune in Leo, and his life is a good example of a genuine attempt to help the downtrodden people of earth mixed with grandiosity and over-reach. Most of the past presidents of the U.S. have had Sun-Neptune aspects in their natal charts; especially the recent ones when the challenges of the world have made the job literally impossible. Bush’s natal sextile between Sun and Neptune, and present conjunction, would support his ambition to gain the office. In view of the many difficult aspects in Reagan’s chart, I have suggested that either he will be defeated in 1984, or he will not finish the new term. It remains possible that he might depart before the end of the present term, but despite the conflict in his chart, I still think he may hang in until Jan. 1985. His wife’s chart also seems to me to suggest leaving Washington, but there are enough harmony aspects, it doesn’t seem stressful enough to indicate being widowed. If it does happen, whether in 1984 or later, Reagan’s removal from office by illness or death would put Bush into the driver’s seat somewhere during the term. But on the whole, I think it is more likely that Bush will lose in 1984 and try again in 1988 when he will have progressed Ascendant conjunct natal Saturn.
The separation aspects in both Reagan’s and Bush’s charts in 1984 look more like a change of job and home. Bush has progressed Mercury opposite progressed Pallas (though this could also indicate separation from his partner, Reagan, during the term). Bush’s progressed Antivertex is quincunx natal Sun. Progressed MC is square natal Saturn, and quincunx Mars-South Node of the Moon, suggesting a work change. Progressed Moon is opposite Pluto at election time, and just leaving the opposition to progressed Pluto at inauguration. Progressed Vesta is square natal Mercury, while progressed East Point is quincunx Mercury. The Quotidian MC, an angle which moves about a degree a day and therefore offers precisely timed aspects, is opposite natal Sun on election day, while the local Quotidian MC in Washington, DC is quincunx natal Venus. Stress aspects do not guarantee failure. They could mean getting what he wanted and finding it was more difficult than anticipated. If this birth time is accurate, progressed Mars has remained opposite the Ascendant for all of his term of office, fitting a militant partner, Reagan, the struggle that has been visible among the top officials of the administration, and the continuing conflict among the countries of the world. Though his natal chart seems less militant than Reagan’s, Bush has, on occasion, cast his vote for the military arms escalation when the senate was tied over the issue.
Shifting to the Democrats, as reported in the Pisces issue of The Mutable Dilemma, Gauquelin was told that John Glenn was born at 3 P.M. However, an astrologer reports that he has a copy of Glenn’s birth certificate, and it gives 4 P.M. as the time. The type of time is still uncertain; EST, EDT, or CST, but EST seems most likely at the moment. I looked at a few events in his life, and have adjusted the chart slightly to 4:03 P.M. But I have so few events, the change is quite speculative. Since the chart is not very different from the one presented in the Pisces Mutable Dilemma, I will not comment extensively on it. The Saturn-Jupiter conjunction on the MC does fit the power drive, especially since Jupiter is a ruler of the Ascendant, so we have the one-ten combination twice; once with Jupiter’s conjunction to the MC and again with its conjunction to Saturn. The progressed Sun has joined the two planets in the tenth house, but is not quite in a one-degree orb to Saturn. However, it will reach Saturn by the time of the inauguration in Jan. 1985, so Glenn must be considered still in the running. The progressed Ascendant will also be trine progressed Sun and/or progressed Saturn with progressed Moon quincunx progressed Jupiter. At the nomination in July, the progressed Moon is square the progressed Ascendant and quincunx progressed Sun. Throughout the year, as the campaign continues and escalates in intensity, the progressed Moon forms a series of squares to the planets in Cancer in the eighth house fitting the power struggle and the financial strain of conducting the campaign. But the progressed Moon trines progressed Mars by the end of election day, and progressed MC trines natal Mars, so Glenn seems likely to be in there pitching.
Turning now to the newest contender among the Democrats, Jesse Jackson threw his hat in the ring in Nov. 1983, and may have a real impact on the race. Jackson was a lieutenant under Martin Luther King and he has played a leading role in the battle for Black rights since King’s death. He is a charismatic minister with a talent for stirring a crowd. He is currently leading a drive to register large numbers of blacks and to get them out to vote. He has said that he will not run as an Independent if he does not get the Democratic nomination and there is no conceivable way he could get the nomination. If he remains true to his word, and if he encourages his newly registered followers to vote Democratic, he could help to produce a Democratic victory. If he feels that minority rights are not being sufficiently supported, and he sits on his hands between the nomination and the election, or even attacks both major parties, the outcome would be highly uncertain.
Turning to Jackson’s chart, we can see the magnetic potential in his Libra-Scorpio emphasis which includes Juno in a one-degree orb conjunction with the Sun and Venus in a one degree conjunction with the East Point. The chart lacks the one-ten we usually find in presidential contenders, but Leo on the MC is a five-ten mixture. There is more of a theme of almost “pure fire” in Jackson’s chart than the fire-earth mixtures so often featured in the other candidates. Mars in Aries in the fifth house is a triple fire statement of confidence, enthusiasm and energy, combining the trail-blazer and the King. An identification with all three fire letters (Sagittarius in the first house, Mars in the Leo house, Pluto, Ascendant ruler, in the Sagittarius house) is intensified by the grand trine of Mars to Pallas in Sagittarius in the first house, and to Chiron in Leo in the ninth house. Progressed Mars has retrograded to make the aspects exact within one degree, and the pattern is almost pure fire since I consider Chiron to be similar to Jupiter. Planets are the most important our our tools, so aspects between Mars, Sun, and Jupiter, are the most important form of fire, but when the configuration is also in fire signs and fire houses, there is a real potential for imbalance in that element. Only Pallas brings in another element, through its association with Libra. I find individuals with a prominent Pallas often attracted to politics or consulting. One-nine combinations mix idealism and/or high aspirations with the personal “self-will in action.” While one-five mixtures identify with the King, one-nine identifies with God. Jackson consciously identifies with the role of religious prophet, seeking to raise the moral tone of the U.S., convinced that he is personally backed by God.
Jupiter, another key to identity as a ruler of the Sagittarius in the first house, is in Gemini in the eighth house. The sign supports the verbal fluency that is also shown by the Sagittarius and by the Libra in the Aquarius house. The house adds to the Scorpio emphasis, and puts up our warning flag about the handling of power. Regular readers will remember that any mixture of letter one with letters seven or eight may be experienced as personal power in the hands of others. Our six ways of handling such a feeling include the three negative ones of giving the power away; trying to keep it all; or retreating from any closeness with others. The three positive solutions include sharing the power (compromise and teamwork); healthy competition (sports, games, business, or fighting for causes); and helping people. Jackson is obviously doing both the last, seeking to help people through his fighting for the cause of economic and other forms of equality in the U.S. I have no personal information as to whether he is also able to compromise when it is needed.
The fixed-cardinal emphasis in Jackson’s chart (fixed signs in cardinal houses and cardinal signs in fixed houses) is typical of a power-struggle life. Such a life can be highly constructive as long as we compete appropriately. It is important to fight the opponents, not the team members, and to keep at least a bit of the game-playing quality. If the contest becomes a life-and-death struggle, the outcome is apt to be destructive. Jackson is well-aware of this potential. His life has been threatened, and he asked for police protection as soon as he declared his candidacy, though this protection is normally only given in the last year of the campaign.
Looking at the progressed chart, we note that Jackson’s Sun had reached the conjunction with natal Venus in the first house when he announced that he would run for President, and it remains within the one degree orb through the inaugural period. He will also have his progressed Moon and Washington Ascendant trine his MC at election time, an aspect suggesting appeal to the public and some personal satisfaction about the power situation. His progressed MC is also sextile natal Pluto, ruler of the Ascendant, and progressed Venus is conjunct progressed Ceres with both sextile the natal Ascendant, trine the Descendant, additional statements pointing to personal satisfaction in the career area. Progressed Sun sextile Neptune suggests some ego-satisfaction connected to transpersonal ideals.
On the stress side of the picture, Venus and Ceres square natal Sun-Juno, indicating friction with others, or a challenge to the ego-drive of the Sun. Progressed Mercury is quincunx progressed Mars, indicating changes in personal action or goals, and it is also semisextile natal Pallas for the focus on political talk. Other stress aspects include progressed Ascendant opposite progressed Jupiter with both square the progressed mean Nodes of the Moon. The combination suggests friction in relationships, and/or conflict between personal will and the limits of personal will (Ascendant and Jupiter as ruler of the first house vs. tenth house). Progressed natal and local Antivertex are octile-trioctile the Jupiter-Ascendant opposition, repeating the message of aspirations beyond the reach of personal power. Progressed Sun opposite natal Saturn and progressed Uranus and square the Washington MC implies both the power struggle in some form but also another form of personal will against the limits of personal will. Progressed Juno and Pallas also form a yod (double quincunx) to Saturn-Uranus which could mean a new direction in Jackson’s political activity, or dealing with people in new ways.
Such mixed aspects are typical. Astrology rarely gives simple, easy answers about details. The general feeling that comes through is a sense of accomplishment and success but far from total satisfaction, and a likelihood of determination to continue on the path. With progressed Mercury due to cross the natal Ascendant within the next two to three years, Venus about to enter the third house, and the Sun headed into Sagittarius, I think we will be hearing from and about Mr. Jackson for some years to come, whether as preacher or as political candidate. Aspects in 1988, including progressed Mercury on the Washington Ascendant, suggest he will be a vocal part of that next election. By that time, his progressed Ascendant from his birthplace will be trine the natal MC, progressed Sun will be trioctile natal Mars, and progressed Venus will trine the progressed mean North node of the Moon, but be quincunx progressed Jupiter and not quite in the trine to natal Moon though it reaches the one degree orb soon after the inauguration in 1989. But, time enough to consider future prospects on another day.
Though Jesse Jackson may have a major impact on the campaign, (almost as soon as he announced his candidacy he was credited with ten percent of the Democratic vote, ahead of several candidates who had been barnstorming for months), the rest of the contenders are usually written off as “also rans.” It seems likely that the youngest (other than Jackson), Gary Hart, is building his reputation in hopes of running again at a later date. Hart has ample one-ten mixtures to show his urge to reach the top. Mercury, East Point, Venus, and Sun are in Capricorn in the first house and Saturn is in Aries. Like Jackson, the close Venus-East Point conjunction in the first house indicates potential charisma. Hart’s Sagittarius rising and Mars in Pisces also show personal idealism, whether it manifests as “I ought to be perfect and save the world,” or as “I have the right and power to do what I want.” In addition to the Sagittarius rising, there is ample air in the chart for verbal fluency, including the nodes in Gemini-Sagittarius, and a close Moon-Chiron conjunction in Gemini on the Descendant, as well as Jupiter-Antivertex-Pallas in Aquarius and planets in all the air houses.
[Note: see corrected chart in Pisces 1984 issue.]
The central emphasis in the chart involves transpersonal signs in personal houses, but there is some activity in the interpersonal houses. The progressed chart is largely concentrated in the second house and the most important feature is a New Moon just ending at the time of the election in 1984. I have found the progressed New Moon an important key to a new chapter in the life, but the rest of the aspects are not strong enough to predict as major a move as the Presidency. If Hart were not from the mid-west region, he might have been a candidate for Vice President, but both Glenn and Mondale, the front runners, are mid-west, and if either gets the nomination, they would need to choose a Vice President from another area of the country. Hart does have progressed Venus on natal Mars; progressed Vesta on both Juno and progressed North node of the Moon as well as trine Saturn; progressed Jupiter semisextile East Point; all suggestive of some success and satisfaction. But progressed Mars is square Sun, octile Ceres, and trioctile progressed MC, while progressed Pallas is quincunx progressed Pluto and progressed Ascendant is quincunx Neptune and just leaving the octile to progressed Saturn. Progressed East Point and Mercury square the Nodes of the Moon. The chart just doesn’t look strong enough for the highest office in our country, nor does 1988 look much better. But time will tell.
Reuben Askew is a former governor of Florida, and a middle-roader in contrast to Hart and Jackson who are on the liberal edge. His chart shows more emphasis on the personal and interpersonal than on transpersonal, with a rising Mars and first house ruler in the fifth house for personal power, but little to justify the drive for the Presidency. I could easily have seen him as a good family and business man, warm and likable with the fifth house Libra and devoted to home with Neptune and Sun in the fourth house. But the Sagittarius in the sixth house and Pisces in the tenth house connect work to ideals, and Libra is often associated with politics. He is also personally identified with ideals with Antivertex exactly conjunct Jupiter and Chiron in the twelfth house. All three are within 16 minutes of arc. Like Hart’s Sagittarius rising and Jackson’s Ascendant ruler in the ninth house, the “identification with God” can express as “I ought to do something to save the world,” or “I can do anything I want.” But Taurus is a practical sign, along with the Virgo Sun, and Moon, a ruler of the first house, in the Virgo house. So the ideals should be somewhat grounded.
The strongest power point in the chart is the progressed Saturn staying on the seventh cusp for years, and quincunx Pluto. Saturn on an angle shows a concern with power, but the opposition to the Ascendant and the aspect to Pluto suggest some potential for real ambivalence about it. He voluntarily relinquished the Governorship in Florida. One wonders: does he really want to be President, or have friends or his conscience nagged him into the race? Progressed aspects include progressed Ascendant octile Pluto and trioctile progressed Saturn, repeating the implication of inner ambivalence. Progressed East Point will end a two-year conjunction to Pluto at the election, so he may retire gratefully after doing his best. The progressed Ascendant is also square progressed Jupiter which is opposite progressed Mercury, octile the natal Ascendant and trioctile progressed Saturn. At the election, the progressed Moon is conjunct the progressed South node of the Moon, usually an indication of a challenge connected to relationships, and, in the sixth house, to work, in Sagittarius, to aspirations. The progressed Moon will also be octile natal Venus, a suggestion of disappointment in the personal life or in the public’s action. Progressed Mars sextile natal Jupiter-Chiron-Antivertex shows the optimism and energy to make the effort, but natally Mars was octile the Jupiter group, a hint of over-reach in the fire nature of the planets despite their placement in earth and air signs. Another aspect supporting ambition is progressed Antivertex trine the fifth house Venus, but it is also square the Washington MC so we have the self-will against the limits of self-will combination. There are always many more aspects than space to list them, but one final one is progressed Venus square natal Sun, another indication of disappointed ambitions, or ambivalence over the disruption of home and relationships required by the campaign effort. By the spring of 1985, Venus will reach a sextile to the natal MC so Askew may find another role that is less stressful than President of the U.S.
Ernest Hollings is a Pisces rising idealist but with an ambitious Capricorn Sun in the tenth house, a five-ten combination combining King and Executive. As with several others in our collection, the Libra emphasis could indicate the importance of personal relationships or could lead into law and politics. The progressed aspects do not look sufficiently strong to achieve the Presidency, though his progressed Sun will reach the Ascendant in mid 1985. Of course, most of the candidates are recorded as born on the even hour, and the birth time could easily be off a little. Hollings has progressed Mercury conjunct his natal Moon and trine Jupiter for his communication effort to reach the people of the U.S., and progressed Venus is conjunct the East Point for charm, but progressed Mars square Uranus suggests obstacles in reaching his goals. Mars is also quincunx progressed Pluto while progressed Sun is square progressed Ascendant. Progressed local Ascendant is opposite the natal MC. Some of these aspects involving mutable signs may simply signify the travel and mental effort of the campaign, but some also are likely to symbolize the conflict between ideals and the limits of what is possible. The chart just doesn’t look like enough strength to make it to the Presidency.
Our last contestant (at this writing) is George McGovern. Like Jesse Jackson, McGovern came into the race somewhat later than the rest, feeling that his ideals were needed and not being supported adequately by the other contenders. Since several of the other Democrats are well over on the liberal side, McGovern’s position is even farther left. He agrees with Cranston on nuclear disarmament, even if it has to be unilateral. A number of retired military leaders oppose the continuing escalation in nuclear arms. Of course they can only speak out after retirement unless they are looking for a quick end to their career. They state that we have ample deterrent strength now and do not need to escalate the situation further. McGovern also says that he would personally meet with Andropov.
We can see the strong interpersonal emphasis in McGovern’s chart, with a high focus on the signs and the houses of Cancer and Leo in addition to our potentially political Libra. The Moon conjunct the Antivertex added to the first house Cancer including Mercury, the Ascendant ruler, in Cancer, show a strong identification with the nurturing parent. The power drive is less emphasized, though Aries is in the tenth house, and Jupiter and Neptune, ruling the Pisces MC, are respectively in the house and the sign of Leo for the five-ten mixture. But mostly, the chart suggests high aspirations in the work (Sagittarius in the sixth house and Pisces in the tenth) and a warm, caring nature expanded to encompass more than personal family.
There are some harmonious aspects in the progressed chart for the election, such as Sun sextile natal Sun and consequently progressed MC sextile natal MC. Progressed Venus is trine the midpoint of natal and progressed Uranus, just past the trine to Pluto, but square progressed Ascendant. Progressed Saturn is approaching the square to Pluto and past the square to Mercury, seeming too disconnected to support achievement of an executive position, though the long conjunction to Pallas fits the legal-political career. Progressed Ascendant quincunx Uranus suggests a career move in a new direction. Progressed Mercury is conjunct progressed Jupiter for optimism and some success in persuading listeners to respect his ideals. The Moon is conjunct Venus at the election, but opposite the MC at the time of the Democratic nomination in late July, 1984. Progressed Vesta is conjunct natal Neptune with the progressed Ascendant coming to Neptune within another year.
The combinations emphasize the desire to do something idealistic in his work, but as with the rest of the also-rans, the aspects do not look strong enough to indicate attainment of the highest office in our land. My impression is that McGovern would not be too unhappy with the outcome of the election, but would not himself be moving into the White House. Maybe at some level, he would be relieved to escape the burden of the office. In the current state of the world, and its likely state for the next 10 to 15 years, the job of President is so impossible, I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind wanting it. Since several people want it enough to put themselves through the incredible ordeal of the campaign, either their faith is greater than mine, or their ignorance. Next July in San Francisco, we will settle the contest for the official Democratic nominee, and November will provide the main show. Stay tuned.