Contender Preview
Zip Dobyns
Although the 1988 election is more than a year away, many presidential contenders have been out on the hustings for months. I hope to have more complete birth data eventually, but am enclosing what I have to date. Asteroid-World readers will already have received most of it. Among the men who have already announced or shown in other ways their candidacy, on the Democratic side we have Bruce Babbitt born on June 27, 1936, at 10:16 P.M. PST, in Los Angeles (data from Marion March who got it from the candidate). Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on November 20, 1942 at 8:30 A.M. EWT, (data from Mark Lerner’s magazine). Michael Dukakis was born in Brookline Massachusetts on November 3, 1933 at 6 P.M. EST (data from Lois Rodden). Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina on October 8, 1941 at 3:30 P.M. EST. I have dates but no birth time for Richard Gephardt, born on January 31, 1941; Paul Simon, born in Eugene, Oregon on November 29, 1928; and Albert Gore born in Washington, DC (I think) on March 31, 1948. Gary Hart is now out of the race, providing a stunning example of the value of the asteroids and local (place of residence) angles.
On the Republican side, we have Pierre (Pete) Du Pont born in Wilmington, Delaware on January 22, 1935; Alexander Haig born in Philadelphia on December 2, 1924; Pat Robertson born in Lexington, Virginia on March 22, 1930; and Paul Laxalt born in Reno, Nevada on August 2, 1922. I have birth times for the other three candidates; Jack Kemp was born in Los Angeles, California at 3:15 A.M. PST, on July 13, 1935. Robert Dole was born in Russel, Kansas at ten minutes after midnight CST, on July 22, 1923. We have discussed George Bush in earlier issues of The Mutable Dilemma. As our current Vice President, he is still a front runner despite some tarnish from Iran-Contragate. He was born in Milton, Massachusetts at 11:05 A.M. EDT (though that time is not certain) on June 12, 1924. Howard Baker, Dale Bumpers, Mario Cuomo, Ted Kennedy, Sam Nunn and Bill Bradley have declared that they will not run this time (subject to possible mind changes).
We will include more material as the race develops, especially if complete data becomes available for more of the contestants. In the meantime, of the contenders for whom I have full data, Michael Dukakis looks strong enough to be a possible winner. Jackson’s chart shows increased prominence some months after the election, suggesting the possibility of an appointed position at that time or some other form of power activity. Among other aspects, his progressed Sun will reach the MC. Of course, if he was born a few minutes earlier than the time suggested, his Sun could be on the MC in time for the election. This article was originally written in March for the Pisces Mutable Dilemma but got bumped for lack of space. At that time, I had written of Gary Hart, “his horoscope is full of separation aspects; oppositions and quincunxes. Of course, that might mean changing his residence and activity from running for President to being President, but it seems more likely that the patterns represent his loss of the prize. On election day, his P Moon is in a cardinal T-square to P Sun and Pluto; P Mars is still in orb with its long opposition to Uranus; Saturn maintains a long opposition to Neptune in the sixth house; P Mercury and P Ceres are conjunct in the tenth house but quincunx P Chiron in the third house; P Ascendant is on the P south node of the Moon; P MC is quincunx Juno in the sixth house; P Venus is conjunct Saturn. I would not want to bet on him.”
After Hart’s infidelities hit the newspaper front pages and he gave up the race, of course I checked his chart for the event. Among other aspects, his progressed (P) local (Washington) Ascendant was on his natal IC forming a cardinal grand cross, square his P Moon (in Aries in the twelfth house), opposite his natal MC in Capricorn, and square natal Mars in Libra in the sixth house. Adding to the cross, P Circe (who turned men into pigs) was conjunct P Moon, and they opposed P Asmodeus (Babylonian god of lust). He also had P Prudentia (prudence or the lack of it) on his MC and P Sophia (wisdom or the lack of it) on his Descendant. P Washingtonia was quincunx his local Ascendant (in Washington, DC), pointing to his separation from Washington. Of course, the traditional factors were also there, including P Sun opposite Pluto and square his local (Washington) East Point with five of the new asteroids clustered in Libra in the natal seventh house to finish another cardinal grand cross. Everything we add to the chart just says it again and again!
Hart’s cardinal crosses were partly in cardinal houses and partly in mutable houses, so his dilemma(s) involved both cardinal and mutable issues, but the fixed planets also brought in elements of the fixed dilemma. As usual, we have to deal with all of life. Hart chose personal freedom (Mars, Aries, P local Ascendant, local East Point) over commitment (Cancer, fourth house, Libra, Pluto, seventh house) and social laws, reputation, conscience (MC in Capricorn). His personal ideals and values (twelfth house) were in conflict with the general mores and laws of society (tenth house), and acting on them (Aries in the twelfth house) separated him from the job he wanted (sixth house). Conflict aspects show inner conflict (and outer if we fail to integrate the inner). Conflict aspects usually lead to some kind of action since the conflict is uncomfortable and the individual is driven to do something about the pain. But the results of the action can be either a successful resolution of the conflict with some kind of effective compromise, or we may carry one drive to excess and end up losing other desires which are also part of our own nature. In the first cardinal cross described above, the P Moon, P local Ascendant and natal Mars are all forms of letter one; personal will in action. Letter one won out, but cost him his desired job and reputation and may end up costing him his marriage, family and home.
Returning to the remaining candidates, Dole also has many conflict aspects showing his political struggle. His P Moon is on the true south node of the Moon, opposite the north node in Virgo indicating an intense focus on emotional security issues and relationships involving work (what is realistic and possible) versus ideals (our dreams of the Absolute). P Mars is still on the mean north node of the Moon, opposite the south node in the eleventh house bringing in personal action while the houses symbolize the confrontation of personal relationships with transpersonal affairs. This could be a freedom-closeness issue, but Dole is not another Hart, and his wife is also in public office so likely to understand and accept neglect of the relationship for the transpersonal emphasis that is required to run for public office. Dole may experience the five-eleven conflict as one between the ego ambition to achieve the power of the Presidency versus the response of the public who may not vote for him in sufficient numbers. Uranus holds a long quincunx to Dole’s sixth house Saturn while his Washington P MC is just approaching an opposition to Saturn and P Chiron holds a long opposition to P Saturn. These are all separation aspects suggesting that his goals and ambitions may be excessive and out of reach. P Ascendant and P local East Point are on Pluto square P Mercury in the sixth house of work, additional clues to power struggles involving work. P Saturn remaining square natal MC for years repeats the same message, fitting a constant race against time or against other forms of the laws of nature or humans. The whole set of patterns fits an overdrive life. Pallas, often prominent in political charts, is in a double quincunx (yod) to the local Ascendant and natal Mars suggesting a shift to a new direction. P north node of the Moon stays quincunx the Washington MC, fitting the chronic coming and going of a politician who alternates between working in Washington and staying in touch with the voters at home. P Jupiter opposes the local East Point; aspirations versus personal ability to reach the high goals. The general power struggle theme certainly fits his choice of politics as a career, as well as his military service and serious injuries in World War II, but the odds for success in 1988 do not look very good. The one really good aspect is P local Ascendant conjunct natal Mercury-Sun for personal prominence through communication and the media, but they are trioctile the south node of the Moon and the P Moon, and octile the north node and P Mars. P MC is past a yod (double quincunx) to P Saturn and P Neptune, and its only aspect is an octile-trioctile to the natal Ascendant-Descendant. I suspect he will be out of the race before the November election.
Jack Kemp has some dramatic aspects with the new asteroids, but I do not think the traditional factors are strong enough in his chart to pick him as a winner. He had natal Saturn exactly on his MC in Pisces, but it has now retrograded back into the ninth house. His P Sun is just coming to a conjunction with natal Neptune in Virgo in the fourth house. The aspect is within the allowed one degree orb by early January 1989. P Neptune holds a long square to natal Moon in the sixth house and to natal Chiron in the twelfth house. I have found Neptune prominent in most of our Presidents and would-be Presidents. Does one have to have delusions of grandeur to seek that impossible job?
Another long progressed aspect in Kemp’s chart comes from the south node of the Moon on natal Sun. The mean node will end the aspect in the fall of 1989, but the true node holds the aspect for many more years. The combination looks like a lesson involving the ego; perhaps the over-confidence that lets him think he could handle a job that would challenge a super-human. On the positive side, P Mars is sextile-trine the natal nodes, suggesting harmonious relationships. Potentially helpful is a P Vesta trine to natal Jupiter which is starting just before the election, but it also opposes Neptune. Kemp may have conscious faith that he can handle his work successfully, but some unconscious ambivalence. P East Point on P Pluto and trine the P Moon in the sixth house shows personal action involving joint power and the capacity to appeal to the public, partly through the intuitive ability marked by the water planets. P MC reaches P Juno just before the election and it is also quincunx P Mercury and trine P Pallas emphasizing relationships which could be personal or work-involved. P Mercury octile P Jupiter suggests a conflict between aspirations and the world we actually live in. P Uranus holds a long square to the Washington Ascendant and a temporary octile to P Antivertex for the potential of changes in personal attitudes and/or actions. P local MC is just reaching P Chiron at election, with Chiron square P Venus: career ambitions in Washington, DC may fall short of goals, denying Kemp’s pleasure needs. The aspects are very mixed, with more harmony than Hart or Jackson but with less strength than Dukakis.
Among the impressive asteroid aspects are P Atlantis conjunct natal Sun and Washingtonia; P Washingtonia conjunct P Ascendant; P Pallas conjunct natal America and P America opposite natal Vesta. P Angola conjunct natal Moon (Kemp supports arms for Savimba who is fighting the government of Angola). P north node of the Moon is on natal Karl Marx while P Russia is on natal south node of the Moon. (Kemp strongly supports the Pentagon, including an immediate deployment of star wars technology in space). P Phaethon on Chiron opposite natal Moon in Sagittarius, quincunx Jupiter, and square P Vesta in Pisces suggests questionable judgment and overreach. Godiva on natal Saturn-MC and P Coventry on natal Pallas fit Kemp’s involvement with the tax cuts. Godiva did the famous ride through Coventry to try to get her conqueror foreign husband to cut the exorbitant taxes he had imposed on her people, the native English citizens of the town. There are many more asteroids with current aspects including those named for Italy, Japan, Germany, Arabia, etc., which would fit Kemp playing a role in U.S. dealings with other countries. It will be interesting to watch the continuing career of this former football star turned politician.
Michael Dukakis has his share of challenge aspects but his chart also shows much strength. P Saturn stays conjunct his MC for years, an aspect shared by Walter Mondale and Jesse Helms. Helms, an ultra conservative, has the combination in Libra; Mondale, a strong liberal, has it in Sagittarius; Dukakis, a liberal but also quite pragmatic, has it in Aquarius. At election time, Dukakis has his Washington P MC trine Mercury in his sixth house and his birthplace P MC conjunct natal and P Ceres and sextile Saturn, all favorable aspects for work success. P Venus in his tenth house offers further support with a sextile to his seventh house Mars in Sagittarius. P Mercury in the seventh house trines Uranus on the twelfth house cusp and is quincunx Pluto in the third house: an active mind for communication, media attention, travel, etc. Pluto stays square Uranus for years. Often, the letter three to twelve squares mark a perpetual tension between the ideals and the ordinary world, or between family and transpersonal commitments. Another quincunx involves P Ascendant to natal Venus in the seventh house. The changes suggested by quincunxes often show new homes, jobs, associates, etc. P Jupiter in the fifth house holds a long trine to Pallas in the tenth, but the Washington P Ascendant squares P Jupiter and is quincunx Pallas. Taking on the U.S. Presidency could be an over-reach for almost anyone. P Mars trines P Vesta and the Washington, DC Ascendant, saying “I can handle it” with a grand trine in air signs and fire houses. P Pallas squares the local Ascendant and is quincunx P Vesta suggesting political work changes. P Moon is octile the local P Ascendant and trioctile P Jupiter connecting the public with emotional security, personal action, and faith. On inauguration day, P Moon trines the Washington MC. Overall, the aspects are certainly more harmonious than are the ones in the charts of most of the other contestants.
Dukakis’ grand air trine is further supported by asteroids, with P Mars on natal America and P Vesta on P Iris (hope) and natal Freia (the Norse Juno). P Washingtonia is sextile P Juno and trine natal Jupiter but quincunx natal Vesta-Neptune in Virgo in the fourth house. The quincunx would fit a change of residence to Washington, DC. Natal Jupiter is on the midpoint of MC/Ascendant while P Jupiter sextiles the Sun/Moon midpoint. I am less encouraged to note that P Hooveria is conjunct Uranus, square Pluto. Hoover presided over the inception of the big depression of the 1930s. I have heard moderately positive things about most of the Democratic candidates, but am most uneasy about Gephardt’s protectionist goals and most attracted to Paul Simon, an “unreconstructed”, old-time liberal. Meanwhile, we will watch the show.
The new information which came to me in time for the spring Asteroid-World involved an organization called the Christic Institute, and Carolyn Dodson sent me Howard Baker’s birth time. The Christics are a public interest law firm started about 1980. They were asked to aid the investigation into the bombing at Eden Pastora’s news conference in Costa Rica in May 1984. Many newsmen were killed or severely injured in the bombing. The investigation has opened an incredible can of worms leading all the way back to a secret team formed under Richard Nixon for the overthrow or assassination of Fidel Castro when he had just conquered Cuba. Members of the “team” include the Cubans who ran the gambling halls in Havana, U.S. military, CIA, Mafia figures, and private businessmen involved in arms and drug dealing. Some names which have become familiar to us through the Iran-Contra-gate hearings are long-time members of the “team.” Secord, Singlaub, Clines, North, Shackley, Von Marbod, Hakim, Rodriguez, Quinterro, Edwin Wilson (in jail for selling explosives to Kadafi), Hull (owner of the Costa Rica ranch which supported the Contras), and many more (29 in all) are listed in a suit filed by the Christics in a Miami, FL court on May 29, 1986 between 9 and 10 A.M. In January 1987, a Miami judge denied a motion by the defendants to throw out the case, and gave the Christics the power to subpoena telephone and bank records to continue their investigation. They expect to spend the balance of this year gathering more evidence, and to go to court in 1988.
The Christic suit provided a missing piece of the puzzle. I watched the newspapers in vain in May-June 1986 when Halley’s comet stationed for a month at 10-11 Virgo on our Constitution and Reagan’s MC and our Declaration Ascendant, looking for something important that would involve the highest levels of our government and that could lead to Reagan’s departure from office and to major restructuring in our bureaucratic system. I now think the Christic suit is the missing key. They have evidence that this “secret team” has operated since 1960, sometimes with the full knowledge of the executive branch of the government, sometimes privately, outside the government; that they have personally assassinated thousands of people who were suspected of being “communists” or communist sympathizers; that they sold arms and brought drugs into the U.S. to support their anti-communist crusade. The Iran-Contra hearings are being carefully limited to very recent activities. Congress is afraid to go too far against a “popular” President, and afraid that their own record might be darkened if this whole story comes out. But the Christics are a group of idealists (originally started by Jesuits but now including Jews and a variety of religious orientations) who believe that democracy can work if we pursue the truth and use our democratic system of law and the courts. They say that Bush was deeply involved in the team at least since his term as head of the CIA. The rumor in Washington, DC is that Bush will resign first, after the evidence of his complicity is fully revealed next year; that Reagan will then appoint Howard Baker to be Vice President; that Reagan will then resign, giving health as an excuse, and Baker will become President before the conventions in the summer of 1988. That would give Baker a good shot at the Republican nomination.
And speaking of Baker, his birth time arrived just in time, and he does have a shot at the preceding scenario. He was born on November 15, 1925 at 3 P.M. CST, in Huntsville, TN, 36 N 25, 84 W 25. I had already picked the late spring-early summer of 1988 for the possible departure of Reagan, and assumed that Bush would inherit the Presidency then with his P Moon crossing his natal Vesta, natal Descendant, and P Mars. However, these aspects (and many more) could just as easily point to Bush’s departure from government service. At the same time, Baker has his P MC trine an exact natal Saturn-Moon conjunction, while his local (Washington) P MC is trine his P Saturn. I do not ever remember seeing a similar double MC trine Saturn. There are many more aspects including P Moon sextile natal Venus in April-May 1988, then (during the Republican convention in August 1988) the P Moon is sextile the MC, trine Pluto (which is conjunct the U.S. Declaration Sun in a lifetime opposition to Baker’s natal MC), and P Moon is also square Mercury and P Mars, and octile-trioctile the nodes of the Moon. By the November election, P Moon is conjunct P MC and trine natal Moon-Saturn, and by the January inauguration, it will be sextile natal Jupiter and the local MC, quincunx natal Ceres, square P Vesta (the last two as Virgo asteroids relate to the work), and trine the midpoint of Sun-Saturn. There are many more aspects, of course. I would not want to predict his winning the Presidency in November 1988, but it seems at least possible. The incredibly strong Scorpio theme in his chart would fit a power position in a very Scorpio period with Pluto in its own sign and the world struggling with debts, power, AIDS, etc.
However, just to complicate the picture, information from Fran McAvoy in Massachusetts states that Nancy Reagan’s birth time is 1:18 A.M., according to her mother. I started with that time some years ago, and then was told it should be P.M. and I switched since the afternoon time seemed to fit her public life and slender figure etc. At this point, I have to consider the data questionable. I have not had time to attempt a rectification. If the early A.M. time is accurate, she has some theoretically very positive aspects at the critical time in 1988 with P Sun trine the natal MC, P MC trine natal Moon, and P Ascendant conjunct natal Sun. Those aspects are not very appropriate for retirement in disgrace! Of course, she also has local P Ascendant conjunct Pluto; local P MC opposite Saturn; and P Sun trioctile Ascendant, so there is a stress aspect for each of the harmonious ones. Nancy’s P Moon would fit the proposed scenario even better with more stress than easy aspects. In the spring, P Moon is sextile to Uranus and trine to P Ceres, but also opposite Pluto and local P Ascendant, quincunx natal Ceres in the fourth house, and trioctile to P Mars and P Vesta. By summer P Moon would go through oppositions to natal Mars and then Sun (and P Ascendant), quincunxes to P Venus and natal Neptune, trioctiles to P local Antivertex and natal Venus, and squares to natal Antivertex and Chiron. In the early fall, P Moon would cross the local MC, a major aspect for career or home change, though the change of residence could also fit the Moon opposite the Sun, since the latter rules the Leo in the fourth house or the spring quincunx to Ceres in the fourth house. Many times, a series of aspects such as these point to a series of events, and guessing the exact timing of one event is just that: a guess.
As a P.S., Alan Greenspan has been nominated to replace Paul Volcker who is retiring on August 6, 1987 as head of the Federal Reserve. It may prove difficult to get a birth time for him, since he was born in New York and they did not systematically put time on birth certificates until about 1940. His birth date is March 6, 1926. If any readers know anyone close to him or his family, and any information on time is available from family records, it would be much appreciated!!!