Scorpio Ascendants and Barack Obama

Remember Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention?

Wish someone could come up with a definite birth time for the Senator.

There are several times proposed in an article you'll find linked in my post on people who have Scorpio Rising which is one of the possible Ascending signs for him especially if you use the 1:06 pm time which is making the rounds online.

Does Barack Obama have Scorpio Ascending? See what you think and let me know your thoughts if you get a mo and IF you can get Blogger's consarned Comment window to open for you! Otherwise you'll find my contact email address at the bottom of this page (zevo calamari--this means you!) ;p

Losing Religion in favor of Politics?

If so, you may want to reconsider mixing spirtual with political before the IRS gets onto ya and takes your church's tax exempt status away.

Read my post at Jude's Treshold on Election Year: Politics in the Pulpit for a list of some of the prohibitions on 'voter guides', political endorsements, etc, and there's a more info link provided, plus some 'wedge issue' views of my own which may ruffle feathers here or there, I don't know.

Iowa's void-of-course Moon and George Bush

UPDATE 8:57 pm EST: ABC News projecting Huckabee for the Rs, and "preliminary" results for Ds: Obama, Clinton, and Edwards, in that order. Seems kind of early to me, but we'll see if their projections hold out.

Original post here:

You know it's after 8:30 pm, Iowans must be in the throes by now, and the void-of-course Moon at 7:00 pm CST (when the throes began) has me stumped.

I mean, we know that chart-ruler Sun (*13Cap02) is *opposite US natal Sun (and Bush's natal Sun, of course) and it's clear that with 8Leo49 rising at 7:00 pm CST the natal Mercuries of the Republican Party, George Bush (and Gonzo--remember our ill-starred AG?) are rising as well--and not so far from Bush's n ASC "8Leo" ("A bolshevik propagandist") and all that, but how well can things go with a void-of-course Moon which leads to nowhere?

'Sup, Iowa? Can this be a negative for the only woman (Moon) in the bunch?

Will the final results from tonight be a long time comin'? And who's watching Karl Rove and Dick Cheney skulking in the shadows?

Now the 'caucus' Sun does apply to an opportunistic sextile with techno-savvy Uranus in 8th house...and Uranus, the reformer, certainly reminds me of the Bushies. But why is Dubya smeared all over this chart? What is the power cyclist up to?

If we consider Bush's natal conjunction in 1st house of Mercury and Pluto (10Leo35) blended with tonight's 7:00 pm Ascendant, a midpoint picture emerges...

Pluto/ASC = Mercury: exercising influence; lording it over others; intellectual domination.

He does so love being a consequential leader and with a 12th house Sun in Cancer, he's something of a meddling busybody from behind-the-scenes...comes by it naturally...yet he's a master at scuttling out of the way when the buck begins to stop...have you noticed Mr. Crabby doing just that?

Looks to me like a very busy, competitive night for old street-fightin' George and his minions.


*Sun transiting opposite Sun is when one's direction for the year should be reassessed and adjustments made if things aren't on track. If you're not sure of that date for your own chart, count exactly 6 months from your date of birth, give or take a day.

**Sun conjunct asteroid, Siva, the destroyer or creator.

Spotlight on Mercury: Mike Huckabee

Today I continue the series on candidates' Mercuries (their thinking and communication abilities and styles) with Republican Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, who has stated in the campaign that he will "represent the people on Main Street, not Wall Street."

Setting aside my intuition that none of the candidates will truly be able to perform this amazing feat from the Oval Office--and they won't occupy it long if they do--I submit to you my notes on Huckabee's natal chart with emphasis on natal Mercury 17Vir31 (sunrise--birth time unknown--Aug 24, 1955; 5:46:19 am CST.)

Mercury rules two signs of the zodiac--Gemini and Virgo. A Geminian Mercury is interested in ideas for their own sakes, while Mercury in Virgo prefers that ideas have practical applications toward financial success and status.

Depending on aspects, house placements, and other factors, a Virgoan Mercury indicates an analytical mind with practical reasoning ability. Precision and accuracy are important to this Mercury placement which works best in orderly surroundings where efficient procedures are prominent (The Astrologer's Handbook, Sakoian.)

Education and development of skills, including proper grammar, bring financial and professional success to the Virgoan Mercury. Language abilities make them good orators, an ability which has aided Huckabee in his early preaching career and, of couse, in verbiose politics.

Mercury in Virgo is oriented toward dedicated work, so when Huckabee mentions his previous hard work as governor, I believe him. Detailed work is attractive to the Virgoan Mercury which may show a shyness and a retiring air which doesn't like to waste time in idle conversation. Getting on with the job is more common unless other factors interfere.

Since I have no birth time for him, Mercury's house placement is unknown to me (though it wouldn't surprise me if Huckabee has Sag rising considering his previous poundage, plus: Jupiter = the preacher; the optimist), but we can be certain that natal Mercury is in a separating sextile (60 degrees) with n Saturn in Scorpio.

The fact that it is a separating (waning) aspect indicates that the aspect's gifts are inherited, probably from the paternal side--unless his mother wore the pants in the family--and with Moon in Scorpio, perhaps she did. And it's possible he received these abilities from both sides of the family, for we are all the 'flowering of our generations,' aren't we?

Mercury sextile Saturn: disciplined mind; organizational skills esp in career matters; prudence and forethought in the decision-making process; lecturing and teaching talents; math ability; never leaves anything to chance--there is purpose behind every thought and action.

That last trait is perfect for politics in which nothing happens by accident--if it happens, we can be sure it was designed to happen (FDR.) (btw: I consider this to apply to mysterious 'suicides' and plane crashes as well.)

As final dispositor of his natal chart, Huckabee's Mercury in Virgo underpins all his natal planets' energies, is strong in its own sign, and indicates a stable mind able to organize his talents toward long-term goals and objectives.

However, you may want to read my concerns about Huckabee as US president for a fuller view of aw-shucks-I'm-harmless Mike Huckabee.

note: please pardon the typo in the title of this post if you're seeing it--it has been corrected on blog!

Blackwater and the US political "elite"

The *hores of War By Neil Mackay

America's hired guns in Iraq have been called 'the coalition of the billing', but Blackwater mercenaries are accused of more than just taking the money.

Investigations Editor Neil Mackay examines the links between the security firm and the US political elite here.