Once again here is Guest Blogger Kevin Estes, a young California astrologer who writes the Left Wing Astrology blog, updating us on his work with Political Ideology indicators in Astrology charts:
Political Ideology In Astrology
by Kevin Estes
This is an updated guide explaining the theory of Alan Lin at zot.net and AstroLibertarian which I have expanded to include celebrities, local politicians, and people I know, with a few tweaks to it, as shown below.
The Aspects
Conjunction - 0 degrees (positive); Opposition - 180 degrees (negative); Square - 90 degrees (negative); Trine - 120 degrees (positive); Sextile - 60 degrees (positive); Semi Sextile - 30 degrees (negative); Semi Square - 45 degrees (negative); Sesquiquadrate - 135 degrees (negative); Quincunx - 150 degrees (negative); Quintile - 72 degrees (positive); Biquintile - 144 degrees (positive); Squine - 105 degrees (negative); Quindecile - 165 degrees (negative); Parallel - equivalent to a conjunction in declination (positive); Contraparallel - equivalent to an opposition in declination (negative).
Both the parallel and contraparallel are 0 and 1 degree orbs. I give wider orbs, often as many as 10 degrees (for tiebreakers, Alan goes up to 12 degrees for conjunctions and oppositions regularly, which I sometimes go past 10 as my Mercury is conjunct the Venus that's opposite my Neptune, and both are in Gemini, and thus ruled by Mercury. The usual limit is 7 degrees, as 8 degrees is over a quarter of the sign), to conjunctions, oppositions, squares, sextiles (he goes to three degrees here, though the sextile is a much bigger aspect than than the quincunx, sesquiquadrate, quintile, and biquintile), and trines, and up to 5 degrees for the minor aspects (he goes two to three degrees for minor aspects).
Rising Signs
I use the collages at this link to match someone's picture with each rising sign until I get the best match: Linda Goodman Forum24.
Aries risings tend to have arched eyebrows similar to a ram's horns, Taurus risings tend to have thick necks and a sensual look, Gemini risings tend to have playful eyes and a youthful look, Cancer risings tend to have a very innocent and homey look, Leo risings tend to have long hair and a dignified look, Virgo risings tend to have an ordinary look, Libra risings tend to have a very beautiful and balanced look, Scorpio risings tend to have penetrating eyes, Sagittarius risings tend to have diagonally arching eyebrows and a narrow head, Capricorn risings tend to have a very bony look, Aquarius risings tend to have an aloof and weird look, and Pisces risings tend to have a dreamy look. Always look to see if the first influence you find is because of the Sun or Moon sign, as these placements also have a huge influence on the appearance.
The Planets
Moon - The Moon, its ruler, and 4th house ruler in aspect to the North Node, 4th house, and the sign of Cancer indicate a conservative impulse in terms of social issues (abortion, gay rights, immigration, environment, prayer in schools, death penalty, drugs, stem cell research, etc.), and aspects to Neptune, the South Node, the 12th house, and sign of Pisces indicate a liberal impulse. Mixed signatures trend to lean to the right, unless the leftist aspects clearly win (like a trine to the South Node and conjunction with Neptune vs. a sesquiquadrate and quincunx with the North Node).
Venus - Venus, its ruler, and 2nd house ruler in aspect to the North Node, 2nd house, and the sign of Taurus indicate a conservative impulse in terms of economic issues (taxes, entitlement programs, free trade, school vouchers, minimum wage, gun control which implements restrictions on the purchase of guns, health care, etc.), and aspects to Neptune, the South Node, the 12th house, and sign of Pisces indicate a liberal impulse. Mixed signatures lean to the right, unless the leftist aspects clearly win. A strong Pallas can sway someone to the right economically as well. Many people who are culturally conservative can have left wing economic indicators, though this doesn't always point to supporting left wing economic policies, as left wing economic indicators can point to strong support of deficit spending in order to strengthen the military, and even fascism, which likely explains the left wing economic indicators of George W Bush, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump.
Pallas - Pallas or its ruler in aspect to the Sun, Mercury, and North Node indicate a libertarian impulse, wile aspects to the South Node and Pluto as well as hard aspects (opposition, square, sesquiquadrate, quincunx) to Jupiter indicate an authoritarian impulse. Most politicians have mixed Pallas or aggressive Pallas, signifying a strong authoritarian nature, whether it's accepting bribes from corporations or forcing their innate world view on the people.
The Nodes - The conjunction, trine, sesquiquadrate, and quincunx aspects are stronger than their counterparts (opposition, sextile, semi square, and semi sextile respectively), and thus they should be given more weight (for example, the North Node conjunction would count over the South Node opposition).
The Left
In all of my research so far, leftists tend to have strong left wing indicators both economically and socially. The reasoning for this is because Neptune has no boundaries in its empathy. It empathizes with the lower class who struggle to meet ends meet, women who were rape victims or who aren't ready to have a baby, oppressed minorities, people who are discriminated for being LGBT, etc. Neptune's strong influence on those in the left without strong Moon and Venus aspects to the North Node may be a cause for males on the left to appear more handsome than males on the right (examples being most of the Hollywood actors and the last two Democratic presidents).
The Right
Unlike the left, rightists often have right wing indicators in one area only (some have them in both categories, like Ted Cruz), and it doesn't matter which one. People who lean right usually do so because of fear in a certain area. Fear of communism, fear of going to "hell" for supporting socially liberal policies, fear of being taken over by another country, etc. This is what makes conservatives come off as more rigid in person than liberals who come off as more loose. Influence of Venus and the Moon without Neptune's influence overwhelming it may be a cause for females on the right to appear more feminine (NOT attractive, that's different) than females on the left (Michelle Malkin is a prime example).
Fake Liberals and Conservatives
While most people tend to express the views related to their astrological impulses, there are people who have risen to prominence whose charts show the opposite ideology of what they express in public. These people are quite common in Hollywood and the state and federal government. In Hollywood, the liberal celebrities are much more famous and successful outside of the actors in action movies (Mel Gibson, Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger) and game show hosts, who are extremely conservative as a whole.
For example, Billy Crystal is a notable actor who expresses left wing views, but his chart shows the exact opposite, which means that he's likely a Democrat in order to be successful in Hollywood. And Rick Perry is well known for being an Evangelical extremist, yet his chart has a strong left wing pattern, which shows that he is likely Republican in order to be successful politically in Texas, a very conservative state. The reverse is also present as Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein has a strong right wing pattern, which means that she's likely a Democrat in order to be successful politically in California. This hasn't happened yet with local politicians, as their elections are non partisan, and thus their party affiliations match their astrological impulses. In regards to journalists, news anchors, and political commentators, this is a non issue as the conservatives tend to be featured on conservative news channels and websites, and the liberals tend to be featured on liberal news channels and websites.
Locations
It is well known that the liberal "blue" states are along the coasts (while the northern Midwest states like Illinois are around lakes) while the conservative "red" states are more inland, and that liberal areas are more urban than conservative areas, which are more rural and suburban. This is because Neptune, the main indicator of liberalism in the chart, rules water. And the reason for conservatives, especially cultural conservatives, living in more isolated areas is because Cancer, the sign that the Moon rules, is associated with cultural norms and security, and thus cultural conservatives tend to live in areas with people who share the same views. This is why the southern "Bible belt" states, the northwestern states that aren't on the coast (which includes rural Alaska), and the Midwest states outside of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are more conservative than Nevada, the Pacific coast states (which includes Hawaii), and the Northeastern states, which are known for a more urban lifestyle, which goes hand in hand with more population density.
In my state, California, the more rural middle portion of the state (which includes Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, Merced, and Modesto) is significantly more conservative than the more liberal southern and northern portions of the state, where Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland are located, which are more urban. I grew up in a city that was very suburban and car oriented, and it's no coincidence that most of my high school classmates are conservative, as are around half the teachers at that high school. Where I live now, everything is more centrally located, and it's no coincidence that most of my neighbors are liberal and that there's more population density. That's why the wealthy urban cities in SoCal, like Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, are significantly more liberal than equally wealthy suburban cities, like southern Orange County. This is why Hollywood (which Neptune also rules as it rules TV, film, and culture) celebrities, who are extremely liberal, are located predominantly in these urban areas next to water.
Conclusion
Political views are an astrological complex, just like character (the signs your planets and ascendant are in), which is why it's pretty much impossible to change someone's viewpoint, no matter how well thought out your argument is, thus making it a waste of energy to even try. If more people knew this, there wouldn't be as much division in the world as there is today, because people would know that neither side is right or wrong. I'm not saying that you can't express your opinion on a news article publicly, but not to force those same views on others, as it rarely, if ever, ends well. Hardcore socialists? They can't help it. Extreme capitalists? They can't help it. Patriotic Christian conservatives? They can't help it. Pro choice LGBT rights activists? They can't help it. Anti police state Libertarians? They can't help it. Just like how you can't help it if you express a certain trait because of your Sun's sign. Only authoritarian Pallas aspects should be controlled (just like how only the negative traits of your Sun sign should be controlled, as they could have a negative effect on others), otherwise you won't be expressing your true self. The more people realize that political viewpoints are innate, much like your gender, skin color, and sexuality, the more we can focus on the true enemy, that is purposely dividing us because of these innate characteristics.
Here are some references which show how political ideology expresses itself in your appearance and actions:
Survey Says GOP Women Are Prettier; Political Views Innate Acquired; A Face for Politics: New Study Shows We Can Tell Democrats from Republicans in Head shots; How Ideology Colors Morality; Biology Ideology: John Hibbing Negativity Bias
Thanks Kevin!
Also by Kevin Estes: Pluto in Capricorn, Neptune in Pisces, and the Pluto Return.
The above article is published by permission of its author and appears on his blog Left Wing Astrology.
