Barack Obama has three planets, including his Sun, in Leo. He is an example of how Leo can count life itself as the most important experience, the strength and validity of an identity gained through personal experience. It’s very self-centered and Leonine, but in a positive way—although the press tends not to understand the value of this type of experience in politics.
The hotly debated issue of who has the most "experience"--Obama or Hillary--is interesting from an astrological point of view. For a Leo like Obama, living in Indonesia does give him experience equal to someone who has studied fifty position papers on Southeast Asia. He’s absorbed experiential meaning and made it part of who he is. Compare that with Hillary Clinton’s exact Mercury-Saturn square. Her Mercury was exactly stationary when she was born, giving this planet added power in her life. Hillary’s experience is gained through strong-willed study and effort, striving to be the A student and best-prepared one in the class—just as valid as Obama’s experience, perhaps, but arrived at through a different planetary route.
Obama has positioned himself as the candidate who can best change (Uranus) the status quo (Saturn). Either of these two Democratic candidates, however, would if elected represent real change: the first female or first African-American president in U.S. history.
On November 4, 2008—election day—there will be an exact opposition of Saturn and Uranus. This opposition will hit Obama’s Virgo Mars, so he is surely a candidate who may be in the final race for the White House. Neptune squares Obama’s Mercury and Sun, giving Neptune some power in his horoscope. In this day and age of the 24-hour news cycle and political marketing, successful candidates need a powerful Neptune.
Several months ago, the New York Observer published an excellent article on the Feb. 6 eclipse and the super-primary day election. The article paid particular attention to disagreement over the birth time for Barack Obama . Several astrologers commented about the affect that the Feb. 6 eclipse could have on his candidacy, either for good or bad. One thing I’d add is that eclipses are influential within three degrees of a planet or angle, and none of Obama’s Leo planets are within this orb of influence for the Feb. 6 eclipse at 17° Aquarius. However, his birth time becomes critical because if it is indeed 1:06 PM (as suggested by some astrologers, but thus far unverified), then the eclipse will be right on Obama’s Midheaven/IC axis, signifying a big effect on his home and career.
Using the unverified 1:06 PM birth time, the Feb. 6 eclipse will conjoin Obama's 4th house cusp, the IC, indicating a profound new personal direction. In addition, Uranus is situated close to his Midheaven, a strong indicator of his potential to bring about change.
Barack Obama; 8/4/1961; Honolulu, HI; 1:06 PM (unverified time)
