April 23, 2006
The
last Virgo to occupy the White House was Lyndon Johnson, a
former senator who made his reputation as a very down-to-earth
and real-world politician. LBJ knew how to pull the levers
of power but became lost in micro-managing the Vietnam War.
Republican Senator John McCain, a Virgo (scroll
down to see horoscope), was the 2000 Republican presidential
primary runner-up. McCain actually looked set to defeat George
Bush in the 2000 primaries, having defeated him in
New Hampshire, but Bush out-right-winged
McCain in South
Carolina.
McCain, who
was just selected as one of America’s ten best senators
by Time magazine,
has a natal Saturn-Neptune opposition. In the 2000 election,
after he defeated Bush in the early primaries, McCain brandished
a Star Wars light
saber as a symbol of his fighting spirit, thus demonstrating
his Neptunian ability to appropriate popular culture for Saturnine
political ends.
McCain’s Saturn-Neptune opposition gives
his Neptune strength and
structure. He's not the only candidate with a strong Neptune,
but he's out in front in early national preference polls.
He will almost certainly run for president. What is interesting
is observing him pull close enough to Bush to keep Bush's
loyal conservative base and at the same time try to be the
un-Bush to win over enough other voters to get elected. It's
a complicated balancing act.
One
of the things to look for in an electable 2008 candidate is
openness (see my article which explores
some of the astrological traits the country will be looking for
in a presidential candidate in 2008). Openness is what
the nation will want after eight years of Bush's secrecy,
wherein benign
documents already in the public domain are being withdrawn
and classified as secret. The nation will still want security,
of course, but they will also want a president who is more
of an open book and willing to have a dialog with others.
McCain
recently spoke to a an audience of AFL-CIO union leaders
who do not like his stance on immigration or Iraq (read
the story). According to MSNBC, "It was a contentious
session that tested McCain’s commitment to the straight-talking
image he honed during his failed 2000 presidential bid. An
underdog six years ago, the Arizona Republican is expected
to seek the 2008 GOP nomination as a front-runner." McCain
attempted, with mixed success, to defuse some of the rancor
with humor. It reminded me of the calculated confrontation Bill
Clinton had with Sister Souljah during the 1992 campaign.
McCain's
Virgo Sun is in the 11th house, a political house associated
with the air sign Aquarius. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, a communication
planet. McCain's rising sign is Libra, an air sign. However,
both his Sun and Moon are in earth signs (his Moon's in Capricorn),
so in a lot of ways McCain is more into what works than
what's open. He's very grounded and smart about political
strategy. Mercury is his only planet in an air sign (Libra).
Mercury being a singleton in an air sign would ordinarily
indicate difficulty in getting perspective with communication, but
McCain has a Libra rising sign to support his Mercury.
He does seem to enjoy communicating in an open give-and-take
forum much more than Bush (Bush's Mercury is in Leo) and this
came out in his speech to union members, despite the natural
antagonism of his audience.
On election day 2008, McCain will experience
an interesting confluence of astrological factors. His Saturn-Neptune
opposition will be conjuncted by the Saturn-Uranus election
opposition. His natal Moon is at the same position (27° Capricorn)
as the U.S.
horoscope Pluto. The next President will lead the nation as
Pluto enters Capricorn, a perilous time.
McCain’s lunar north node—karmic destiny—is
at 1°of Capricorn, and Pluto will also be at exactly 1°of
Capricorn when the new president is sworn in to office in
January, 2009.
See also: articles on Senators Hillary
Clinton, Russell Feingold, George
Allen; President Bush's Year Ahead;
Bush-McCain Horoscope Synastry; and
Astrology of the 2008 U.S. Election
