Barack Obama

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu on August 4 1961. The time of day for his birth is uncertain. One time figuring frequently on the internet is 1:06 PM, but it is not confirmed.

When a birth time is not known, 12:00 noon is often used, because it minimizes the possible error. Since there is not that much difference between noon and 1:06 PM, I have allowed myself to use the latter, but in my interpretation below I will depend as little as possible on the fastest moving elements of the chart - the House system, the Ascendant, MC, and the moon. For the rest, a few hours here or there make little difference.

At a glance, it is obvious that Obama would have a successful career, making a strong impression on the general public. He has a bundle of planets around his Midheaven, and most of them in the pompous sign of Leo. With the sun in the middle of the same sign, he is definitely a Leo, showing pride in himself and enjoying to shine.

He also has Mercury and Uranus in Leo. The former shows that he is able to speak in a way that attracts attention and respect, the latter that he is wise with how he presents himself to others. These are almost the traits of a performer.

His Venus in the very beginning of Cancer shows an ability to play on emotions, and to do it convincingly. The moon at the very cusp of Gemini indicates sort of the same – but that position is a bit uncertain, since the moon moves as much as 13 degrees in a day, and Obama’s time of birth is not confirmed.

He has two of the most grim planets, Mars and Pluto, in Virgo. The latter he shares with a whole generation, since Pluto moves so slowly through the horoscope, but the former is more personal. It shows that he has perseverance, and is not likely to quit before his job is completed. He is strongly critical of others, but also demanding on himself.

The birth time 1:06 PM puts Obama’s Ascendant in Scorpio - actually the same sign as for Hillary Clinton. This means that they both have kind of a deceitful appearance, successfully hiding who they themselves think that they really are. Still, the Scorpio Ascendant tends to make others feel a bit uncertain about him. They sense that there are things beneath his surface that they would not approve of.

I hesitate to go into more detail, since Obama’s birth time is unconfirmed. But what can be done is to examine the transits that are at work in the primaries, and in the following presidential election.

Starting with the primaries: During Obama’s campaign the transiting planets have shown little support for him. Saturn has been passing over some of his planets in Leo and Virgo, but that is more an indication of hardship than of success. So is, although vaguely, the opposition of transit Neptune to the Leo planets.

Jupiter, which is the planet bringing good fortune, is moving toward an opposition to Obama’s Leo planets. That is not good at all. The opposition will not arrive until the spring of 2009, though, so it has little to do with this campaign.

On the way, it will actually pass over Jupiter in Obama’s birth chart, which definitely means some significant success at that time. The exact date of that conjunction is Friday January 9th, 2009. Since inauguration day, January 20th, is not even two weeks from that date, the Jupiter conjunction might signal that Obama has some shot at the presidency - but other astrological indicators seem to disagree. And Jupiter would be more likely to signal the victory of an election, than the date of getting into office.

Otherwise, most of his transits indicate hardship, which might still lead to some kind of success - but at a high price. There is a conjunction of transit Mars with Obama’s native Pluto on July 12, and with his native Mars on August 6. Both these transits hint at successful but quite costly changes that he has accomplished purely by his own work and persistence. Saturn passes over Pluto on July 24, indicating just about the same.

He will have a very hard time, but it will have its rewards - and he has none but himself to thank for them. The democratic convention will be held in August 25-28. Considering the heavy transits for Obama around that time, it is obvious that the date is significant to him - but it is difficult to see if he will be elected as the democratic presidential candidate. The question should really have been settled beforehand, through the last of the primaries, so the fact that the August events are still important in his life strongly suggest that he is the remaining candidate.

If so, the time of his election is a month after the exact conjunction of transit Saturn to his Pluto. The former planet deals with power and leadership, the latter with drastic change. It sure is a drastic change in his life, running for President. It will be tough for him, quite costly indeed, but his horoscope indicates that he will be the democratic candidate for President.

The presidential election

The presidential election takes place on November 4, 2008. That day is remarkably uneventful to him, according to his chart and the transits. I see nothing that signals it as a day of profound meaning to him and his life. It can only mean that if he runs for President, he will lose that election - and it will be no surprise either to him or to anyone else.

Because the election day is so uneventful to Obama, I suspect that he might not be the democratic presidential candidate after all. Nor the running mate of that candidate. The election seems not to be about him at all, and the result of it makes no difference to him.

The only indicator of good tidings for Obama, is the Jupiter-Jupiter conjunction less than two weeks before the presidential inauguration, mentioned above. But I doubt that this transit can be interpreted as a victory for Obama in the election being held two months before.