Tag Archives: politics

Kevin McCarthy’s Ouster

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is in the news with his ouster from the House on October 3, 2023 after only 9 months in office.  It reminded me of a class with Bob Zoller nearly 30 years ago.  He was stressing that nothing will manifest that’s not promised in the birth chart.  We all accept that, but he had a more deterministic view.  Certainly, I argued, sometimes things work out better than astrologers might expect.  He agreed, but went on to say that if that’s the case, the success will be either partial or short-lived. 

We often find Saturn in the 10th house in people with visible positions of authority.  But sometimes, depending on the essential dignity and aspects, they’ll face challenges or experience a loss of position for one reason or another.  Think about Herbert Hoover, who had an illustrious career but only served one term as President due to the Great Depression.  He had Saturn in Aquarius in the 10th opposite his Moon, Mars and Uranus.  Woodrow Wilson had Saturn in Cancer conjunct the MC and opposite his Sun, and had to address World War I and a severe stroke that left him disabled.  He never realized his hope for a League of Nations.

Saturn in McCarthy’s chart is different in that it’s closely square the Moon in Sagittarius conjunct the 7th house cusp.  There’s no dignity for Saturn in Pisces or the Moon in Sagittarius, and the mutable signs are not as forceful as the fixed (Hoover) or as tenacious as cardinal (Wilson).  But like the others, he is in a sense the victim of circumstances.  He’d do better if he had a solid majority to back him.  But his horoscope doesn’t suggest that.

The Moon may represent his constituents, the public, his general audience or his open enemies.  Ruled by Jupiter in Taurus in the 12th which squares his MC, his partnerships and position (since Saturn is also ruled by Jupiter) are somewhat at the mercy of others, and might be undermined by hidden enemies (the 12th) who are more determined than he is (Taurus).  And with his angular Moon so closely square Saturn, the timing has not been right.

McCarthy’s horoscope has some good aspects but no essential dignity.  So despite being a member of Congress for over 16 years, as Zoller said, his greatest success was both contentious and short-lived… so far.   I don’t think we’ve heard the last of him.

British journalist Martin Bashir, who controversially interviewed Princess Diana, has some similarities in his chart with Saturn in the 10th square his Moon, though his Saturn in Aquarius is stronger and the Moon is weaker.

Stacey Abrams and Recounts

Stacey Abrams has been battling entrenched authorities in the Georgia Governor’s race as transit Saturn creates a T-square with her natal Saturn-Pluto square. She’s won a court victory as a judge authorized votes with partial discrepancies. Tr. Saturn will exactly square her Pluto on 11/18/18, the time when the Florida Secretary of State could certify the election. It’s disappointing that we have no birth time, as it seems to me there’s some progressed angularity we’re missing with the noon chart I used.

Abrams is an eclipse person, with a partial lunar eclipse the day after her birthday. She also has a probable Out of Bounds Moon that also attracts attention. She’s a lightning rod and literally the opposite of Donald Trump with her Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini.

Her progressed Sun, Moon (depending on birth time), Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are all in Aquarius, accentuating Abrams’ Moon-Venus-Jupiter-Pluto grand air trine. Transit Uranus stations near her Mars in Aries from late December to early January 2019, when it will exactly trine her North Node in Sagittarius. Jupiter will also conjoin her Sun in January. While the Governor’s race is hard to call without a birth time, Abrams has gained national recognition and should begin a major new adventure in 2019.

Alexandria Shooter

When I found the birth data for the Alexandria, Virginia shooter on Ancestry.com (December 12, 1950), I couldn’t be certain if it was correct.  The James T. Hodgkinson I found was the same age as the man in the news, with the same name and middle initial, the only one listed in the town of Belleville, Illinois.  But one look at the chart convinced me this was the person who had opened fire on Congressman Steve Scalise and other Republicans at an early morning baseball practice. 

Was this someone who could conceive a grandiose scheme?  He had the Sun and Venus in Sagittarius along with Jupiter in Pisces, all of which suggest seeing the big picture.

Is this the kind of person who’d think outside the norm and take an extreme stance?  He had Mercury Out of Bounds in declination and opposite Uranus, along with the Moon in Aquarius, all of which may incline toward a radical agenda.

Could this person think ahead to plan a crime?  Hodgkinson had Mercury in Capricorn and Saturn exalted in Libra, both signifiers of the ability to take things one step at a time and follow through on plans.

Could he carry out a violent act?  Mars in Capricorn and the Sun trine Pluto are both indicators of someone who can exercise control, take a calculated risk, and is not afraid of pursuing violence.

The timing of the shooting was also clear.  Sudden events and extreme acts come under the rulership of Uranus, and violence is associated with Mars.  On the day of the shooting, transiting Uranus squared Hodgkinson’s Mars and trined his Venus (within a half a degree of exact for both).

Transiting Saturn was near the midpoint of Hodgkinson’s Sun and Venus.  He may have been feeling down and depressed, unhappy with the status quo, leading him to take his fatal actions.

Of course, we don’t have a time of birth for Hodgkinson, and not everyone born on this day will express the chart with such negativity.  For example, the popular Indian actor Rajinikanth was born on the same day.  He has gone on hunger strikes to draw attention to issues that were important to him, and has supported anti-corruption and campaigned for eye donations.  In June of 2017, the month of the Alexandria shooting, Rajinikanth met with leaders and appears to be considering entering politics.  He leans conservative.

The FBI’s wanted list confirms Hodgkinson’s birth data.