Tibetan Protests

Riots and violence have continued in Tibet over the weekend as the Chinese have moved in military units to "crush" the apparently unorganized independence protest. The situation is making for a PR nightmare for Beijing in its Olympic year.

We can see the violence flaring in the China chart (Oct 1 1949 3.15 pm Beijing) as tr Mars conjoins natal Uranus in the 6th house of conflict. From a wider view, we can see that this is not a passing problem. The chart is running Saturn-Venus. While Venus is well placed natally in Libra in the 10th house, it comes under close square from the debilitated natal Mars, which is in turn conjunct Pluto. This promises some degree of conflict during the duration of its subperiod. Lagnesh Saturn is placed in Leo in the 8th house. We can understand that these problems are cropping up now by looking at the situation of lagnesh and dasha lord Saturn in transit: it is currently in the middle of the equal 8th house in Leo and therefore in a state of affliction. The malefic 8th house is associated with obstacles in general, and more specifically with embarrassments and scandals. That certainly sums up all the bad press the repressive Chinese government has been getting lately as its darker side has been on display for the whole world to see.

I don't think the core of the current flare up of the Tibet problem will let up as long as tr Saturn remains in proximity to 10-12 degrees of Leo which form the deepest and more afflicted part of the 8th house. This conflict and armed occupation will last until the summer, and unfortunately for the image-conscious Chinese, into the Olympics which run from Aug 8-24. What is perhaps more troubling for China is that tr Mars and Rahu will conjoin at 25 Cancer near China's Mars-Pluto conjunction. This happens in mid-June and points to another unwelcome event, either another significant outbreak of violence or perhaps some formal international fallout (boycott?) from China's actions in Tibet. In light of its currently afflicted chart, it seems that the Olympics will be mired in controversy.

More immediately, I am curious about the effects of tr Mercury and Venus in opposition to China's natal Saturn on or near March 24. This looks like a worsening of the conflict, albeit perhaps more in terms of China's image overseas. The conflict and its diplomatic fallout is likely to intensify in the next couple of weeks as Mars continues its transit through Gemini since its square aspect will activate China's Virgo planets, which lie in the 9th house.

The Road to Pennsylvania

After Barack Obama's victories in Wyoming and Mississippi, the Democratic campaign has entered a new, protracted phase of thrust and parry in advance of the next primary in Pennsylvania on April 22. The most recent manifestation came in the form of Geraldine Ferraro's apparent playing of the race card which led to cries of racism from the Obama side and her subsequent resignation from her fund raising post in the Clinton campaign. This conflict can be seen in the Clinton campaign chart (Jan 20 2007 9.30 am) through the transit of Mars opposing the natal Mars earlier this week. No surprise there.

Hillary may get a bit of a boost around March 14-15 (maybe tomorrow afternoon), as the tr. Moon-Mars conjunction forms a grand trine with tr Venus and her natal Sun. At the same time, the transiting Moon-Mars conjunction will sit on his natal Venus suggesting anger or problems involving women while transiting Sun falls under the aspect of his natal Saturn pointing to frustration and thwarting of plans.

More significantly, the end of March looks troublesome for Obama, as Mercury and Venus oppose his natal Mars. It seems he will suffer from some sort of unwanted dispute or conflict from March 26-31. Hillary's chart looks quite good at that time, as those transiting benefics will conjoin her natal Moon, so we can expect to see her hand strengthened. The HRC campaign chart will have tr Mercury and Venus crossing the ascendant then, so that is another clue that her profile and popularity will grow at the end of the month. This will be roughly the beginning of some tougher times for the Obama campaign as we approach April 22. The planets clearly indicate a Clinton win in Pennsylvania. In her natal chart on April 22, there is a grand trine between transiting Uranus (27 Aquarius) and transiting Mars (27 Gemini) and her natal Mercury and Ascendant (28 Libra). This is a powerful pattern for victory. Her dasha lord Venus will be at its maximum degree of exaltation. Given her high profile in the world right now, I think that Hillary best personifies that exalted Venus, notwithstanding Samantha Power's "monster" comments. Venus is transiting Revati, a Mercury-owned nakshatra and Mercury is a very good planet for HRC since it is on her ascendant. Also, when the voting results come in, the transiting Moon will be conjunct her natal Jupiter, which supports a successful outcome.

On the Obama side, things don't look as good. In his campaign chart, the transiting Mars will have just opposed the natal Mars within the previous week, which suggests that some of the Ferraro-type headaches that Clinton has had to deal with this week will be much fresher in the voters minds when the go to the polls. Plus, tr. Mars is just one degree from the IC on the 22nd indicating upset or irritation. While Jupiter is on the MC at the same time, I don't see this as favourable pattern because of the natal Mars weakness that I've mentioned previously, although I can understand if others might regard it more in terms of "activation of leadership", etc. In his natal chart, tr Mercury (communication) will form a t-square with Sun (self) and Neptune (confusion) suggesting that his message won't be well received while tr Sun (self) forms a second t-square with his natal Jupiter (ideas) and Mercury (communication) which will likely produce a negative combination of those keywords in the form of a failed attempt to persuade voters. Or in other words, an overconfidence in ideas that don't catch on or backfire.

Apr 22 looks like it will be a significant defeat for Obama and may well fuel a Clinton momentum that more than makes up for any deficit in delegates. I don't think Hillary's win will be enough to erase the deficit (she would have to win something like 80-20!), this does look like a large Ohio-sized win that fills her campaign with confidence. This is roughly in keeping with current polling which shows her enjoying a double-digit lead. Given that Michigan and Florida primaries will be redone and Hillary is favoured to win in both states, there is good reason that Clinton can substantially close the electibility gap on the delegate count alone. With Obama's sagging popularity going into the the later contests, Hillary will be able to make a stronger case to superdelegates.

At this point, I'm not certain if she wins during the primary season or at the convention. I had thought that Obama's chart looked worst in May and June and that reflected a final defeat for him. This still seems the most likely scenario. Mid-June looks quite important as it is the time of the Mars-Ketu conjunction that is prominent in both candidates campaign charts and suggests a messy, contested result.

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer sex scandal

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring and now will likely resign in the coming days. The scandal is doubly embarrassing for Spitzer who became governor in 2006 on an uncompromsing
anti-corruption platform.

What's fascinating here is that the inauguration chart plainly shows problems. Spitzer was sworn in on January 1, 2007 at 1 pm at Albany,
NY. There is a tight one degree t-square with Moon-Mars and the nodes.
To make matters worse, chart ruler Mars is in the 8th in Scorpio (Lahiri).

It is also interesting that this chart is coming under heavy affliction
at the moment as the Sun-Uranus conjunct in Aquarius exactly conjoins
the natal Rahu (which is severly messed up by the close natal Mars
square) and transiting Venus and Mercury in early Aquarius closely
oppose the natal Saturn. The chart was running Mars dasha, Jupiter
bhukti. Although Jupiter is not in obvious difficultly natally, it's
worth noting that by transit, it falls under the influence of natal
Ketu's aspect within two degrees.

Obama takes Wyoming

Well, no win for Hillary in Wyoming, and it really wasn't that close although it wasn't as lopsided as previous caucuses were. Obama won by 17 points.

I made the mistake of not knowing when the results would be known. I assumed that the counting would take place after 8 pm as in most other primaries but it turned out that results came in throughout the day starting in the morning local time. This would de-emphasize the importance of the position of the transiting Moon, for example.

Obama will will win Mississippi on Tuesday but I still wonder if he isn't due for more frustrations in the next few days. If the DNC decides on a do-over in Michigan and Florida, this would be a boost to Hillary, assuming they were primaries and not caucuses.

Wyoming caucus

Wyoming holds their caucus today. Obama usually does well in caucuses because they reflect the enthusiasm and commitment of voters which his campaign has clearly generated. Also, typically Republican states in the midwest such as Wyoming have tended to go for Obama by large margins as we saw in Idaho where Clinton lost by 30 points.

Nonetheless, the situation tonight doesn't look that bad for HRC to me. Transiting Sun is just past the ascendant in the campaign chart which shows profile. Perhaps she'll make a strong showing here losing by less than 10 points or even win. The difficult here lies in distinguishing profile and advantage that are coming to her now as a result of the Samantha Power misstep and the results of this relatively unimportant caucus. Another hint that Obama may not fare as well tonight is the transiting Moon will be sitting on the equal 12th house cusp tonight, which is often associated with loss.

The results tonight won't be that crucial to either side to inferring winners is tricky, but there is some reason to think that Hillary may perform above expectations and maybe even pull out a win. On the 11th, however, Mississippi looks more like a solid Obama win.

Samantha Power damage spreading in Obama campaign

I see that Samantha Power has now resigned from the Obama campaign.

From a previous BBC interview that has come to the attention of the media and the Clinton campaign, it now seems she expressed doubt about Obama's ability to withdraw from Iraq within 16 months. This undermines his stated anti-war stance of a quick withdrawal. Here's the story which was also cited in the NYT.

This is arguably even more embarrassing to the Obama campaign because it undercuts one of his perceived advantages over HRC.

Venus against Obama

Barack Obama may be feeling the pinch of that double Venus problem I mentioned previously with the revelation that an aide and close friend, Samantha Power, said that Hillary Clinton was "a monster" in an interview with a Scottish newspaper. She has apologized for the embarrassing comments.

In keeping with the symbolism of Venus, it is noteworthy that the source of Obama's embarrassment was a female aide. Obama's natal Venus is currently opposed by Pluto and conjoined by Mars. Meanwhile, transiting Venus conjoins his natal Ketu (south Node). Ketu is known as the "dragon's tail", which is not that far from a "monster".

I think this is only the beginning of Obama's problems over the next few days. Either this story will evolve and become more damaging to him, or more likely he will experience annoyance and obstacles from new developments.

The spell is broken: Hillary wins Texas and Ohio

On the brink of elimination from race for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton came up big last night winning Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. While she has not substantially reduced Barack Obama's delegate lead, she has managed to break his string of victories and in so doing has shifted the momentum back to her. It was hard to imagine such a scenario a couple weeks ago in the full flower of Obamania, and yet the astrology for her comeback looked too compelling to ignore. I had suggested that things would begin to turn in her favour in March and these wins bear out that prediction. Actually we could trace her changing fortunes back a little earlier perhaps to the first SNL debate skit on February 23 when questions about the media being "in the tank" for Obama seemed to strike a chord with people.

As I've been saying for a while, I think Obama is going to be faced with some unwelcome situations in the coming days, probably this weekend and into next week as a number of transiting take up inauspicious positions in his natal chart. I think the time around March 9th looks the most problematic for him as the transiting Venus punctuates the nodal semi-return while transiting Mars contacts his Venus. While I am not sure what will happen, some possible scenarios include a decision by the Democratic National Committee going against him for the contested Michigan and Florida primaries, some new revelations from the Rezko trial, or some scandal involving women. Given the double involvement of Venus in these troublesome patterns, I think women will figure prominently in some way, although since he is running against Hillary, it may simply be that Hillary is the source of his problems. Note also that at the same time, the transiting Sun joins transiting Uranus at 24 Aquarius exactly conjunct with the ascendant of the Clinton campaign chart. This will likely mean a sudden boost of prominence for Hillary around this time, say from March 7-9. Obama's campaign chart also reflects this difficult time for him since tr. Mercury (27 Capricorn) will activate his unwieldy Sun-Neptune-Saturn complex, just as tr Venus did last night.

Also note that transiting Venus and Mercury are now in the nakshatra of Dhanistha which is ruled by Mars. In the Obama campaign chart, Mars is closely aspected by Ketu suggesting sudden actions that lead to unpredictable outcomes, neagtive criticism, and irritation. Transiting Venus will be in Dhanistha until March 12th and transiting Mercury until March 15th. In the Clinton campaign chart, this Venus-Mercury transit through Dhanistha will bring rewards and gains since Mars is well-placed in the 11th whole sign house with Pluto, the planet par excellence of political power. Venus moved into Dhanistha March 2, while Mercury followed yesterday morning just in time for the voting in the key primaries. Thanks to Dhanistha, more people are banging the drum for Hillary. :-)

This immediate period of Obama troubles will likely continue until March 15th when these transiting planets move out of Dhanista. After this, I think the balance will have shifted decidedly towards Hillary that will propel her to victory in Pennsylvania and perhaps to the primaries in smaller states in the meantime. I'm sticking to my original prediction that Obama will have to bow out in May or June. I'm not quite sure how this will happen since his lead in delegates at least assures him going all the way to the convention in August. Nonetheless, I think he will be forced out for some reason that lies outside the simple delegate math.