[Editor’s note: we are delighted to publish this article by Alex Miller, with thanks to Alex and his website, Alex’s Asteroid Astrology, an incomparable resource for asteroid-related astrology. There you’ll find in-depth astrological analyses of breaking events, as well as the astrological meanings of many mythic named asteroids.]
On Saturday 9 February 2019, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren formally announced her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at a rally in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Warren was the first to establish an exploratory committee, in late December, but this announcement makes it official:
This is the fight of our lives. The fight to build an America where dreams are possible, an America that works for everyone. I am in that fight all the way. And that is why I stand here today to declare that I am a candidate for president of the United States.
Elizabeth Warren is the senior senator from Massachusetts, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the very few nationally recognized Democratic politicians with an actual message, capable of connecting with the economic populism that once made the party great. A former Harvard Law professor, Warren’s experience with bankruptcy law propelled her into government service, first as Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to administer the TARP, or Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out the banking system in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse which they created.
Warren went on to serve Obama directly as Assistant to the President in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established to rein in the banks and their predatory lending practices. But her brutally harsh and frank assessment of the damage done by financial institutions won her many Republican enemies on Capitol Hill, and in 2011 Warren’s nomination to head the new agency was scratched at the post, as unlikely to win Senate confirmation.
Frustrated by DC politicians, Warren determined to become one herself, challenging sitting Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (who had taken the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in a special election in 2010) in his 2012 re-election bid. Her growing popularity led to a prime speaking slot at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where she “opened” for Bill Clinton. That November she defeated Brown with 54% of the vote, becoming Massachusetts’ first female senator. Appointed to the Banking Committee, Warren lost no time ruffling feathers, when in February 2013 she publically chastised government regulators, asking when they had last prosecuted banks for any wrongdoing, and opining that “too big to fail” seemed to have become “too big for trial.” Her statements went viral, with more than a million YouTube hits in a few days.
In November 2014, Warren was added to the Democratic congressional leadership, being named by outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the first Strategic Advisor of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, a position created just for her. Speculation that she would challenge Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential nomination came to nothing, but Warren threw her hat into the 2020 ring early on, and may have the celebrity and staying power to pull it off.
Born 22 June 1949, to Pauline and Donald Herring in Oklahoma City (no time available), Warren is the youngest of four siblings, and the only girl. Her father suffered a heart attack when she was 12, and his ongoing health issues threw the family into fiscal chaos, creating a first-hand understanding of the dynamic such crises can create for middle-class families. She and her first husband, Jim Warren, a high school sweetheart who became a NASA engineer, had two children before divorcing in 1978. She married Bruce Mann, a Harvard law professor, in 1980, but retained her surname, and didn’t become a full-time faculty member there until 1995.
The guiding feature of Warren’s birth chart is an exact Sun/Uranus conjunction at 0 Cancer, showing her as a natural reformer, rebel, and iconoclast, strongly focused on equality and fairness, with a desire to shake things up and make waves. There can be a forceful intellect conferred by this combination, with an innate ability to bring abstract or complex ideas into common parlance, to make these accessible to all. It’s interesting to speculate on how she might go head-to-head with that other Sun/Uranus native likely to be in the race, Donald Trump, but already their respective manifestations of this shared aspect couldn’t be more different.
The Sun is further modified by two close aspects to major planets and a Yod, or Finger of Destiny, indicating some special or fated task or mission. The reinforcing aspects, giving Warren a core of steel, are a tight semisquare to Pluto at 14 Leo, conveying power and depth of focus, and a sextile to Saturn at 1 Virgo, indicating a strong sense of responsibility, maturity, “spine”, and a natural authority which allows her to succeed at whatever she chooses.
The Sun lies at the apex of a Yod formed by inconjunct aspects to Jupiter at 0 Aquarius and Chiron at 4 Sagittarius. Jupiter’s influence here is paramount, as a classical planet and the tighter of the two aspects, and perfectly reflects her background in academia and law, as well as the pull toward politics which developed later in life. Jupiter also governs banking, and with Chiron in the mix there is a sense that she has a fated role to play in healing the wounds from those institutions, as well as being an indicator that her life as a politician may show a maverick streak. Jupiter can be a notable truth-teller, and Warren certainly doesn’t shy away from speaking home truths to power and calling things as she sees them.
That 1 Virgo Saturn also widely squares a close conjunction of Mars and Mercury at 8 and 10 Gemini, the source of her somewhat pugnacious communication style. Warren is a fighter, and the causes she chooses to fight for can be seen in her solar contacts [her latest books (she has written more than a dozen), “A Fighting Chance” (2014) and “This Fight Is Our Fight” (2017) both reflect her combative bent]. Brusque and clearly not one to suffer fools gladly, Warren picks her words precisely (the Saturn influence), and picks her battles carefully. Mercury in its ruling sign is detailed and facile, but needs Mars to keep it plugging away at the task without distraction, and Saturn to keep it focused on the objective, honing its approach until the goal is attained. The Mars/Mercury pairing is also trined Neptune at 12 Libra, suggesting an ability to tailor her argument to her audience, to pour oil on troubled waters when she deems it necessary, and to think creatively out of the box, with little effort.
A remarkable number of PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) flesh out the details of Warren’s biography. Born Elizabeth Ann Herring, asteroid Elisabetha at 2 Aries squares the Sun, while asteroid Elizabethann, combining both names in one, conjoins her 18 Cancer Venus from 17 Cancer, a common occurrence where one’s own PNAs are involved. There is no asteroid “Herring,” her maiden name, but phonetically-similar asteroid Herin is an exact match for Chiron at 4 Sagittarius, again establishing her as a potentially strong healing influence, as well as doubling down on the maverick energy. There is an asteroid Warren and its placement at 29 Pisces in square to the Sun and conjoined Elisabetha shows a natural affinity for persons with that surname, as well as supplying a cosmic rationale for why she became so identified with it that she kept it after her divorce and remarriage.
Asteroid James also conjoins Warren from 25 Pisces, bringing together both names of her first spouse, while second hubby Bruce Mann is represented by asteroid Mann at 17 Capricorn, which closely opposes Venus/Elizabethann, and also asteroid Juno at 12 Cancer, ruling marriage, another common position for a partner’s PNA.
Even her Trump-designated nickname appears. Asteroid Pocahontas at 12 Cancer conjoins Elizabethann at 17, blending their energies in the cosmic consciousness much as Trump has sought to do in the public’s, lambasting her for her early identification of herself as Native American, based in her family’s oral tradition (a subsequent DNA test proved that she does indeed have Native American ancestry, though not in sufficient quantity to qualify for tribal membership). Pocahontas also squares Neptune exactly, perhaps the source of the confusion or misrepresentation (depending on your political perspective).
Warrens’ governmental bona fides can be determined by PNA placements as well. Remarkably, asteroid Senator at 16 Taurus falls roughly on the Elisabetha/Warren-Sun midpoint, in semisquare to each, implying that Warren has found the perfect role for her. Senator is also on the midpoint of a trine between asteroid Massachusetts, the state she represents, at 19 Pisces and Venus at 18 Cancer, identifying her as its first female (Venus) Senator. Asteroid America at 22 Cancer conjoins Venus, suggesting a deeply felt love of country, and signaling possible involvement with the nation’s financial matters as well, with Venus ruling money (her Sun also conjoins the USA Venus at 3 Cancer).
Asteroid Washingtonia at 5 Scorpio is trine the Sun, square Jupiter, and sextile Saturn, with which it forms a Yod with Eris at 7 Aries at its Apex. The solar trine suggests the nation’s capital as a natural outlet for the Sun’s energies; the square to Jupiter indicates some degree of shake-up or friction when interacting with its politics; the sextile to Saturn shows the potential for a career in government work; and the Yod with Eris at its Apex identifies Warren as a rabble-rousing troublemaker (in the best sense of that term) of the first water, when she becomes directly involved in DC. Eris can be a champion of the oppressed and downtrodden, those marginalized or forgotten, and at the apex of this Yod combined with the nation’s capital and its government, this suggests a powerfully fated or predestined role for Warren at the center of things nationally.
Washingtonia is also stationary, turning direct at that degree on July 2, just ten days after her birth. This makes the nation’s capital a vital, vibrant element in her biography, a lodestar of her existence, a still point upon which the rest on the chart revolves. Interestingly, Warren has one more point at station—asteroid Lawrence, the name of the city where she just announced her presidential candidacy! At 21 Aquarius, Lawrence turned direct on June 12, ten days before her birth.
Perhaps most intriguing is the placement of asteroid Whitehouse. At 27 Cancer, this exactly opposes the nation’s natal Pluto, its power center, at 27 Capricorn. The potential for a massive shake-up in the system is apparent with this combination, but it may be one which is only possible if Warren someday finds herself seated in the Oval Office. Whitehouse conjoins America and also trines asteroid Warren, while semisquare Mercury/Mars, allowing her (Warren) to act a mouthpiece (Mercury) for her countrymen’s (America) anger and frustration (Mars) in the corridors of power (Whitehouse).
Warren’s “winning” asteroids, Nike and Victoria, named for the Greek and Roman goddesses of victory respectively, are well placed. At 24 Taurus, Nike conjoins Senator, ensuring her winning bid to oust Scott Brown from the Senate in 2012, and her re-election in 2018. Should she fail in her quest for the Oval Office, her Senate job seems assured in perpetuity. Nike is also broadly squared Saturn, granting career success generally; with Saturn also indicating the Chief Executive, this may assist in acquiring the presidency, as may Nike’s sextile to Whitehouse. Asteroid Victoria at 27 Virgo opposes asteroid Warren and is also sextile Whitehouse, which is roughly on the Nike/Victoria midpoint, and is involved in an out-of-Sign square with the Sun, blending its winning energies with two personal markers for Warren.
When Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy at 12:04 PM EST on February 9 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the skies well reflected the circumstance. As a noontime announcement, the Sun is of course riding high in the heavens, but its 20 Aquarius placement, just off the MC at 21 Aquarius, lent an unexpected bonus by conjunction to natal Lawrence at 21 Aquarius, the town that was the focus (Sun) of the moment (the Angles are the fastest-moving points in the chart, changing toughly every four minutes) as she stepped into public view (MC). Benefic Jupiter is also imbued with angular force, just setting on the 18 Sagittarius Descendant, which also conjoins Warren’s natal asteroid Vesta at 17 Sag, symbol of the public servant.
As with Kamala Harris’ roll-out, PNAs for Warren connect to Uranus, establishing her progressive pedigree. Both asteroid Elisabetha at 19 Aries and Warren at 28 Aries are bound up in the forming Mars/Uranus conjunction with Mars at 26 and Uranus at 29 Aries. The Moon at 13 Aries with Elisabetha confers popularity and public acclaim, and asteroid Washingtonia at 15 Aries is a strong signal of her continued involvement with DC, while Mars/Uranus itself identifies her as a champion of progressive causes. Asteroid Lawrence at 6 Aries completes the picture; its conjunction to the Moon shows it as a focus for the day, especially among women.
Asteroids Senator and Whitehouse are still conjoined at 13 and 12 Taurus, a pattern which continues throughout this year, with record numbers of Senators throwing their hats into the ring. Asteroid America at 24 Virgo conjoins Warren’s natal Victoria and opposes natal asteroid Warren, perhaps a sign of the country’s embrace of her candidacy, and its impending victory. Transit Victoria at 25 Taurus squares the transit Sun, an auspicious day for announcing such an endeavor, and conjoins Warren’s natal Nike at 24 Taurus, potentially combining her inherent ability to win with current conditions in real time.
Another indicator of a special day for Warren is asteroid Elizabathann, which at 10 Scorpio conjoins asteroid Herran (another maiden name “Herring” substitute) at 11 Scorpio, both widely squared the Sun, bringing focus and attention. Asteroid Herin at 14 Pisces closely conjoins Neptune at 15; this could be a signal of a lack of focus, campaign confusion, or ultimately, a disappointing outcome.
Even asteroid Pocahontas gets in on the act. At 7 Capricorn, Pocahontas conjoins Troemper at 3 Cap, our celestial referent for Trump, and both are semisquare the Sun. Watch out, Donald! Warren is coming for your scalp! Venus at 6 Cap falls between this pair, energizing both and raising their cosmic profile for the day, but there’s no love lost there! Pocahontas/Troemper and Elizabethann/Herran are sextile, and form a Yod, or Finger of Destiny, with asteroid Nemesis at 7 Gemini at its Apex. This could imply Warren as instrumental in his ruin, or conversely, Trump as instrumental in hers, perhaps via his deprecatory nickname for her.
With so many factors in play and so much competition for the honor, it’s impossible to state definitely at this point who has the edge for the Democratic nomination, let alone victory in 2020. But Elizabeth Warren has as good a shot, or better, as anyone.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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