Wesley Clark was born on December 23, 1944, according to my most recent information. He was born in Chicago, but after his father, an attorney, died when Wesley was four, his mother moved them back to her native Arkansas.

"Water Walker" is a term used in the military for those to whom things come easily, and it was the title of a September 29 Newsweek article about Clark by Evan Thomas. Wesley excelled in high school and in debate, and had his choice of colleges. He chose West Point. He was also a Rhodes scholar, studying in England. And Wesley was also selected as a White House fellow, where he got to see the inner workings of the Administration.

His military career had its ups and downs, primarily because Wesley was too independent for such a hierarchical system. However, along the way the right people did appreciate him, and he ended up as Supreme Commander of European Forces and of NATO. There he did a masterful job in the Herculean task of getting agreement from the 19 NATO countries on how to pursue the Kosovo war.

After winning the war, without a U.S. casualty, Clark was abruptly fired by General Hugh Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Clark has been unpopular, particularly among military brass. His boldness is part of the reason, along with his independence. Also part of the reason is that he is an outsider in the military culture. He is an intellectual, a scholar, and he is smart. Many say that the resentment is just plain jealousy.

Clark is a driven man who looks up, not down. For him, there’s always another mountain to climb. He was a field officer in the 70’s and 80’s. He had the loyalty of his subordinates, and was able to turn around Army units that had drug problems, poor morale, and racial divisions. Clark expects a lot from himself and from those around him. He also has a sense of humor.

Before NATO, Clark had a job perfectly suited to him—Director of Strategic Plans and Policy for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. (As Clark observed, the U.S. had no strategy.) He worked closely with diplomat Richard Holbrooke at the Dayton talks with Slobodan Milosevic. Holbrooke said about him, "Clark, more than any other military officer of his rank, was ready to project power in this murky area that we call peacekeeping, or nation-building, or humanitarian intervention."

Clark has shown himself to be an activist and an interventionist. He sees himself as courageous, and he is. He is also self-absorbed, idealistic, and relentless. He has set himself to learning many different things, and then does it. Notably, when he became a diplomat at NATO, he taught himself to listen.

Clark’s ideal is General Dwight Eisenhower. He says he wishes he could learn to get along as well with others as did Ike.

Clark has a feisty wife, Gert, to whom he is devoted and to whom he listens. She is said to be his confidante. They have one grown son.

Wesley Clark’s chart is that of a soldier and an activist. Most of his energy is in cardinal signs. They are the active signs, the starters. Next come flexible mutables, including his Sagittarius ascendant. He has only two planets in fixed signs, Pluto in Leo opposing Venus in Aquarius. Indeed, his wife is his rock.

His sun is in responsible Capricorn, conjoined Mercury, both in the first house. He is self-absorbed. Wesley’s moon is in another cardinal sign, Aries, the sign of the warrior. Aries moon is assertive, and ready to meet challenges, perfect for a debater and a soldier.

Saturn is in the third cardinal sign, Cancer, in the seventh house. This makes him insecure in relationships, but always putting forth effort. Saturn is where we try and try, and eventually develop skill. Clark has Neptune, Chiron, and three asteroids in Libra in his tenth house, the house of career. The asteroids there show that he does, as he says, take good care of his men. Neptune shows that he is a visionary, always reaching for his ideals, and Chiron shows that he is a maverick, an educator, and a healer. Libra is a sign of idealism, humanity, and balance. It was the sun sign of General Eisenhower.

These four cardinal-sign planets are in the "angular" houses, those houses which come just after the arms of the central cross. Those are the cardinal houses as well, where planets are most active. It’s no wonder that Clark is tightly wound. Someone said that after an hour with him, one needed to take a valium.

Further energizing Clark is Mars on his Ascendant. Mars is pure energy, ready to go. It is the warrior’s planet. It plays the most prominent role in his chart and in his personality. Mars stimulates Jupiter, planet of generals and of important people, in his ninth house of foreign shores and visualizing ability. Jupiter is in Virgo, as is his midheaven sign. Virgo is the sign of the "services."

Clark’s wheel is much like that of the U.S. chart. Like the U.S., he has Uranus in Gemini on the cusp of the seventh house. Uranus is friendly, not warm and intimate, and this is why Clark is described by some as cold. Uranus is too independent to win popularity contests.

Clark has some important transits happening now. He is in his Saturn return, beginning a new 30-year cycle, and Saturn is traveling upwards in his chart, towards the public. Saturn is responsibility. This is one of the best transits for someone running for public office. His progressed Moon in Gemini is also moving upwards, another good sign.

Jupiter is also working for him, transiting now across the top of his chart and giving him opportunities to grow in the world. His Jupiter return, beginning a new 12-year expansion cycle, is happening next summer.

Pluto transiting his Mars this winter will give him renewed energy, and Uranus transiting his progressed Sun will shake him up and open his eyes anew.

Clark’s progressed Sun has just entered Pisces, and it is squared exactly by the November 23 Solar Eclipse. This means big change in identity for him. A lot of his Capricornian rigidity will go.

The New Moon of December 23 coincides with Clark’s birthday. This shows a special new start for him this year. And Sun of course is conjoined Vesta. Clark has a special investment in himself. He may represent a good investment for the nation as well.