| SEPTEMBER 2009 GALACTIC PROFILE
Leading off the harbinger show is an Eighth House Sun at 12 Leo, highlighted just a day after the return by a Lunar Eclipse at 13 Aquarius in opposition. This eclipse energizes a deep space polarity which is very active in Obama’s nativity, showing the transit Sun exactly conjunct the Maser at 13 Leo and the eclipsed Moon exactly on a Black Hole at 13 Aquarius. Masers promote volatility, whether it be actual violence or the sort of charismatic excitement generated by Obama on the campaign trail. Many political figures in the late twentieth century who shared this Sun/Maser combination have been assassinated, including JFK, RFK, Yitzhak Rabin, Indira Gandhi, Anwar Sadat, and Benazir Bhutto. With his unique, groundbreaking role as America’s first black president, this is a serious risk for Obama (see my article, “Masers and Assassination” in the May 2008 Daykeeper Journal). Black Holes promote sudden, dramatic change; unexpected outcomes which totally reverse the status quo in the twinkling of an eye and transport us into a parallel universe which seems wholly alien from what came before. This eclipse opposed to a solar return Sun in the traditional House of Death has the capacity to enact a dangerous potential latent in the natal chart. The Eighth House also rules shared resources and insurance, surely something which will loom large on Obama’s agenda this year in attempting to reform healthcare. Other factors collude. Saturn, representative of the office of the presidency, exactly on the Midheaven at 19 Virgo, is also exactly squared a Black Hole at 19 Sagittarius, another indicator of sudden change in the nation’s chief executive. As the ancient Lord of Death, Saturn on the Midheaven can signal a prominent demise. Saturn is also conjoined by Typhon at 18 Virgo, a Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) named for the most deadly monster in Greek mythology, noted as a storm deity, the father of three-headed Cerberus and the Hydra, and the probable etymological root of the term “typhoon.” This depicts an embattled president beleaguered by storms on all sides, caught up in the whirlwind of politics. Another Black Hole exactly on the 4 Sagittarius Ascendant, with Pluto at 1 Capricorn in the First House and exactly squared the largest supermassive Black Hole of which we are aware, at 1 Libra, further argues for dramatic change in Obama’s life this year. How we see him is likely to fundamentally alter, and with Pluto here, agent of transformation par excellence, and the modern ruler of death and dying, that change could extend to loss of life. With a Black Hole on the Sagittarian Ascendant and Saturn squared a Sagittarian Black Hole, Obama and his administration are in serious danger of being viewed as excessively ideological and too caught up in their political philosophy to see the on-the-ground reality. Another factor to consider in altering how we view Obama is the close conjunction of asteroid Kassandra at 13 Leo with the 12 Leo Sun—like the Trojan prophetess doomed to speak the truth but never be believed, polls show that Obama’s street cred with the populace at large is waning, with more and more people questioning the wisdom of his policies or his motivation in presenting them. Further impacting the Sun is an exact trine from TNO Chaos and asteroid Nemesis at 12 Gemini to asteroid Karma at 12 Libra, which the Sun at 12 Leo exactly bisects by sextile to each. Chaos and Nemesis are coming from the Sixth House of Health, representing both Obama’s personal health and the administration’s focus on the healthcare crisis, while Karma lies in the Tenth House of Career. This suggests some form of retribution or comeuppance (Nemesis) based on prior actions (Karma) which creates a disordered, uncontrollable situation (Chaos), focused in a highly personal manner (the Sun) on Obama himself, and for which he performs as a lynchpin or fulcrum (Sun on the midpoint of the trine). The Moon also plays a part; at the critical degree of 29 Capricorn, the Moon is exactly conjoined the North Node and a Pulsar, and exactly squared yet another Black Hole at 29 Libra. Obama’s health may be an issue attracting media attention this year, as Pulsars are noted for their newsworthy quality, and the Black Hole square again suggests some substantive, unexpected, sudden development along those lines. At the very least, it is another indicator of the importance of healthcare to the President’s year.
Scattered Disk Object (SDO) Sedna at 21 Taurus, named for the Inuit goddess who dwells in the deepest, most inaccessible part of the Arctic Ocean, also appears in the Sixth House and, in trine to Saturn at 19 Virgo, represents Obama’s growing isolation. Sedna is paired with centaur Asbolus at 15 Taurus, named for a mythic diviner who read omens in the flight of birds, and asteroid Askalaphus at 17 Taurus, named for the tale-bearing busybody who reported on Persephone’s ingestion of pomegranate seeds while captive in the Underworld, thus necessitating her annual return. Asbolus signals the importance of reading the public mood as the health care battle becomes more entrenched and protracted, while Askalaphus is indicative of the seemingly endless stream of anecdotal, hearsay evidence contributed by opponents of the proposed reforms who relate how “socialized medicine” has negatively impacted “a friend of a friend” in Canada or the UK. Mercury at 3 Virgo in the Ninth House of Politics, exactly conjunct a Pulsar and squared the 4 Sagittarius Ascendant, shows the importance of message control in maintaining Obama’s image this year. This media-ruling Mercury exactly combined with a news-magnet Pulsar greatly increases the need to maintain open, cordial relations with the press, lest the reality-warping qualities of the Black Hole in square intrude and distort the factual basis of the administration’s proposals beyond recognition
Things may not be all rosy on the home front, either. Asteroid Michelle at 18 Cancer is exactly inconjunct asteroid Barry at 18 Aquarius, implying some degree of tension between the First Couple needing adjustment or resolution. Michelle also on the midpoint of Saturn and tattletale Askalaphus, and sextile to each, suggests the First Lady may utter some embarrassing home truths about the Chief Executive, a tendency all too apparent on the campaign trail, which she has seemingly suppressed since moving to the White House.
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Happy Birthday, Mr. President? Cast for 3:34 PM EDT, August 4, 2009, in Washington DC, Barack Obama’s 48th solar return shows some disturbing factors. Multiple themes of radical change, possible disaster or impending doom predominate, highlighting the birth chart’s negative potential. Of course, if we believe the so-called “birthers,” those who bizarrely assert that Obama was not born in Hawaii at all, but rather in Kenya, then this isn’t his solar return, and we can all relax.
Asteroids Barry (the name by which Barack was known in his youth) and Damocles conjoin exactly at 18 Aquarius, within orb of the stellium of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune at 23, 24 and 25 Aquarius respectively. Barry/Damocles implies an impeding doom hanging above Obama’s head, and its connection to Jupiter/Chiron, indicating the inseparable nature of politics (Jupiter) and health (Chiron) this year, could reveal the source of his downfall. Neptune here brings up both the hospitalization aspect of the healthcare debate, due to its connections with the natural Twelfth House, and the fear-mongering, misrepresentation and outright deception practiced by opponents of reform. Asteroid Pandora at 27 Aquarius, also conjunct the stellium and exactly opposed asteroid Washingtonia at 27 Leo, depicts the plethora of troubles uncorked by Obama’s foray into this thorny issue, as well as the venue for the battle. TNO Eris, named for the Greek Goddess of Discord and Strife, is sextile to the Aquarian stellium from 22 Aries, lending her patented brand of fractious, quarrelsome discourse to the debate. 
With Venus at 4 Cancer exactly on a Black Hole in the SeventhHouse (and fresh from its return to the natal degree) there could be some shocks or upsets in their relationship, which may take more energy and attention to manage than the president has at his disposal this year, what with trying to run two wars, reform healthcare, and lead the country out of the grip of recession. The placement also ably depicts the “money pit” aspect of the administration, which is likely to blowthrough several trillion more before the solar year is out. Finally, Uranus at 26 Pisces retrograde in the Fourth House signals potential disruption in the home, possibly a cold front moving into the domestic environment, and a certain degree of detachment among the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, author of