OCTOBER 2009 ASTEROID FILES

Asteroids with personal names make for a fascinating study. It seems incredible that these comparatively tiny chunks of space debris could actually have an effect upon events here on planet Earth, but they do. Two such celestials, Monica (#833) and Hillary (#3130), reflective of a pair of pop culture colossi whose battle for the soul of an American president dominated the national psyche in the late ‘90s, appear prominently in the charts of persons and events for whom these names are significant, and further mirror their stories as they continue to evolve.

The awkward and embarrassing political menage a trois created by Bill Clinton’s involvement with both his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and White House intern Monica Lewinsky eventually led to his impeachment by the US House of Representatives in 1998, only the second in history. (Clinton was ultimately acquitted by the Senate, and kept his job, but the cloud of moral turpitude he brought to the presidency led directly to the defeat of Al Gore in 2000, and the installation of the Bush administration.) And throughout, from Bill Clinton’s birth moment to the revelation of the scandal, asteroids Monica and Hillary are there to tell the tale.

Born 18 August 1946 at 8:51 AM CST in Hope, Arkansas, Bill Clinton’s chart is tailor-made for sexual misconduct and related deception. A Libra stellium includes Mars exactly conjoined Neptune at 6 Libra, with Venus close beside at 11 Libra. Mars/Neptune grants a strong incentive to deceive where sexual matters are concerned, and lends an addictive quality to sexuality, which is ultimately a very deeply spiritual experience for Clinton, if somewhat hedonistic. With Venus here also, some of these peccadilloes will be of fairly long duration, not simple one-night stands, and with Neptune’s influence prominent with Venus, it’s his main squeeze he’ll be deceiving. There will be a tendency for her to enable, to gloss over the situation and attempt to don the rose-colored glasses, acting like everything is fine, but in the last analysis his infidelities are extremely disillusioning and disappointing.

Adding fuel to the fire is asteroid Lust conjunct from 2 Libra, where it is itself conjoined the supermassive Black Hole center of Galaxy M-87 at 1 Libra, the largest anomaly of its kind of which we are aware, with a mass in excess of three billion suns, and holding more than 100 subsidiary galaxies in its gravitational thrall. This point creates a larger than huge pull on Clinton’s psyche, a sexual yearning so strong no single individual could possibly fulfill it. With all these points on Clinton’s 5 Libra Ascendant, this philandering defines him for many others—it’s how they see him, what they remember. Moreover, it’s largely how he sees himself, as a romantic (Venus), sympathetic (Neptune), supercharged (Black Hole) sex machine (Mars/Lust).

And with a spotlighting Quasar exactly conjunct that Ascendant, no matter how hard he tries to hide it, his infidelities are always revealed. Quasars are by far the furthest and brightest points in the universe, and shine a bright light on whatever they touch. Like a beacon upon a hilltop, they help the native to stand out in a crowd, easily receiving recognition and reward for their efforts, and promote success, achievement, and attaining of goals. This Quasar/Ascendant combination has helped Clinton develop his larger-than-life persona and assures his continued popularity with a large segment of the population, but it’s also responsible for revealing all those sexual secrets that Mars/Neptune would rather obfuscate and conceal.

Additional peripheral factors contribute: a combination of asteroids Icarus, Pecker, and Askalaphus at 9, 15 and 21 Capricorn sets the tone for Clinton’s reckless philandering. The blending of Icarus’ rash, impulsive, heedless nature, unable to follow level-headed advice or act in his best interests, with Pecker, a common euphemism for penis, is evidence enough of the rather brazen pattern of extramarital activity, some of which reportedly borders on coercion. Askalaphus is named for a Hadean snitch who divulged Persephone’s ingestion of six pomegranate seeds, which necessitated her yearly return to the Underworld, in revenge for which her mother Demeter transformed the tale-bearing Askalaphus into an owl.

Certainly Clinton has been more than usually unlucky in having his ill-considered transgressions exposed by his former partners or would-be lovers, from Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones through Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick and Monica Lewinsky. All these points, but particularly Pecker, square Clinton’s natal Chiron at 18 Libra, affording opportunities for continued wounding via this character flaw. Pecker and Icarus also oppose asteroid Pandora at 11 Cancer, unleashing unexpected consequences from his behavior, such as the impeachment proceedings he so narrowly defeated.

Asteroid Aphrodite, ruling affairs of the heart of a flirtatious or transitory nature, lies at 7 Gemini conjoined a volatile, controversy-provoking Maser at 6 Gemini, while asteroid Eros, concerned with intense, erotic passion, at 27 Gemini is conjunct another highlighting Quasar at 26 Gemini, and opposed the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius, indicating that Clinton’s passions (Eros) will be highly visible (Quasar) and have the potential to receive global attention (Galactic Center), with far-reaching consequences.

Asteroid Lie at 11 Gemini is exactly trine natal Venus at 11 Libra, a secondary indicator of a less than truthful attitude toward the primary partner, as well as generally blending deception and romance, and is conjunct asteroid Aphrodite, urging deception in affairs of the heart. Lie also squares asteroid Damocles at 9 Pisces, redolent of the lie given under oath in the Paula Jones deposition which formed the underlying legal basis of the impeachment, that sword hanging over Clinton’s head. With his 26 Leo Sun conjunct asteroid Karma at 22 Leo, it’s hard for Clinton to get away with anything—he’s constantly brought back to having to answer for his actions, and can’t escape his past.

An exact pairing of asteroids Washingtonia and Tantalus at 25 Cancer, opposed Askalaphus and squared natal Jupiter at 23 Libra, indicate that the nation’s capitol (Washingtonia) would be a venue especially tempting and tantalizing (Tantalus) for Clinton, and have an adverse (square) effect upon his political (Jupiter) circumstances, enabled by tell-all tattlers (Askalaphus), like Linda Tripp, who first brought the Lewinsky affair to the notice of Special Prosecutor Ken Starr.

Pluto at 11 Leo in combination with asteroid Nemesis at 13 Leo, itself exactly conjunct a volatile Maser, suggests that power (Pluto) may be a factor in his undoing (Nemesis), a sense of entitlement proceeding from his elevated status which brooks no refusal of his desires, but tends toward self-absorbed (Leo) actions which provoke controversy (Maser).

Minor planet Eris, named for the Greek goddess of Strife, at 6 Aries is exactly opposed Mars/Neptune, and can be blamed for the increased acrimony, contention, divisiveness and hyper-partisanship (all Eris) which ensued as a result of the impeachment debacle, based in a sexual (Mars) lie (Neptune), and which reverberates to this day.

But enough of Bill. What of Hillary and Monica? Never fear—they are both present, and prominent. Asteroid Hillary, befittingly, at 24 Taurus is exactly conjoined a Black Hole and conjunct Clinton’s natal Moon at 20 Taurus. All evidence of sexual straying to the contrary, it’s Hillary he really loves and is intimate with (Moon), and who was the catalyst transforming (both Black Hole) him into the man capable of gaining the US presidency. And in an aspect too symbolic to miss, asteroid Monica opposes Hillary from 29 Scorpio, the sign of sexuality, from where she squares Clinton’s 26 Leo Sun and conjoins another revelatory Quasar at 27 Scorpio. She’s been a highly visible (Quasar) factor in his life—sexual, destructive and transformative (all Scorpio), causing conflict (square) for Bill personally (his Sun) and making others very aware (opposition) of the habitual (Moon) abandonment (Black Hole) of his wife (Hillary).

When the affair with Lewinsky was initiated, on 15 November 1995, in a private study off the Oval Office, asteroid Monica appears at 19 Gemini retrograde, conjoined to Clinton’s natal Uranus at 21 Gemini, suggesting impulsive response, and in square to transit Saturn, representing the Chief Executive, at 18 Pisces retrograde, itself conjunct asteroid Eros (sexual passion) at 22 Pisces. This pattern becomes a Galactic T-Square with the addition of Monica’s opposition to the Black Hole at 19 Sagittarius, which is conjoined transit Mars at 18 Sagittarius and Jupiter at 19 Sagittarius. The pairing of Mars with Jupiter emphasizes both the extracurricular nature of the affair, the god Jupiter being famed for his infidelities, and the combination of sex (Mars) and politics (Jupiter), even prefiguring the political battle (Jupiter/Mars) to ensue.

Asteroid Lust at 27 Leo has just conjoined Clinton’s Sun, ramping up his libido, and is also exactly inconjunct Uranus at 27 Capricorn, itself atop the USA natal Pluto, suggesting that the affair was not so much planned as a spontaneous, unexpected act of rebellion (all Uranus). Placed in its historic context, the day the affair began was just one day after the Republican-controlled Congress had shut down all nonessential government services during a budget dispute with the White House. As the old adage goes, “idle hands are the devil’s plaything,” and Clinton, stymied at work, saw an opportunity for some private distraction and took it. The conjunction of Uranus with the nation’s Pluto indicates a disruption (Uranus) in the corridors of power (Pluto), a potentially devastating (Pluto) revolt (Uranus) which is initially represented by the government shutdown but would ultimately manifest as the impeachment proceedings.

Asteroids Aphrodite and Pecker, at 3 and 5 Libra respectively, conjoin Clinton’s 5 Libra Ascendant, 2 Libra natal Lust and 6 Libra natal Mars/Neptune, with Pecker exactly on the illuminating Quasar, highlighting the exact nature of Clinton’s transgression. Transit Chiron, reflective of maverick behavior and a wounding, also conjoins Mars/Neptune from 9 Libra and forms a Galactic Grand Cross with squares to asteroid Lie, exactly conjoined the 8 Cancer Quasar, and asteroid Icarus at 10 Capricorn, and an opposition to a second Quasar at 10 Aries. The moment shows a rash, impulsive (Icarus) action which causes pain (Chiron) and requires subsequent subterfuge to cover it up (Lie), but which is eventually exposed (Quasar), and this overall energy keys specifically on Clinton’s sex (Mars) addiction (Neptune). Clinton’s natal asteroid Pandora ties to this pattern from 11 Cancer, evoking unexpected consequences and a hail of troubles from the act. Additionally, transit asteroid Icarus has just returned to its natal place at 9 Capricorn, this “Icarus Return” reinforcing Clinton’s natal propensity to leap before he looks, to fail to think through the ramifications of his actions or to follow a more prudent course.

The Sun at 22 Scorpio is exactly squared Clinton’s natal asteroid Karma at 22 Leo, conjunct his natal Sun, threatening the comeuppance which would in due course ensue. Asteroid Washingtonia at 11 Aquarius exactly opposes his natal Pluto at 11 Leo, imperiling his personal power (Pluto) in the nation’s capitol. Asteroid Hillary at 3 Sagittarius is conjoined transit Pluto at 0 Sagittarius, both within orb of Clinton’s natal Monica at 29 Scorpio, prefiguring the devastating humiliation (Pluto) which the affair with Lewinsky (Monica) would have on the First Lady (Hillary) personally.

The last date on which both parties agree there was sexual contact was 28 February 1997 (Lewinsky asserts a later assignation as well, which is disputed by Clinton), when the infamous semen stains on the blue dress were created. Fittingly for its importance to the proceedings, transit asteroid Pecker at 8 Pisces is conjunct the Sun at 9 Pisces, both opposed a reality-warping Black Hole at 9 Virgo while conjoined Clinton’s natal asteroid Damocles also at 9 Pisces, indicating the doom that hung over his head with the indisputable evidence of the affair which their encounter elicited. Transit Monica at 13 Virgo is exactly semisextile Clinton’s natal asteroid Nemesis conjoined the volatile Maser at 13 Leo, and is further squared to asteroid Washingtonia at 17 Gemini, itself conjunct the Monica of their first liaison, and approaching Clinton’s natal Uranus.

Transit Uranus at 6 Aquarius exactly trines Clinton’s natal Mars/Neptune and conjoins transit Jupiter, evoking the reckless (Uranus) behavior of a politician (Jupiter). Asteroids Eros and Icarus combine at 23 and 24 Aquarius, further blending rashness and passion, and are conjunct the revealing Quasar at 25 Aquarius, opposed Clinton’s natal Sun/Karma conjunction at 26 and 22 Leo. Mars at 2 Libra is exactly conjunct Clinton’s natal asteroid Lust, and is set to roll over the Libra Ascendant and stellium, including Mars/Neptune, thus he is about to experience a Mars Return which is already within orb of exactitude. Asteroid Karma at 17 Scorpio conjoins the Sun of their first encounter at 22 Scorpio, thus synastrically reproducing the Sun/Karma natal pairing, while transit asteroid Lust at 18 Sagittarius is an exact match for the Mars/Jupiter conjunction of that ill-fated event, reigniting the passion of that moment. Asteroid Hillary is exactly conjunct a Black Hole at 27 Aries and squares transit Neptune at 28 Capricorn, intimating the continued deception practiced against her.

When the affair was finally made public and the scandal broke on 17 January 1998, the players are all once again dramatically present. Astoundingly, asteroid Monica at 17 Scorpio travels exactly with wound-maker Chiron and vengeful Nemesis at the same degree, all exactly squared asteroid Hillary at 17 Leo. This Scorpio stellium also precisely reiterates the degree of asteroid Karma for the sullying of the blue dress, and hits the 18 Scorpio Mercury (news, the press) for their first encounter. Transit asteroid Tantalus at 17 Aquarius in exact square forms a T-Square with Hillary/Monica, and moreover conjoins transit asteroid Aphrodite at 20 Aquarius, providing the tantalizing (Tantalus) affair-based (Aphrodite) scandal. A Galactic Grand Cross is created with the addition of the Black Hole at 16 Taurus, conjunct Clinton’s natal Moon at 20 Taurus, which is exactly squared by Aphrodite. These Taurean points are close by tale-bearing transit Askalaphus at 14 Taurus, creating a wellspring of tittle-tattle and rumor.

Eros and Icarus, conjunct for the blue dress encounter, are now exactly squared, with Eros exactly on the Black Hole at 29 Libra and Icarus exactly conjunct transit Neptune and a media-oriented Pulsar at 29 Capricorn, with the Sun tied closely by at 27 Capricorn, exactly conjoined a second Pulsar and the nation’s natal Pluto. Once again there is the combination of passion and recklessness, attempted deception and media revelation, all affecting the USA power base. Venus at 25 Capricorn and asteroid Lust at 22 Capricorn also conjoin the transit Sun, with Venus exactly opposed Clinton’s natal Tantalus/Washingtonia conjunction and Lust exactly inconjunct his 22 Leo Karma.

Transit Mars and Jupiter are conjunct, repeating themes of sex and politics, and at 23 and 25 Aquarius they closely mirror the Eros/Icarus pairing of the blue dress stain creation while opposing Clinton’s natal Sun/Karma and the Lust of their first encounter, and trine his natal Jupiter at 23 Libra. Transit Jupiter now exactly on the 25 Aquarius Quasar focuses attention on a prominent politician, and asteroid Washingtonia at 2 Virgo is a close match for asteroid Nemesis at 1 Virgo in the blue dress chart, yet another indicator of retribution in the nation’s capitol. Asteroid Lie at 12 Aquarius is exactly conjunct a Black Hole, representing the deception that could no longer be maintained in its own separate reality, and forms a temporary Galactic Grand Trine with Clinton’s natal asteroid Lie at 11 Gemini in trine to his natal 11 Libra Venus. Transit Pluto at 7 Sagittarius exactly opposes Clinton’s natal Aphrodite, exposing romantic secrets; asteroid Pecker at 4 Taurus conjoins a spotlighting Quasar and squares both Clinton’s natal Saturn at 2 Leo and Mercury at 7 Leo, providing news and details (both Mercury) about his zipper issues (Pecker) which adversely affects (square) his career (Saturn).

Asteroid Hillary was also active throughout the 2008 presidential campaign which saw Hillary Rodham Clinton’s candidacy, dogging her steps at every turn. On 20 January 2007, Clinton announced her candidacy in an online statement, declaring, “I’m in. And I’m in to win.” Asteroid Hillary at 23 Scorpio was exactly conjunct asteroid Narcissus, and formed a Galactic Grand Cross with squares to asteroid Karma at 22 Aquarius and Saturn at 23 Leo retrograde, and an opposition to the Black Hole at 24 Taurus. The announcement came earlier than expected, a last-minute decision to pre-empt Barack Obama’s upcoming declaration and maintain the focus on herself (Hillary with Narcissus, named for the Greek youth so obsessed with his own image reflected in a pool that he was unable to turn aside from it, and thus wasted away). Karma suggests something fated underway, while Saturn represents not only Clinton’s own career, but the office of the Chief Executive as well, and the Black Hole indicates a high level of indeterminacy and flux, potentially eroding Clinton’s supposedly rock solid foundation.

When the primary season officially began, with a devastating and prophetic loss to Obama in Iowa on 3 January 2008, asteroid Hillary at 26 Capricorn was exactly conjoined asteroid Atropos, with asteroids Icarus, Orpheus and a Pulsar standing close by at 20, 25 and 27 Capricorn, and Hillary squared to asteroids Hybris and Asbolus, both exactly conjoined the Black Hole at 24 Aries.

This complex mix is very telling. Atropos was one of the Fates, known as the Inevitable, and Clinton had built her campaign on a sense of inevitability which, until that moment, many considered to be unshakeable. Icarus represents the rashness which prevented her from dealing more effectively early on with the threat posed by Obama, and the Pulsar signals a newsworthy event, which Obama’s upset win in Iowa surely was. Asbolus was a centaur diviner who read auguries in the flight of birds, but Clinton failed to read the signs of Obama’s ascendance, relying instead on a type of false certitude and self-assurance reflective of Hybris, the Greek goddess of arrogant, insolent action. The repetition of Black Hole energies here signals unexpected upsets and dramatic reversals of fortune, as well as the potential waste of huge amounts of energy and resources.

After Super Tuesday on 5 February 2008, Obama had swept so many states it became numerically almost impossible for Clinton to recoup her losses and surpass him. At 15 Aquarius, asteroid Hillary was conjunct the Sun and Mercury retrograde at 16 Aquarius, with squares to asteroid Pandora at 19 Scorpio and Trans-Neptunian Object Sedna at 19 Taurus, itself conjoined asteroid Washingtonia and a Black Hole at 13 and 16 Taurus. It was time to rethink (Mercury retrograde) her strategy, deal with the unexpected, calamitous results (Pandora) of her prior inaction, which had left her increasingly isolated (Sedna, named for an Inuit goddess who dwells in the deepest, most inaccessible part of the Arctic Ocean), or her bid to gain the Oval Office (Washingtonia) was over. From 15 Aquarius, Hillary was also on the midpoint of Venus at 15 Capricorn and Uranus at 16 Pisces, in semisextile to each, and Clinton chose to try to resurrect her campaign by focusing on her support from women (Venus) and portraying herself as a collegial everyman with the common touch (all Uranus), in contrast to Obama’s suspected elitism, attempting to recreate herself and her image (Black Hole).

Another setback occurred March 17, 2008, when Clinton was caught in an apparent lie regarding her visit to war-torn Bosnia in 1996, an effort to polish her commander-in-chief credentials. In a speech given that day, Clinton reflected upon her experience of landing at Tusla airport under sniper fire, complete with cancelled reception ceremonies and a hurried, heads-down sprint across the tarmac to the waiting armed escort. Unfortunately, network news video existed of the event, which showed Clinton unconcernedly strolling from the plane to accept a bouquet from a young girl, then chatting leisurely with local officials before proceeding to the city, all minus any sense of threat or danger.

Asteroid Hillary at 9 Pisces was conjunct asteroid Achilles at 8 Pisces, opposed Saturn at 3 Virgo, asteroids Typhon at 11 Virgo and Memoria exactly on a Black Hole at 9 Virgo, and squared asteroid Karma at 12 Gemini. The incident focused attention on a weak spot (Achilles) for Clinton, her truthfulness and a tendency to embellish a thin resume. Clinton blamed this clash between harsh reality (Saturn) and faulty memory (Memoria) on “mis-speaking,” but she was unable to avoid the media storm (Typhon) that resulted from this foray into a parallel reality (Black Hole) that had never existed in this one, and all prior exaggerations she had ever uttered came back to haunt her (Karma).

Clinton fought on to the end of the primary season, not formally suspending her campaign until 7 June 2008, half a week after the final primary. Asteroid Hillary at 25 Aries was now conjoined a Black Hole, also conjunct minor planet Eris at 21 Aries, and in sextile to Neptune at 24 Aquarius and opposed asteroid Klotho at 23 Libra. Neptune’s influence can be seen in the rather vague, uncertain action of “suspending” the campaign, rather than simply ending it, as well as the vociferous disappointment expressed by her supporters, who made no secret of their discontent and disgruntlement (Eris) at the outcome. Asteroid Klotho represents yet another of the Three Fates, the Spinner of Destiny, and the Black Hole energies which had stalked her from the start finally swallowed her candidacy, not to be revived in this reality.

Lest we think that asteroids Monica and Hillary are only concerned with Lewinsky and Rodham Clinton, we conclude with two additional examples of their influence. When tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a crazed fan of her opponent Steffie Graf during a match in Hamburg, Germany on 30 April 1993, asteroid Monica at 7 Scorpio formed a Grand Trine with transit Venus at 4 Aries and Mars at 1 Leo, neatly symbolizing the attack (Mars) on a female (Venus) sports figure (Mars also). Monica is also exactly semisquare to transit Uranus at 22 Capricorn, indicating the explosive, violent (both Uranus) nature of the incident, as well as her attacker’s mental decay.

When Hilary Swank won her first Best Actress Oscar on 26 March 2000 (for her gender-bending turn in 1999's Boys Don’t Cry), asteroid Hillary was exactly conjunct transit Uranus at 19 Aquarius, semisquare the 6 Aries Sun and squared Saturn at 14 Taurus. This reflects the androgynous (Uranus) character of her winning role, as well as highlighting her career (Saturn) and personalizing (Sun) the day to her.

And thus we conclude this examination of Monica and Hillary, just two of more than 13,000 named asteroids, among some 330,000 which have been discovered but not officially designated, out of an estimated total of 1.9 million in our solar system. Well, it’s a start.

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Alex Miller (formerly Alex Miller-Mignone)
is a professional writer and astrologer, author of The Black Hole Book 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 can be reached for comment or services at alex@daykeeperjournal.com.