On June 13th, Hillary Clinton announced the official launch of her campaign for the 2016 presidential election. But wait …
Don’t we already have a chart for the “official” launch on April 12? (Charts for both dates below.)
Clinton explains that her earlier launch was just a “ramp-up” phase, and most of the mainstream media are dutifully reporting it that way, despite the hoopla surrounding the much anticipated launch of April 12. Not everyone is buying it, though. (1, 2)
So, which chart are we going to use? And which chart were we using in the first place? Her campaign web site came online just after 3 p.m. on April 12. However, her campaign manager, John Podesta, sent an e-mail to supporters at 2:33 saying her candidacy was official, and it was immediately reposted on Twitter by one of the recipients. (3) The media got the word days earlier in a press release, complete with a launch schedule with the announcement planned for noon. The Guardian, attributing the information to an unnamed source, didn’t wait and published the story on April 10. (4) Or what about the chart for when she filed the official paperwork declaring her candidacy or signed the lease on her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn? (5, 6)
What is it with Hillary Clinton? Her birth time itself is mired in uncertainty, resulting in a Rodden rating of DD. Astrologers have pondered and debated her birth time for years in an attempt to cast accurate election charts and to get a handle on the woman herself. Ironically, the confusion serves to reinforce the most probable birth time of around 8 a.m., which places her Scorpio Sun in the nebulous 12th house. (7)
Clinton admitted an identity problem in her first “official” campaign launch, quipping that she was “the most famous person you don’t really know.” Her initial launch didn’t do a lot to address that deficiency, nor did she make a very convincing case for why she wanted to be president. That left her open to harsh criticism, among the most devastating being that her nomination was more like a coronation, with a sense of entitlement. (8, 9)
The re-launch has been described more as a “re-branding,” following a two-month trial during which campaign advisors had an opportunity to evaluate their strategies to portray the former first lady and Secretary of State as more approachable and down-to-earth. In past elections, she came off as aloof and detached. (10, 11)
Clinton’s campaign advisors also have been snapped to attention by the unexpected popularity of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive candidate whose populist message has been drawing large crowds. Considered a nonstarter, Sanders has surged in recent polls, surprising even himself. Clinton’s speech at Saturday’s rally, held on Roosevelt Island in New York, was spiked with references to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her mother’s difficult upbringing, and “income inequality.” (12)
Just a coincidence? Or is it a 12th-house thing? On her Twitter account, Clinton describes herself as “wife, mom, grandma, women+kids advocate, FLOTUS, Senator, SecState, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, 2016 presidential candidate.” One gets the feeling that she’s trying too hard to be whatever will appeal to voters, or at least what her advisors are telling her will make her more likeable. It’s like the old joke about putting a chameleon on plaid. And her Pisces Moon is the consummate chameleon.
From an astrological viewpoint, the re-launch chart is more favorable for getting a message out. Although both “official launch” charts have Virgo Rising, the June 13th chart has Mercury in Gemini conjunct the Midheaven, with a partile Sun-Mars conjunction in Gemini in the 10th house. Another coincidence? Or did her campaign wise up and hire an astrologer?
April 12 Campaign Launch, 3:07 p.m. EDT, Brooklyn, NY. Source: The Guardian, see footnote (3)
June 13 Campaign Re-Launch, 11:53 a.m. EDT, New York, NY. Source: Hillary Clinton’s Twitter feed.
Footnotes:
1) “Hillary Clinton’s ‘talking points’ for ‘friends and allies’ just leaked,” by Hunter Walker, Business Insider, June 12, 2015.
2) “The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet,” by David A. Graham, The Atlantic, June 12, 2015.
3) The Guardian’s live coverage of Clinton’s April 12 announcement provides times via updates and Twitter images.
4) “Hillary Clinton to launch 2016 campaign on Sunday en route to Iowa,” by Lauren Gambino, The Guardian, April 10, 2015.
5) A copy of Clinton’s filing with the Federal Election Commission can be found online, with a time stamp.
6) “Hillary Clinton’s Brooklyn – It’s official: She’s signed the deal for a campaign HQ,” by Anne Karni and Gabriel Debenedetti, Politico , April 3, 2015.
7) Hillary Clinton, Astrodatabank.
8) “Hillary Clinton, Polarizing Or Misunderstood, Jumps Into Race For President,” by Tamara Keith, NPR, April 12, 2015.
9) “Good-Bill hunting — Hillary supporters attack de Blasio,” by Michael Goodwin, The New York Post, April 15, 2015.
10) “How Hillary Clinton launched her campaign’s latest phase,” by Anne Gearan, The Washington Post, June 13, 2015.
11) “Hillary Clinton’s journey to Iowa: 1,000-mile road trip in a ‘Scooby-Doo’ van,” by Paul Lewis, The Guardian, April 13, 2015.
12) “Hillary Clinton to #FeelTheBern — that’s Bernie Sanders — in Iowa,” by Jose DelReal, The Washington Post, June 12, 2015.
Bio: Pat Paquette is a writer, editor, and astrologer living on Vashon Island, WA. She has been blogging on astrology since December 2005. Her weekly astrological forecasts appear on the blog of her website, RealAstrologers.com, where you also can find a collection of her past articles.
25 Comments
Very interesting – Saturn got shifted from the 4th House into the 3rd House, and Neptune from the 7th to the 6th.
Yes, and Saturn is on the verge of returning to Scorpio, and Neptune is stationed. What do you make of it, Mary? Do you think it’s more helpful to have Saturn and Neptune out of the angular houses, or is Saturn in the third house more communications-challenged? Other thoughts?
To shift Saturn out of the house signifying “The End of the Matter” is a great move! Having it still in Sag keeps it out of Hilary’s Sun sign, too. As for Neptune, well, one could wish it elsewhere. Not too sure about what would be worse, “open enemies” or “employees” (who I take to be the campaign staff) being a little addled &/or not always on point (the square to Mercury). Do we know what Bernie Sanders’ launch chart looks like?
Good points, Mary!
No birth time yet for Bernie. I’m working on it, but getting through to campaign folks is a challenge. I at least have independently verified the date and place given on Wikipedia: Sept. 8, 1941, Brooklyn, N.Y.
That gives him a 15-degree Virgo Sun, with a tight Saturn-Uranus conjunction in late Taurus/early Gemini. His Moon definitely is in Aries. Depending on birth time, it could be conjunct Mars.
Jude Cowell at Stars Over Washington has done a very interesting preliminary analysis, using the noon chart.
Much better chart, all mutable and flexible. Can’t get much more propitious then the Sun-Mars conjunction in 10th house combined with the Taurus moon in the 9th suggesting a connection with the economic concerns of the people.
I’m unclear what is really the birth of the campaign? Isn’t the first chart really the campaign since it was the launch? Although I think the Saturn in the 3rd seems to be playing out with some of the journalist complaints.
Tracy, you and me both. That was my point. It’s unclear, and that seems to be a pattern with Hillary.
I thought it was interesting that her campaign was trying to present Saturday’s rally as the “official launch.” Since they said so, it seemed fair to cast a chart for it, but I agree with you about the first announcement. It was as “official” as it gets.
But even then, what time should we use for the first chart? I chose the time when the website went live for the chart above, since that seems to be the “conventional wisdom.” I’m not convinced, though, especially when you’ve got her campaign manager saying “It’s official” half an hour earlier in an e-mail to supporters and when the press release to reporters was issued days in advance. Just because most of them played by the “rules” and didn’t publish it, does that make it any less official? The Guardian broke the rules and published the story on April 10.
One also could make a case for the date that she filed the official paperwork, although it was filed after she made the public announcement. What do you think?
Oh, and about the journalist complaints, yes. At Saturday’s rally, they apparently were cordoned off and not allowed to get near candidate or even to mix with the crowd.
Senator Bernie Sanders is only five days younger than myself. I can vouch for the power of the Saturn-Uranus conjunction (a major driving factor in my own chart). I would also draw attention to the fact that when Uranus makes its first exact contact with Eris on 9th June next year (at 23deg 31min of Aries) this will be less than 10 seconds of arc of Bernie’s Mars (and mine).
That’s very interesting, Anthony! Without a birth time for Bernie, it’s helpful to have input like this. I will have to take a closer look at that Uranus-Eris transit. Thanks for the heads-up.
Hi Pat, great info and discussion! And thanks for linking.
Sorry folks, but I have to make a slight correction. Next year’s Uranus-Eris conjunction will be ten MINUTES of arc (not seconds) from Bernie’s Mars. The orb is still a close one, however.
Thanks Pat for the evocative article and this continued dialogue..
All best..
Mary
You’re most welcome, Mary! And thank you for the opportunity to have this thought-provoking exchange with the TMA community.
Hi, Pat!
Intriguing subject. I’ve faced many similar challenges with other candidates this year, with early Twitter announcements, conference calls with donors or web videos released before the official speech containing those fated words, “I’m running.” Perhaps it’s just that they’re all two-faced? :^)
On the Eris front, I noted that Hillary’s first launch was the day of the annual Sun/Eris conjunction, which doesn’t bode well for a calm ride, especially among staffers, with perhaps some internecine squabbling. We’ll have to see how that plays out in the long haul. But Eris is also noted as a champion of the marginalized, oppressed or downtrodden, which certainly seems to fit the theatrics of the re-launch, where Eris’ role is downplayed (though still in sextile to Sun/Mars). That might argue for using the earlier chart, as things develop.
I also do a lot of work with asteroids, and since “announcement season” began we’ve been dealing with a forming triple conjunction of America, Nemesis and Whitehouse in Leo, which Washingtonia has joined for Hillary’s re-launch and Jeb’s launch. Not a comforting grouping, is it?
Asteroid Hillary (#3130) was at 5 Cap for the first launch, exactly inconjunct Whitehouse 5 Leo, and Clinton sports an exact Hillary/Whitehouse opposition in the natal, but that karma may already have rubbed off on her time there as FLOTUS. We’ll just have to wait and see. But asteroid Hillary will be just four days from SR on Election Day 2016, at 16 Cancer and exactly trine the transit Sun 16 Scorpio while opposing Pluto 15 Cap, with a close conjunction of Venus and Whitehouse (“a woman in the Oval Office”) in late Sag. That all looks affirmative to me….
Alex, I don’t work with the smaller asteroids and had no idea there was an asteroid Whitehouse! That’s pretty funny. I knew about Hillary.
So what’s your opinion about the right launch chart?
We have a similar situation with Bernie’s announcement, although it’s a little more direct. He told an AP reporter the night before his press conference, and the AP posted it on Twitter immediately, which is what the AP does, so in my book that’s as good as an announcement on his part. The time on the post was 8:02 p.m. (April 29, Washington D.C.). He held a press conference at noon the following day, but there was a post on Twitter at 11:13 a.m.
Here are a couple more asteroids or you [7149,3029]. Tell me what you think. 😉
Yeah, Pat, it’s getting kind of ridiculous. all these methods and ways of announcing. What was wrong with cuneiform tablets? :^)
Cruz did a Twitter announcement at midnight the night before his Liberty University speech, Paul and Rubio also did “two-fers” within hours of more formal announcements.
But there has to be a time limit on these things, I don’t think they can be too far apart, so as for Hillary, I say, use April 12. That web video was when she made her intentions clear. I liken it to the difference between when a store first opens its doors, and a “Grand Opening” the weekend after; which is the chart? The first day, right? It’s April for Hillary, no doubt in my mind. Which isn’t to say the second chart won’t resonate; as a significant moment in the campaign, it will have connection, but not genesis, IMO.
What I found most interesting about Sanders (and I didn’t know about the AP tweet the night before) was that his first presser was barely a blip on the radar, but when he did the public speech during Mercury Rx, everything turned around for him – huge crowds, lots of media. BUT I think that first announcement insulated his campaign from the retro effects the other 6 candidates who announced during the retro will experience.
And THANK YOU for the “Bernie” asteroid! I had been using Bernardina 629 and Bernardi 27983, never thought to look for a ‘Bernie’ as well. I just checked, and it’s four degrees off Hillary’s Nemesis, probably too far to make much impact, more of a symbolic thing. But she does have Busch with Damocles just a degree off her Whitehouse, with Busch SD exactly squared her natal Nike (victory) two days before the election. Could be an issue…
Alex, I like your store opening analogy. But wouldn’t you also then consider when the store applied for a business license? Or maybe when it announced to the media that it was going to start building? The social media definitely complicate things.
I do get a kick out of asteroids Bernie (7149) and Sanders (3029). Does any other candidate have asteroids for both first and last names? I would have thought there’d be an asteroid Clinton, not necessarily for the reigning U.S. political family, but maybe for some of the other Clintons throughout history. There’s an asteroid Cruz (21502) and Paul (3525).
As I wrote earlier, I don’t work with asteroids this way, but it was fun to run some charts. What I found was that asteroids Sanders, Bernie, and Hillary are all clustered around Pluto at the moment, with Hillary behind. But she’s the fastest moving, and she catches up in late December/early January, with an impressive stellium of Sanders, Hillary, Bernie, and Ceres. Hillary finally pulls ahead on January 5.
On Election Day, Uranus, Eris, Ceres, and Bernie are all conjunct Bernie’s Mars and possibly Moon, depending on his birth time, and that Venus-Whitehouse conjunction you mentioned is partile conjunct Bernie’s natal Ceres. Another interesting “coincidence” … The AP’s announcement of Bernie’s campaign and his announcement the following day both have a prominent Jupiter/Whitehouse conjunction; on the MC for the first and the Ascendant for the second, which also has Eris and Uranus on the MC.
I have no idea what this means! What do you think?
Pat, remember that Jupiter/Whitehouse conjunction has been on deck for awhile, so most of the field has it (it’s actually to what I attribute the amazing plethora of candidates this time around – increased passion for the White House). But for Sanders to have it PROMINENT in BOTH charts is quite interesting! The only way to tell if it’s unusual would be to check everyone’s times – I’ve found that this sort of prominence is typical when PNAs are involved.
I LOVE your take on the candidates’ asteroids upcoming patterns! I’ll have to digest the Ceres factor for awhile before replying, but you’ve obviously got an eye for this! I’ve been doing tons of research just on asteroid Hillary for this period from announcement to election, but I haven’t yet looked at it in concert with other candidates’ PNAs. Kudos!
As for what it means, I’m still on the fence. Does the incredible aptness of PNA placements in such events merely DESCRIBE the situation as it exists, or co-create it? Is it possible to predict in advance from them? I’ll admit I don’t have a great track record with that, but I’m not a prognosticator, I’m a chronicler. My predictive skills aren’t that great to begin with, so when PNAs don’t come out as I expected, I’m not sure if it’s them or me. But they ALWAYS show 100% after the fact – they’re always just where they should be, as if it was planned. Like the Sanders charts you describe.
But does that give him an edge? The only way to know for sure would be to see if it’s unique to him, or everybody has something similar in their timing. (And then, of course, the promise of that would have to be there in the follow-through.)
Sorry to go on; anyway, great talking about it, loved your observations!
“What was wrong with cuneiform tablets? :^) ”
;)))
I got a laugh out of that, too. But I actually have thought quite a bit about what was “wrong” with cuneiform tablets. It’s when beliefs started being “written in stone.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Alex, I indeed did see the Jupiter/WH conjunction in the charts for Hillary’s launch(es). Both of the charts above have Virgo Rising, which means that Jup/WH were in the 12th house. I didn’t check the charts for the campaign announcements by Cruz, Paul, or any of the others. Maybe you could do that and get back to us?
Although I thank you for the compliment, I have to confess that I saw that stellium essentially because I was lazy. 🙂 Rather than casting a new chart for each event, with a different selection of asteroids for each, I put them all in one chart on Astrodienst, and then just clicked on “edit data” to change the dates and time. I looked at charts for the various launches, plus Election Day and Inauguration Day (Jan. 20, 2017, noon, Washington D.C.). That’s how I saw that 3130-Hillary had moved ahead. Then it was just a question of changing the dates until I found when they were in the closest conjunction. Not rocket science.
As for Ceres … yes, poor Ceres. The frumpy, middle-aged mother that everyone ignores, even though she was promoted the same day that Pluto got his pink slip and is the only dwarf planet inside the orbit of Neptune. Rather than taking up space here with the mythology and implications, I’ll just refer you to an article I wrote about Ceres in May 2010.
Bottom line: Eris’s stunt led to the Trojan War, in which thousands lost their lives. Ceres could have killed the entire planet. It’s probably not a good idea to ignore Ceres…
Just a quick look before I head off for the weekend. Looks like Rubio’s announcement shows Jupiter/Whitehouse in 11; Bush has it in 10 (but not angular). Both Rand Paul and Ted Cruz gave prior Twitter announcements at midnite before speeches the following day. And both have similar charts for the conjunction, with the Twitter announcement straddling the 9th cusp, and the speech straddling 2 for Paul, firmly in 2 for Cruz.
So it does look like Bernie’s angular showings are special. I would equate this period of his travels with Hillary both as him “dogging” her, but also “rubbing off”; as she notes the popularity of his message, she co-opts it. But she does finish ahead, as you note, which is hardly a surprise, right?
Good job, Alex. Thanks!
I can’t say whether Jupiter/Whitehouse in the tenth house is favorable or not, because I don’t work with asteroids enough to know what they mean, how to make predictions, etc. I can tell you, though, that according to traditional rules, a planet in one of the angular houses is considered stronger, for better or for worse. So tenth house is probably very good, and much better than any of the other Republican contenders.
It’s also interesting that Jeb is an Aquarius. Of the Sun signs of all the presidents, Aquarius and Scorpio are the most common. Not by a lot, but ten out of 43 presidents (Cleveland counts twice) were either Aquarius or Scorpio. Two of the most popular presidents of all time, Abraham Lincoln and FDR, were Aquarius. I did a tally of Moon and Ascendant, as well. The most frequent Moon sign is Capricorn. Most frequent Rising sign is Libra. However, Virgo and Taurus are close behind. Nearly half of all our presidents had Moon or Ascendant in either Virgo or Taurus. We have never had a president with a Pisces Moon or Scorpio Rising (that we know of).
I am in awe of this serious asteroid study. Hillary’s Sun is opposite Ceres. I’ve read several meanings; triumph over adversity, idealization of the mothering role, super-woman syndrome, and they all seem to fit. She also has Saturn opposite Pallas, which is the astrologer’s aspect, able to see patterns in complex chaos. Right now her progressed Chiron is conjunct her Mercury and Ascendant, and one person wrote that this was deciding to just do it (whatever it is you’ve wanted to do) even if it hurts. I can also see it as wanting to heal a personal wound, or to be seen as a healer. So, I definitely think asteroids “work” in her chart. So, its great to learn about all these itty bitty ones. Where was Whitehouse when she was born?
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