Editor’s Note: The following post comes from Starlight News, an astrology website that we’re fond of here at Planet Waves. Our friend Nancy, a certified social worker who’s born and raised in Washington, DC, wrote the following piece about McCain and Obama’s astrology coming into Wednesday’s final presidential debate. — Rachel Asher
WITH THEIR POLL numbers plummeting in the face of an economic meltdown and several poor debate performances, the McCain/Palin ticket has brazenly stepped into the rabid cesspool of political demagoguery. For the last few weeks, we have heard the Republican contenders cast Obama as a domestic terrorist and a dangerous, anti-American radical. We have seen them douse gasoline on the twin flames of hatred and paranoia at their increasingly combustible and angry rallies. Goaded on by the wild emotions he has summoned, McCain has even promised to confront Obama with these blatantly false charges at the next debate.
While this ugly display of ambition-first-country-last has created an increasingly misinformed and angry mob at political events, it has also engendered a wave of harsh criticism, including from many Republican leaders. To quash some of this reaction, McCain began to correct some of his supporters’ wildest and most nefarious claims about Obama on Friday, all the while looking like he was being forced to suck on a lemon. Meanwhile, his vicious, dishonest ads continue to play in the battleground states, and co-conspirator Palin defends the attacks as legitimate, barely backing down from the sleaze.
It is in the midst of this unfolding, high-stakes drama that the last debate between John McCain and Barack Obama will take place. On Oct. 15, the two will engage face to face, mano a mano, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Recently, a new birth time of 6:25 PM has surfaced for John McCain, which, if anything, makes matters worse for him. I will include the new data in this forecast, but identify it as such.
In his natal chart, John McCain’s very volatile, impulsive and easily angered temperament is described by a Mars (12Leo34) square to Uranus (9Taurus30). The new birth time brings the Moon (2 Aquarius25) into this configuration, creating a wide T-square, and suggesting an even greater irritability and combustibility. It is this aspect that will be under a great deal of pressure during and after the debate, suggesting McCain will be very agitated, angry and unhappy.
The transiting Moon (9Taurus30) will be exactly conjunct his natal Uranus at the beginning of the debate, suggesting a great deal of jumpiness in the first few minutes, perhaps due to an upsetting or surprising question right off the bat or perhaps due to an event prior to the debate that still has him rattled. The Moon will then move toward a square to his Mars (12Leo) through the course of the evening and into the very early hours of the morning. Anger and irritability are the likely result.
Of greater consequence is the transit of Mars (8Scorpio), especially on Oct. 16 and 17. Although this planet will be not quite within a one-degree orb of opposition to natal Uranus (9Taurus30) during the debate, it is likely to nonetheless signal the beginning of a two-day period of extreme agitation, impatience and anger.
In addition, there are two further aspects that are specific to the 6:25 PM chart that suggest a very trying, depressing time for McCain that began in late September and continues to be very potent through Oct. 19, slowly diminishing over the week or so thereafter. The first is the transit of Saturn sesquiquadrate his natal Moon (2Aquarius25) from Oct. 11 through Oct. 19, and the second is converse Moon square converse Saturn (22Pisces20) beginning around Sept. 21 and peaking on Oct. 18. All of this points to another poor debate performance and upset, aggression, anger and depression as a result.
While McCain seems to be at some kind of nadir for the mid-October debate, Obama will be at his zenith. His progressed Venus will be, to the minute, conjunct his natal Node (27Leo18) for the debate, triggered by the transit of Venus (27 Scorpio) during and after the actual event through the following morning.
Transiting Venus will also square his progressed Venus/progressed Uranus (28Leo) conjunction, and then conjunct his Midheaven (28Scorpio53) through Oct. 16th. In the face of McCain’s crankiness, Obama will once again demonstrate calmness and strength, with an extraordinarily appealing and compelling quality that pervades his presence.
There is, however, some stress that develops for Obama from around Oct. 16 through Oct. 25, due to Saturn’s transit semisquare his Mercury (2Leo20) and quincunx his Ascendant (18Aquarius03).
Perhaps it is just the weightiness of the times adding to the sobriety and thoughtfulness (Saturn) of his demeanor. But it seems likely he may lose some of his sparkle during this period and become more fatigued and off his game. A cold or laryngitis is possible that will encumber him in some way.
Alternately, the increasingly vituperative attacks from the Hate Talk Express may begin to do some damage. It may be that his wide lead shrinks a bit during these ten days. Nonetheless, it seems likely that the last debate will be quite memorable and may be what finally seals this election, in spite of the background of sulphurous fulminations exuding from the Dark Side.