Wednesday, January 07, 2009

The Obama Inauguration

Tuesday January 20, 12:00 pm, Washington DC, USA.



The president’s term begins at Noon according to the constitution, regardless of what time the swearing in takes place.

The chart for the inauguration sets the tone of the administration, and while there are no real surprises here, I think the astrology is very telling. I won’t spend a lot of time on this because it is difficult to separate my own hopes for this administration from the reading.

When I looked at this inauguration chart 6 months ago, I wondered what issue would dominate the inauguration, and portend poorly for any real success. I also looked at the Aries ingress for 2009, and saw a huge values issue, figured it would probably be a financial mess, but I had no idea just how bad the mess would be by the time we got to the inauguration. No I didn’t predict the meltdown (though lots of financial astrologers were doing so), I figured things were already bad enough to warrant the things I saw.

Now that we are here and we can see clearly what is happening, it is the financial crisis that is dominating this inauguration, and it will be this crisis that impedes any sense of success in this first Obama term.

President Obama will have achieved enormous success, in my view, if the USA of 2012 is stable and making incremental progress towards growth. But this, of course, does not mean significant growth in absolute terms, and this lack of absolute growth is strongly indicated in the inauguration chart.

President Obama will retain his great standing with the international community, and will do great things to restore America’s image as a leading light in the world. He will be a Leader’s leader.

At home, he faces a different picture. The hopes of the people are pinned on him for a “miracle” to ease the pain of the economic crisis. The miracle is not forthcoming. Obama’s message will be one of hard work and sacrifice, which is actually the message the people need to hear, but it is not the one they want to hear. The downturn will cause significant loss, hardship, and a fundamental redistribution of wealth. These material losses will overshadow any good the president does in office in the minds of the people. This will present a significant, though not insurmountable, challenge for the President should he seek re-election in 2012.

Military strength will dominate foreign policy. The President will use the military wisely, efficiently, and very effectively, which will go a long way to restoring the image of the US military as a force for the greater good.

In short, the Obama presidency will be sold, stable, and enduring. He will do great things for the USA abroad, and will not fare as well domestically as he grapples with the reality of the economic crisis.

The Astrology

The inauguration of the US president is always timed to have a Taurus ascendant, assuring stability in all but the most exceptional of cases.

A diurnal chart with the sect ruler in detriment, Jupiter combust, and Saturn out of sect in the 5th. This is a period where unilateral leadership is forced to yield to a more nocturnal spirit of collaboration, a process which yields surprisingly good results in some areas, though the nocturnal ruler, the Moon, is also poorly placed and void of course. The Obama first term is characterized by frustration overall, with a couple of very bright spots to offset the frustration just a little.

Mercury retrograde exact conjunct the Sun in Aquarius, an issue of commerce (or other systems) dominates the inauguration. Not only is Mercury retrograde and combust, it is in mutual reception with Saturn who is also retrograde in Virgo, the 5th house. This is “a lot of no fun” raining on the inauguration party.

Jupiter combust the Sun in Aquarius. Growth is overshadowed by the President’s attention to the economic crisis. While it may be theoretically possible to post growth figures, the President will be more interested in fixing the problem.

Moon, void of course in Scorpio, the 7th house. The people are feeling powerless and hold some resentment to the president over the course of the term. There may be talk of armed insurrection, but it comes to nothing. Many will be devoted to service within their communities to achieve a higher purpose.

Venus, ascendant ruler, exalted in Pisces, the 11th house. This portends extremely well for the presidency as far as international reputation is concerned. International reputation is one of the two bright spots. The charisma of the President will be sufficient to inspire hope and higher ideals on the domestic level.

Mars, ruler of the Moon, exalted in Capricorn, the 9th house. This suggests a well-organized military that achieves a great deal and returns triumphant. It also suggests that the military will assist with stabilizing the economy.

Saturn, ruler of the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars, retrograde in Virgo, the 5th house. This represents negative growth, little commerce, an economy lacking the spark of vitality.

To finish on a positive note, the president is “on the job”, right on it!! Not only can he not avoid it, he will not run away from it or pretend it doesn’t exist. The situation could be a lot worse than it is. To have a level-headed, intelligent, charismatic leader at this time means that the trouble will be short-lived, and the USA should be on the right track, if not on the road to recovery, by the end of the first Obama term.

2 comments:

Misti said...

Silly question: I gather that the inauguration chart is to the presidency what the birth chart is to the person?

Rodney Smith said...

Hi Misti,

Yes that's a good analogy, provided we think of the presidency and the country as two different things.

The inauguration chart gives us trends and indicators for this particular presidency, and its effects on the country it serves.

Trends and events for the country are provided by ingress charts, influences holding sway on leaders are determined by solar eclipses, influences having sway on the people are indicated by lunar eclipses.