Tuesday, August 25, 2020

The Astrology of the Biden-Harris team, Part Two




Musician John Prine was featured in the DNC's "In Memoriam"
“I remember everything…”—John Prine


“the heart of justice is truth telling.”—bell hooks, All About Love



We witnessed the first-ever virtual political convention this past week, which was, in some weird way, far more enjoyable and effective an event than many anticipated. The highlights that caught my attention were the ones that captured the amazing mosaic of American life, from “sea to shining sea” and much, much more (who knew that there are 57 states and territories that cast convention votes?). Dems are known for welcoming all the wonderful colors and textures of our collective life into one expansive “tent” of a party, and to my eye, the virtual format did a very respectable job of representing all that, bringing the character of the Party, its platform and its candidates into focus.

In fact, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) even had the good sense to provide a COVID-19 “In Memoriam” montage, graced by the haunting music of one of COVID’s fallen heroes, John Prine. To my mind, the signature empathy we’ve come to expect from the Party, not to mention from both Biden and Harris individually, found collective voice in that memorial segment, and that empathy set the tone for the entire convention from there on.

Were there flaws in those proceedings? Many called Rep. Julian Castro’s notable absence on the speakers’ list a definite flaw—he featured in a quick video clip, but his absence as a more prominent speaker did feel like a significant void, especially considering how essential Latino-x community support could be this November. It appeared that the DNC relegated him to the category of those who “ran against Biden and lived to support him anyway”—a fun vignette in its own right, but time will tell if Castro’s stature as the nation’s most prominent Latino in government should have been given special attention.

It’s hard to imagine that the Latino-x community will find any reason to vote for Trump, but they may have less reason to be excited by the Biden-Harris ticket than they would have had Castro played a more serious role in the convention, and that feels like an unfortunate oversight. On the plus side, the convention featured an array of Republicans for Biden, including a major segment by former Ohio Governor, John Kasich. Is the DNC hoping that more GOP’ers will switch teams in November? Or was the shock value of Republican support for a Dem the whole point of the exercise?

Character is often cited as the determining factor for those attracted to the now-official Biden-Harris ticket, so as promised in the last post here, the focus of this article will be the astrology of these two candidates as a team. In other words, whereas the last post explored each of their natal charts in turn and considered a key moment in each of their careers, today the focus is on how they are likely to work together as a governing duo. How their individually strong characters will blend as they carry out their everyday Executive responsibilities. We have a fair idea now what their respective strengths are—the focus here is on what dynamics will drive their partnership and what strengths and/or weaknesses they will inspire in each other. How they will impact each other on a number of necessary levels.

As important as this relationship will be between Biden and Harris, however, it would be short-sighted to treat them as just any two people who may need to work together. We really need to consider them within the larger context—the nation, itself—so the charts we’ll consider ahead will be set against the U.S. Sibly chart as well.

This may be true astrologically, too!


Built into those “greater context” discussions will also be some consideration for how Biden and Harris are likely to stack up in terms of the difficult-to-define quality of leadership. This ineffable factor has taken center stage lately by its sheer absence from the White House during the COVID crisis, and it’s also crowded into our public awareness through the specter of White House-driven voter suppression tactics only thinly disguised as “reforms” to the nation’s oldest institution and service organization, the U.S. Postal Service.

If we believe that by definition leadership requires some virtue and dedication, just being at the head of an organization or nation is not enough, but there is a spectrum of effectiveness and skill that should probably be considered, from “truly incompetent and/or malevolent to the People’s interests” (the negative extreme) to “highly-skilled, effective and/or inspiring to the People” on the positive extreme. Most administrations fall somewhere between those two poles, of course, but many have moved by increments to one side or the other according to how well they demonstrated a real commitment to the Constitution, the People’s needs and future, and to going above and beyond to support the “better angels” of our collective nature. What these variances in leadership styles look like astrologically is a bit of a mystery, but to my mind, well-worth exploring.

Towards that end, before we take a look at the charts that might give us perspective into where a Biden-Harris presidency could fall on that spectrum, let’s consider a few basic ideas about leadership, and what qualities have long been associated with competent leadership. 


A question for our time: what makes for good leadership?

A short list

To the extent that political leadership is a collective-oriented career by definition, it’s probably safe to assume that a collectively-oriented nativity will help. People come to the business of politics from many different perspectives, however: some take an almost abstract interest in the affairs of leadership because they are attuned to the core Being or mission of the nation they wish to represent.  They may be attuned on several levels, in fact—intellectual, emotional, ambition, a quest for prestige, dignity, to fulfill a family dream, a patriotic duty, etc.

To hear them talk, would-be leaders are often driven by some personal “dream” or desire to make a lasting difference in this world, but if there is no collective component to that dream (in other words, they’re in it for themselves only), things can get dicey. It helps for leaders to have a strong ego, of course, but even better is a strong ego, purified and rendered diligent, committed, responsible and humble in Saturn’s rigorous boot camp. How else to identify with and appreciate the struggles of the people they wish to lead? Developing these qualities requires Saturn’s gift of time—the best argument, I think, for the age limits we have traditionally put on top office holders.

To my mind, there should be more than a set of unspoken “norms” directing who can run for the nation’s highest office. Like requiring some governing experience before running—the government is a complex network of service institutions (like the Post Office), not a business, and shouldn’t be treated as such; it takes an array of specialized skills to represent others and govern well, and great business leaders do not often make great politicians.

Those we contemplate voting into office should clearly know and value our Constitution; swearing an oath to this foundational document hasn’t been taken very seriously lately, and that’s a real problem—the Constitution is the glue that holds us together as a nation.  Instead we’ve had candidates galore who pick and choose which parts of the Constitution and the Rule of Law they like and which ones they don’t. We have democratic processes and mechanisms for changing laws that need changing—the Constitution is an evolving document, but in a Rule of Law nation, there’s no random picking and choosing. 

We expect leaders to demonstrate an interest in other people’s lives and in using their talents to make those lives better—these individuals should understand the difference between power and service, in other words. In the end, it’s about candidates understanding that the presidency can never be about exalting one person over everyone else. Enough with celebrities who need the spotlight 24/7: the Founding Fathers knew better—they fought to overcome a tyrant monarchy.  

Unfortunately, it’s hard to miss that many of the reasons people choose to pursue leadership can be deeply toxic. Like trying to fulfill a purely personal identity-, family-, or even worse, a race-driven ideal of superiority: what do we think all those superlatives Trump sprinkles throughout his monologues are about? In this world we desperately need for everyone to excel and to offer their best to society—it’s not a contest to prove supremacy, as it’s clearly been for Trump; it should be a quest to serve that celebrates others’ success. Now Trump wants his face carved into Mt. Rushmore—who is arrogant enough to even float that idea? It’s not enough that he works to tear down his recent predecessors’ accomplishments—does he plan to blast the other faces off that mountain to make room for his, too? Just him and “Honest Abe,” huh?

Bottom line, megalomaniacs make great dictators and criminals—they’re certainly their own greatest heroes, as a world full of monuments built on order to glorify their egos can attest—but they do not make good leaders for the masses of people.

So to summarize, what are the features of a “strong, but effective” leader? It’s always easier to tell in retrospect, of course—history tells the story better than we can “in media res.” Yet, I think there’s a short list of very reasonable qualities that people look for in a leader, especially one at the top levels:

·         they’re problem solvers, driven in a spirit of service to get things done for people
·         they’re process-oriented (i.e., they know how to manage a project from idea to final product—it’s harder than it looks)
·         they are pragmatic idealists who walk their talk
·         they take responsibility for errors and share credit for successes
·         they’re open to others’ ideas, seek out more experienced mentors, and can take criticism
·         they involve as many voices as possible when framing their agendas
·         they do their homework, going above and beyond to understand what is at stake for the people they represent in every vote they cast
·         they wield power carefully, humbly and responsibly, with respect for all the people they represent
·         they are willing, when appropriate and beneficial, to compromise
·         they speak and behave honestly, humanely and with compassion, and they inspire trust and admiration
·         their behavior reflects a strong “person of character,” striving to live with courage, virtue and kindness in this world
·         they demonstrate a deep concern for justice

Obviously, there aren’t that many saints out there waiting to run for office, so political leaders are as much “works in progress” as the rest of us, but we should be able to demand a certain level of integrity and heart, for want of a better word, in the leaders who ask for our votes. It’s not asking too much that our leaders reflect the best of us.

It’s simply not enough that the would-be leader has friends in high places, knows how to dominate the news feed, and is adept at turning dollars over in the Market. Those are magic tricks picked up during lives of privilege—not signs of a capacity for leadership. Can the person work with people to attack our society’s (and our world’s) problems with substantive short- and long-term solutions? Can they achieve good things without devastating some segment of our own population, or destroying our critical relationships? Do they care about what's happening to our planet? Competency matters, but it matters more that it’s motivated by heart. Matthew Fox reminds us that “truth and justice reside in the heart” (111)—without heart, everything goes wrong.[1]




The astrology

So what will the qualities of a good leader look like in a natal chart? It can be difficult to judge what’s in a person’s heart from looking at their chart because the same planetary placements can manifest in myriad ways, but deeper layers of meaning will emerge from a chart when we have at least some familiarity with the person in question. Even so, over many years of poring over the charts of public servants and leaders, I have come to expect certain key factors that are worth enumerating before we consider the charts ahead:

·         significant connections (by house, aspects, dispositor or rulership) between personal (Sun-through-Mars) and social (Jupiter-Saturn) planets, and between personal and collective (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron) planets.
·         signs of a potential collective focus—i.e., personal planets in collective houses (7-12), collective planets in personal houses (1-6).
·         a prominent Jupiter-Saturn profile, indicating how education, philosophical mindset, work ethic, opportunity and hard-won expertise have translated over time into social and professional stature.
·         significant generational factors (signaled by outer-planetary cycle moments the person was born into, and the native’s cyclical index)

Notice that neither of the lists laid out above include religious leanings; I think it’s clear from how religion and the appearance of religiosity (i.e., that infamous “Bible salute” in front of St. John’s Episcopal that required clearing Lafayette Park of peaceful protestors) has been hijacked in the past four years to serve questionable political purposes makes religious affiliation a poor substitute for most other leadership qualities. In the hands of unscrupulous politicos (notice I don’t say “leaders”), religion has been weaponized to divide us and to inflict too much harm on too many in this nation and elsewhere. Spirituality is quite another matter—a leader with a convincingly mature spiritual life—not one on display, necessarily, but one that shows up in his/her behavior—would be refreshing beyond words.

So how can we think about a political candidate—or in the case of Biden and Harris, a political partnership—in astrological terms? For instance, what do the Sun and Moon represent in a political entity? In so far as leadership is a matter of fulfilling the “logic” and “Soul” of one’s “Being,” we would expect to see the Sun and Moon somehow connected to the collective realm in their charts. This could happen as a matter of progressions, too—if all goes well, we do evolve over time into our higher selves, and for some that entails taking on responsible positions in society that they couldn’t have envisioned earlier in life.


Harris says she would have picked Biden to be her VP, too!

In this sense, leadership seems to be central to both Biden’s and Harris’s Being – all their Sun and Moon connections are either located in the upper hemisphere or they bridge the personal/collective divide through a combination of personal and collective factors. Between them, Biden has a lower hemisphere Moon-Uranus relationship, but as we’ll see, even that relationship “pings” with upper hemisphere points.

It could be, in fact, that the American presidency—a position that basically swallows the individual’s personal life whole—requires this kind of “whole Being” affinity for a collectively-driven life.

Notice below that I’ve shown both their natal charts alone first (see here for the analyses I included in the last post), so we can see how such factors are arranged natally, and following those is Triwheel #1, with the Biden and Harris charts set against the Sibly chart.  


Harris kept Biden's feet to the fire in one debate--her ticket to VP?

 Biden on a quest





Chart #1: Joseph Biden, November 20, 1942, 8:30 a.m. War Time (Rated: A, from memory), Scranton, PA. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node. All charts cast, courtesy of Kepler 8.0 Cosmic Patterns software.


As noted, I wrote a detailed analysis for Biden’s chart in the last post here, however, drawing points from the following table, we’ll take a quick look at personal/collective factors touched upon earlier. Notice that I’ve color-coded the entries in Table 1, and that to simplify the terminology, I will refer to all planets from Jupiter to Chiron as being collective). Accordingly, the color key is as follows:

·         Blue denotes a personal/collective combination (i.e. one planet in the upper, one planet in the lower hemisphere);
·         Yellow denotes all personal (both planets in the “personal” lower hemisphere);
·         Green denotes all collective (both planets in the “collective” upper hemisphere).

Table 1. Joe Biden’s personal/collective placements in Chart #1.

Su-Jup
Su-Sat
Su-Ur
Su-Ne
Su-Plu
Su-Chi
Mo-Jup
Mo-Sat
Mo-Ura
Mo-Nep
Mo-Plu
Mo-Chi
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
12-8
12-7
12-6
12-10
12-9
5-8
5-8
5-7
5-6
5-9
5-10
5-9












Me-Jup
Me-Sat
Me-Ur
Me-Nep
Me-Plu
Me-Chi
Ven-Jup
Ven-Sat
Ven-Ura
Ven-Nep
Ven-Plu
Ven-Chi
12-8
12-7
12-6
12-10
12-9
12-9
12-8
12-7
12-6
12-10
12-9
12-9












Ma-Jup
Ma-Sat
Ma-Ur
Ma-Nep
Ma-Plu
Ma-Chi

Jup-Sat
Jup-Ura
Jup-Nep
Jup-Plu
Jup-Chi
12-8
12-7
12-6
12-10
12-9
12-9

8-7
8-6
8-10
8-9
8-9












Sat-Ura
Sat-Nep
Sat-Plu
Sat-Chi


Ura-Nep
Ura-Plu
Ura-Chi
Nep-Plu
Nep-Chi
Plu-Chi
7-6
7-10
7-9
7-9


6-10
6-9
6-9
10-9
10-9
9-9


Clearly, one point that leaps out at us from this table is that Biden’s chart is very heavily-focused on the collective, upper hemisphere (green), reflecting that he’s built his entire life around positions and issues in the collective. Also, it’s notable that his packed 12th house has basically been the driving force of this career—not exactly what we normally expect from 12th house planets. This was made possible, it seems, by the many aspects connecting other houses with points in that 12th house, such as his nice trines between 8th house Jupiter (Rx, Cancer) and Mercury, Sun, Venus (Scorpio).

Biden’s only collective planet residing in the lower hemisphere is Uranus (Gemini), which conjoins his DSC and Saturn from the 6th house and rules his 3rd house of schooling, speech (Mercury, natural ruler) and local community. What better description of the “stutter” that he’s had to overcome, and the important life lessons he learned from that experience? At the very least, it made for a memorable segment during the Dems convention last week, where it served to “humanize” Biden and demonstrate his concern for a fellow “sufferer,” 13-year old Brayden Harrington. 


Brayden Harrington credited Biden with helping him overcome a stutter.

The greater significance of that stutter in Biden’s life is only reinforced by his 12th house Mercury (Scorpio) disposing both his Gemini points (Saturn-DSC-Uranus) and his Virgo No. Node and MC. The inner drive (perhaps projected on to him by parents and upbringing) to “do the right thing” (Virgo) in the world can be enough to cause stutters and more. Amazingly, this Uranus also t-squares his Nodal Axis (Virgo-Pisces), reflecting a life in public service (6th house Uranus) that has been prone to repeated shocking developments and challenges.

Biden’s Moon in earthy Taurus is his only other major point placed in the lower hemisphere, but even that point “pings” with the upper hemisphere by ruling his Cancer 8th and disposing his exalted Cancer Jupiter residing there. That one connection assures that the Moon’s lovely Venusian outlook will be felt in all of Jupiter’s connections. It’s no wonder Biden is known for his easy rapport with people on both sides of the D.C. aisle—he’s been given the gift of gab and relatedness (5th house, Moon disposed by Venus)—gifts that he seems to use for good purposes in the public realm, perhaps reflected in the Moon’s nice trine to his No. Node (Virgo).

This warm, pragmatic Moon plays the additional role of lending warmth to collective placements that could come across as too “rational” or “technocratic.” Even so, it appears that Biden may have had to work at the relationships he’s built over the years—his 12th h. Venus (Scorpio) inconjoins his Moon—perhaps the reason he had to propose to wife Jill five times before she said yes?

It’s also interesting to me that Biden’s Chiron (Leo) conjoins his No. Node, and that both are elevated in his key  9th house. Mundane astrology closely follows 9th house issues with nations, like their foreign policies and relationships: here we see how those issues intersect with the Jupiterian dimension of a politician’s life and character. A constructive openness to the world and an ability to not only see the “big picture,” but to envision himself playing a key role in that picture should be considered an important prerequisite for an American president, and here we see that Biden’s Sun rules this Leo house and the points therein. This and his nice Jupiter Rx-Sun trine suggest that he is quite comfortable on that world stage and that he’s motivated to make a difference there.


Beau Biden's untimely death in June, 2015 prompted Biden to pull out of the campaign.

Even so, it’s striking to me how many other major connections Biden’s  9th house Chiron (Leo) makes:  it squares his Sun-Venus conjunction and his ASC-DSC, and trines his Moon (Taurus); this has the makings of a “hero’s journey” story, one in which the “hero” works to gain confidence, fulfill ever-elusive goals and to fully express himself (there’s that stutter again!). Considering all the career and personal obstacles Biden’s been through on his way to this moment of accepting the Democratic nomination, this makes perfect sense. I think we can be assured that he won’t take the awesome power he could acquire as president for granted; it’s been too hard fought, and he’s flown “too close to the Sun” to back down now.

Finally, I suspect that if elected, Biden will run a very “9th house” presidency—as Table 1 shows, his Jupiter links his 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 12th houses together in one way or another, and for that matter (not on the Table), Jupiter also rules his entire chart (Sagittarius rising).  Even retrograde [when does it turn by progression?], Jupiter just naturally draws everything into its expansive 9th house focus, which probably accounts for his charm and appeal as a politician—across the aisle, even.  With so much Jupiterian energy driving his chart, Biden’s likely to use his political power in upbeat, optimistic and growth-oriented ways.  Considering his age, he could project a “wise, grandfatherly elder” image from the White House that many find appealing. 


The right person for the right time?
 
Kamala Harris on the move




Chart #2: Kamala Harris, October 20, 1964, 9:28 p.m. DST (Rated AA: BC/BR in hand), Oakland, CA. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node. All charts cast, courtesy of Kepler 8.0 Cosmic Patterns software

As we did with Biden, let’s take a look at how the personal/collective factors map out in her nativity, in Table 2 below. The same color-code applies here as did in Table 1.

Table 2. Kamala Harris’s personal/collective placements in Chart #2.

Su-Jup
Su-Sat
Su-Ur
Su-Ne
Su-Plu
Su-Chi
Mo-Jup
Mo-Sat
Mo-Ura
Mo-Nep
Mo-Plu
Mo-Chi
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
Hses
5-11
5-9
5-3
5-5
5-3
5-9
11-11
11-9
11-3
11-5
11-3
11-9












Me-Jup
Me-Sat
Me-Ur
Me-Nep
Me-Plu
Me-Chi
Ven-Jup
Ven-Sat
Ven-Ura
Ven-Nep
Ven-Plu
Ven-Chi
5-11
5-9
5-3
5-5
5-3
5-9
3-11
3-9
3-3
3-5
3-3
3-9












Ma-Jup
Ma-Sat
Ma-Ur
Ma-Nep
Ma-Plu
Ma-Chi

Jup-Sat
Jup-Ura
Jup-Nep
Jup-Plu
Jup-Chi
2-11
2-9
2-3
2-5
2-3
2-9

11-9
11-3
11-5
11-3
11-9












Sat-Ura
Sat-Nep
Sat-Plu
Sat-Chi


Ura-Nep
Ura-Plu
Ura-Chi
Nep-Plu
Nep-Chi
Plu-Chi
9-3
9-5
9-3
9-9


3-5
3-3
3-9
5-3
5-9
3-9


We certainly see a couple powerful focus points in Harris’s chart here—namely, her 3rd, 5th, 9th and 11th houses—houses that in my experience are often prominent with politics-minded individuals. It’s hard to miss the several strong oppositions cutting across those houses (see here for more on the configurations that arise from these), not to mention her somewhat strained upper hemisphere Jupiter Rx-Saturn Rx square (Taurus-Aquarius).

You might recall, in fact, that on that bullet-point list of astrological qualities we might expect to see in an effective leader, I said the following:

·         a prominent Jupiter-Saturn profile, indicating how education, philosophical mindset, work ethic, opportunity and hard-won expertise have translated over time into social and professional stature.

A square between Jupiter Rx and Saturn Rx, especially placed between the key 9th and 11th houses, suggests a life that has been directed with great disciplined effort towards a public career in the Law. Her career history as a lawyer and Attorney General for California certainly fits this profile. Jupiter rules her 7th house from the 11th, suggesting that she can be a strong partner to Biden, with his many Jupiterian qualities (more on that when we put the charts together), although with her Jupiter inconjunct 5th house Sun, t-square her Mars-Saturn Rx opposition (Leo-Aquarius) and semi-sextile her own 11th house Moon (Aries), she will need to feel their partnership is equal, and that she will have the freedom to work on her own projects within their administration. To do otherwise would feel too paternalistic to her and limiting, considering that both Jupiter and Saturn are retrograde (are they turning soon?)

Harris’s chart features seven planets in the personal lower hemisphere, including three key outer planets. Counting Chiron (also Rx), that leaves four major points in her more collective, upper hemisphere. I am reminded by this distribution that women often need to balance out home and career in different ways than men do, despite a century of strides in women’s rights. This balancing act has been in the headlines more than usual lately because of the strains put on families by COVID-19, so clearly there are more milestones for women left to accomplish, like work-place child care, paid family leave and so on. In any case, how fitting is it that Harris is on the ticket during this 100th anniversary of women finally gaining the vote?

Talk about balancing acts, it’s interesting in Harris’s case that her lower-hemisphere outer planets (Uranus-Pluto-Neptune) are all firmly connected to planets in her upper hemisphere, reflecting an inner drive to bridge that personal/collective divide that has stopped so many women from fulfilling their potentials.

In the last post here, we explored how social turmoil and pressure for change formed the atmosphere Harris grew up in from day one—she was born just a year prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and her activist parents provided her with a “stroller’s-eye view” of that era’s racial justice protests. This perspective was firmly engrained in her by the generational Uranus-Pluto (Virgo) conjunction that perfected just months after her birth, conjunct her Venus (Virgo), which falls trine her 11th house Jupiter and opposite her 9th house Chiron (Pisces). So again, it certainly seems that her life just naturally unfolded as a give-and-take between the personal and collective realm.

How appropriate it is, then, that her Nodal Axis (Gemini-Sagittarius) would straddle those hemispheres, stretched across her ASC-DSC horizon and reaching out via aspects with her prominent Jupiter and Saturn placements and with her Sun (Libra) and Mars (Leo) that further link both spheres of activity in her life. This happens with virtually every key point in her chart—there’s a strong personal-collective link everywhere we look. It wasn’t hard to believe when she said in her convention speech that being a “Mom” is the most important role she plays—her Full Moon (Aries Moon-Libra Sun) rules her 2nd house of values and 3rd house of early education, mindset, siblings and local community, trines Mars (Leo), sextiles Saturn (Rx, Aquarius) and sextile/trines her ASC-DSC-Nodal Axis (Gem-Sag).

Yes, it’s an important center of gravity for her life and career—not only is motherhood an important anchoring point for her, but a career agenda that fully supports and celebrates strong women and regards women like the force for change (her Uranus-Pluto-Venus conjunction in Virgo) they are would be a natural extension of this for her. 

So how would that work within a Biden-Harris relationship? Is the nation ready for the leadership team they would bring to the Oval Office?  Let’s move on to Triwheel #1 below.



A partnership that will hopefully draw out the best in both of them.

 
The Biden-Harris team in the White House






Triwheel #1:(inner wheel) U.S.A. (Sibly) chart, July 4, 1776, 5:10 p.m. LMT, Philadelphia, PA; (middle wheel) Joseph Biden, November 20, 1942, 8:30 a.m. War Time (Rated: A, from memory), Scranton, PA; (outer wheel) Kamala Harris, October 20, 1964, 9:28 p.m. DST (Rated AA: BC/BR in hand), Oakland, CA. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node. All charts cast, courtesy of Kepler 8.0 Cosmic Patterns software.

Harris Sun-Moon (Libra-Aries) inconjoins Biden Sun-Venus (Scorpio); her Sun sextiles Biden Chiron-No. Node. Her Sun-Moon opposition forms a grand square with Biden’s Jupiter (Rx, Cancer) opposition to Sibly Pluto (Capricorn). Inconjunct relationships are common between partnered individuals in both the personal and professional realms because the subtle tension can be motivational, keeping their mutual expectations high. Clearly, Harris is in accord with Biden’s “quest” (Virgo No. Node-Leo Chiron) and in fact, is poised to act on it (her Mars conjoins his Chiron).

Both individuals find challenging, but workable common ground in the grand square, however, especially in their connectedness with Sibly Pluto, suggesting they will be challenged to coordinate on issues concerning the Economy and the role of big finance and corporate lobbies in our democracy. We can envision campaign finance laws coming under review here—an issue Biden championed way back when anyway, but which seriously needs work again. Will they be able to marshal the overturning of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and its toxic impact on our elections? It’s likely to be a goal. They may not agree about the degree of change that is needed, but they should be able to work through any differences, and they will agree on the serious need for action (cardinal grand square).

Biden Mercury-Sun-Venus (Scorpio) sextile Sibly Pluto (Capricorn) and trine Sibly Mercury (Cancer); Biden MC conjoins and Biden Mercury sextiles Sibly Neptune. Biden has a knack for communicating that somehow breaks through the media noise and lands pretty well—he “campaigned” from his basement for several months and still managed to do well in the polls! We weren’t quite sure he was going to outlast some of the other primary candidates, but here he is, thanks to some key communicators who carried his message early on for him, like South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn. Biden has often needed “a little help from his friends” to break through the noise for him—all those Scorpio planets are in his 12th, where a person’s message can get muffled and suppressed, but his Jupiter trines to these points from Cancer routinely magnetize such help from others.


Biden benefits from long relationships and good friends.

Biden’s several contacts with Sibly Neptune—including his own Neptune (Libra) conjoined Sibly MC (Libra)—work to render him believable when he talks about American ideals because it all sounds natural coming from him. Harris’s strong Uranus-Pluto-Venus (Virgo) placements in this same area will liven up Biden’s messages and give urgency to needed social changes. Her Uranus-Pluto-Venus sextile Sibly Sun (Cancer) and Biden Mars (Scorpio) as well—it appears her generational concerns will provide something of a “bridge” between Biden and the presidency, inspiring their agenda. Biden’s Mars (Scorpio) is a driven, capable, managerial type, so its wide trine to Sibly Jupiter also suggests that he can successfully shepherd the nation’s economy.

Biden Uranus-Saturn-DSC (Gemini) conjoin Sibly Uranus (Gemini) and trine Sibly MC (Libra). Harris Eris (Rx, Aries) sextiles Biden Uranus-Saturn and Sibly Uranus, and squares Sibly Sun (Cancer). Clearly, Biden didn’t hire a “yes-Lady” to be his V.P.—she will actively disrupt or seek to influence his actions (her Eris also quincunxes Biden Mars) and the  status quo (Sibly Sun) when she sees fit. For the most part, Biden should be in theoretical accord with her, but he will also tend to agree with certain elements of the status quo (connections by and to his Uranus-Saturn), so she may be charged with “nudging” him into a mindset that (for want of a better word) we’ll call progressive. Harris will likely want to pursue policies that will influence the American mindset in regards to Sibly 3rd house issues, like education and media (Sibly Uranus rules the Aquarius 3rd house).

Harris Saturn (Rx, Aquarius) conjoins Sibly Moon (Aquarius) and opposes Biden Chiron and Harris Mars (both Leo). Not only do these aspects feel quite significant and powerful, but they have the potential of becoming the hallmark of the Biden-Harris governing “style.” Significantly, Biden’s 12th house Mercury-Sun-Venus (Scorpio) gathering t-squares the Aquarius-Leo oppositions—in other words, here’s where their joint efforts will meld to have the greatest impact on the grass-roots level (Sibly Moon). We’ve been used to Trump’s belligerent, self-glorifying Mars (Leo) dominating the Sibly Moon by opposition (chart not shown), but his Mars didn’t have the disciplined counter-balance of a dignified Saturn (Rx, Aquarius) turning that influence into concrete results.

This joint Biden-Harris t-square may demand a lot of the American people, but those who step up to the challenge will probably see results. Both have points that tie into Sibly Mars (Gemini): Biden’s Mercury by quincunx and MC (Virgo) by square, and Harris’s by sextile and trine, suggesting that they will both “have our backs,” in terms of defense issues. Some people feel that both of their careers have demonstrated an overzealous “law and order” approach, but here that seems to be focused in a helpful direction.  

Harris Neptune (Scorpio) conjoins Biden Mars-Mercury and trines Sibly Sun. Harris will likely influence Biden’s thinking with the transformative ideals of her Neptune generation. Overcoming racial injustice in our times shouldn’t be considered “radical,” of course—considering the karmic passage we’re experiencing with Pluto’s return to our Sibly Pluto, I’d say her idealism is timely and that deep systemic change is long overdue.


Facebook and other platforms need to keep working to exclude misinformation.


Final thoughts

Obviously, there is far more that could be said about these charts, but there’s plenty of time during the next few months to explore some issues more deeply. I suggested earlier that the generational concerns that have so driven Kamala Harris in her career may provide a “bridge” between Biden and the presidency—I expect that will be a topic covered by at least one more post. We will have time to judge for ourselves how they individually, and as a team, stand up to the “leadership” qualities we discussed earlier.

Because our times are so hyper-Neptunian, however, my suggestion is that we judge them directly by their words and deeds, rather than through biased filters like social media. These brave individuals (running for office takes crazy bravery these days, if you ask me) are not digitized images on a screen—they’re real flesh and blood people who deserve respect, not slander, distortion and defamation.

But, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the gloves are off and Trump’s favorite weapon—misinformation—is flowing freely and coming at everyone from all different directions, so those who want to judge the candidates objectively need to batten down our mental/perceptual “hatches” for the storm ahead.  Whatever our decisions, they should be our decisions, based on our own sound analyses of the various candidates’ records, ideas and behavior.

According to The Atlantic’s David Frum, the GOP agenda is being tucked away and not publicly published this convention season. It’s become known to reporters, however, which is (IMHO) a good thing, because we need to know these things to make decisions. On that note, I will leave you with Frum’s article and a chance to peruse the GOP platform for yourself.

Stay well, be safe!





Raye Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. A graduate of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane, collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs, culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as education and health. Several of her articles on these topics have been featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the years; see the “Publications” tab on the home page for her two most recent longer publications, now available as e-books on Amazon.

For information about individual chart readings, contact: robertsonraye@gmail.com.

© Raye Robertson 2020. All rights reserved. 






[1] Fox, Matthew. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, iUniverse, Kindle Edition, p. 110.

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