Booker VP?

I've noticed Cory Booker's name, among others, mentioned in respect of a possible VP pick for Hillary Clinton, should she be the Democrats' presidential nominee. Once Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, now United States Senator for New Jersey, he has climbed the political ladder since my first posts about him, one in 2008, with a follow-up in 2013.

From all I'd heard or read of Cory Booker in intervening years, I'd have expected him to have been a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders from the get-go. I was wrong. He seriously disappointed me in getting on board the Clinton bandwagon. I guess I was fooled - again. Pity! Maybe former commenter "LB" was right in doubting him in comments under the 2013 post.

Anyway, disappointment aside, let's take another look at Sen. Booker's natal chart. Maybe there'll be indication of a further rise up the political ladder - he certainly seems to be a determined political climber. It has to be a 12 noon version as I don't know his time of birth. He was born on 27 April 1969 in Washington DC.

I first look at Saturn for indication of career movement - and note that he had transiting Saturn conjunct natal Mars in March to May of this year, Saturn will be back there again, after retrograde motion in November. From that, I'd estimate some kind of emphasis on career - possibly as Clinton's VP, or some important cabinet post in her administration.

How about transiting Jupiter - the luck bringer (sometimes)? There'll be a "Jupiter return" for Sen. Booker in late August (i.e. transiting Jupiter conjoins natal Jupiter in Virgo).
Natal Jupiter is conjunct Uranus - likely to draw in something unexpected.

I still don't like that natal Mercury is conjunct Fixed Star Algol - but will not speculate further on that.

I'm sure there's more to say on this, in relation to transits and planetary formations current and future - so shall leave further investigation for commenter mike's more experienced eye to unravel.

"2016 Obama's America"......& A VP Who Got Into the Game - The Music Game

A new film reaching a wider arc of cinemas this weekend is: 2016: Obama's America I wasn't surprised to find that it's not on the schedule at our local movie theater, but it's being shown in Wichita Falls, Texas, some 50 miles away. Having read a few reviews I've decided it'd be a waste of gas and cash better spent on a (hopefully) upcoming trip further afield.

For anyone curious about the movie I'd recommend a very fair review by a moderate Republican writer, Mike Ghouse at the Smirking Chimp website: 2016 Obama’s America - A disgustingly dishonest film. I'm no fan of the President, as anyone who reads my posts will have gathered. My own feelings do not stem from anywhere near the same place as the opinions of Dinesh D'Souza, this movie's creator, quite the opposite end of the political spectrum, in fact. This film, polished propaganda, the wide release of which was obviously timed to coincide with the Republican convention, appears to be critical of the President for reasons which I see as irrelevant. His record over the past three and a half years alone offers material enough for two movies.



SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.......

Thoughts of the likes of Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, Dick Cheney writing a beautiful melody boggles the average mind. There was a Vice President in the USA who did just that, though: Charles Gates Dawes - today is the anniversary of his birth on 27 August 1865. He died in 1951.

A banker, politician, self-taught pianist and composer, in 1911 he wrote a piece originally known as Melody in A Major. It became a kind of signature tune for him when he later became President Calvin Coolidge's VP. 40 years later lyricist Carl Sigman added words to the melody and VP Dawes' work morphed into the pop song It's All In the Game, the only number one pop single in history written by a Vice President of the United States. Tommy Edwards sang the hit version in 1958, since then many other artists have recorded it.

The melody (arr. Kreisler) performed by
Ivry Gitlis, violin; Shuku Iwasaki, piano.

The smooth-as-silk voice of Nat King Cole with the pop song version:

Charles Gates Dawes was US Vice President between 1925 and 1929, VP Dawes must have been quite a character. According to Wikipedia:

"Dawes' Vice Presidency was one of the most disastrous on record. Soon after his election he sent an insulting letter to President Coolidge informing him that he would not be attending cabinet meetings. This is believed to be the beginning of a feud between the two which brought the Vice Presidency to its nadir for the 20th century.

Having insulted the President, he then proceeded to publicly insult the entire US Senate. The inauguration of the Vice President was held in the Senate Chamber in those days, and the VP would give an inaugural address before everyone headed on to the outside platform where the President would take the oath. Dawes made a fiery, half-hour address denouncing the rules of the Senate, the seniority system and many other things that Senators held dear.

Everyone was so shocked at the speech that President Coolidge's own inaugural address was completely overshadowed, leaving him even angrier at Dawes than ever before."

For his work on The Dawes Plan, a plan to enable Germany to restore and stabilize its economy after World War I, Dawes shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925. The plan was deemed unworkable and replaced with The Young Plan, with harsher provisions against Germany. Later in his career Dawes became US Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

A rapid rundown of his natal chart for any passing astrology buffs:
Charles Gates Dawes was born 27 August 1865 in Marietta, Ohio. astrodatabank has time of birth as 3:32 PM with a "C" rating (accept with caution)....this birth time gives Capricorn rising, and while not completely reliable is entirely appropriate for a banker and politcian.



The aggressive, critical and outspoken character he obviously was can be seen as connecting to Mars (aggression) conjunct Mercury(communication) in Virgo(critical), squared by Jupiter(excess) in its own sign of Sagittarius(outspoken). His natal Sun in critical Virgo also. Uranus sextiles his natal Sun - here may reside the rebel.

His natal Moon was in passionate Scorpio, and in harmonious trine to Venus (the arts) in Cancer which links to his musical talent.

Romney/Ryan....Duckin' & Divin' or just Divin' in November?

I'm still fairly wet behind the ears on the subject of US politics, but from what I've gleaned over the past 8 years it seems to me that Vice Presidents can act as either a strong cattle prod to the Prez, urging him in a direction he'd naturally have veered away from (see Cheney/Bush) or a minor figure-head who doesn't get involved in much more than substitute figure-heading (see Biden/Obama) but ...more importantly whichever category they fall into, they are always first person in the presidential line of succession, and would take over the Presidency on the death, resignation, or removal of the President. VPs also hold the casting vote to break a tie in the Senate.

Mitt Romney's pick of Paul Ryan has set the chatterers chattering ten to the dozen today.

I wouldn't have voted for Romney anyway (or for Obama), but find it interesting to note that Ryan, born 29 January 1970 (natal chart at Astrodatabank here), might, in time remind us of Dick Cheney, born 30 January 1941 (chart here). Ryan's a right-wing Aquarius-type. Cheney, another right-wing Aquarius-type, from what I know of him fitted the "cattle-prod" category of VP . I believe that Ryan is a naturally stronger character than Romney, he's likely to be a prodder for his Tea Party-ish policies. Caveat emptor! The two men probably get on quite well due to their shared Aquarius bits: Ryan's Aquarius Sun/Venus are conjunct Romney's Aquarius Venus.

However, I doubt that Romney's VP pick will assist him in beating President Obama in November. My gut-feelings are that the oligarghs, who are really directing this theatre, are happy enough with the performance of the current incumbent, who has done their bidding with hardly any heckling from his supporters. As some commenters are already proposing, Romney picking Ryan as his VP is akin to a boxer "taking a dive" - that's as good a metaphor as I've seen. Boxers don't usually take a dive because they think it's a good idea, they are usually told to do it by their handlers.

Obama's VP

Barack Obama said some time ago that he would announce his Vice Presidential pick in July. It has been announced, too, that he plans to visit Europe and the Middle East in the near future. Exact dates are not discussed, probably for security reasons, "this summer", "soon" and "before the election" are the only clues we have. Will he go before August? If so, announcement of a running mate must be imminent.

It seems unlikely, though, that he'll buzz off before the Democratic Convention at the end of August, because until then he's not officially the nominee - it would seem like jumping the gun. So he has another three weeks in which to name a name.

Astrologers haven't been able to glean much on this topic. It isn't known who was on Obama's shortlist. In any case it would be an almost impossible task to look at four or five charts and be able to tell which would be the most likely choice. Each individual has so much going on in their life, it would be difficult to disentangle the threads to identify one as a "positive VP thread".

The shortlist could easily include Al Gore, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, and of course Hillary Clinton, as well as other names, not well known in national politics, for example Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas. Some, whose names might have been expected to be under consideration, such as Jim Webb, have openly stated that they will not consider being VP under any circumstances.

In the spirit of an exercise and experiment, once again I've consulted my tarot deck this week, and asked "What do I need to know about the person to be chosen as Obama's Vice President?" I drew:

5 of Swords
3 of Wands/Rods
10 of Coins/Pentacles

Without a second thought, or having to refer to a source I thought: This is someone who has suffered defeat in the past, is about to move forward to a fresh start, will achieve some of their dearest wishes, and a big material gain (possibly, but not necessarily related to a kind of inheritance from family).

Tarot readers say that it's always the first impression which counts. That was my own. Checking with tarot websites later I confirmed that it does fit with traditional interpretations of the three cards.

Does that tarot portrait fit any of those named above? It fits Al Gore, who was defeated in 2000 (allegedly!) It fits Hillary Clinton - very obviously. It could also fit Edwards, Dodd, Biden or Richardson - all were defeated in the primaries.

I'm no nearer to a precise prediction.

The 10 of Coins/Pentacles is possibly the key card to the identity of the VP. All the 10s, in every suit, represent culmination of one cycle and beginning of another. This particular ten relates to earthy matters, houses (painted white?), homes and matters of wealth. Aleister Crowley in his "Book of Thoth" defines this card astrologically as Mecury in Virgo and says (he refers to Coins or Pentacles as "Disks") -

"The Ten of Disks is called Wealth. Here again is written this constantly recurring doctrine, that as soon as one gets to the bottom one finds oneself at the top; and Wealth is given to Mercury in Virgo. When wealth accumulates beyond a certain point, it must either become completely inert and cease to be wealth, or call in the aid of intelligence to use it rightly. This must necessarily happen in spheres which have nothing whatever to do with material possessions, as such. In this way, Carnegie establishes a Library, Rockefeller endows Research, simply because there is nothing else to do.
But all this doctrine lies behind the card; it is the inner meaning of the card.
There is another view to consider, that this is the last of all the cards, and therefore represents the sum total of all the work that has been done from the beginning. ....."
(Here) .

I can see Al Gore in that description. He has accumulated a great amount of wealth, whereas Hillary Clinton is in debt after her primary run. "There is nothing else to do" in Al Gore's case, in aid of his dearest wish to address climate change, but to be in a position of power.

That is what tarot tells me. What my own gut feeling tells me is that Al Gore wouldn't want to be Obama's VP. He has said that politics is toxic. So, although Hillary Clinton is currently in debt, rising to the position of VP might ensure that her debts would be paid off, a new cycle could begin.

Wishful thinking? I guess so. I think Obama needs Clinton, but doubt he'd ever admit it. His Leo pride could mean he won't offer her the opportunity.

The 10 of Coins doesn't fit the other potential VPs nearly as well as Gore or Clinton. We shall see, soon.