AstroDispatch.com

Watching the TV debate between presidential candidates Senators Obama and McCain last night, my mind kept returning to Sarah Palin, comparing her approach to that of Senator Obama. They are of the same generation, whereas Senators McCain and Biden are more comparable generation-wise. Also, Obama and Palin are displaying clearly opposite styles, as well as opposite ideologies.

Their opposite styles can easily be seen when comparing their natal charts.

The watching and listening public will sense, during rallies, TV debates and appearances, the candidates’ ascendants and Mercury. The ascendant (rising sign) is the lens through which the public sees an individual. Mercury, the planet which relates to communication and mental processes has to be equally significant, reflecting style of communication and approach to the subject at hand.

The dual chart below has Palin center, Obama in the outer ring. Click on chart for larger view.

If the times of birth commonly used by astrologers are correct:

Sarah Palin’s ascendant is 19 Leo
Barack Obama’s ascendant is 18 Aquarius
OPPOSITE !

Sarah Palin’s natal Mercury is at 1 Aquarius
Barack Obama’s natal Mercury is at 2 Leo
OPPOSITE!

Comparing the way Obama has come over in the two recent debates with the way Palin did in her debate with Joe Biden, their opposite styles are quite obvious. How John McCain hopes to attach the label of “radical” to Obama I cannot understand. Obama remains calm under pressure and provocation, has the aura of a leader, professional, reassuring, assertive but not aggressive. Nowhere is the trademark of a radical to be seen. Aquarius ascendant here takes on the guise of brainy professor rather than troublesome radical.

Palin, in contrast, appears less professional, more of a showman (show-woman doesn’t work!) reflecting her Leo ascendant. She attempts to break the pattern of most politicians, addressing people in a less formal way, throwing in slang and folksy expressions. Her debate responses are sometimes devious or unclear. She is anything but careful with her comments and accusations - possibly the reason she thinks of herself as a maverick.(Aquarius Mercury).

That Leo-Aquarius opposing tension is there, in the candidates’ ascendants and Merury placings - factors which fly off TV screen or across an arena. The two don’t have to debate each other for us to see it - what a debate that might prove to be! 2012 anyone?

Another interesting point: Saturn in both charts lies at 25 degrees, of Aquarius in Palin’s case, Capricorn in Obama’s. Saturn, the lawmaker, is traditional ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius, so is “pure” in both signs, but manifests differently -in Capricorn inclined to a serious attempt to bring about order from chaos, in Aquarius perhaps more inclined to bring chaos from order, metaphorically speaking. A significant difference here is that Palin’s Saturn conjoins Mars, combining the two planets traditionally thought of as “malefic”, whereas Obama’s Saturn conjoins Jupiter, a planet always thought of as benign. Jupiter is at 00Aquarius, but still within orb to be considered conjoined, adding a hint of Aquarian foresight to the more staid approach of Capricorn.

The opposite styles of these two politicans, very obvious to the watching public, are easily identifiable from their natal charts. Once again I’m perceiving that “something is happening here”, in astrology, but we don’t know what it is.