2008 is winding down, so here is the astrological rundown of the biggest stories this year, high school superlative style.

Most Boring Election Ever award goes to….

The 2008 Presidential Election! Just kidding. But let’s face it, the election was clearly the biggest story this year, so let’s go through that.

Obama vs. Clinton, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE

So first we had the never-ending epic clash between Barack Obama^[1] and Hillary Clinton^[2]. The deciding contest was really Super Tuesday, on February 5th, 2008, when a ton of primaries and caucuses were held simultaneously.

This happened at a Mercury inferior conjunction with the Sun, a Sun-Neptune conjunction, and close to a solar eclipse. This impressive alignment occurred on Obama’s Ascendant, and this configuration is outlined in red in the chart to the left. The same configuration happened opposite Hillary’s Saturn at 21 Leo. Mercury at its most crucial phase, the inferior conjunction, was determined to keep things up in the air, and the contest bitterly dragged on until June.

While Hillary had a fighting chance and roared back from the dead in several contests, at the next Mercury inferior conjunction, on June 7th, 2008, Hillary conceded.

There is in fact a long history of Hillary winding up into trouble during Mercury retrogrades, while Obama has very good luck during them. It was only in the periods that Mercury was furthest away from its retrograde periods that Obama actually got into any trouble, his “bitter” comment and the Wright controversy. Hillary’s Mercury is in squares to Mars and Saturn. Obama on the other hand was born with Mercury opposite Jupiter and sextile the Moon. This goes a long way toward explaining the different experiences each had during Mercury retrogrades.

Sarah Palin, A Lipstick-Wearing Pitbull

Obama named Joe Biden^[3] as his running mate, and had their convention. Just when you thought this election could not get much crazier, John McCain made one of his final bold or desperate gambles by nominating Sarah Palin^[4] , a virtually unknown governor from Alaska who was a bit of a MILF and bore an uncanny resemblance to Tina Fey…

She initially caused a lot of buzz, seemingly designed to steal Obama’s thunder and a cynical attempt to siphon off resentful Hillary supporters. Palin was both the anti-Hillary and a perverse mirror image of Obama. An Obama is to Biden as Palin is to McCain kind of thing. This is interesting because Hillary has Mars and Saturn conjunct in Leo, while Palin has Mars and Saturn conjunct in the opposite sign, Aquarius. Both tough ladies, but opposites. Obama’s rise to power had coincided with Neptune’s transit opposing his Leo Sun. Palin’s rise to power coincided with Neptune’s transit conjoining her Aquarius Sun, in the opposite sign.

Palin was born with the Sun conjunct Saturn. During her official acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on September 3rd, 2008, the Sun perfected a conjunction to Saturn in the sky, just like when she was born. These are outlined in red above.

Obama vs. McCain, “And Also Too”, the Economy Tanks, McCain Goes Crazy, SNL is Funny Again

Mercury, the planet of commerce, the market, the economy, was conjunct Mars, the planet of troubles, and then stationed retrograde in the sky on  September 24th, 2008. And basically that was when we saw the recent economic crisis really make headlines. It was at this point that McCain lost any cool he still had, and decided to postpone his campaign to deal with the crisis, even saying he would not attend the first debate with Obama. It was widely seen as a wild political stunt, and it backfired, as McCain was forced to attend the first debate where looked grim, stiff and odd. Obama was calm, cool, and collected.

Meanwhile, Palin was making a fool of herself in numerous TV interviews that displayed her lack of knowledge about a wide range of issues, apparently channeling a certain Miss South Carolina, (not a huge stretch, since Palin actually was Miss Wasilla at one time). This led SNL to ask Tina Fey^[5] to channel Sarah Palin to bolster their paltry ratings. Suddenly, SNL was back on the map. Interestingly, Fey was born with the Sun closely opposite Neptune, and she is called upon to imitate Palin when Neptune is transiting her Sun. On the night of her first imitation as Sarah Palin on September 13th, 2008, Mars and Venus are conjunct in the sky, just like in her natal chart.

Mercury continued to storm backward and the debates between the candidates raged on, debating all the important issues, the economy, foreign policy, but in the last debate,  no issue was of greater importance than Joe the Plumber. McCain failed to impress, and Obama kept his cool. Obama had weathered the storm of this retrograde more skillfully than any other.

Historically Historical Historic Election of History, Historically

Barack Obama was elected the 44th president on November 4th, 2008, on the very day that Saturn perfected its opposition to Uranus. He had been going on for months about how this election was about the past versus the future, which is not a bad description of Saturn vs. Uranus. Clearly Uranus won, and the world had hope once more.

Interestingly, the Saturn-Uranus opposition did not have a particularly special relevance for Obama. They do not make a major aspect with his chart, except for a somewhat close conjunction/opposition with his Mars in Virgo (which does happen to be the ruler of his 10th). He does not have Saturn or Uranus on an angle. He was not born at any particularly important phase of the Saturn-Uranus cycle.

Joe Biden however, has every one of these characteristics in his chart. He was born near a Saturn-Uranus conjunction, has Uranus conjunct his Descendant, and the Saturn-Uranus opposition aligned perfectly with his MC/IC axis.

Obama’s transits are best understood in terms of the eclipse cycles. He was born just before a solar eclipse. Throughout this entire time period, the Nodes had been creeping over his horizonal axis. The last time they were there was when Obama was elected the first black President of the Harvard Law Review. Remember the solar eclipse on his Ascendant on Super Tuesday? That led him on the path to winning the nomination, capped off by the solar eclipse occurring on his natal Sun, at his solar return. This put him on the path to winning the presidency. A solar eclipse occurs just a couple of days after Inauguration day, in his 1st house. So notice on election night itself, the Sun is exactly square the Nodes, at the halfway point between the eclipses, while the Nodes are on Obama’s Sun at the same time. He is clearly being cosmically locked into a role of profound significance in world affairs, becoming the new leader of the free world.

Whew! Now let’s get to the important stuff, celeb trash gossip!

Biggest Breakup of the Year

Madonna and Guy Ritchie. It lasted a lot longer than we’ve come to expect from Madonna, so this was noteworthy. She didn’t have time for Guy, too busy trying to defy the aging process, stay a relevant celebrity, and save the world, oh and schmoozing with A-Rod. Meanwhile, Guy Ritchie’s Sun in Virgo has been caught between Saturn and Uranus, not the best place to be. We have already covered this all in greater detail, so you can read those articles about Madonna/Ritchie here and MadRod here.

Biggest Comeback of the Year

Britney Spears^[6]. Oops, she did it again! You can read about how Saturn has been the main culprit for her troubles over the past few years here. The main planet responsible for her comeback appears to be Jupiter, which  was the annually profected planet for most of this year, meaning that the transits of Jupiter would be the most important for this year. Jupiter is naturally a restorative planet, so Jupiter has been doing the best it can to stabilize the affairs in her life. As Jupiter came within orb of her Venus, she released her well-received new album, Circus. She has said that even though she is currently successful in her career, she still feels trapped, as she must, as a young woman who is under control of her father-manager. I imagine that her Saturn return in 2011will deal with this exact issue, becoming truly independent from her father. As of her last solar return this December, she has entered her Capricorn annual profection. While Jupiter would no longer be the main timelord, Britney has a favorable mutual reception between the ruler of the profection, her exalted Saturn in Libra in the 1st, and Venus in Capricorn, a planet in the sign of the annual profection. Her life will slowly but surely improve.

Most Intriguing Political Sex Scandal of the Year

It was either Edwards or Spitzer, so let’s just go with Spitzer.

So the New York Times broke the story that led to the discovery that the former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer^[7], was using prostitution services on March 10th, 2008. There’s a lot to this story, but basically Uranus had been squaring his Sun for a long time, but on this day, the Sun was conjunct Uranus in the sky, bringing the explosive details of his personal life to light. A Mars-Pluto opposition was perfecting at the time, aligned with Spitzer’s Saturn. His career was about to make a major blow, he resigned two days later. On the day he and “Kristen” completed their “business transaction” on February 13th, 2008, the Sun was squaring his Jupiter, an aspect “Kristen” has natally. Poor wife.

Most Dramatic Court Drama of the Year

OJ Simpson^[8] goes to jail, FINALLY. The astrological picture is complicated, but basically OJ has a long history with Saturn, the planet of hard times, confinement. As soon as I realized that it was roughly 13-14 years in between the murder case in 1994-1995 and the robbery case in 2007-2008, I realized that Saturn had to be the culprit, because Saturn is on a 27-29 year cycle. So Saturn was in the opposite places of the zodiac between these two periods of his life. Saturn in Pisces conjunct his Moon during the murder trial, and Saturn in Virgo opposite his Moon in Pisces during the robbery trial. He may have cheated Saturn the first time, but it appears Saturn has now finished the job.

Worst-Named Celebrity Baby of the Year

Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Curse your parents, the emo and the jig dancer. I’m not even going to look into this astrologically. May God have mercy on you.

Biggest Train Wreck of the Year

Oh, Amy Winehouse. But seriously,  Saturn and Uranus have been double-teaming her Sun. You can read more about that here.

Kanye West Freakout of the Year

And the award goes to…Kanye West!^[9]

West was arrested on September 11th after a physical altercation with the paparazzi. He was born with a dynamic but impulsive Venus conjunct Mars. On the very day of the arrest, Venus and Mars are back together again in the sky.

Biggest Shocker of the Year

Clay Aiken^[10] officially came out of the closet in an interview on September 24th, 2008. SHOCKING.

Aiken was born 4 days after a Mercury retrograde station when Mercury was conjunct Mars in the sky. The interview took place on the day that Mercury stationed retrograde, conjunct Mars in the sky, a recurrence transit of the same planetary configuration present at his birth. The combination of Mercury and Mars is reflective of the courageous announcement. He had also recently become a father, and the adoption of those responsibilities came with his recent Saturn return.

Person of the Year

Barack Obama. Duh.

Scumbag of the Year

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich^[11], who was whoring out the Illinois Senate Seat to the highest bidder. Feces hit the blades of the oscillating blowing device the day before his birthday (his solar return), on December 9th, 2008. His Sun, as well as the transiting Sun, was caught in the jaws of a Mars-Saturn square, bringing him a lot of trouble. Not so f#$%ing golden now, huh? Curiously, this all happened very close to the star Sabik at 17 Sagittarius which “causes wastefulness, lost energy, perverted morals, and success in evil deeds.”^[12] Sounds about right.

Worst Shoe Throw/Best Dodge of the Year

Worst Shoe Throw belongs to Muntadhir Al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist who had the gall, but not the aim, to throw his shoes at George W. Bush on December 14th, 2008. George W. Bush^[13] dodged justice again, this time in a way that might even impress Neo. But seriously, what a sweet dodge. Just take a look at it.

Damn. Such a good dodge. Anyway, the unexpected attack occurred as Mars opposed his Uranus. Mars rules attacks, Uranus makes surprises.

While this would happen every 2 years, it is consistent with other attacks made on him, and might suggest he is in greater danger in general even if no attack manifests. On May 10th, 2005, a grenade was thrown at Dubya, but did not explode. This happened as Mars was conjunct Uranus in the sky, opposing his Mars, just an inversion of the aspect at the time of the shoe-throw. He was born somewhat close to a Mars-Uranus square, but not all that tightly. Perhaps this explains how he’s been able to escape these assaults.

Most Sorely Missed Person of the Year

Heath Ledger^[14]. With no birthtime it’s hard to see the precise astrological workings of his death on January 22nd, 2008, but he died essentially right after his Saturn return, which for many people often marks a major accomplishment. This happened before his highly anticipated performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, unquestionably the finest performance of his career. He hit his Saturn return again posthumously in the month after The Dark Knight was released, a symbol of the widespread recognition and critical acclaim he received for the performance. He will be missed.

Best New Celebrity Astrology Blog of the Year

CLEARLY this one you’re reading right now!

Well that’s all for now folks, 2008 has been fun and change-y. Have a great New Year!

Endnotes

1. Barack Hussein Obama II, August 4th, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii, 7:24 PM, http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate
2. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, October 26th, 1947, Chicago, Illinois, 8:02 AM, http://horoscopicastrologyblog.com/2007/03/13/hillary-clintons-birth-chart/
3. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., November 20th, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 8:30 AM, Rodden Rating “A” (from memory): Marion March quotes Celeste Longacre from him in, “Welcome to the Planet Earth, ” 4/1987
4. Sarah Louise Heath Palin, February 11th, 1964, Sandpoint, Idaho, unknown time, http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=864bb9006da3f010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
5. Elizabeth Stamatina Fey, May 18th, 1970, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, unknown time, http://www.tv.com/person/40079/summary.html
6. Britney Jean Spears, December 2nd, 1981, McComb, Mississippi, 1:30 AM, Source: Frank Clifford quotes Barry Street of  Equinox (The Astrology Shop, London), Nov/ 2000. “She and her mother had walked in with bodyguards et al; they cleared the shop and calculated her chart.”
7. Eliot Laurence Spitzer, June 10th, 1959, Riverdake, Bronx, New York, unknown time, http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=1f99417491fbf010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1af5c274eee62010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
8. Orenthal James Simpson, July 9th, 1947, San Francisco, California, 8:08 AM, Birth Certificate
9. Kanye Omari West, June 8th, 1977, Atlanta, Georgia, unknown time, http://www.people.com/people/kanye_west
10. Clayton Holmes Grissom, November 30th, 1978, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2:42 AM, quoted from Tali Edut of the Astro Twins, who did a reading for him
11. Milorad R. Blagojevich, December 10th, 1956, Chicago, Illinois, unknown time, http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f408224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
12. pg. 199, Vivian Robson, The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Astrology Classics, Abingdon, MD, 2004 (first published 1923).
13. George Walker Bush, July 6th, 1946, New Haven, Connecticut, 7:26 AM, Source: Kim Castilla on the Internet quotes hospital records. “Back in 1994 when Bush was elected governor of Texas, I called around and actually found a PR person in the hospital where he was born who was willing to look up his birth time for me, so this is from the hospital records.”
14. Heath Andrew Ledger, April 4th, 1979, Perth, Western Australia, unknown time, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/

Written by Patrick Watson

Patrick is an astrologer originally from High Wycombe, England. He has a particular interest in Hellenistic astrology. He is a member of the Association for Young Astrologers, and also a contributor to the Political Astrology Blog.

Related posts:

1. The Celebrity Astrology Blog Goes Live
2. Hillary Clinton Becomes Secretary of State
3. The Astrology of Robert Pattinson and Twilight
4. The Astrology of Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s Divorce
5. An Astrological Profile of Barack Obama

Tags: 2008 US Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Britney Spears, Clay Aiken, Eliot Spitzer, George Bush, Heath Ledger, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Kanye West, OJ Simpson, Rod Blagojevich, Sarah Palin

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