Here in Britain and I would hazard to guess around the world, we do not know much about Francois Hollande the Socialist Party candidate who will fight against Nicolas Sarkozy in late April in the French Presidential elections. By May, we might know a lot more about this man who is striving to take France in a different political direction. Francois is a career politician and a former student and follower of Francois Mitterrand. His lucky break may have been when Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York over an alleged rape charge, all but ruling him out of contention for the Socialist Party berth. Hollande jumped with glee into his shoes and he hasn’t looked back since.
Francois was born on 12th August 1954 in Rouen, France at 00.10 hrs (time quoted in hand by Astro-Databank). He is a proud Sun sign Leo with a business like Capricorn Moon and has a changeable Gemini Ascendant. Most of the planets on this chart veer towards the western hemisphere of the chart so Francois natural instinct will be to help others ahead of himself. He will be an initiator of things with 5 planets in cardinal signs and he will have much determination with 4 planets in fixed signs, however flexibility will not be one of his strong points as there is little mutability in the chart.
The Sun in Leo and Moon in Capricorn brings a very straight forward approach to life. Here the Leo Sun wants to make things happen and the Capricorn Moon needs to run things to assure that these things do get going. Effectively if you want something, you want to get it. Here is ambition in it’s purest form and I think Francois will never hide from his desire to go up as high up the ladder of life as he can. The Gemini Ascendant brings an analytical approach to life, he will explore and question things from all angles, including himself and his own character. Gemini Ascendants are generally quite optimistic in nature and are incredibly friendly, versatile and quite independently minded.
The fact that Francois is a socialist is not a surprise at all. This chart is based around a cardinal t-square and a mini grand trine both focused on Neptune, the planet which more than any other represents the face of the masses; in the language of The Three Musketeers “All for one and one for all!!”. Neptune in Libra, the sign of relating and of equality, of course sits in the 6th house of everyday work and graft. It is the perfect socialist indicator.
Squaring onto Neptune is the Moon opposite to a Jupiter/Uranus in Cancer conjunction. Jupiter in Cancer is very protective and generous to those in his “family”. One likes to put a protective arm around those who is in one’s circle be it family, friends or colleagues. There is very much a collective feel about Jupiter here, and one that appreciates one’s heritage and country. Uranus in Cancer is separatist pulls away from national and family ties so there is a real conflict of interest in this part of the chart. Jupiter in the 3rd house shows a natural and expansive communicator with big ideas and plans. Here is a real student and academic attitude to life, and someone who wants to explore as much of the world as possible. It would not surprise me if his political aims extend beyond the borders of France. Uranus in the 3rd house is quick and enthusiastic to jump on new concepts and ideas. With this in mind, if he wins I wonder if he will fast-track France into complete union with the rest of the Euro-Zone countries? I see this as a natural path for these two planets to take, accentuating the collective but bring a fresh perspective to the role of France. With the Capricorn Moon bringing him ambitious desires and his Leo Moon bringing pride and a love of being seen as special, this man will want to shine on the big stage.
The mini grand trine sees a trine between Pluto conjunct to the Sun in Leo trine to Mars in Sagittarius sextile onto the 6th house Neptune. Mars in Sagittarius aims for the stars, this is a most outgoing and optimistic place for Mars to be. This is the position of someone who wishes to explore new territory, to break new ground. Ambitious about one’s plans and philosophical about one’s failures, this Mars will encourage Francois to keep trying with boundless optimism and a fanatical and ceaseless desire for power and control. Pluto in Leo conjunct to the Leo Sun wants to be king and will trample over everyone and everything to get to that exalted position. The Sun in the 4th house conjunct to Pluto shows that Francois will want to keep his private life strictly private. What goes on behind the four walls of his home stays there. I cannot believe that the strict privacy laws in France will loosened under his tenure should he win.
Like most Frenchman, Francois will be quite amorous & his relationships will be very important to him. He will throw much of his time and energy into them although with the nature of the square aspect there will also be much tension present between himself and his partner. Mars in Sagittarius which is very openly romantic squares Venus in Libra which requires and needs to be in a relationship. Venus in Libra also shows great tact and hates conflict. Maybe the domineering nature of the Leo Sun, Leo Pluto and Capricorn Moon means that Francois will try to get his way before conflict breaks out. With this chart quite fixed and inflexible, he may argue but it will be unlikely he will budge in his position. Venus is in the 5th house of children which confers a real love of them and of being a father. I understand he has 4 children, 3 boys and a girl who he had with Segolene Royal, who incidentally is also a socialist politician. They have since split after over 30 years together.
Francois has one more square on his chart, one between Saturn in the 6th in Scorpio and Mercury his 4th house Mercury. Mercury in the 4th in Leo is very confident in speaking and he will communicate often as if he is telling a story. This position is very tied to books and recording one’s thoughts, and I can imagine that he will write extensively. The square to Saturn in Scorpio shows that he has a very insular mind. Saturn in Scorpio fears one’s vulnerability and I feel that there is a much deeper level to Francois than the public may see. There is a secretive side to his character that he will brush over with the more outgoing Leo and Sagittarius elements in his chart. Although many may know him, few if any will know him well, and this emotional distance he can create can be the sign of a successful leader. Saturn in Scorpio has a real sting in the tail when it comes to laying down authority and he may rule by fear. He will not be trifled with in the quiet and solace of government.
The elections come on 22nd April with the possibility of a run off date for the top 2 candidates of 5th May 2012. I have the chart for him on 5th May and I believe he has a great chance of winning. With Neptune now in Pisces and following the 25th Nov 11 solar eclipse which through the planetary setup was I thought more left leaning in a political sense, the wind seems to be blowing in favour of more socialist politics and policies around the world. Francois Hollande and his clearly socialist agenda maybe prove to be the right man at the right time catching the mood. Taking the astrological of the transits against his own chart, the planets also favour him.
Transiting South Node conjunct Ascendant which brings an element of destiny to this whole period of his life. Transiting Pluto opposes natal Uranus which rules his Midheaven of public profile. That profile will be changing around this date, possibly taking on considerable power. Pluto will also be soon conjunct to his North Node, his destiny point and a point of reward on the chart. Transiting Uranus very interestingly will be sitting at the exact midpoint of Ascendant and Midheaven, which I find very significant and exciting for him. Transiting Jupiter will be square natal Pluto and Sun which is fortunate and very expansive, and transiting Saturn will be conjunct to natal Neptune lighting up the t-square and mini grand trine, effectively connecting with most of the planets on the chart. A Saturn conjunction issues you a challenge and shows the way you can step up the ladder of life, although it is never easy.
Finally moving back to the midpoint picture, the Sun on the day will sit opposite to his Pluto/Midheaven midpoint a point where life changing happenings can occur and Jupiter will sit square to the Sun/Pluto midpoint showing an expansion of power, success and international opportunities. Just as significant, Saturn will sit square to the midpoint of the Midheaven/North Node. The interpretation Noel Tyl gives this position is being comfortable in the loner’s position, gaining respect and taking a serious position in the group. Being President is the loneliest position of them all, as no-one can tell you what to do, you have to make all the decisions. If the planets are right then Francois Hollande will be the next President of France.
Just to be fair, in the next week or two I will look at the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.
