Mitt Romney is currently leading the polls in the race for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama in 2012. This time 4 years ago he failed in his attempt losing out to Senator John McCain. Are things any different this time around and does Mitt stand any chance of becoming president? I look astrologically at his chances.
Mitt was born on 12th March 1947 in Detroit, Michigan at 09.51hrs. There is a second potential birth time which is known to Astrologers of 10.00am but the difference is negligible, for the moment at least. Like his main rival Rick Perry, Mitt is a Sun Pisces and he has a Scorpio Moon and a Gemini Ascendant. Before I delve into the planetary details, it is interesting to note that Mitt has no planets in Earth signs like Hilary Clinton. Those without any planets in earth often lack grounding (an obvious but true statement) and common sense. Starting things off and leading from the front is not really in the nature of the Governor of Massachusetts too, as he only has one planet in a Cardinal sign, and this is spiritual Neptune. With 5 planets in water, Mitt is someone who feels his way through life. He has tremendous determination and staying power with 5 fixed planets, and he is flexible and can shift his position to suit the situation with 4 in mutable signs.
Mitt’s Sun sits in the 11th house in wide conjunction to Mercury and we also find Mars here as well. His strength is in being a team player. He will work best when as part of a group, association or in cooperation with friends. As such, if he does achieve the nomination, his potential running mate I think will prove crucial to his chances, as Mitt is the polar opposite to Barack Obama who is very much his own man and somebody who prefers to run things by himself. With Mercury and Mars in conjunction, Mitt has a sharp mind, his arguments will be clear and convincing and will snap back with a quick response if challenged; this man is a good debater. Mitt’s Mars is in Pisces so at heart he is naturally non-aggressive and will hold back if challenged to fight. Mercury retrograde is quite reflective, introspective and deep thinking especially when it comes to personal subjects, or things of an emotional nature. Mitt certainly will have a poetic turn of phrase, but I suspect he lacks the real passion of emotion in his speeches to inspire the masses, like a Kennedy, Reagan or Clinton for example. The Gemini Ascendant will make him question every action and concept put to him, make him strongly independent and often seem on edge, he may suffer with nervous tension and anxiety.
The Sun and Mercury square to Uranus in the first house. This man likes to be original, to be an individual standing out in the crowd. He will thrive in a fast paced environment, but his energies and thoughts may become scattered once under pressure. Uranus is in Gemini, he may attempt to sort out too many things at the same time, with the risk of nothing ever getting completed. This is also compounded by the lack of earth in the chart. A Taurean emphasis would be so handy here, a steadying hand on the tiller and this is why I believe that above anything else, Romney will need to choose very carefully a running mate who is going to compensate for his lack of earth signs. Mitt will have a penchant and an interest for science, development and the latest technology.
The Sun makes a trine to the Moon and Jupiter closely conjunct in the 6th house of health and everyday work. Here is an optimistic link, someone who believes that luck and fortune is on his side, and generally it is. He has big visions and and will work and work and work to achieve them. Here is no lack of effort. He will be drawn to help people in whatever way he can, to fix what has gone wrong. The 6th house suggests that health will be one area that he will especially be compelled to sort out. This is a tolerant man who will forgive mistakes in others, a worthy aim but one in a politician which can signal weakness. He is emotionally generous, but also very secretive and he will want to know what is going on all around him. Scorpio Moons need to know everything. Scorpio Moon can cause one to be very controlling and even cruel in situations. The iron fist of a tyrant lurks beneath the gentle watery Piscean air that Mitt will portray. This all leads me to think that this could be a very difficult man to work for, sometimes helpful but also capable of being very ruthless.
The last formation on the chart is an extended wedge formation encompassing the 4 planets I have yet to look at. We see a heavy Saturn/Pluto conjunction across the nadir of the chart opposite to Venus conjunct to the Midheaven with Neptune sitting at the point of the wedge. The Saturn Pluto conjunction is capable of huge success in one’s life, it concentrates power, determination and ambition however, as with all the planets the fall side of these planets can be quite devastating. I have nicknames this formation the crash and burn connection, because I have seen so many people with these two planets in a stressful aspect (conjunction, square or opposition) abuse the power and status that it brings, only to suffer the consequences, Rupert Murdoch just recently comes to mind – he has an opposition. Mitt’s conjunction lies opposite to his Midheaven, so it doesn’t take much genius to imagine that a square aspect or opposition from a malefic transiting planet could cause his lasting harmful damage to his reputation. Saturn in the 3rd house makes Mitt rather staid and serious in his communication, he will like to be strictly accurate and light hearted exchanges of views are not really his thing. Saturn is retrograde, so we know that the love of his father was never very forthcoming. Pluto sits in the 4th house, indicating that the relationship with him was very close and controlling. His father would have had a huge influence over his upbringing, someone Mitt hugely admired and yet feared at the same time.
Venus sits in the 10th house in Aquarius. Mitt is married to his work and commitments as much as he is to his wife. Venus in this sign suggests that Ann his wife is very much his friend and that they got married in unusual circumstances, they married immediately after he returned from travelling abroad as a missionary in France. The trine from Neptune to his Midheaven shows the spiritual link to his early work, and Capricorn on the cusp of the 9th house shows Mitt’s serious attitude to religion. He will want to be known for contributing something positive to the world. If he does become President, watch out for a huge encouragement to the arts, to entertainment and to American creativity in general. This is something that Mitt will want to be associated with. Neptune trine to Venus shows a dreamy expressive quality that is quite lovely. There is a soft heart to this man, someone who will love movies and music, art, theatre and fantasy. Neptune in Libra can be “influenced” by those stronger or more persuasive around them, there is the potential for gullibility or maybe deception in this position and connected to this powerful opposition in the natal chart, this just could be an achillies heel in his personality that could be exposed in the future.
On first inspection of this chart, I would not really believe that Mitt has the confidence and go ahead authority to make it to the White House. No earth signs and just one cardinal planet is not exactly the driving force that America requires right now as the world financial crisis takes a grip. On the cusp of the 2nd and 8th houses, the financial axis on his chart, we find Gemini and Sagittarius which is very laissez fair in one’s attitude to spending and dealing with other people’s money. It is almost expansionist rather than restrictive!! None the less, the transits and progressions for Mitt Romney seem up to the 2012 election quite kind. He has very few oppositions or squares to deal with until the middle of next year, and in late Summer when the big decisions are being made to whom to chose as Obama’s opponent, Romney has some spectacular transits with Jupiter hitting his Ascendant in June, trine to his Midheaven in July as well as being conjunct his North Node. The fact that his main opponents in the race, Bachmann and Perry are so reactionary in their views may just count hugely in his favour. The tide seems to be flowing in his favour this time around.
In August, on 27th the day of the Republican Convention in Tampa, the transiting South Node will be exactly conjunct his Gemini Ascendant. This is a very uncomfortable place for the South Node to be for the subject. Everyone will be so pleased at the wonderful position he is in, but internally he will want to hide away, to be invisible, to disappear. If Romney does win the nomination, and with these planets in the year before this day it is very possible he will win, will the enormity of the position he will find himself in hit home? I think that they will. At that point, he will know that he faces a lion on the attack, the incumbent Leo President that is Barack Obama. Romney’s progressed Moon at that point will start to enter his large 12th house, a time of unravelling of the life, a time of enforced changes when one is kept in the dark while the world around him swirls with confusion and deception. Once you realise what is going on, often it is too late to react and so you have to accept what is really going on. Because of the size of Mitt’s 12th house, the progressed Moon will not exit into his first house until 2016. It does not fill one with a great amount of confidence looking ahead. At the end of August, Mitt will start to pick up a square from transiting Saturn to his Saturn/Pluto conjunction, just as Saturn enters Scorpio in late September. Maybe his beliefs will come under attack, Capricorn ruled by Saturn sit as I mentioned before on the cusp of the 9th.
Despite a setback around this time, destiny may well be giving Romney a helping hand. On the day of the election 6th Nov 2012, the transiting North Node will be conjunct Romney’s natal Jupiter Moon conjunction, activating trines to his Sun and Saturn. This is wonderfully empowering and at this time and very lucky, he will enjoy popularity and support or help from women. I wonder what this means? Might Romney choose Michele Bachmann as a running mate? I only suggest this as their Saturns are in a very constructive trine, and Michele’s Saturn sits opposite to Romney’s Ascendant just into the 7th house of partnerships and her Venus sits on his Ascendant, which is friendly and non-threatening. A working relationship between them perhaps? Michele’s Sun sits in Romney’s 12th house of working behind the scenes, so this could be a good fit. One other thing is that Michele has 5 cardinal planets, a balance to Romney lack of cardinality – she would provide impetus where it was needed, although here is the threat of her being a back seat driver. Michele’s transits and progressions show success too around the time of the next election, and I wondered in a previous article how her fortunes would pan out. A run for vice president, her financial experience as well as an attack dog role would suit her character very well. On that day, Saturn will square his natal Saturn and is also square to his Midheaven. Sometimes Saturn transits throw you extra difficult responsibility to deal with. Might this be a result of this connection? Trust me this is a difficult call for an astrologer to make so far out from the actual day, as there are a lot of twists and turns that I may not have seen that are coming, however based on the aspects of just a couple of big events, namely the convention and the day of the Presidential election, a successful outcome for Romney on 6th Nov 2012 is, and will remain for now, a distinct possibility!!
Then, as I mentioned, the problems may grow. The next Presidency I see as a poisoned chalice, with massive debts to control and the ever present Pluto/Uranus square to deal with through until 2015 as well as a looming Pluto opposition to the US Sun in 2015. It is a time where greatness and immortality can be seized if you do a good job, but also a time where the pressures and instability of a troubled age could be immense. Is Romney the man to seize the day if he wins? Fate and the heavens may have chosen him a mighty task to take on, one I believe he may struggle to cope with.