Those in my inner sanctum believed that I disliked Barack Obama as I had very little interest in whether or not he would win the presidential race in America – some were astounded that I had not delineated a chart to assess this matter. I do not dislike him, in fact I am completely neutral as I know very little about him and have not availed myself of the opportunity to gain insight into the man behind the publicity campaign. American politics does not stir the fire in my loins, and I am not silly enough to blame the man for the naivety of the masses. Let me explain this statement – it was said that he was the new hope of the free world, that he would change the course of history, that he was the answer to the world's problems, and in South Africa that the plight of the previously disadvantaged would be high on his agenda because of his ethnicity. Barack Obama is not the new Messiah and he cannot single handedly solve the world's problems – this type of assumption astounds me and I find it hard to swallow. He is simply the leader of a country which does impact greatly on the other nations of the world, and it is at this point that I turn my attention to the chart.

The Question

“What type of president will Barack Obama be (to the American people) and what impact will he have on (us) the rest of the world?”

19 February 2009, 7.01pm, Johannesburg , SAFR, 6Virgo48 Asc.

• Barack Obama is the president of a foreign country so he is radical Lord 6 – 10 from 9. Saturn is posited in the 1st in term, retrograde and closely aspected by the antiscion of Venus (the foreign country, the USA and the world's resources radical 2nd).
• There are two fixed stars on the cusp of the 6th – Altair and Albireo – both indicate the high position that Obama recently attained as well as his ability to command.
• The USA is Lord 9 Venus, posited in the 7th, closely aspected by a sextile to Jupiter and Mars and she is in term and detriment. The antiscion of the S Node is posited just inside the cusp of the 9th. The antiscia of Jupiter and Mars oppose the cusp of the 9th. Obviously the antiscion of Saturn closely aspects Venus.
• The cabinet of Barack Obama is radical Lord 7 – 2 from 6. Jupiter is posited in the 6th , closely aspected by a conjunction to Mars, a sextile to Venus and he is peregrine.
• The moveable assets of the USA, so its money, is radical Lord 10 Mercury. He is posited in the 6th , has triplicity and is applying, albeit still a long way off, to conjunct the North Node.
• The rest of the world is viewed simply as Lord 1 – us – Mercury, and our money or moveable assets is Venus, Lord 2. Mercury is posited on the fixed star Bos which denotes a clever and piercing intellect and is of the nature of Saturn and Venus. The Moon as usual is co significator of the querent.
• The Part of Fortune for Barack Obama is at 2Sag32 and the Part of Fame (work to be done) is at 11Capricorn20.

Barack Obama

We cannot ignore the true nature of Saturn who is the great malefic. When ill he is “crafty for his own ends, seducing people to his opinion” and “malicious, never contented, timorous and mistrustful” (Christian Astrology, William Lilly) and Al Biruni says that when ill, “the ignorance is concealed”. But Saturn has term so he is not essentially bad, but term is a minor essential dignity and it is worth keeping this thought in the back of your mind. Saturn is retrograde indicating that the planet is behaving against its nature and being angular it has tremendous power to act. Saturn represents rules and regulations, boundaries, solid foundations and structure. I see Barack Obama ruling with a firm grip on the reins when Saturn goes direct. Currently he appears more affable and flexible than he really is and posited in a double bodied sign we see the duality of his nature – akin to a chameleon or a shape shifter. Virgo is barren and loud voiced so although Obama will have no problem voicing his opinion; will that opinion and its implementation actually bear fruit?

He is ruled by his country's financial crisis and by the rest of the world – he has to turn the current economic crisis around (in his country) with the rest of the world's gaze fixed keenly on him. The concern is that he is in the fall of Venus – he has the power to harm his country as well as our assets. Venus and Saturn have mutual reception by fall – and this I find very interesting. He can harm his country and in turn, once the cracks begin to show and people come to their senses and realize that he cannot single handedly solve their problems, they will turn against him. The antiscion of the South Node inside the 9th shows that all will not be rosy in the American garden, there will be underlying hidden factors that debilitate and restrict the country as the South Node is of the nature of Saturn – who in this chart happens to be Barack Obama.

His effect on others

He is in the detriment of Jupiter who is the dispositor of his Part of Fortune – his way forward is to listen to his cabinet as although weak and with little power to act (Jupiter peregrine and in the 6th) they can steer him out of trouble – but the reception to Jupiter from Saturn does not bode well. Jupiter is also Obama's job, his Lord 10 – so for him to achieve success and fulfillment he simply needs to fulfill his job description and get on with the task at hand – but his job's antiscion opposes his country so we do have influence but with hidden regret. The Part of Fame (work to be done) is disposited by Saturn – Obama needs to roll up his sleeves and get on with it – too much talking (Saturn is loud voiced in Virgo) will not see anything being resolved. Jupiter and Mercury are firmly in the grip of Obama and he holds the power – both planets are in the celestial and mundane houses of Saturn – we can see the enthralled state that the world is in and how desperately the American government wants a leader who will assist in eradicating the problems while boosting its political image after the fiasco of recent years.

Mercury and Saturn have mutual reception by sign. Obama has the power to assist in turning the American economy around (L10 Mercury) as well as to make a difference to the rest of the world (L1 Mercury). The rest of the world, “us/we” are in his grip and look to him to make good on his promises. The strong mutual reception does show that the two planets will want to assist each other in a positive manner so this bodes well. Saturn is also in the triplicity of the Moon so Obama has a genuine concern and respect for the people (of other nations) and I do believe that he fundamentally wishes to make a difference (Saturn in term).

Conclusion

As always the chart shows it as it is. Barack Obama is a man, not a god, and he has flaws. He is as much to blame for the hype surrounding him as (the foolishness of) people and the danger of this is that when he settles into the job of running his country, these human traits will appear and he will be condemned for them. This was unnecessary – if everyone had kept their wits about them then this needn't have been the case – but it is. He will be a good ruler and he will make a difference, but as we know you cannot please everyone all of the time, sometimes you cannot even please some people some of the time, and the masses are fickle – and nasty – Moon in detriment.

America is in a bad way (Venus in detriment) but when she moves into Taurus she will have dignity so the situation in the country will improve, but this is only after she has turned retrograde – so things will worsen before they get better. That will be the true test – will Barack Obama be able to lead his country when the situation deteriorates and will they still have his back? Mercury currently enjoys triplicity but when he moves into Pisces he will be debilitated so the economy of the USA and the state of the other nations will also deteriorate – he will conjunct the North Node only to separate from it again.

We have a long road ahead of us to leave the path of economic devastation that we have recently traversed behind, and we will all look to our leaders for answers and guidance. The essence is not to expect them to single handedly solve the problems – we too have to do our bit. The Moon as the common people, so all of us, although in triplicity is in detriment and will be that way for a long time to come – we desperately want someone to pin our hopes on – and Barack Obama was tagged as that someone (Moon ruled by Saturn). This responsibility is more than one man can shoulder, and we do have to keep our wits about us – especially in light of our own presidential elections which are looming.