I’d like to close out this year’s African-American history month by looking back at one of the most remarkable chapters that just ended – the presidency of America’s first black President, Barack Obama.
Neptune
Barack Obama’s career in national politics can be crudely summed up by the transits of one planet – Neptune. This is because he was born with the Sun in Leo square an idealist Neptune in Scorpio in the 10th house. He is a uniquely and quintessentially Neptunian figure; charismatic, magnetic and hypnotizing, and whose success is emblematic of the tremendous progress black people in America have made since Africans were first enslaved by British colonists.
By his supporters, he was seen as a messiah, a slate onto which people projected their highest ideals, dreams and aspirations. By his opponents, he was seen as the antichrist, a slate onto which people projected their worst prejudices, nightmares and delusions. Over time, his supporters came down from the high and saw the reality of his shortcomings while appreciating his virtues, while his opponents on the right sunk ever deeper down conspiratorial rabbit holes to nowhere good. In both cases, we can see Neptune’s reputation for illusions, disillusionment and fantasy at work.
The first hard Neptune transit to Obama’s Sun was an opposition and it occurred in 2004, the same year Obama ran for Senator of Illinois. This was not just the year of Obama’s victorious Senate campaign, but also his big entrance on the national scene with his July 27th 2004 speech at the DNC.
The next big transit of Neptune in Obama’s chart was the conjunction to his Ascendant which occurred in the year 2007, the year Obama began running for President for the 2008 election. When Obama announced his re-election campaign on April 4th 2011, it was the same day that Neptune ingressed into Pisces. Over the year of 2012 when he was re-elected, Neptune was forming a square with his Moon.
In other words, Obama’s biggest campaigns in his life were connected to major Neptune transits to his Sun, Moon and Ascendant. And now that he has left the White House, Neptune will not be making any major transits to his Sun or Moon until 2043-2044.
Saturn-Neptune
I’ve talked before about how Obama’s family life seems to have followed the phases of the Saturn-Neptune cycle. He met Michelle at the 1989 Saturn-Neptune conjunction who was born with the Saturn-Neptune square. They had Malia at the waxing Saturn-Neptune square in 1998, Sasha at the waxing Saturn-Neptune trine in 2001, and Barack ran for President under the Saturn-Neptune opposition in 2007. He was re-elected under the waning Saturn-Neptune trine in 2012, and left the Presidency under the waning Saturn-Neptune square. All of which suggest an interesting development for the Obama family in 2025-2026 when Saturn and Neptune reach their conjunction at the end of Pisces and beginning of Aries. Perhaps this is when one of the daughters enters politics? Or Barack and Michelle’s first grandchild is born? Or both?
2020 Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto Conjunction in Capricorn
Jupiter was in late Capricorn when Obama was first elected as a state senator in 1996. It was in late Capricorn again when Obama was elected President in 2008 12 years later. In late 2020, Jupiter is coming back around to late Capricorn, but this time it has company. The Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto conjunction piles up around Obama’s Saturn. (We should also note that this occurs opposite Trump’s Saturn while he is presumably running for re-election in that time). It won’t just be a Saturn return and Jupiter return (as it is for anyone at 59 years old), but the presence of Pluto makes this particular Jupiter-Saturn conjunction stand out, not just for Obama but on a mundane level as well. I have quite a bit more to say about this, but for now I’m just pointing out that Obama is locked into this upcoming configuration with his own Saturn.
Loosing of the Bond
Obama’s post-presidential life looks busy. In my 2012 election prediction, I used Zodiacal Releasing from the Lot of Spirit to predict Obama would win and Romney would lose. Essentially it’s a method which divides a life up into chapters like a book, with different planets ruling each chapter. Sometimes the chapters relate back to the previous time a sign has come up as a period ruler in one’s life.
For example, Obama curiously entered a Leo subperiod 5 days after being inaugurated President in 2009. I haven’t been able to account for the 5 day discrepancy, as I would expect a period featuring his regal Sun in Leo to start closer to the day he was actually inaugurated President.
Nevertheless, notice on May 13th 2017, he reaches another Leo subperiod, except this time it’s a Loosing of the Bond. Loosings of the Bond occur when a subperiod has gone around the zodiac and jumps to the opposite sign instead of returning to the major period. Notice that the subperiod Capricorn jumps to Leo instead of going to the next sign Aquarius.
There are three ways a Loosing of the Bond can be interpreted – it either represents a magnification of what happened before, a reflection of what happened before or a reversal of what happened before. That it would be a magnification of being US President is hard to believe – what’s bigger than being President? UN Secretary General?
I’m not sure it’s a reversal – his life has already reversed from President to private citizen. I think what is more likely is that this Loosing of the Bond in May features his assumption of some type of role which is analogous to his role of President, a mirror image of his Presidency. An unofficial leader of the resistance against Trump perhaps?
The other quality of this Loosing of the Bond is the movement from darkness to light. The major period is Aquarius ruled by Saturn. While it contains his Jupiter and brought him to prominence and good fortune, he was burdened by the responsibility of public office. Now the Loosing of the Bond is moving to Leo, ruled by the Sun. From that point he will be embodying the full range of his Sun in Leo, visibility and self-expression. He will not go gently into the night.