Arnold Schwarzenegger took office on November 17, 2003 at 11:21 A.M. in Sacramento, California. Astrologically what does his inauguration chart bode for him and his administration? The method of discernment is an election chart, a chart set up for the moment something begins or is birthed. It is in effect the birth chart for that undertaking or enterprise. As such, it can be progressed, have a solar return, and transits may be applied as time goes on.
The first thing we look to are the angles in a chart, the ascendant, descendant, midheaven and nadir; the first, seventh, tenth and fourth houses respectively. These are the cornerstones of the chart, the foundation from which the structure is built.
Arnold’s inauguration has a Capricorn ascendant at 25 degrees and a Midheaven at 17 degrees of Scorpio. The ruler of the chart is Saturn since Saturn rules Capricorn. Chiron, the wounded healer, is in the twelfth house opposite retrograde Saturn, in the sixth. I interpret this to mean illness may play a role in this administration down the road. Saturn in the sixth house of health and day to day work routine may mean the incumbent can look forward to a lot of drudgery in his job and he may become tired, overworked and very stressed.
The midheaven is off to the side in the placidus house system I use. The part of fortune is the most elevated planet in the chart in the ninth house at 2 degree of Scorpio. That is the best placement Arnold has in this chart, and is a good sign that he will be seen abroad in an especially favorable light. It also casts a ray of protection for Arnold and his administration. Interestingly, Aquarius and Leo are intercepted signs in the chart. An intercepted sign means the energy of that sign and the planet ruling it is thwarted in some way. It has no legitimate outlet for itself and is diffused, much as a firecracker with a spluttering pop. As Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Leo ruled by the Sun and since his ruling planet the Sun is not allowed full expression, he may find himself not allowed the full use of his power as he had hoped. He may discover that he is somewhat of a cog in a wheel, much to his chagrin. The Sun in this chart, the focal point of any chart, is off to the side in the tenth house. It is square the Moon and Uranus and opposite the north node, conjunct the south node. The south node is where we have challenges to learn and Uranus is disruption and change and erratic behavior. A Sun/Moon square in a birth chart would show the native’s parents were at odds with each other at his or her birth, at cross purposes as it were. Since the Moon swallows up the Sun in this chart, with Leo being encapsulated by Cancer, the seventh house ruler, another sense of the diminishing power and authority that Arnold expected and may not experience, is shown.
Juno the asteroid concerned with marriage is at 7 degrees of Sagittarius conjunct Mercury, in the tenth house. I think Maria Shriver, Arnold’s wife will be very involved in this administration, coupling her intelligence and charm to give him the benefit of her advice and long standing political savvy that she developed as a child in a famous political family.
The second house, the house of money and what we value, is ruled by Neptune. Pisces at 9 degrees is on that cusp. Neptune itself resides in the first house, though it is not conjunct the ascendant. With Aquarius intercepted in the first house the expression, personality and sense of identity of this administration will be confused at best. Mars is located in the second house and it is square Mercury, Venus and Pluto, all located in the eleventh house, and opposite Jupiter in the eighth house. The eighth house rules other people’s money, taxes and inheritances. I think Arnold will find his control of the state’s finances and his understanding of the state’s financial situation to be murky at best. He may discover he has overestimated (Jupiter) what was really taking place in the financial coffers of the state.
The Moon in Virgo at 2 degrees is in the seventh house and speaks of attention to detail and financial considerations. Virgo rules bookkeeping, and paperwork will dominate this administration. Working in the state capital will be nothing like the movie sets and body building platforms Arnold remembers. Nothing at all.
I also think that in addition to the dangers Arnold faces from stress due to long hours and the necessity of getting a handle on an ever changing financial situation, which he may not fully have a grasp on, there is an element of physical danger in this chart also. The ruler of the twelfth house is Saturn, since Capricorn at 1 degree is on the cusp. Saturn is currently retrograde and in the sixth house of health. The Mars/Jupiter opposition which is in a T-Square with Pluto and Venus occupies the second, eighth and eleventh houses respectively. The south node conjuncts the tenth house. The ruler of the fourth, Venus, conjuncts Pluto in the eleventh. The vertex, the symbolic representation of fate, is at 28 degrees of Leo conjunct the fixed star Regulas, the Persian star of royalty. It is also directly opposite Uranus, the planet of surprise and change and disruption in the first house of self, the identity of the administration.
Looking ahead to the lunar eclipse of May 4, 2004, which echoes the lunar eclipse on November 8, an interesting transit picture emerges. The lunar eclipse on that date will be in 14 degrees of Scorpio conjunct the tenth house in this inauguration chart. Will Arnold’s enthusiasm for the governorship and the enthusiasm of the people of California for him be somewhat dimmed at that time? Transiting Mars at 28 degrees of Gemini will be moving rapidly towards a union with inauguration Saturn at 12 degrees of Cancer. Pluto will be opposing Arnold’s natal Mars at 19 degrees of Gemini.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has tremendous personal confidence, belief in himself and is not easily dismayed. Many people wish him well in his fight to reclaim prosperity for California. How realistic that is, is open to debate. It seems that Arnold’s California Dreamin’ is becoming a reality. But it may be a different reality than the one he envisioned.
Sally Cheyne McDonald on Nov 17 |
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Sally (and Isabelle),
I knew that once he took that Oath, there would be an article posted here looking at his chart and, lo and behold!, here it is. Great writing and, now that you think about it, making the move from a movie set where you admittedly work very long days, but only 2 or 3 months a year (if that!) to a job that requires you to almost be there from sun-up to sun-down with enormous responsibility may be a very difficult change for Arnold to handle. He won't have the freedom to enjoy the luxuries of life that he had while he was just a movie star. And personal privacy? A thing of the past for him now.
Looking forward to how his term in office plays out. Good luck to all you Californians. :-)
Jonathan
The very good news about this chart is the Saturn station square the Sun for the next election, 11/06, and the Neptune station square the MC, also in 2006 including around the time of the election. He will lose.
The other very interesting thing is that the Saturn crossing of the Descendant coincides with the Saturn conjunction of his natal Venus in the fall of 2004 and early 2005. I think late next summer is when his troubles begin in earnest.
Thanks for the article, Isabel! And thanks for getting us the exact time.
Isabelle, you have a way of making yourself understood and you provoke learning for people like me. How very interesting! Thank you for this article. I was wondering today, like others here, whether an article would be posted on today's inaugural. Sally, fascinating comments!
This site never lets me down!!
Isabelle give be a second to get up off my knees. (I was kneeling in great gratitude to you for this article.) Okay, I'm up. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I having been hoping and searching all day for an article about Arnie and his inauguration.
I appreciated your article too, and imagine Arnold is in for a few surprises--since it was the Republican deregulation that wrecked California in the first place, I can't see how Arnold will have any solutions.
I apologize in advance if this isn't appreciated, but thought I had to paste here an email recently received that I thought was kinda funny:
"California's new Governor has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the state, rather than German which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, The Terminator's government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Austro-English" (or, if nobody will be offended, "Austrionics").
In the first year, "S" will replace the soft "C". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.
The hard "C" will then be dropped in favor of the "K." This should klear up much konfusion, and will also be more effisient, as keyboards kan have
one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "PH" will be replaced with the "F".
This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter, as well as easier to spell.
In the third year of the new administration, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
State and local government will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.
Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "E" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "TH" with "Z" and "W" with "V".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "O" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "OU" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.
Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza."
OT alert - but I don't know where else to take this:
Howard Dean's brother Charlie's remains were found yesterday in Laos, on Howard's birthday. He was considered by the Pentagon to be, quote "Charles Dean, although a civilian, is considered by the U.S. government to have been a prisoner of war."
He was killed during the Vietnam war, nearly 30 years ago. A Saturn cycle ago.
I'm intriqued by the astrological implications of this.
This is off the Arnold topic, but did anyone see the History Channel's documentary pieces last night on the Kennedy assassination? Pretty heavy stuff. Recent eye popping disclosures from various people including Oswald's mistress, Johnson's mistress, & Johnson's former lawyer saying Johnson knew of the plan. Doctors and others confirming cover up of evidence. CIA & FBI involvement at the highest levels. Complex, convoluted events including Johnson's shady dealings with big Texas Oil money that were about to become public leading to his disgrace, and because Kennedy was ready to pull out of Vietnam, which didn't suit the people who stood to make money from escalting the war. Eisenhower warned of the military industrial complex which is exactly the problem we've got now.