Saturn in Virgo: Obama’s Hurry for Health Care Legislation
Saturn
Obama may not be an astrologer, but he’s fairly savvy about timing. One of the reasons, if you care to look at things astrologically, that he’s in such a hurry for health care legislation is that Saturn is due to leave Virgo at the end of October. Virgo is the health care sign in many ways, and Saturn is the government sign. If government is going to do anything about health care, then this time period is the prime opportunity.
Of course, Saturn is also the planet of delay, tight-fistedness and restriction. (Perhaps it’s not a surprise that the planet of delay is also a symbol for government). So legislators are doing their astrological part to delay things and worry about tight-fisted considerations.
Contrast this with the Medicare prescription drug benefit law that President Bush signed into law when Jupiter was in Virgo. Jupiter is generous, expansive, and doesn’t give a damn about costs. Hence, we got a bill that passed relatively easily, in spite of opposition, that substantially and perhaps permanently expanded benefits and increased health care costs.
Saturn’s not Jupiter, and it will look suspiciously and perhaps fairly meticulously at any legislative reform efforts. They may be more restricted than Jupiterian folks would like. But Saturn, once it throws its weight behind something, usually comes up with something solid and generally enduring. Obama, perhaps instinctively, wants to get something done within the window that will allow Saturn to give the effort a stamp of approval.
The astrological situation is complicated though. Saturn will leave Virgo at the end of October to enter Libra. There it will probably worry about foreign relations, diplomacy, and tensions between nations. Saturn in Libra often doesn’t play nicely with others, so there could potentially be a lot to worry about, especially since Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries are in clashing cardinal signs.
However, Saturn will slip back into Virgo to finish up its Virgo business from April through July of 2010. So the final trigger on potential health related legislation will not be pulled until then. There will be another chance. Obama, with his cautious Saturn in Capricorn natal placement, probably doesn’t like leaving things to the last astrological minute though.
He’s also got his own personal chart to navigate around. Neptune in Aquarius is now opposing his Uranus in Leo. That goes through August 20. One translation of that transit would be: the vagaries of democracy (Neptune, Aquarius) thwart efforts at bold change (Leo, Uranus). Round about the time that ends, Uranus in Pisces will move into good angle with his natal Saturn. One translation of that could be: systemic holistic change (Pisces, Uranus) works well when implemented conservatively and cautiously (Saturn).
To complicate things, Pluto in Capricorn (extreme conservatism) is trying hard to punch Obama’s popularity (Venus in Cancer) in the face. In this effort, it is probably succeeding–although Obama has shown the power to bounce back from previous Pluto punches (Jeremiah Wright affair). Pluto is scheduled to get tuckered out from its punching efforts–also in August.
To make matters more interesting for Obama’s personal chart, Uranus in Pisces is scheduled to try to make his Mars in Virgo real real mad in November. It didn’t seem to succeed during its last attempt to make him blow his cork, although it certainly tried during the presidential campaign. This time he’s in office, though, and it will be uh, worth watching to see how Uranus tries to throw him a curve ball later this year.
Overall, whether you like him or hate him, Obama seems to have gotten more done or at least done more things that I would have predicted from looking at his chart. He may not get health care legislation by August, but he may get it not that long thereafter.
