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A Quick Look at the Veep-stakes in 2000 Date Published: by Clarke Fountain

Bio: Clarke Fountain

Clarke Fountain has been studying astrology with varying levels of intensity since the 1960s, is a U.S. Navy veteran, and gave his first professional reading in 1977 in San Francisco. After years of doing every kind of job under the sun, he earned an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the Naropa Institute (as it was then called) in 1989 and at that time became involved with aspects of publishing. Astrology has been one of the few consistent threads in his otherwise extremely varied life, and he is delighted to have the opportunity to serve the astrological community as the Editor for “Astro Talk Online Astrological Magazine.”

As of this writing, the designated candidates for the two major parties have not given many clues about who they will choose as their running-mate. Who gets the proverbial "warm bucket of spit" position on the ticket? Maybe astrology can offer some light on the subject.

However, The potential candidates for Vice President were far too numerous, and their birth data far too elusive for me to come up with a truly representative selection of all those in this category. This narrowed down my choices quite a bit.

For Al Gore, I was able to track down data for two men who it is reasonable to assume he might consider: Bill Bradley and Dick Gephardt. George Bush arguably has a more difficult choice, and luckily I was able to get at least rudimentary data for three potential running mates: Gen. Colin Powell, Elizabeth Dole, and Sen. John McCain.

Most commentators consider the third party candidates to be, at best, spoilers for the main party candidates, and unlikely to be terrifically influential. While I don't agree with that assessment, I do think that for the purpose of this article, I will limit the discussion to George and Al, leaving out Ralph, Pat, along with all stray ficus trees, pigs, and so on that may be written in on the ticket by pranksters.

There are a lot of different ways astrologers use of considering these candidates together, and a really thorough consideration of these charts would include the USA "birthchart" as well as the Washington, DC election chart. However, we can learn a great deal about the possible team-ups simply by running up a composite chart for the two people involved, as in some sense their relationship is every bit as complex and intimate as that found in marriages or other close partnerships.

A relationship chart can tell us a lot of things about the parties involved in it. Some of these things include: Do they get along? Are they an effective partnership? What kinds of things are they likeliest to do together? Any experienced mundane (public events) astrologer will be able to derive a lot more useful information from their astrological researches than I can, but even using a Davison chart as a sort of glorified birthchart for the two men considered in relationship, as I am doing, can tell us a lot.

A brief glance at Gore's natal chart reveals that, with a lot of very "serious" planets (Pluto, Saturn, Mars) in the first house, that is how he comes across to others, despite the fact that they and his rising angle are in the genial and often jovial sign of Leo. With that in mind, it is interesting to note that both the Davison chart for Gore with Bradley and the Davison chart for Gore with Gephardt produce rising signs that are ruled or are co-ruled by Saturn, the "Mr. Serious" of our Solar System (Aquarius and Capricorn, respectively). If Gore needs a vice-presidential partner who will help lighten up his image, neither of these two men is going to fit the bill. On the other hand, if his goal is to be taken even seriously by the public…

It seems to me that Gore's electoral challenge consists in getting people to think of him as somewhat more human, and somewhat more flexible. With Pluto rising, and it being the planet most often associated with dire necessity and sweeping transformations, he has perhaps too serious an image already.

Bush's natal chart also shows Leo rising, but the first planet rising in his chart is a "lightweight" one, Mercury. Despite the fact that it is closely conjunct Pluto, Bush manages to come across as not a very thoughtful person. He is even perceived as less intelligent than many would prefer. With Venus in the same house, he even comes across as someone who tries just a little too hard to be agreeable.

None of the people whose charts I have been able to join with Bush's would necessarily change that perception.

The Colin Powell/Bush chart shows Virgo on the Ascendant, so the relationship could highlight Bush's skills as a communicator. However, the rest of the chart gives evidence that there are some challenges to this pairing. The main indicator is that the Sun (which represents the two of them) in the fourth house (which is their "home ground") is opposed by both Uranus and Saturn. To me, this indicates that they could experience some sudden and troubling setbacks and challenges. The combined-chart Moon is opposite Jupiter, which could indicate that they might be over-optimistic and run into difficulties that way. While there are some strengths to the chart (as there are in any chart), my intuition tells me that this is an unlikely pairing. These two men just don't jell for me, despite the fact that many would like to see Gen. Powell back in public life.

With the Dole/Bush chart, Aries rises with the Moon in the first house. Aries is a no-nonsense, "take me as I am" kind of sign, so their partnership might very well help ease the perception that Bush is a trifle shifty. And the pleasing Taurus moon in the first house might very well show the public (the domain of the Moon) things it wants to see, as Taurus is a comfortable, even comforting sign in many ways. The Sun, or "self" of the relationship is in the fourth house of this chart as well, but it has much more comfortable connections than in the Bush/Powell chart. I think that Mrs. Dole and Mr. Bush would get on quite well, and might even be an inspiration to one another since one of the favorable aspects to the Sun is from Neptune, which frequently serves in this manner. Since Saturn is the other favorable aspect, I think they would be disciplined campaigners and would form an effective working partnership.

However, just looking at the ascendant situations, the most striking pairing is that between Bush and John McCain. Here, the serious but not overwhelming sign of Virgo is rising, with Venus exactly conjunct the ascendant. While there is a perceived danger that the war-hero McCain might overshadow Bush, I believe that when the two men are seen side-by side, their strengths and weaknesses might be complementary. In the Davison chart, the Sun and the Moon trine one another, so for a variety of reasons, I think they might get along surprisingly well, and would at the very least understand one another better than anyone (themselves included) would have predicted.

The essential nature of Bush and McCain's relationship would likely remain something of a secret to the public at large, if the presence of the combined chart's Sun in the twelfth house is any indication. With Mars (the planet of battles, among other things) trining that Sun, I'm willing to bet that they would have a very combative relationship - but not with each other! This, despite the fact that everyone and his brother has been claiming that the two men don't much like one another.

With that Venus in Virgo placement on their rising degree, I would be inclined to think that they might join together in persuading the public to "fix" various things that they feel have gone wrong. That's because it seems to be the Virgo mission in life to set things right. Just as it took Nixon (the archetypal anti-Communist) to go to China, it may take Bush (the archetypal master fundraiser) to enact campaign finance reform. I'd certainly expect a few surprises from this pair, if they ever joined forces.

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