A Horary Success — Sarah Palin’s Failed Political Initiative
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This essay was first published in the September 2022 issue of the online AstroLogic magazine. It was written in early August, at which time the Alaskan special-election outcome was undecided. As we now know, Palin was unsuccessful in her bid.
Sarah Palin’s Political Reboot: A Horary Perspective
The mainstream media has recently been reporting on the attempt by Sarah Palin to rekindle her faded political fortunes in the national arena. You may remember her as a former governor of Alaska and Vice-Presidential nominee alongside John McCain. She is presently in the fray to replace deceased Alaskan Congressman Don Young for the remainder of his term. Although she is running slightly behind the leading Democrat in the race, the winner won’t be declared until the end of August. Alaska has an interesting provision that requires the votes of the candidate who comes in last among the three contenders to be redistributed among the rest of the field according to how many times that candidate was the second choice on the ballot for one of the others. Palin was a divisive factor among Republican in the 2008 Presidential election that was won by Barack Obama, so it will be interesting to see whether they can unite behind her this time. This seemed like a good opportunity to bring horary astrology to bear on her chances.
As always, I applied John Frawley’s methods as described in his book, The Horary Textbook. There were three main factors to consider: the 1st House and its ruler representing Palin as the aspirant (aka “querent”); the 10th House as the political office in question (since this is an “open” election with no sitting incumbent, the 1st House and the Moon will be more critical while the 10th merely shows the “job”); and the 7th House as the “electorate. The status of the Moon will be examined as a secondary significator. I assessed the condition of the house rulers from a high-level perspective, mainly considering dignities and the aspects between them, and didn’t examine any of the minutiae unless it spoke strongly to me).
Here is the chart; with 4 degrees of Capricorn rising it narrowly escaped receiving a “stricture against judgment” declaration that would have invalidated the reading.
Capricorn on the Ascendant suggests “hard-nosed Conservative,” and 1st House ruler Saturn in Aquarius, the other traditional sign of its rulership, in the 2nd House of personal resources and values seems to indicate that she will be able to capitalize on that political stance. However, Saturn is retrograde so she may not get as much mileage out of it as she hopes. The only remotely close aspects Saturn makes to any of the classical planets used in horary are with the Sun and Moon. One is a slightly wide opposition to the Sun in Leo in the 8th House (within roughly 6 degrees of arc), and with Saturn’s retrogradation that aspect is separating. The State Republican Party’s financial largess may be less forthcoming than she would like. The other is an equally wide trine (5 degrees of arc) with the Moon in Gemini in the 6th House of service; however, this trine is applying, and with the Moon ruling the 7th House of the electorate, she may be seen as a candidate who is responsive to the needs of her constituents. The best thing going on with Saturn is its trine to the Part of Fortune in Libra; the 9th House placement could mean that her traditional values will stand her in good stead with more upscale, educated voters.
The 10th House ruler, Mars in Gemini, makes only a wide sextile to Jupiter in Aries. Although the aspect is wider than I like to take (almost 8 degrees of arc), it is applying and Jupiter sits in Mars’ sign of rulership while making a beneficial (although separating) trine to Venus in the 7th House of the electorate. Palin could make an appealing and fiesty showing in the election. Horary doesn’t use the minor Keplerian aspects, so the “Finger of Fate” (inconjunct) pattern formed by both Mars and Jupiter with the Scorpio Midheaven is not counted in considering her prospects for the job.
Cancer is on the 7th House cusp, implying that the choice shakes out to a matter of “home rule:” Who will fight hardest for Alaska’s agenda in Washington? The 7th House ruler, Moon, is in Gemini, not a particularly sympathetic placement; Palin may be seen as something of a superficial “lightweight” when it comes down to the tough questions, but the Moon’s trine to Saturn should help dispel that presumption if she is able to marshal it to her cause. Except as already noted, the Moon makes no important aspects to any of the other traditional planets, but it is applying to a loose trine with the Libra Part of Fortune in concert with the separating Saturn trine, making for a faintly convincing Grand Trine. But I don’t think she can take that to the bank.
Although horary makes little use of the non-Ptolemaic planets, the remarkably tight opposition of Mercury in Virgo, its sign of exaltation, to retrograde Neptune in Pisces, its contemporary sign of rulership, deserves a passing mention. Although there is no “sole dispositor” in this chart to provide an overriding focus as “chart ruler,” these highly dignified planets on the 8th- 2nd House axis suggest that Palin’s posture on taxation (an 8th House matter) and finances (a 2nd House concern) will loom large in the estimation of those with the most to lose. They suggest that she may be a little too indiscriminate with other people’s money.
In summary, I believe Palin will make a credible run at it it but there doesn’t seem to be enough cohesion and planetary strength in this chart to signify a win. The slightly sloppy Grand Trine between the Sun, Moon and Part of Fortune will only take her so far.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on September 4, 2022.
