The astrology of Hillary Clinton: 2015 edition

A portion of this article was originally written in 2006 before the 2008 elections.  This article is an astrological profile only and is not intended as a promotion of a particular candidate.  

In a move that surprised literally no one, Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for the 2016 elections.  In the past eight years since she first ran for president she appears to have mellowed and found her footing in the international political stage.

Birthchart and personality analysis

Since her appearance on the national political stage, there was no doubting the power of Hillary Clinton. Hillary had been an overachiever from an early age: in high school she served as class president, student council and debating team member, and member of the National Honor Society. As a Republican, she worked actively for the campaign of Barry Goldwater at the age of 16 and went on to become President of the Wellesley chapter of College Republicans. Moved by the death of Martin Luther King her political views became more liberal and she joined the Democratic party. Valedictorian of her class, she graduated with honors in political science and became the first student in the history of Wellesley College to deliver the commencement address at her own graduation.

Hillary went on to obtain a law degree from Yale with a specialization in children’s rights (another earmark for the Cancer ascendant which is focused on the family and nurturing). After marrying Bill Clinton and as the first female lawyer at the Rose Law firm, Hillary continued her child advocacy work on a pro bono basis.

Hillary Clinton’s birthchart shows a strong personality: She has four planets in intense Scorpio, including her Sun, Chiron, Venus and Mercury. Scorpio is an intensely emotional sign that imposes a passion on everything the individual does or feels. Scorpios are never superficial or dilletantes – they bury themselves in virtually everything they encounter. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, the god of the underworld, death and transformation, and Scorpios have no fear of the underworld of the emotional realm. Hillary’s Sun makes no aspect to any other planet, showing an individual who can find it difficult to make real connections with others. On the other hand, this can make it easier for one’s light (Sun) to shine without the need for support from others.

Chiron (wounded healer) is conjunct Venus in Hillary’s chart, linking the painful wounds of Chiron to the ability to relate to others and attract relationships that Venus represents. Chiron in tandem with Venus indicates an early psychic wounding in her sense of attractiveness and desirability and a tendency to continue to attract experiences that mirror this until the wound enters the conscious arena and can be healed. Certainly we can see this in her relationship with Bill Clinton as it has played out on the public stage. However, Jupiter in Hillary’s chart is in Sagittarius, indicating a general faith and optimism (Sagittarius) that is the basis of her world view (Jupiter).

Mercury (communication) is retrograde in Hillary’s chart and it is squared by Saturn, showing a difficulty (Saturn) in expressing herself (Mercury) in a way that is clear and understood by others. Mercury retrograde people tend to process information in a way that is more internalized than the general population, and often find themselves misunderstood. This has been a problem for her on the political stage, and requires a great deal of planning and preparation before making public speeches.

Hillary has a powerhouse conjunction of Mars, Pluto and Saturn all in Leo, and possibly (if the birthtime is close) in the third house of communication. This helps her to overcome the difficulties inherent in the retrograde Mercury, and harnesses the power of Mars (warrior energy), Pluto (transformation and personal power) and Saturn (discipline and hard work). And all in the sign of Leo, the sign that celebrates life and requires admiration in order to survive. Leo is the sign of nobility and royalty, and a concentration in this sign often brings about a desire to gain recognition for one’s essential being – not, as with Capricorn, for one’s achievements. It’s no wonder Hillary has been an overachiever all of her life!

Current planetary cycles and the election

While Saturn was in Scorpio (beginning in 2012 and just finishing up this year) it transited Hillary’s Scorpio planets and formed a square to her Leo planets, challenging the source of her personal power and creating roadblocks for her success.  At the same time transiting Uranus and Pluto, representing radical change (Uranus) and intense transformation (Pluto) were transiting her progressed Sun – the symbol of her evolving sense of Self.   The combination of these planetary cycles made this a truly intense time for her and it is not surprising that she stepped down from her position as Secretary of State in 2013 and spent the next couple of years enjoying her family and the birth of her granddaughter.

Hillary is going into a period of harmonious planetary cycles that will provide support for her during her campaign.  These harmonious cycles involve both Jupiter (expansion and good fortune) as well as Saturn (discipline and success) that should facilitate smoother relationships within her campaign than what she experienced in 2008.

Pluto (extreme change and power shifts) is opposite the Sun of the US chart and this cycle will continue up until the 2016 election.  I would expect the campaign to exhibit the kind of nastiness we often find under challenging Pluto cycles.  2015 brings a large number of Jupiter events to the US chart which typically are expansive and lucky, but too much expansion can sometimes cause overreaching which I think is likely in the current global climate.  I can imagine the US spreading its tentacles far and wide, inspired by Jupiter, in an effort to spread its influence.  An unfortunate and difficult Saturn cycle will likely inhibit the success of these efforts, leaving the country in a challenging state for the next President.

I am unable to see anything in Hillary’s chart that suggests that she will become the next president.  Before I make a prediction I will want to know more about her challengers and their astrological prospects, and this will come later in the year.

Note to astrologers: At the time I originally wrote this Hillary had given her birth time as 8:00 pm, and most published birth charts show her with 29 deg. Gemini on the ascendant. It seems clear to me that Cancer is a more appropriate ascendant for Hillary – she is extremely family-oriented and can appear cold as many Cancer ascendant people do. Additionally, she has the moon face and low center of gravity also associated with Cancer rising. Consequently, I’ve used 8:15 pm as a birth time which should be taken with a grain of salt, since her exact birth time is not available.  Since then a wide variety of birth times have emerged  and until her birth certificate is made available any reference to her ascendant should be avoided.