by Marilyn Muir, LPMAFA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
An astounding thing happened on Friday morning, October 9, 2009. President and Mrs. Obama were awakened before dawn with the news that the President had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. A very surprised president accepted the award, said he was humbled by the honor and by the august body of past winners. Instant political controversy brewed. I agreed with the president’s surprise and quiet disclaimer; I think it was a bit soon. However, I was proud of his accomplishment for both the man and my country. This was a moment of great honor and should be accepted and enjoyed as such. But there are always people who must rain on someone’s parade. Those who can’t participate because they lack the skills themselves often find the need to throw stones. These were the same people who applauded when Chicago lost their opportunity to host the 2016 Olympics. As an American, I found that quite offensive. Both our political far right and the Taliban thought President Obama should not win or accept the award. Odd company.
The list of Nobel Peace Prize winner names reads like a world who’s who in the cause of peace. Several Americans have won over the years, including four presidents and one vice president, Al Gore. Since I had done the research on all 43 presidents recently, I wondered what in each of the four presidential charts indicated the skills for such an honor. These are very distinct and different men as evidenced by their charts. I wondered if their collective charts would show commonality in some way. In my search, I did find an unexpected connection to the USA Virgo Rising natal chart as well, a dedicated research effort for me. First I will look at the personal, then at the commonality. These are completely different individuals, but a skill set which produced the award is visible in each. Last, I will briefly note connections to the USA chart because it is both interesting and available.
Just what is the Nobel Peace Prize? Swedish industrialist and inventor, Alfred Nobel, bequeathed and funded five Nobel Prize awards upon his death, four of which are scientific or literary. According to Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. Nominations are made by specifically qualified people by February 1st each year. Awards may be made for actions completed, underway or which may require large segments of time to complete, and to those who are in a process to either resolve a conflict or to create peace. Both individuals and organizations may receive the prize, singularly or in multiples (a single prize shared). It is presented December 10th, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. Beginning in 1901 and as of 2009 the prize has been awarded to 97 individuals and twenty organizations. There were nineteen years in which no peace prize was awarded.
The first American President (26th) to win the Nobel Peace Prize was Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 for his successful mediation of the Russo-Japanese War and for his general interest in arbitration. This was a military man who, as a Colonel, led the Rough Riders in Cuba during the Spanish American War and was assistant Secretary of the Navy for the USA. In 2001, he was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his military actions, the only president to win such honor. Before his presidency, Mr. Roosevelt was also head of the New York City Police Commission reforming the very corrupt New York City police, and was also Governor of New York. He ascended to the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley. President Roosevelt was a world-class big game hunter whose personal hunting efforts helped supply the Smithsonian and many other national museums with taxidermy models of flora, fauna and insects from both Africa and South America. The Rio Roosevelt River in Brazil was named after him. This was a man of action who was awarded the world’s highest peace prize. His motto, “Speak softly and carry a big stick” is well known and was an excerpt from a 1900 letter to Henry Sprague.
Astrologically, what does President Roosevelt’s chart reveal as a world-class peacemaker?
- His Midheaven is 00 Pisces 14 with ruler, spiritual Neptune, at 22 Pisces 29 retrograde (been there, done that previously) in the 10th for starters.
- Midheaven co-ruler Jupiter (philosopher, world traveler) is at 21 Gemini 04, also retrograde (been there, done that) in the 12th (internal philosophy) on the backside of his Ascendant at 24 Gemini 37, strongly influencing his coping skills and personal projection. He was larger than life and the author of 35 books.
- His Jupiter opposes (confronts) his Venus (cooperation, conciliation, detenté, peace) in the 6th of work/service, in Sagittarius (world diplomat) and conjunct (united) with his Sagittarian Descendant, his point of partnerships, alliances, truces, joint partners.
There’s always more to read, but that makes my point.
The second American President (28th) to win the Nobel Peace Prize was Woodrow Wilson in 1919 for his work in creating the League of Nations and for orchestrating the Treaty of Versailles. Unfortunately, the sitting U.S. Congress was angry that he led us into the war (or we could be speaking German right now), even though he himself was against the war in principle. Congress refused to allow America to join the League and it never fully evolved. See what happens when you upset an obstructionist congress? The League was the predecessor to the United Nations. Regardless of whether his accomplishment was successful or not at that moment, the Nobel Prize Committee recognized his work as a man of peace. Much quieter than his predecessor Roosevelt, Wilson was a lawyer, dignified president of Princeton University and former governor of New Jersey. His accomplishments as President are truly myriad, including the Federal Trade Commission, Women’s Suffrage, Federal Reserve, Liberty Bonds, and more.
- Astrologically, President Wilson was very Saturn/Capricorn – Sun, Mercury in Capricorn, Saturn elevated in the 9th of foreign cultures, and Saturn’s old rulership of Aquarius holding Moon, Mars, Venus. This was a no-nonsense, very clannish president and he had a tremendous sense of responsibility for his country (his Midheaven was 4˚ from the USA Sun). If his hand had not been forced by Germany’s attack on international shipping, and knowing that Europe was about to fall to the onslaught and that the door would then be open for Germany to attack the U.S., he would not have entered the war. Isolationism was typical of the U.S. since its birth, but change entered with the Spanish-American War.
- I read the Lunar Nodes as relational and karmic. They straddled his Asc/Dec axis, with the emphasis coming from Libra on the Ascendant (habits, knowns, internally locked), growing towards the Descendant and Aries, more assertive and aggressive, especially regarding partners and alliances.
- I have mentioned his three Aquarius planets, but two are Venus and Mars, conjunct (united) within 1 minute of arc, on the money! His Ascendant/Decendant and his N Node/S Node rulers act as an Aries/Libra unit. I think we can see this one.
The third American President (39th) to win the Nobel Peace Prize was James E. Carter in 2002, long after he left office. He was awarded the prize for work “to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Carter came from a farming/business, legal and military background. He was a naval officer until the death of his father required him to return to the farming/business world. He was both a Senator and Governor of Georgia, and presided over the Camp David Accords, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Iran Embassy takeover and hostage situation, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, civil rights, Geneva Accord, negotiations with North Korea, and more. He has been and is still active in the cause of peace and uplifting the human condition through his Carter Center work on human rights and his Habitat for Humanity.
- Astrologically, President Carter has both his 12th house Sun and Ascendant in Libra strongly indicating his desire for cooperation, conciliation, alliance, détente.
- He also has his Saturn 6˚ into the 1st in Scorpio (widely conjunct his Ascendant) along with his Moon (intensity, deep feelings) later in the house. This strong 12th house plus Scorpio emphasis would lead to much behind-the-scenes activity.
- Scorpio’s ruler Pluto is elevated in the 9th adding to this emphasis, and power and persuasion internationally is added to the mix.
Many astrologers don’t realize the emphasis of Libra in past military leaders. Libra is the chess player, able to look through the eyes of all the positions and to project ahead and see moves as they develop. His sense of fairness and justice is so strong that it helped him become the peacemaker, but can cause him occasional problems for his forthright confrontation if he senses unfairness or injustice.
The fourth American President (44th) to win the Nobel Peace Prize is our sitting president, Barack Obama – the very surprised man I spoke of in my opening statement. The reason given for his selection was for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. It was also emphasized that it was given for performance and not expectations. Since he has been President for not quite nine months, his is a work in progress. America’s prestige and reputation had suffered worldwide for the previous eight years. President (and Mrs.) Obama have managed to recoup much of our lost position. President Obama has made overtures for peace and negotiation worldwide. Our country is again presenting itself as the world caretaker and no longer the world bully. He is young, so his work is still establishing itself. Before his presidency, he was a lawyer who majored in constitutional law, civil rights, community projects, and a first-term Senator from Illinois. He definitely has made an impression on the world community and the Nobel selection committee in particular. This honor gives him a challenge to fulfill what he has started. President Obama is the new kid on the block, a work in progress, huge potential that is working hard to produce actuality. He is the president of hope and change in our lifetime, as were Presidents Jefferson, Lincoln and Kennedy. Astrologically we can look to see if he has what it takes to produce. Production itself will be up to his efforts and reception by the world community. It is said that a prophet is seldom known in his own country (paraphrased) and the current political rhetoric is proof of that. The man needs a thick skin.
- Astrologically, Aquarius is rising, 18:02 and the rulers of the chart are Uranus in the 7th in Leo and Saturn in the 12th, strong in Capricorn and conjunct Jupiter also in Aquarius. Both are retrograde in phase two of that great conjunction that signifies a new start lifetime. That is definitely apropos.
- The Nodes of expanded relationship and karma are again across the Asc/Dec axis as in President Wilson’s chart, about 9˚ into the 1st/7th. The strong tie between the Asc/Dec emphasizes the I/you/we role of partnership, alliance, and cooperation.
- The president has 5 planets (one of them the chart ruler) plus the Lunar Node within a 50˚ cluster across his 6th/7th houses. Here’s where the man lives.
His connection to the world at large and international treaties is well illustrated. Yes, he can. Now the question is, “Will he?” Judgment of the results is personal perspective.
Commonalities: I looked statistically for commonalities in this exclusive group of four. I had thought that Libra would be strongly represented due to the nature of the award: peace. The Aries/Libra axis was weaker by overall count, but with both Presidents Wilson and Carter with Sun (1) and Ascendant (2). All four presidents had placements in Cancer. Three each had placements in Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. No signs were completely void. The overall average of all positions per sign is 4.5.
In my presidential research, I had found good information by looking at the sign axis. Dominant and recessive qualities easily emerged. Because the 52 positions (13 x 4) must be divided by 6 axes, the average becomes 8.7 per axis. Two axes are high (14/10), two are low (4/5) and two (9) are average.
14 by axis: Leo/Aq 9 by axis: Vir/Pis 5 by axis: Ari/Lib4
10 by axis: Can/Cap 9 by axis: Tau/Sco 4 by axis: Gem/Sag
All four presidents had placements in Tau/Sco and Vir/Pis. Three of four presidents had placements in Leo/Aqu and Can/Cap.
Looking at houses, all four presidents had placements in the 5th house and three each had placements in the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th; no houses were empty. Because the midheaven and ascendant were two of the thirteen points for each chart, the house count would be skewed, so averages are not given.
Individual degrees showed distinct groupings. The strongest was 2 to 8.5˚ Tau/Sco with all four presidents represented. The next strongest was 18 to 22.5˚ Vir/Pis with all four presidents represented. Next was 22 to 27 Leo/Aqu with three of four presidents. That was followed by 13.5 to18.5 Can/Cap, again three of four.
USA chart: Because I have done extensive work with the USA Virgo rising chart, I saw individual Nobel Prize connections with that chart as well in three of four cases. The USA Neptune is 22 Virgo 24. The USA Moon is 22 Aquarius 36. The USA Sun is 13 Cancer 01. The exception was Teddy Roosevelt who was extremely strong in the Taurus/Scorpio axis 2 to 8.5˚.
Conclusion: President Obama follows an august lineage of bringing hope, change and ultimate success to the endeavors embodied by the Nobel Peach Prize. Astrologically, he has the potential to accomplish “fraternity among nations.”
Published on EZine online November, 2009, republished with slight editing.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.