John McCain
A Second Look
Therese Hamilton
October 12, 2008: DISCLAIMER: All the charts in this article are based on a 9:09 a.m. birth time for John McCain. Since a birth certificate giving a time of 6:25 p.m. has surfaced, the charts discussed in this article no longer apply since they are based on a presumably bogus time of birth. However, I'm temporarily leaving this article on the site as an example of the interpretation of cyclic charts. I hope to publish a replacement article soon.
Preliminary note: This article first appeared in the June-July 2008 issue of the NCGR Memberletter. since it wasn't possible to print all the charts discussed in the article, the charts are listed here, and also linked at the appropriate place in the article.
After this article was completed, the TV clip appeared where McCain’s mother said he was born at 11:00 a.m. Since the 9:00 time also is said to have come from his mother, and time was limited, this article was not modified.
Some important Sidereal Solar Returns:
John McCain's natal and navamsa charts
McCain is shot down over Hanoi and becomes a POW
McCain is released to American Authorities
Affair with Cindy and promotion to U.S.Navy Captain
Campaign Year: 2007 Sidereal Solar Return
Election Year: 2008 Sidereal Solar Return
Election Ennead: October 9, 2008
2009 Inaugural: 2008 Solar Return, Natal Chart and Inaugural Tri-Wheel
The Future: 2009 Sidereal Solar Return
Text of Article from NCGR Memberletter: John McCain, A Second Look
Like many astrologers I initially discounted John McCain as a serious contender for the presidency, focusing instead on the Clinton/Obama drama. But when I finally took a look at McCain’s solar return charts I had to snap to attention--although I found it implausible that a man who has passed the 7th decade of life would have any interest in running for president.
According to AstroDatabank, McCain’s mother gave his birth time as "around 9:00 a.m," the same time as quoted by staff at his campaign headquarters. Comparing dasas and sub-periods to major life events, I tentatively adjusted this time to 9:09 a.m. This cannot be considered a comprehensive rectification, but it’s a time that works well for mapping McCain’s life in terms of events. John McCain's Natal and Navamsa Charts
John McCain gained wide public recognition with the publication of Faith of My Fathers in late 1999. His solar return for that year places the Sun at the M.C./Zenith and natal Jupiter on the ascendant. In this book we have more than a glimpse of the youthful McCain’s temperament. As a child in a Navy family, he was required to constantly re-locate and adjust to new schools. In one passage he describes himself thus:
At each school I attended, eager to make by means of my insolent attitude, new friends to compensate for the loss of others. At each new school I grew more determined to assert my crude individualism. At each new school I became a more unrepentant pain in the neck. (p. 108)
It was always expected that young John would attend the Naval Academy, and there he found himself part of a group of midshipmen famous for their mischievous exploits. A western astrologer would likely connect these rebellious traits to Uranus, but Jyotish astrologers would be more likely to look at McCain’s sidereal ascendant lord, Mercury, closely aspected to the Moon’s nodes (Rahu-north and Ketu-south). The nodes are never conformist in their expression, and are likely to act in dramatic and unexpected ways when they are activated in a natal chart.
McCain’s public image has been as something of a maverick as well as a straight shooter, but this image has been called into question since it’s been pointed out that McCain has voted with his Republican colleagues 88 percent of the time during the current congress. The nodes are also frequently related to public exposure or public conditions that affect large numbers of people, so we might expect them to be prominent in a year the McCain is considering the presidency.
McCain’s youthful rebellious years occurred appropriately enough in Mars and Rahu dasas. His period of imprisonment occurred in Rahu’s dasa at which time he displayed courage, perseverence and a stubborn will. These are traits belonging to Mars. The conspicuous angular moon disposits Mars, and Mars is in partile square to Mercury in the navamsa chart. So McCain’s predominant psychological traits (including the propensity to court danger by volunteering for life endangering air combat duty) are linked to planets related to the ascendant lord and Moon.
Past Solar Returns and Dasas
To place McCain’s current situation in perspective I found it necessary to study his past in terms of Jyotish dasas and western solar return charts. I’ve learned through experience that it’s not possible to take one isolated solar return and expect to accurately read it. It’s important to first study past solar returns to gain an understanding of how the natal chart operates in conjunction with the transiting solar return planets. It’s also very necessary to cross the solar return with the natal chart and observe which natal planets fall near the angles. The solar return frequently does not make sense if considered by itself in terms of events.
I also use what’s called the Ennead chart, which I’ve found to be extremely effective in isolating the months of important events. This is a 40 day chart that breaks up the solar return year into nine 40 day periods. I always use sidereal return charts with the Krishnamurti ayanamsa. John McCain has had a very dramatic life ranging from the heights--multiple honors and public office--to bottom lows including life-endangering accidents and near death and torture as a Vietnamese prisoner of war.
The survey of past events convinced me that McCain’s birth time is correct in the vicinity of 9:00 a.m. Ron Gaunt deserves the credit for collecting the dates I used when looking at McCain’s life. These dates are posted on his web site as part of his own rectification of McCain’s birth time. (9:02:46 a.m.)
Note: Since Ron's web site and forum are now closed to new members unless invited, Ron also posted this timeline on the Yahoo Political Astrology Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PoliticalAstrology/ The direct link to Ron's timeline after joining the forum is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PoliticalAstrology/message/90751
The angles are always of supreme importance in the western sidereal view, and I found this to be so in my survey. Here are a few of the many convincing solar returns:
1967 Solar Return, the year McCain was shot down over Hanoi
Virgo rises with Uranus conjoined to McCain’s 12th house Venus. Venus is critical in McCain’s chart being at 29Leo56. McCain’s natal Mercury nodal configuration is angular with Ketu being dominant at the M.C./Moon. Ketu seems to almost always bring loss and misfortune if angular in solar returns.
This solar return chart has a stellium in the 12th house: Venus-Sun-Mecury-Pluto-Uranus.
With a birth time of 9:09 a.m. McCain’s imprisonment fits neatly into the Rahu sub-periods of Venus-Sun sub-periods (both in natal 12th) as well as the Moon’s sub period which disposits Mars, McCain’s 8th lord.
1972 Solar Return: McCain is released to American authorities
Sagittarius rises with transiting Jupiter on natal Rahu bringing the good fortune of release. Here again natal Mercury-nodes are angular. Pluto (major change in life) conjoins ascendant lord Mercury at the zenith. Uranus at the MC conjoins McCain’s natal ascendant.
1978 Solar Return: Promotion to U.S. Navy Captain and the beginning of his relationship with future wife, Cindy.
Cancer rises with Jupiter-Moon on the ascendant; Jupiter is McCain’s 7th house lord. This chart places natal Pluto on the ascendant and natal Moon on the 7th cusp. SR Mars and Venus are at the nadir/I.C. conjunct the natal ascendant. This is a very descriptive chart for the events of the year.
McCain had many years when he was either promoted, received special honors or was elected to public office. The solar return charts for these years almost invariably have McCain’s only angular natal configuration on the solar return angles: 10th house Pluto in Cancer opposed to Pluto’s dispositor Moon in the 4th. So naturally when checking McCain’s presidential chances, I looked for this same configuration on solar return angles.
The Present
McCain’s 2007 solar return (August 30, 2007, 1:46:56 pm, Panama) has Sagittarius rising with Pluto on the ascendant conjoining natal Rahu; natal Jupiter is above the ascendant. This puts the natal nodal-Mercury configuration on the angles, and the natal ascendant lord (representing McCain himself) is on the M.C. So there is clearly a Pluto-natal nodal influence in McCain’s present solar return. We know that during this solar return year McCain has declared himself the Republican presidential nominee, though the GOP convention doesn’t occur until McCain’s next solar return.
The next chart to check is McCain’s August 29, 2008 solar return (7:57:52 p.m. Panama) which covers the GOP convention, the election, and inauguration. This chart does indeed look dramatic: Pisces rises with Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 10th. Jupiter itself conjoins two stars of the Southern Crown (royalty) and the second brightest star in the constellation of Scutum, the Shield. In one of the interesting coincidences of astrology, this constellation commemorates the Polish king John Sobieski III, who as a soldier valiantly defended his country in battle. Also in this star crowded degree of Sagittarius is Nunki, “voice from the sea,” a reminder of McCain’s navy career.
Pluto is at the MC of this 2008 solar return, and the natal Mercury-Rahu configuration is strongly angular with Rahu being at the MC./Zenith. (In most of McCain’s cyclic charts the MC and zenith degrees are very close.) We know it will be an important year with the nodes and Mercury on the angles, and Pluto at the M.C., but how will events manifest?
The solar return doesn’t contain the angular Moon-Pluto that have shown up in so many of McCain’s years of honor, though natal Moon is in the benefic 11th with Pluto near the 5th cusp.
With Mars on the descendent, Sun in the 6th with Saturn in Leo and McCain’s natal ascendant lord in the 7th, I turned to the Ennead for extra help. The election Ennead which occurs on October 9 (6:27:24 p.m., Panama) does indeed have a strongly angular natal Moon-Pluto with the Moon at the Zenith with SR Jupiter at the MC. In this chart Mars is in the 7th squaring natal Moon and Pluto. Though Mars likely represents conflict and opposition, perhaps a close or contested election, this Ennead chart does not look like a chart of defeat.
For another view I compared McCain’s natal chart to the inaugural chart. I used a Tri-Wheel to show:
Looking at these charts it would seem as if McCain has as good a chance as anyone at winning the election. But like all astrologers are noting for this election, everything depends on having the correct birth time for candidates, and there seems to be an ongoing cosmic curse creating complete confusion around birth times for everyone. The only hope for astrologers is that one of the V.P. candidates will have a verified birth time. (Note: Since this article was published, a birth certificate for Obama has been posted on the internet giving him a birth time of 7:24 p.m.)
The Future
Taking a final peek at the future, I set up McCain’s 2009 solar return. This is a dramatically different chart than solar returns of the two previous years. It contains a distinctly unfortunate angular configuration that I’ve seen in years of health crisis or even years when the life is in danger. Gemini rises with Mars on the ascendant in the degree of natal Ketu. The chart lord and McCain’s ascendant lord are in the same degree in the degree of the IC. The transiting angular Mars opposes both Moon and Jupiter (on natal Rahu) in the 7th foreground, suggesting a traumatic year for the partner.
This chart at least suggests that should McCain become the next president, his tenure may be short--in which case he would be a place holder for whomever has the V.P. position. Transiting Saturn is still on natal Venus in McCain’s 2009 solar return. Another hint that there are difficult health times coming for McCain is described by the ashtakavarga system used by Jyotish astrologers to mark the strength of transiting planets through the signs. The present Saturn in Leo has only two points out of eight. The traditional Jyotish interpretation for this is “incarceration and ill health.”
McCain is currently running Jupiter’s sub-period under Saturn’s major period. These two planets form a raja yoga (combination for kings) in McCain’s birth chart since Saturn rules the benefic 5th, and Jupiter rules two angles. The period of these planets will bring noticeable external results since they are close to equal house cusps and in square aspect to each other. However with the 9:09 am birth time and Krishnamurti ayanamsa this potentially significant period ends in late March of 2009 at which time Mercury’s long dasa begins.
I don’t see Mercury’s dasa as promising benefic results even though Mercury is exalted in its own sign of Virgo, which is also the ascendant sign. By most house systems Mercury is in McCain’s natal 12th house. It’s in the nakshatra (lunar mansion) of the Sun, lord of 12th in 12th, and in its fall in Pisces in the navamsa. Combined with the dire looking 2009 solar return, I don’t see how the early months of the approaching Mercury period will turn out well for John McCain.
Reference: John McCain and Mark Salter, Faith of my Fathers, New York: Random House, 1999.
©2008 Therese Hamilton
