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Presidential
candidate George
W. Bush shifted the Republican Party into reverse and moved
it to the right when he chose Richard Cheney as a running mate.
The addition
of Richard Cheney to the Republican ticket has served to solidify the
party’s theme of a return to traditional American values and dramatized
the fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats over guns,
abortion, economics, civil rights and the environment. Cheney’s past draws
a line that clearly delineates each party’s differing points of view.
Astrology
confirms Cheney’s conservative stance and his belief in traditional American
values—work hard, love God, country and family and your dreams will all
come true—but it also reveals unexpected compassion in his nature.
Back
to the Future
 Richard
Cheney was born January 30, 1941, at 7:30 pm in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Sun was in
Aquarius, a sign noted for its attraction to anything new and novel, as
well as its commitment to the future of society. Although he may be committed
to the future, Cheney’s congressional voting record certainly is not that
of an individual interested in promoting innovative social change. So
how do you explain Dick Cheney?
It must be
remembered that Saturn, the planet of tradition, and Uranus, the planet
of rebellion, are both associated with Aquarius. This results in some
very different types of Aquarian individuals. Though all are somehow radical,
some are revolutionaries, some forward thinking (Uranus ruled), while
others simply rebel against change and become conservatives and champions
of the status quo (Saturn ruled).
Aquarians
are friendly and open-minded, but they are also fixed in their individual
opinions. There are plenty of people from Cheney’s days in congress who
have nothing but good to say about him. He was considered a team player
(Aquarius) and, though a conservative (Saturn), he was always able to
work with moderates. However, he never swayed from his hard-line conservative
stance, occasionally voting with only a handful of others.
Cheney
is Driven by Traditional Values
Childhood
friends describe Cheney as all-American, and say he isn’t much different
from how he was as a teenager in the 50s. Though small town, western American,
mid-twentieth century values seem out of place in our post-modern world,
Cheney is steeped in these values and dedicated to their preservation.
Cheney has
a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in the value-conscious, preserve-and-conserve
sign of Taurus. Because these planets are square his Aquarius Sun, they
show a driving force in Cheney’s life. Saturn speaks of his commitment
and the responsibility he feels to his long-held values (Taurus), while
Jupiter instills in him faith and confidence (Jupiter) in those values.
To understand
just what his values are, we look to Venus. Cheney has Venus in Capricorn
trine Uranus in Taurus. He is a man who loves and appreciates (Venus)
things that are old, solid or proven (Capricorn). His love of tradition
blends easily (trine) with his urge to change (Uranus) personal values
(Taurus). And for Cheney, this has resulted in an urge to preserve his
values by changing those of others.
All of this
reveals his ability to work hard and to stay the course, and shows his
successful, but slow and steady rise to the top of conservative politics.
Combine his tunnel vision (Jupiter in Taurus) with the commitment to preserve
his personal values (Saturn in Taurus), then add in the urge to change
the values of other people, and you have a man who could bring an inability
to let go of the past and a commitment to preserving his own values into
the office of the vice president. Alternatively, he could be a man who
envisions an American future modeled on some idealized notion of the past.
Compassion
with a Kicker: Pisces Moon Square Mars in Sagittarius
Other than
his calm, gentle demeanor and a reported talent for quiet persuasion,
it is difficult to find sensitivity or compassion in Cheney’s history.
Yet, Cheney’s horoscope reveals the most empathetic and sensitive of emotional
natures, a Pisces Moon. Of course we cannot know what goes on in his heart
of hearts (Pisces Moon) before it is restricted (square) by his drive
to act (Mars) based on the rightness of his own values, beliefs, philosophy
and moralities (Sagittarius). But certainly there must be moments when
he experiences compassion for those members of our society who are unable,
through no fault of their own, to attain the often-elusive American dream.
Why
Now?
During 1999,
Cheney experienced a Jupiter and a Saturn return as they simultaneously
reaffirmed their natal square to his Aquarius Sun. This indicates renewed
faith in and recommitment to his personal values and a renewed drive (square)
to assert his personal authority (Sun). Then, in May, 2000, the Jupiter-Saturn
conjunction collided with Cheney’s natal Uranus and trined
his Venus. Society (Jupiter-Saturn conjunct in Taurus) now seemed ready
to support (trine) his traditional values (Venus in Capricorn), and he
felt confident (Jupiter) in his ability to create change (Uranus) and
lay the groundwork (Saturn) for the future (Uranus). The cumulative results
of these important transits are reflected in Cheney’s acceptance of the
Republican vice presidential nomination.
The
Contradiction
One can only
guess at George Bush’s motivation for selecting a long-time Washington
insider, Papa Bush crony and a man with significant ties to corporate
America as his running mate. Cheney seems an inappropriate choice for
a candidate who has, to this date, managed to sidestep any definitive
far right policy statements and continues to sell himself as a compassionate
conservative (whatever that implies). Cheney’s congressional voting record
speaks for itself—it can’t be explained away—and perhaps George Bush’s
selection of Richard Cheney tells us more about his “compassionate conservative”
aphorism than his rhetoric ever will.
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