This is the latest in a series of profiles of Democratic presidential candidates. For the others, see the list at the bottom of this article. In this series I am making every attempt to be objective, but sometimes my bias may seep through.
Tulsi Gabbard is a curious candidate and hard to pin down. She is economically progressive, supporting Medicare for All, and socially progressive as a fairly recent convert to LGBTQ rights. She is vegan and a practicing Hindu. She has practiced and taught martial arts and served in the armed services. She is anti-war, except when it comes to terrorism in which case she is an avowed hawk, blaming Islam for the spread of terrorism around the world which is more of a right-wing position. This has made her a right-wing media darling, praised by Breitbart and Steve Bannon as well as David Duke and Richard Spencer, noted white nationalist leaders. In some ways this is not surprising given her background – there appears to be a natural enmity between Hindus and Muslims which wasn’t helped by the partition of Pakistan. But it does put her to the right of many Democrats in opposition to her more liberal stances on other policies.
It will not surprise astrologers to learn that Ms. Gabbard (born April 12, 1981, time unknown, in American Samoa) was born under the sign of Aries, a sign ruled by Mars and dedicated towards an aggressive assertion of the Self. Aries individuals tend to be courageous and idealistic, but usually not afraid to back down in a fight. On top of this, her Sun conjoins Mars, the planetary ruler of Aries, which is also in Aries where it is strongest and most easily able to express that assertive quality. This gives her a particularly strong will as well as an interest in warfare and power as illustrated by her career as a martial arts instructor and then service in the National Guard. She actually has four planets in Aries, including Mercury and Venus along with the Sun in Mars. That is a tremendous amount of Aries energy, with all of its fire and idealism.
This strong will has been impeded and challenged during the course of her life through an opposition from Pluto, planet of power and destruction/regeneration. This is an extremely potent planetary combination which, when harnessed effectively, can bring great power and authority to the individual. But there are usually many crises during the individual’s early life which test their strength and ideally, empower them for the future.
Relationships will not have been easy for Ms. Gabbard with her Venus in Aries and conjunct Mars, signifying tremendous independence and a dislike of compromise. Whoever wrote “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” was talking about Pluto, and all of her Aries planets are opposed by Pluto which tends to put stress on an individual that usually isn’t resolved until the second half of life.
Ms. Gabbard’s Moon is in the sign of Leo, another fire sign, indicating an individual who is strongly motivated to Do the Right Thing but also motivated by admiration. She would tend to gravitate towards groups in which she feels appreciated and that her ideas are valued. Jupiter (optimism and faith) is in the sign of Libra in her chart, suggesting that she has an ability to be diplomatic and express herself tactfully, but that Jupiter is stressed in a conjunction to Saturn, also in Libra, which hampers that ability. This could cause her to give up on the idea of diplomacy in favor of an aggressive stance which the fire in her chart would prefer and in fact this has occurred with respect to her changes in position regarding LGBTQ rights and abortion.
Her chart has no water – the element of empathy and sensitivity (other than Uranus in Cancer which is a generational placement which does not bestow the water element to the personality). She also has no earth, except for Chiron in the sign of Taurus which itself represents the earth – a wound to one’s sense of belonging to the earth, of feeling its abundance and security. The earth element in a chart helps the individual to ground into a practical reality; to be able to create structure and routine which helps to stabilize the personality in the world. These are two big lacks which in my opinion, would make it difficult for Ms. Gabbard to be a truly effective leader.
Ms. Gabbard’s Pluto system (Pluto opposing Venus, Mars and Sun in Aries) has been triggered over the past year by a challenging square from transiting Pluto which began this year and will continue throughout 2020. Pluto transits can be empowering for individuals with strong Pluto placements who have spent a lifetime undergoing basic Pluto training, such as Ms. Gabbard. For another individual this planetary cycle could have been devastating, but Ms. Gabbard announced her candidacy for President in February 2019, on the very day that that Mars in the sky formed a challenging square to Pluto, activating her natal Mars/Pluto opposition (and marking her the return of Mars to its place in the natal chart, always a potent time.) In October 2019, when she was attacked by that square of Pluto, in the guise of Hillary Clinton accusing her to be a Russian asset, Ms. Gabbard did not hesitate to fight back. Ms. Gabbard embodies that other saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” She is tough, and she does not mess around.
My question about Ms. Gabbard would be whether her lack of sensitivity and practicality would make it difficult for her to make carefully considered decisions. Her Libra Jupiter would certainly help her to see different sides of a question, but her chart shows an individual, in that case she would be a Libra, making impulsive decisions from gut instincts. Still, in today’s contentious climate that may be just what non-centrist voters on both sides are looking for.
I am not one for prediction, but one thing I am keeping in mind with respect to the 2020 election is that the entire four year term will fall under the US Pluto Return. I am not expecting the political division and chaos to lessen in the next few years for this reason, and I believe that whoever is elected will reflect this chaos and Ms. Gabbard is a candidate who would be likely to further inflame and divide rather than unite. Personally, I haven’t seen a candidate that I think can overcome the force of the US Pluto Return to facilitate greater unity so I’m not ready to take a stand and make a prediction yet. Stay tuned!
Others in this series:
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Lynn, that was a great analysis of Tulsi Gabbard’s chart. It gave me goose bumps. I was cringing with all that super-charged Aries/Mars/Pluto energy! With my 12th house Aris Sun and Mercury in Pisces, it’s no wonder I don’t understand her or feel any connection to anything she says. Thank you! That was quite illuminating!
Thanks Sandy! Some of my readers love her. I’ll be interested to hear what they say!
She’s stated she is opposed to interventionist wars. Been elected twice in Hawaii.
I don’t sense any ‘lack of sensitivity and practicality’ but rather a strong sincerity and duty to her country.
Hi Denise, this is an astrological profile so I’m just reading the chart rather than expressing an opinion.
I agree, and if you had her birth time and knew her Rising sign that could bring in water or air, like Gemini and Cancer in her 1st house together. The roundness of her face is a feature many Cancer Ascendants or 1st house Cancers have.
Really great analysis!! Thanks for it! Her endless goading of any other Democratic candidate was really all her participation was about in the debates, and now, she’s gone and voted “Present” in the impeachment hearings, which happily, won’t have much of an impact. That said it all to me.
I’m a Dem and pretty progressive, but I think she’s a nutter of the Ralph Nader variety–merely there to spoil and get attention. I also have yet to hear details of her platform, and though I think it’s great that our system accommodates outliers (like Yang! He’s super interesting!), I wish she would just disappear. She has nothing constructive to say at all–I was really interested in your spotting a lack of water in her chart, as it makes perfect sense to me: She seems merely bold, but not much more. A gadfly.
Thanks Charlie – you have probably read the talk that she is considering a third party run. I didn’t care for her before I wrote the profile, and after looking at the astrology had not changed my mind.
Great analysis. Ms. Gabbard right away impressed me with her focus and military background. She is going to make challenging choices that will provide experiences which most people avoid. Someone who loves change.
She is the only one that could stand toe to toe with Trump.
Now we’re stuck with 2 old white guys.
What has happened to the democrat party?
Fun and interesting analysis. With my natal Venus in Aries I had a strong affinity for Tulsi early but that had
begun to fade. Her present vote on impeachment seemed somehow indecisive and non committal to me. I just
didn’t like it. The absence of water and earth in her chart is a great observation and your interpretation of how
that might effect her approach to leadership is a strong point . Good article.
Thanks Troy, I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
It’s a common misconception in pop, mainstream astrology that if you lack strong placements of Signs in a certain element that you lack that element. This is simply not true whatsoever if certain Planets are strong/highlighted. For example, say a person has no to little placements in Fire Signs, but say Mars is conjunct their ASC or in their 1st House–you best believe that person is going to have PLENTY of attunement to Fire. Conversely say you lack Sign placements in Water Signs, but you have a very strong Neptune or Moon (especially so if conjunct the Asc, in the 1st House, or conjunct the Chart ruler)–such a person will have a very strong attunement to Water.
My chart is a good example of this. I only have Uranus in Scorpio (both Angular though) and then Pisces S. Node. But Neptune and Jupiter (let’s not forget that Jupiter co-rules Pisces) quite strong, and Moon is moderately strong. I was born with hyper empathy. When I was a little kid of 4, I remember being able to feel everything around me and in the world, and most of what I felt was suffering. It weighed very heavily on my little heart and when my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell them that I wanted to be a “doctor” and that I would be there for everyone, everywhere, and always be there for anyone who needed someone. I didn’t want to be a literal doctor, but it was the closest thing in my 4 yr old mind and vocab that related to helping people and relieving suffering in a universal and unconditional kind of way, for I literally loved and cared about everyone. And I could literally feel other peoples pain below the surface.
It any case, it’s kind of pointless to do a chart reading without at least an approximate Rising Sign. Planetary positions in relation to the Angles can change so much of a chart. This is why Edgar Cayce’s guidance when doing “Life Readings” for people, rarely ever talked about Signs, but did focus very strongly in a very consistent way, on Planetary strengths. His source sometimes referred to Signs as the “wavering” indications, and linked them more to earthly personality whereas strongest Planets were linked more to deep, consistent character traits.
Hi Justin, thanks for commenting. Lots of points to address here. First – let’s talk about elements in the chart. Planets in elements bestow an affinity for that element and that element becomes easier to access. In your example, say there are no planets in fire but Mars is in the first house, you will certainly EXPERIENCE the intensity of fire, but will have difficulty expressing it in an integrated way. In your own case, you experienced the intensity of water and its tendency to blur the boundaries with those around you and so you were, from your telling of the story, overwhelmed by the experience of water that you had no real way to integrate into your life in a body. And certainly that story speaks loudly of the Pisces south node.
It would be every astrologer’s dream to always have an accurate birth time. Unfortunately not every birth certificate includes a birth time, and memory is notoriously faulty. When we lack an accurate time of birth we have to use what is available. Many of my clients are unable to locate a time of birth, and in that case I use a noon chart so that the Moon is centered in the realm of possibilities. Sometimes I put the Sun on the ascendant, but then it’s difficult to resist the temptation to use solar houses which have proved in my work to be less than helpful. Personally I would rather use a noon chart than an approximate ascendant because a guess cannot be relied on.