Nobody expected the election to go as it did. Pundits and astrologers—red and blue—expected the results to be tight and hotly contested, with questions about the legitimacy of the winner lasting for days or weeks. Mercury stationed retrograde on Election Day just a week before the Solar Eclipse, and we all knew what that meant: trouble! On both sides, lawyers were lined up and ready to file their motions. But the stars (and Nature: I’m talking to you, Hurricane Sandy) had a different agenda. Mercury retrogrades and solar eclipses can bring unexpected events; in this instance, the surprise was that the election went so smoothly, and so resoundingly in Obama’s favor. No sitting president has been reelected with more than 50% of the popular vote since President Reagan.
Everyone is scrambling to explain what happened and to face what some are calling the New Reality. Reality is Saturn’s territory, of course. I’ve enjoyed watching how Saturn-in-Scorpio steadily took control of the issues. Scorpio is about sex, death, intimacy, shared resources and taxes. Opinions about taxes and entitlement programs were key. A few Republican comments about rape and reproductive rights were also in the mix, as was the rights for gays to marry. There was one shocker this week: the resignation of CIA Director and much-lauded General Petraeus over a sex scandal. But my favorite Saturn in Scorpio gesture was the above photo, which became the most retweeted in Twitter history and the “most-liked” Facebook photo ever.
It’s a private moment between husband and wife, a moment of deep joy, relief, and genuine intimacy. It was taken by photojournalist Scout Tufankjia back in August. In an interview with Slate, Scout talked about snapping the picture. I especially love what she said about the Obamas’ relationship. Here’s an excerpt:
Slate: What’s it like to shoot Obama with his family?
S.T.: He’s so much happier and more relaxed. I mean, I don’t know any of this for sure. But when he’s around his family, he seems the happiest that you ever see him. He and the first lady are so focused on each other. The way that they play off each other and get energy from each other… when I was shooting the president during the 2008 campaign I would watch them greet each other on stage and I used to text-message my boyfriend, now my husband: “Do you love me as much as Barack loves Michelle?” and he’d be like, “Probably not, no.”
Slate: How is their relationship aspirational?
S.T.: Well, I’m young and I’m in a new marriage. The way that they relate to each other—they just celebrated their 20th anniversary–the way they enjoy each other and listen to each other, and the real respect that they have for each other is something I would like to see in my relationship twenty years from now.
Whatever your political persuasion, this much-liked-and-tweeted picture is a nice reminder. With Saturn in Scorpio, we should (a Saturn word!) celebrate and tend to our own intimate partnerships, nurturing their mutual respect, joy, and energetic connection.
I was really anxious about the election due to Mercury retrograde. I casually tuned in at 8.03 thinking it would be awhile, but just in time to see Oregon and Ohio seal the deal. I thought “what?” Then realized it was simply re-election; class Mercury retro!
There is someone who predicted the outcome of the election the day before: Beverly Bright who works with Human Design – a huge revelation in 1987 by Robert Alan Krakower, more commonly known as ‘Ra’. He is now deceased but Beverly, as one of the lucky students who studied directly with him, gives us a profile of each candidate from their Human Design chart , an analysis of each of their solar returns and some hints as to why she predicts the winner. I won’t be able to fit her comments in this box and they’re not on her website but I’ll send you a separate
email from my email: barbaraln12@aol.com. Hopefully I won’t go to ‘spam’.