Of course, I just can’t resist taking a look at Todd Akin’s chart. Observing the brouhaha that has flared up around his insane comments about rape, what planets do you think will be activated for him? The first one I thought of was Neptune, planet of illusion, fantasy, deception, untruth. Then probably Mercury, planet of communication, and Pluto, which is almost always active in some way in the astrology of fame or notoriety. Saturn, the planet of authority and restriction is a likely player as well.
We don’t have a birth time for Mr. Akin, so we don’t know his Ascendant or Midheaven, his houses, or the exact degree of his Moon (somewhere between 1 and 15 degrees Aquarius), but we can still deduce a lot from the planets, especially if we also look the chart for the time the story broke, which, according to the NY Times, was 11:24 a.m. on Sunday. (See a bi-wheel of Todd Akin’s chart on the event chart here.)
One of the first things we see is that Akin’s natal Sun in Cancer square Neptune in Libra aspect is right in the crosshairs of the current Pluto-Uranus square. The natal aspect gives a streak of otherworldiness and a desire to transcend a reality that is perceived as flawed. It also suggests an ability to shade the truth, to believe what he wants to be true, and points to a deep concern with his public image, as well as a tendency to look for pie-in-the-sky, feel-good solutions to real problems. This natal configuration is now under pressure from the ongoing transit of Uranus square Pluto, which was triggered on the day the story broke by transiting Venus conjunct his Sun.
Again looking at his natal chart, we also see a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Leo that is almost certainly in opposition to his Aquarian Moon. Saturn and Pluto together always indicate major issues around authority and power, while the Moon, of course, represents women and emotions. This aspect, particularly with an Aquarian Moon, suggests (despite his Cancer Sun) a coldness of emotional response, a focus on strict self-control, a fear of emotions, all probably underlaid by a crushing burden of self-doubt and guilt, that expresses itself with a certain amount of fanaticism. So, given the nature of the small firestorm swirling around him, we would expect this aspect to be highlighted, and, indeed, it is. His natal Saturn and Pluto sit right on the Midheaven of the event chart, and transiting Mercury, planet of communication, is exactly conjunct Akin’s natal Saturn, approaching conjunction with Pluto, and probably oppose his natal Moon.
