Saturn in Leo I: Hasta la Vista, Baby

11.9.05


Saturn in Leo's the sort of transit that old-time court astrologers would interpret as a challenge to the king's power.

In the case of yesterday's (Tue Nov 8) election in California, voters certainly did challenge the monarchical power-play propositions of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, soundly defeating every measure on the ballot.

Had the election, specially called by the Gov at a taxpayer price tag somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 million, gone his direction, Schwarzenegger would have become the most powerful California governor in recent history. Instead, he's been sliced down to a modest size.

Saturn is a contracting and constricting influence, one that incites us to batten our hatches and tighten our grips on whatever is appropriately ours. Everything else, we might as well relinquish any attempts to wield control over it. The extraneous must go. If we have not rightfully earned it, we'll have to gracefully bid it adieu… or it will be far-less-gracefully taken from us. (Karma's a fucker like that.)

Leo is the sign of the Sun's domain, our zodiac's royal highness and the guy at the center of it all. Leo flourishes when basking in the warm solar rays or under the hot stage lights, in full sight and eager reception of everyone else's adoration. Confident and proud, Leo can't help but put on a show… so fond of the theatricality, the emotion, the drama.

But if the Leo 'show' is a fiction of any sort, merely some display of king-sized pomp but lacking in justified worth, Saturn will slash its production budget. After all, no one wants to sit through a overblown 'stage spectacular!' short on actual content (especially when your state's administration is involved). Reductions in the scale of grandeur must be made, excessive flashiness and unnecessary perks eliminated.

In Schwarzenegger's case, we should hardly be surprised by the election outcome—one glance at how Saturn's hitting his birthchart reveals it all. The Gov's Sun is in Leo, bound to a close Saturn-Pluto conjunction also in Leo. It's a natal placement that clearly reeks of powerful will and an immodest swagger… good for pumping yourself up, not always as good at putting self-interest second.

Building up to Election Day, transiting Saturn passed directly over Schwarzenegger's Sun and toward Saturn-Pluto … and is now within a half-degree of a Saturn return. Astrologically speaking, it doesn't get much more sobering. And transiting Saturn stations retrograde on Nov 22, so very close to the Gov's natal Saturn it hurts. Which means the Saturn return pressure he's under—intensified, of course, because of that natal conjunction with Pluto—continues in earnest through Jul 06. If he hopes to keep his job after next year's reelection bid, he'd better cut the fat and humble up pretty quick.

Now, and over these coming months, Schwarzenegger must put in a serious (and visible) effort to prove to Californian voters that he means business—not as a big-budget Leonine movie-star celeb with a hunger for title and prestige, but as a real policymaker with the people's best interests in mind. The days of gliding along on bold name recognition alone are over. Even if the governorship were his by royal birthright, Saturn in Leo would still spell trouble.

Does anybody else smell 'a challenge to the king's power'?

Schwarzenegger Suffers Major Defeat (CNN.com)
Why His 'Sequel' Failed to Captivate (Los Angeles Times, analysis)
Schwarzenegger.com: The Official Site