October is a month of rest and deliberation. Be patient with yourself. Things are on the move this month that will take you into the future, and what you decide this month will be in process and active for a long time. So take the time to deliberate in order to make balanced, holistic decisions you can live with for some time.

There are many ways at looking at the road ahead. One is to take a far view, from a nearby hillside, of the upcoming terrain. The other is to focus on the immediate twists and turns on the road. This month, as always, this column will look at both.

Astrologers Agree: Obama Faces Machiavellian Enemy

But He May Boast a Potent “Leadership Chart” Just Like Bill Clinton

by Andrew Mangino  

This article was published in the July 30, 2007, edition of The New York Observer.

The fate of the 2008 presidential election might already be sealed—in the fine print on Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

Was he born at 1:06 p.m.? Or was it just after 12?

According to America’s most popular political astrologers, what happened—or did not happen—during that crucial Honolulu hour on August 4, 1961 could determine the future of the free world.

Since Mr. Obama’s birth time is not yet publicly known, even to his own campaign, astrologers who make their living interpreting the impact of the heavens on the nation’s earthbound elected leaders can’t make up their mind as to whether he has one of the most ready-made “leadership charts” in recent presidential history—a strikingly similar one to Bill Clinton’s, save the seductive planets—or is cursed with the prospect of physical danger and a mentality too cerebral to run a country.

This Wednesday, the earth's shadow falls across the moon like silk. You can see it in the evening sky (8:26 pm MST). As the moon succumbs to our darkness so we are infused with her light. Push the re-set button on your life and infuse your Work with new life Watch, as deep within, the fire of sacred sexuality is lit. You are on fire with the Great Mother, re-born in the heart of wholeness. And as the moon reveals herself again, you reveal your inner heart little by little: organized, healthy, clean and renewed.

This Full Moon eclipse is an opportunity to realign your mind/body/spirit by releasing negative emotions and defeat from the body. Virgo is the body principle in astrology. Virgo organizes our cells and molecular structure. With the Moon, representing emotions, so close to Saturn representing amongst many other things, the bones, skin and teeth (structure) of the body, we are cosmically supported to physically hold more light and a higher vibration in the body. If you recall from Sunday school, Moses when getting the commandments, could only see God’s finger as God’s presence was too great for his simple human body. In order for us to change along with the shifting times, we have to be able to vibrate physically at a higher rate in accordance with our spiritual development.

February contains a magical secret – a doorway into our new age, and your hopes and dreams. With two eclipses this month you have ample opportunity to set your course along a path of deep and healthy acceptance of the way things are – really are. I’m referring to your soul knowledge and how you know deep down inside how good things can really be, and really are. Yet things are a little fuzzy as Mercury, the planet of communication, is retrograde through half this vital and exciting month. And that can complicate things. Dreamy Neptune travels with the Sun also for part of this month, lending a surreal and poetic air to the next few weeks. But active Mars is direct in super fast Gemini and we’re ready to go. Venus and the Sun change signs, but otherwise the focus remains firmly on your place in the world and what you want that world to look like.

Greetings and Happy New Year!

What can be said about this New Year that we haven’t hoped for every year? It’s taken 246 years for us to get to this point my friends - this is the New Year that really counts. This year Pluto, the slowest and most distant planet in our solar system with an orbit around our Sun of approximately 248 years; moves into reliable Capricorn for the first time since he last sojourned there November 1762 to December 1778. Take a look back in history and see what happened then. The American Revolution and the industrial revolution are two major long lasting, global occurrences that had their roots in Pluto in Capricorn. Imagine what can happen now.

This month, Pluto’s journey into Capricorn is accompanied by abundant Jupiter and a New Moon in that sign, Mercury retrograde in social Aquarius, a feisty Leo Full Moon, Mars going direct, and at a least a couple of partridges in a pear tree. It’s a month packed full of significant shifts, both personal and professional. If there were ever a time to define yourself and your goals, this is the month. If you’ve never made New Year’s Resolutions before you might want to now. Failure to make a choice is a choice and the power of Capricorn’s structured energy might leave you feeling like a victim of circumstance unless you choose your direction.

June opens on a big note with a gorgeous Full Moon in Sagittarius. It's a huge start to a month that is reflective in nature but filled with inner tension and a sense of breaking free. The Sun is in the bright, quick sign of Gemini until the Summer Solstice June 21st. Gemini energy is interested in everything, especially variety. Where Gemini falls in your chart this month is your opportunity to connect the dots and to integrate the opposing pieces of your life. Mercury retrogrades this month, in the emotional sign of Cancer, reinforcing the need to not only integrate, but to feel it too.

Are you up for a rather long, intense month? That's what May offers us. There's a rough quality to the cosmic alignments even to the point of being dangerous. Sudden, startling events happen, and many breakthroughs, as well as a few breakdowns, occur this month. If you've been waiting for something to give - a business or home to sell, or a job offer to come through, it's likely to happen in May. So be prepared for anything and have your wits about you. Fortunately for all of us, the vibrant light of the Sun is in rock steady Taurus until the 21st. This anchors us to practical things, like our homes, bills, gardening and eating; and thus from the safety of such sanctuary we can observe the madness of May go by.

Taurus energy is earthy, solid, slow, practical, sensual and sometimes indulgent. Taurus invites us to make money, to engage in business, and create art. Where Taurus falls in your chart is your opportunity to settle in and root yourself. 

April is an interesting month. After the powerful openings presented by March's eclipses, the energy shifts in April as Pluto and Jupiter retrograde and Saturn turns direct. This is a cosmic invitation to pause inwardly. Yet externally, all systems are go and there's a vibrancy to April you can not ignore. 

The Sun is in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac until the 20th. Aries is bold and vibrant. It is the energy of the pioneer. It is courageous. Though it may not always look before it leaps, Aries nonetheless often jumps further than anyone else. Where Aries falls in your chart is where your greatest strength lies this month. It's the area of life where you're taking a giant leap forward.

As the month opens Pluto is retrograde. This dwarf planet used to guard the edges of our solar system but has given that place to Eris, (also known as Xena and UB313). Eris is the Goddess of competition and possibly, strife. Yet Eris' orbit is twice that of Pluto's and has little meaning to us, just yet. Pluto is more familiar to us so when Pluto retrogrades it means the same thing it has always meant no matter his status - deep inner transformation is at work. 

March is always a temperamental time. We leave the compassionate, dreamy, almost passive world of Pisces, to enter into the vibrant, action, almost primitive energy of Aries at the spring equinox on the 20th. This is a critical passage that reflects the ending of winter, in the Northern Hemisphere, and the beginning of spring. We too feel the energy shift and become more active with the lengthening of the days and with the prevailing strength of the Ram.

Like March last year, we have two eclipses this month. Eclipses are cosmic doorways. And these two are especially interesting. The first connects with Uranus, agent of awakening, chaos, and change, while the second connects with Pluto, agent of transformation, power and purification. So be alert this month. Realize that shifts are occurring on deep and powerful levels. 

The month of February begins with a glorious Leo Full Moon. The vibrancy of this warm and festive sign encourages our entry into February to be bold and courageous like the lion. But it's a grand beginning for what is really a rather quiet and reflective month. February's activities occur on an inward level and Mercury takes another holiday by retrograding. It's a great time for spiritual preparation as March has two eclipses and those can be powerful. Enjoy February's unusualness. You don't know what it will bring you.

The Leo Full Moon on the 1st and into the 2nd rather dramatically brings several matters to a head. One matter is the direction you want your life to take. Many folks and businesses are having a hard time focusing on goals. This is because since last August, Saturn and Neptune have danced opposite each other, and this opposition is highlighted at this Full Moon. It's hard to define (Saturn) your life, your plans and goals when they keep slipping away and changing shape (Neptune).