Tim Walz

A major poll has shown Kamala Harris now pulling ahead of Donald Trump in three key swing states.  Only two weeks ago, I was writing about Kamala Harris, now she has picked a running mate as prospective Vice President.  So I am looking at this new arrival on the scene, and updating the picture a little.

Birth Chart

Tim Walz’s Sun is unaspected in Aries, a free spirit, a breath of fresh air, undaunted by the challenge.  With Mercury exactly trine Uranus, he has a brilliant mind.  Added to that, a trine to Mercury from Pluto, making him a deep thinker.  There are two Archetypes that stand out in his chart:

  1. The Teacher Archetype: Mercury sextiles the North Node (karmic mission). He and his wife were teachers for many years, and education has been a priority in his policy making.
  2. The Warrior Archetype: Mars in Aries exactly squares the Nodal Axis. He is a retired army officer.  Mars and Aries also rule football, and he has been a football coach.

He has Jupiter sextile Saturn, which can mean balanced judgement.

Life and Career

Walz was born in Nebraska.  His father, who died when he was in High School, was both a teacher and an army veteran, and Tim was to follow in his footsteps.  Tim moved to Texas and studied at the University there, also joining the Texas Army National Guard.  He gained a BSc in Social Science in 1989 from Chadron State College.  He became a high school social studies teacher and a football coach.  He met his wife while teaching, and they married in 1994, when Jupiter was trine his North Node.  He continued his role in the Army National Guard, and during that time he worked in various locations, and covered disaster response postings where there had been floods and tornadoes.

In 2004 he became involved in John Kerry’s presidential campaign.  On 10th February 2005 he applied to run for Congress to represent Minnesota.  This was a major turning point in his life, fashioned by exact Uranian transits:

His Uranian Opposition, transiting Uranus opposing its natal position, a major life cycle often seen as a Mid-Life Rebellion or U-Turn in life;

Uranus sextile his natal Mercury – an urge and opportunity to fulfil the potential of his natal exact trine of Mercury and Uranus representing mental brilliance;

And Uranus trine his natal North Node, a sudden orientation to his karmic mission.

In 2006 he gave up his teaching post to concentrate on his political path, and was elected congressman, having campaigned strongly against the Iraq war and the government’s continued entanglement in that region.

He was re-elected five times, and then in 2018 became governor of Minnesota, in which post he was re-elected in 2022.  His record there was impressive: tax modifications, free school meals, gun background checks,  and free college tuition for low-income families.

Out of the Ordinary

Tim Walz has been hailed as the ordinary guy, as part of his appeal.  But in many ways, he is a free spirit, and free from some of the baggage of typical politicians.

An interesting fact about him is that he owns no businesses, stocks or securities.  In 2013, there was a federal government shutdown, and at the time he chose to donate his congressional pay to charitable organizations connected with the relief of hunger, rather than keep it.  Where it is seen that some politicians are “in it for the money” he has demonstrated it is not the case for him.

Interestingly, he has met the Dalai Lama and supported Tibetan rights in relation to China.

Transits

Kamala picked him for her running mate last week, on Tuesday 6th August.  His policies are progressive, e.g. regulated gun laws, and forward climate change policies (where Donald Trump ignored the issue and Climate summits) and abortion rights.  Astrology is admittedly not clear over the next few months, but at the time he was picked it was quite an inflammatory moment for him (maybe it translated into enthusiasm), with Mars square his natal Pluto, and Jupiter square his natal Chiron.  The choice was a surprise, as Joe Shapiro was widely expected to be picked.

Walz was born six months before Kamala Harris in the same year, so they have an underlying understanding based on the positions of their outer planets. In their Synastry, his Jupiter is opposite her Sun, “keep smiling!”; his Saturn trines her Mercury, a helpful working combination; his Neptune sextiles her Venus, a high regard for each other; and his Jupiter sextiles her Saturn, good balanced judgements.

J.D. Vance

Double Leo (Sun and Ascendant) J.D. Vance was Donald Trump’s own choice as prospective Vice President.  He will have looked at this as a win at the time (with Jupiter sextile his natal Sun), but in the second half of this year he has Neptune square his Neptune (confusion) and Pluto square his Pluto (stagnation).  In his natal chart, he has a pugnacious placement of Mars on his I.C., which may make him react without thinking.  There are rumours that Trump may be regretting his choice, following the highlighting of various unwise pronouncements by Vance, such as his comment from 2021: “We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”  With Walz’ catchphrase describing this dreamteam as “weird”,  the public perception of them has been, at least temporarily, skewed.

The Debate

A debate has been scheduled between Harris and Trump for 10th September, which may change public opinion.  Kamala Harris will have Saturn opposite her Pluto, so it won’t be an easy gig for her, she will need to be super-focussed.  But she will be realistic. Trump will have two bad-tempered squares (Uranus/Mars, and Chiron/Saturn) but in his favour Chiron will sextile his natal Sun.  However, if he is not flowing in a healing direction, he may not be able to make use of that influence, and it could produce a crisis.

Election

As treated in my earlier blog two weeks ago, the election transits are similar for the prominent players as it is the slower-moving planets which dictate the more important events, with Donald Trump experiencing a boost from Jupiter to his (karmic) North Node. This pre-election year has been a roller-coaster, but there seems to be hope building that Kamala may grow through the campaign as her strength is tested, and people are responding to  her positive energy.

Aspects 

Just three aspects this week, and they begin on Wednesday (14th).

Wednesday brings an enthusiastic conjunction between Mars and Jupiter at 16 degrees Gemini.  There’s a lot that can be achieved by this high energy conjunction.  It is worth planning something special to begin on this date.  Whatever you decide to do, do it with gusto!

The following day, Thursday (15th) sees an ingress: that of Mercury into Leo, as it retrogrades from Virgo.  If you are wanting to revive or renew holiday atmosphere, spirits can be recovered.  Perhaps you have drawn up some autumn working schedules, and can reward yourself with another break.  This placing enlivens communication and debate and applies the mind to summer enjoyment.  Enjoy this trend, which lasts until 9th September.

And the last aspect of the week, occurring on Friday (16th), will be the most challenging: that of Mars square Saturn.  This may involve conflict, for example brinkmanship between two countries.  I think of this aspect as a square peg in a round hole, and a square peg which  you shouldn’t try to push through the round hole.  Energies clash, and there may be an impasse of some sort.  You may feel tired and a little discouraged, and unproductive.  Ride it out gently.  And observe others carefully, who may not be astrologically mindful.

The week in bullet points:

  • Wednesday – energy allied with enthusiasm
  • Thursday – holiday atmosphere
  • Friday – the greater the obstacle, the greater the achievement
Date: Aug 11th, 2024 · Comments RSS · Tags: News