I confess I have always had a soft spot for Tony Snow, who always seems to maintain his good humor and gentle charm – even when under attack by a liberal majority on the Bill Maher show. The fact that he called the President “an embarrassment” doesn’t hurt my opinion either. So I was very interested to see how he would adjust to the role of presidential spokesliar (tm Stephanie Miller, also known as the White House press secretary). Yesterday in his first official press briefing, tears fell as he discussed his bout last year with cancer and the death of his mother from the same disease. The press seemed disarmed by his candor and his first day was widely regarded as a success. Still, you don’t usually see tears at the White House, and astro-sleuth that I am I had to look to see what the stars have in store for Tony
Snow.

Tony has a Gemini Sun, the sign of the quick wit and information junkie. Geminis are the master of languages, of disguises. They can slip in and out of social situations easily and wear a variety of masks. Tony also has Mercury in Gemini, which typically indicates a person with exceptional intelligence who is highly verbal. So far, this is the perfect White House press secretary.

Geminis are curious and typically want to learn about many subjects, and Tony Snow is no exception. He obtained a BA in philosophy (Jupiter [philosophy and religion] conjuncts Uranus [the unusual, radical ideas], opening up his mind (Uranus) to a variety of world philosophies (Jupiter). He then went on to study economics, taught physics and geography in Kenya, and worked as an advocate for the mentally ill before beginning his journalism career. He is a musician in a cover band in DC.

You would think that a person with such a broad background would tend to be more liberal in his thoughts, but Tony Snow is so conservative that he was the primary guest host for Rush Limbaugh. Tony does have Mars in Cancer along with Jupiter and Uranus, and the Cancerian influence is very family oriented. It’s possible that Tony Snow’s conservatism comes down through his family background – the “It was good enough for my father, it’s good enough for me” philosophy. Tony’s conservatism appears to be more Libertarian, and certainly the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction is a hallmark of the Libertarian ideals of freedom unencumbered by government.

Last year as Saturn transited Tony’s Jupiter/Uranus conjunction (which squares Neptune in his chart and probably the Moon as well) he was diagnosed with colon cancer, the same disease that killed his mother when she was 38. The cancer was surgically removed, and he was back at work by April. With Saturn still crossing over the sensitive square in his chart, he approached his Chiron return – a time when Chiron in the sky returns to the same degree as his birthchart.

The Chiron return affects everyone at approximately age 50, and serves to reveal to us any places in which we are still in emotional pain. During our lifetime we tend to cover up our wounds, we try to ignore them and hope they will go away. When Chiron in our chart is hit by transit, or when transiting Chiron hits a planet in our chart, that wound is exposed so that we have access to it for healing. Until we face that wound, expose it and release it, it will simply remain there to fester. Tony Snow has been particularly affected by the opposition of Saturn to Chiron that we have been undergoing over the past year, and transiting Saturn is putting pressure on Tony’s natal Chiron this very week. The tears that were evoked yesterday in his press conference are not uncommon as Chiron releases those old painful emotions.

Tony is also experiencing the expansive “Pluto trine,” where Pluto forms a trine (harmonious aspect) to Pluto in the birthchart. Because Pluto rules transformation, the harmonious Pluto transit can be exhilarating and freeing. The simultaneous occurrence of the Pluto transit with the Chiron return can be an incredible time of transformation and new beginnings. However, beginning anew requires releasing the old, and if he can release the past and move forward into his future he will have an incredible year.