I know I said I was going to take a short break from politics, but this is just too wild.  Sarah Palin, John McCain’s pick for Vice President, announced today that her 17-year old daughter Bristol is pregnant.  This is a bit ironic in light of Governor Palin’s support for funding only abstinence education in schools.  Bristol Palin is not married.

Barack Obama says, “Back off these stories,” that families are off-limits.  He reminds us that his mother was 18 when he was born.  Still, when family issues become signals of hypocrisy, are they not important to investigate?  The right wing is calling these investigations “misogynstic.”  But as I recall, the same investigations were carried out when John Edwards betrayed his family and his campaign, and the last time I looked he was a man.

And more importantly, could we have seen this in Palin’s chart?  My reader Jay asked this question a few days ago, and said she had a feeling that something might happen to cause her to drop out of the race.

Transiting Saturn is beginning a transit over Palin’s Pluto and opposite Chiron in her chart, and certainly that suggests a stressful couple of weeks.  But it’s a one-hit transit, and not a major life change.  Neptune is exactly conjunct her Sun right now, which can create some confusion, illusion and delusion (the Neptune trio).  Neptune transiting the Sun can cloud the issues and erode one’s confidence.   I have more often seen clients fall victim to delusion than perpetrate it under this transit.  Would I predict her downfall here?  Not necessarily.

We can actually see a greater degree of trouble in McCain’s chart. McCain has Saturn (reality, discipline, structure) opposed by Neptune’s dreamy misty rose colored classes.  This gives him difficulty in seeing the reality of any situation, and because Neptune widely conjuncts his Venus, that is likely to occur most frequently in relationships with others.  I wrote the other day of transiting Uranus opposing Venus in his chart; I had not realized that Uranus is also square to his progressed Venus, which is exactly square natal Venus.  This is a clear indication of troubles in alliances and partnerships.  In addition, transiting Saturn is approaching a conjunction to his natal Neptune, creating tests and waking him up (Saturn) to anywhere that he is locked in illusion (Neptune).  This transit will hit in late October, and by November Saturn will be exactly opposite Saturn in his chart. 

But the clearest indication of trouble at this point in time is the fact that on this exact day McCain’s progressed Moon is EXACTLY conjunct his progressed Mars, and that both planets are EXACTLY square to McCain’s natal nodes.  The nodes are the signposts that point us in the right direction, and transits to or from the nodes often presage events that are significant events in our lives.  The Moon often, but not always, signifies a woman (especially in a man’s chart) and we can see today’s announcement mirrored in this planetary event.

The McCain/Palin campaign has said that McCain knew of the pregnancy when he invited Palin aboard, and the love for the conservative press for Palin seems to live on – in fact, they are lauding her daughter’s bravery for having the baby and not getting an abortion.  I guess I’m missing something.  At any rate, to Jay I offer this post in honor of his excellent intuition.