The Solar Return occurs at the moment that the Sun returns to its place in the birthchart.  That is often the birthday, but sometimes it is a day or two off.  More than just a time to celebrate the time of your birth, it’s actually a planetary cycle that begins a new when the Sun returns to its natal place.  The Sun illumines the Self and inspires us to fulfill the destiny that was given to us in the Sun sign, and the Solar Return shines a window into the manner in which that process might happen over the next year. 

President Obama’s Solar Return occurred at 3:33 pm today (August 4).  This is an interesting number, but that’s for another story.  The Sun in the SR chart is in the Eighth House, the house of power, death, sexuality and taxes.  The President is clearly in charge of two of those aspects of the Eighth House, and I suspect that the other two will come into play at some point as well.  In the Eighth House we learn to read and understand the balances of power that pervade our every experience, but the Eighth House also calls on us to dive deep below the superficial.  Obama sailed into office on a sea of popularity which has been diminishing as the reality of the challenges the country face sets in.  This will be the year that tests his ability to hold and distribute the power of the Eighth House.

The only aspect to the Sun is a harmonious sextile from Mars that suggests that he will have a degree of success in achieving this.  Mars provides energy and passion to get things done, and Mars in the SR chart is in Gemini where much is achieved through discussion and the transmission of ideas.  That Mars is in the Seventh House of marriage and partnerships, so I suspect there will be fair amount of conflict in the White House and not just with Michelle.  If I were a predicting sort of astrologer I would predict that Obama becomes more independent (Mars) from the partnerships that he has made in his first year in office, particularly Rahm Emanuel and Lawrence Summers.  That Seventh House Mars is a team player mostly when the team is on his side.

Sagittarius is rising in the Solar Return chart, so optimism and faith will continue to be a big part of his message.  However, the Moon is in the last degree of Capricorn and it tightly conjoins the North Node, suggesting an almost desperate (last degree) effort to put the new structures (Capricorn) in motion that will support Obama’s sense of his destiny (North Node). 

Saturn, the Celestial Taskmaster, sits prominently on the Virgo Midheaven of the Solar Return chart, revealing that either (a) the amount of work that Obama has to do this year will be overwhelming and he will be crushed under the pressure, or (b) Obama will persist and apply the creative power of discipline and hard work and will be fantastically successful in his endeavors.  

The big challenge in this chart is the opposition of Pluto to Venus in Cancer in the Solar Return chart that echoes the square of transiting Pluto to Venus in the natal chart.  This astrological double whammy does not bode well for partnerships of any kind.  When Pluto hit Obama’s Venus for the first round his association with his pastor Jeremiah Wright came to an end.  Pluto rules nuclear power and destruction that precedes rebirth, and in connection with Venus it has a tendency to blow up relationships, particularly if they have outlived their purpose.  This will be an interesting year from that perspective. 

The transits and progressions for the next year are fairly positive for President Obama.  He has numerous Jupiter transits which tend to bring luck and good fortune, particularly the continuing transit of Jupiter over the Ascendant of his natal chart (personal identity) which began in April.  This bodes well for his confidence and ability to inspire confidence and others which is critical in a leader.  

Saturn trines his natal Saturn in September which is another portent of success that rewards hard work, but it will then go on to conjunct the Sun in his progressed chart, revealing that challenges await in October.  November will be particularly difficult for him as Saturn becomes locked in a square to Pluto that aspects Venus in the natal chart.  This again suggests shakeups in partnerships of all kinds.  Watch for changes in the White House staff as a result.

All in all though, it looks like a fairly positive year for Obama and while there are some stressful planetary cycles, the large number of Jupiter events should carry him through with a strong degree of success.