Harmonious Alignments: The Charts of President Obama, Martin Luther King and the 2009 Inauguration

By Shelley Jordan

I was stunned by the uncanny similarity of alignments between the birth charts of President Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King and the positions of the planets on Inauguration Day 2009. The birth of the new presidency began at the moment the oath of office was administered at 12:08 PM. It’s as if, all along, the benevolent spirit of Dr. King has been presiding over the unfolding of this miraculous phenomenon from some protective, celestial vantage point. The Inauguration even followed Martin Luther King Day, a metaphor that was lost on no one. All three of these charts share highly specific astrological details that illustrate the principles of idealism, compassion and community that link these men and their commitment to advancing the human condition.

The precision that underlies the shared planetary placements in these three charts is an astrologer’s dream. The Inauguration is the event that links the mission of Martin Luther King to the remarkable election of Barack Obama. To begin with, the Ascendants for the Inauguration and for Dr. King are only degrees apart in tenacious, peaceful Taurus, where values persist with moral fortitude. Will the Obama presidency embody the same tireless perseverance and resolve in the face of adversity that Martin Luther King displayed in his role as leader of the American civil rights movement?

The Inauguration chart and Dr. King both have planets in compassionate, visionary Pisces in the 11th house of community. Dr. King’s Venus is conjunct the Moon in Pisces in the 11th; the Inauguration chart has Venus conjunct Uranus in Pisces in the 11th. Inaugural Uranus is even in exactly the same degree in Pisces as Dr. King’s Moon. This election fulfills Martin Luther King’s Piscean Moon dream of a desegregated society in which an African-American could be elected to the highest office. The Uranus transit to Dr. King’s Moon describes the swift and unexpected ascent of Uranian Barack Obama to the nation’s highest office. President Obama has Aquarius rising with Uranus conjunct the Descendent.

Dr. King’s Sun is in exactly the same degree as President Obama’s executive Saturn in Capricorn, a sign admired for its responsibility and leadership. Dr. King and the Inauguration chart have the Midheaven in the same degree of Capricorn, where prudence and industry attract positions of leadership. Capricorn and Saturn represent the father archetype. As the pater familias of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King may be a spiritual father to the fatherless Obama.

Dr. King’s brilliant, oratorial 10th house Mercury is in populist Aquarius. It is close to the inaugural chart’s Mercury in Aquarius, which is also in the 10th house. In the chart of the Inauguration, Mercury is closely conjunct the Sun, Jupiter, and the nearby North Node. President Obama’s “Yes We Can” Jupiter is in Aquarius in exactly the same degree as Inaugural Jupiter in Aquarius. The Inauguration precisely marked President Obama’s 4th Jupiter return to the very degree.

The Inaugural Moon is only 1° from Dr. King’s South Node of the Moon in Scorpio. Both Dr. King and the Obama presidency inherited circumstances necessitating urgent transformation, and both promised a rebirth from repressive, crisis conditions. Emotional intensity ran high during Dr. King’s tenure and during the events that lead to President Obama’s oath of office.

Last, one has to take note of the infamous Mercury retrograde in the Inaugural chart. Astrological legend relates that actions performed during Mercury retrograde will have to be repeated. Will President Obama have to be sworn in all over again? He already has! The day following the Inauguration, when he flubbed the lines of his oath of office, he and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. decided to retake the oath of office - just to be on the safe side.

The Inaugural Chart is a declaration of liberty and humanity that echoes the idealistic societal dreams reflected in Dr. King’s 11th house visionary Moon-Venus in Pisces. The Inaugural chart, with Mercury, Sun, Jupiter and the North Node all collaberating in Aquarius at the Midheaven, describes the new President – a unique leader with intellect, vision, and a progressive outlook. Those qualities are echoed in President Obama’s Ascendant, Jupiter and South Node in Aquarius, with Uranus at the North Node and Descendent. These leitmotivs of freedom, intellectual brilliance and global egalitarianism are the consummate ideals of Neptune’s current transit of Aquarius.

Looking at the similarities in the charts of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Barack Obama and the 2009 Inauguration bring to mind a stream of humanitarian consciousness and idealistic lineages such as seen in the great succession of Dalai Lamas and other leaders of compassionate and altruistic traditions. This newborn presidency gives rise to optimism and hope for a fresh stage of social evolution.