The Contenders: Tim Ryan
It seems like every time I think I’m done with this series another candidate announces or I discover a candidate who is so far back in the pack that I previously missed him or her. Tim Ryan fits into the prior category. A congressman from Ohio, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on television on Apr. 4.
Ryan is a guy with deep, working class roots who comes from a the state that has produced more presidents than any other. He started out as a conservative Democrat but he has gradually moved to the left in recent years. Because of this movement, Ryan is billing himself as a candidate who understands both sides of the political divide and as someone who can bring conservatives and liberals together.
What we can see in a partial horoscope for Ryan (click on Tim Ryan to see a chart done for noon on his date of birth) is that he is a Cancer by Sun sign. Cancer people have no problem with change. They see it as a natural part of life. They typically follow their feelings, and what might feel right in one set of circumstances often feels totally wrong in another.
The Moon in this chart is in Aquarius. It is possibility (I think very likely) conjunct Jupiter in that sign. Ryan’s Cancer emotionality is anchored by idealism and a weighty set of principles. He doesn’t mind disrupting the status quo. In fact, I would guess that Ryan is rarely completely satisfied with any status quo. No matter how good things seem to be working he will always spot something that needs to be tweaked.
With the idealism of an Aquarius Moon and the common touch of a Cancer Sun sign it is not surprising that Ryan has had some success in politics. What is surprising, however, is the timing of the announcement of his candidacy. Right now transiting Pluto is opposed to Ryan’s natal Sun. Most people under strong Pluto aspects feel burdened and pressured. When Pluto aspects the Sun, in particular, it is more typical to see a person withdraw from activities and become more introverted. Ryan did just the opposite.
It is obvious that Ryan is entering this crowded field of candidates with a sense of mission, a sense that it is his burden to unite a divided country. It is hard to tell without a complete horoscope, but it is possible that the transformation Ryan is seeking has more to do who himself and his own ego than with the country. This campaign may be the ordeal (Pluto aspects often seem like ordeals) that leads him to this personal transformation. The fact that his natal Sun is also aligned with the transiting North Node of the Moon reinforces this idea.
What’s particularly interesting about this Pluto aspect is that it will return in January 2020, just as transiting Saturn joins Pluto at 22 and 23 degrees of Capricorn. A lot of astrologers look at this conjunction with a sense of dread and expect major challenges to the US and the world to come out of it. People like Ryan, who have significant placements at this degree or opposite or square that degree are likely to experience those challenges on a personal level. Ryan’s ordeal and the sense that he has a burden to bear are likely to peak during this period.
Ryan is not the only one of our contenders who will be impacted by the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Jan. 2020. Of the fifteen candidates I’ve covered in this series so far, seven have significant placements at 22 or 23 degree of a Cardinal sign. Two others (for whom we don’t have a time of birth) may have the Moon near these degrees. This indicates to me that the events that coincide with this conjunction are going restructure the message of these Democratic candidates in a major way.
