A Generational Look at the Democratic Contenders

Trying to get a handle on all the people who are running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination can seem impossible. One thing that is interesting, however, is that they can be broken down rather neatly in astrological terms by the placement of generational planets.

I consider the generational planets to be Neptune and Pluto. Neptune represents the hopes and dreams of a generation. Its influence is seen in changes in pop culture and in the nebulous aspirations that motivate a generation. Pluto describes the reaction by a generation to the big events that overshadowed its early years. It influence is seen in the attitude with which that generation approaches the world.

Keep in mind that generational astrology is general. Generational attributes are not meant to apply to everyone in a generation.

Let’s start with the generation born with Neptune in Libra and Pluto in Leo. This is the first wave of the Baby Boom generation. Their aspiration is for fairness and equality. The event that formed their generational consciousness was the dropping of the atomic bomb and the tensions of the cold war.

In the United States, particularly, this was a big generation and it approached the world with a  fair amount of hubris. Growing up with the threat of nuclear annihilation always close at hand, they felt a special calling to change the world. Fairness was their goal, but there was split in this generation about what fairness means and a sharp divide between conservatives and liberals.

The candidates who come out of this generation are Joseph Biden, Elizabeth Warren, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee and Marianne Williamson.

Next up is the second wave of Baby Boomers born with Neptune in Scorpio and Pluto in Virgo. This is a generation of Americans who grew up with defeat in Vietnam, an oil embargo and with both inflation and recession tearing at the economy. They assumed an attitude of resignation. “Things were great back in the 60s but not so much now.”

For this reason this generation slid under the radar for several decades. However, with Neptune in Scorpio, fear plays a big role in their aspirations and the attacks of 9/11 awakened that fear. In 2004 they began to show up at the polls and they were instrumental in electing George W. Bush to a second term. This generation have been a potent, and mostly conservative, political force ever since.

The candidates who come out this generation are Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillebrand, Amy Klobucher and John Delaney. You’ll notice that most of them tend to be more centrist in their policies.

The third generational group was born with Neptune in Sagittarius and Pluto in Libra. The events helped form this generation were the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of the internet. These were both hopeful developments and also very social, Libran events. They tore down boundaries and allowed for people all around the world to connect with one another.

This generation was particularly influential in the Middle East, which had its own baby boom starting in 1970.  There, we saw a rise of religious fundamentalism in this generation. In the United States, the influence of Neptune in Sagittarius has less to do with religion and more to do with optimism. This is a generation that sees the future a field of possibilities.

There are more of our contenders from this generation than any other, an indicator of their optimism. They include Pete Buttigrieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan, Wayne Messam, Seth Moulton, Eric Swalwell and Andrew Yang.

Of course, Pluto and Neptune don’t change signs at the same time. In fact, that’s what so remarkable about these contenders. They all fall in one of these three large, generational groups. Except for Bernie Sanders. Sanders was born with Pluto in Leo so he has the sense of urgency of that generation but his Neptune is in Gemini. The Neptune in Gemini generation saw all problems and solvable as long as you approached them with clear, rational plan.

I’m not saying that all of our contenders are locked into their generational prejudice. We have wild-eyed liberals and square-jawed centrist in each group. However, understanding the generational influence that informs these candidates might help us make some sense of this overcrowded field.