Arnold is Gemini Rising; very versatile, intelligent, witty, and crafty when he needs to be.  The story goes, Mercury (the lord of Gemini) didn’t have the martial skill of Ares, the beauty and seductive charm of Aphrodite, or the lightning bolts of Zeus-Jupiter; but he did have his wits, and he got his way by guile and playing tricks on everybody.  One could attribute much of Arnold’s success to similar characteristics.

 

Arnold has got the classic movie star signatures in his astrology; he has Pisces, the sign of illusion and make-believe, on the cusp of the tenth house; and the tenth house ruler, Jupiter is very strong in his chart by virtue of placement.[1]  Further, Arnold also has Neptune, the planet of illusions and make-believe strongly placed in the fourth house of his chart.[2] 

 

Arnold’s great bodybuilder physique seems to be indicated by the besieged (or hemmed in) condition of his first house[3]; it is flanked by malefics, and that would indicate either a troubled, inhibited, or oppressed personality.  Since Arnold seems to be not very inhibited personality; we can only conclude that the besieged condition of his body resulted in his compensating for by continuous strenuous exercise, which allowed him to sculpt such a beautiful form. 

The next most remarkable part of his astrology is his four planets in Cancer in the second house.  First, Cancers, while being sensitive, private, and very imaginative; have a very good intuitive understanding of the commodities and values of life, and therefore make great business people.  Arnold has been very successful in his business life ever since he arrived in America.  As will be brought out later in this article, Cancers are great patriots. 

 

Secondly, regarding the second house of his chart; it rules matters of material wealth (as it does in Western astrology) but also it is related to family matters, speech, the face and mouth.  Arnold’s family has been a very profound influence on his life; his father and mother brought him up in a very strict Catholic atmosphere; and his father, being a policeman (and Nazi agent) inculcated very strong self-reliant values into him. 

 

Arnold’s speech is another distinguishing characteristic about him with his heavy Austrian accent having apparently no impediment to his success (in probably helped him if anything).  A good part of Arnold’s fortune has come from writing bodybuilding books and their sales; which again would fall under a second house influence. 

 

Along with the besieged condition of his first house producing a great compensating strength; his determination and perseverance is also assisted by the conjunction of the Sun, Saturn, and Pluto in his chart.[4]  Arnold also has a very strong Moon in Sagittarius in the seventh house; a strong (bright) moon is very essential to a person’s success in life.  Sagittarius also confers enthusiasm, which enables success in life as well[5]. 

 

Now the real question is, is Arnold going to succeed in politics?  With the public outcry over the policies of California’s current governor, Gray Davis; there has been a groundswell of support for a recall election to kick the guy out.  Among a plethora of candidates, one of the more serious contenders is Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. 

 

Arnold would be following in the footsteps of our very own former actor-turned-politician, Jesse Ventura; here in the state of Minnesota.  Arnold having the tenth house ruler in the fifth could indicate a move to politics. 

 

But would Arnold be good at politics? Arnold’s tenth house ruler, Jupiter; while being well placed, is somewhat weak in itself[6].  Such a configuration would indicate that such a political move on his part may not be something that would go so well. 

 

With Arnold’s tenth house in the sign of Pisces and Moon in Sagittarius, it looks like he can be a tremendous vessel for the public to project their hopes, dreams, and positive expectations onto.  Arnold could be a very strong contender for the public vote, regardless of his actual political ability.  Sagittarius can also be a political asset because it is not very strong on details, but on glittering generalities and motivating feelings. 

 

Another point needs to be made about the astrology of Arnold Schwarzenegger; starting from the late 1960’s up to the early 90’s was a phenomenal rise to success for him.  This 30 year time period corresponded to successive vimshottari dasas (planetary periods) of the Sun, Moon, and Mars respectively; all of these planets have to do with success, drive, and good fortune as pertaining to his chart. 

 

With the release of the movie Terminator 2 in 1991, things seemed to change for Arnold career wise; his movies did not seem to draw in the crowds as it did before.  A lot of the movies were judged to be not as good as his earlier efforts; and it seemed like Arnold lost a little bit of his popular glory (but he still commanded a lot of respect). 

 

This new, more mediocre phase of his life coincided exactly with the inauguration of his current Rahu (Moon’s North Node) period.  Rahu periods are characterized as wandering in nature, and material success is not quite the focus (albeit Rahu has elements of ambition to it.)  Arnold’s Rahu falling in the twelfth house would corroborate that the focus in his life now is not so much outer success, but that he is “lost” somehow. 

 

The other attributions to the 12th house that we need to consider now with Arnold is that of coming under the influence of shadowy, hidden agencies; and possibly a little or a lot of illusion and trickery.  It is very easy to connect political players with hidden, big-money, and “immoral” interests.  Politics and power has almost always been a chess game between secretive figures.  

 

Now that he as announced his candidacy, if he were to win his first two years would be characterized by transiting Pluto moving into exact opposition to his Mars.  Arnold’s Mars in the twelfth house makes me pause to wonder if things are not what they seem to be, especially at this point in his life.  

 

However, watching and listening to Arnold, he seems to be genuinely concerned about the state of California, and that this endeavor of his is in part in thanks for what America has given him.  Another thing about Cancer’s (Arnold has four planets in Cancer) is that they are very attached to their native lands; which in this case is his adopted home nation. 

 

Arnold is of the Republican Party, but not especially “conservative” (he’s pro-choice and pro-gun control, among other things).  I am reminded of the political career of Jesse Ventura again; he was very strong on the populist rhetoric (less government restriction, less taxes, pro-gun, etc.), but ultimately he was very middle of the road and not very remarkable at all.  There is more, of course, about his upcoming astrology; but we’ll return to those things if events warrant more article.  In the meantime, let’s watch events unfold!