Alex's Asteroid Astrology

On August 6, 2024 Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her pick for running mate in the November presidential election.  Straightforward and folksy, Walz makes a good counterpoint for Harris, and has proven his worth as a foil for the Trump/Vance ticket, as one of the earliest protomers of the “they’re just weird” trope that seems to be gaining traction, or at least, getting under Trump’s very thin skin.  Born just six months before Harris, Walz’ white hair and “dad” vibe makes him appear older than his sixty years, though still hale and hearty, a venerable statesman whose executive governing experience makes him a valuable asset for the team.

His resume reads like a Hollywood stock character of small town America.  Born in Nebraska, raised on a farm in a community of 400, with 24 in his high school graduating class, Walz joined the National Guard to pay for college through the GI Bill, and served 24 years.  He became a social studies teacher, married a teacher, coached high school football (guiding a losing team to their first state championship), entered politics later in life and won a House seat in 2006, in a south Minnesota district that had only elected one Democrat in more than a century.  He held that seat for 6 cycles before becoming governor, and is now a very relatable, extremely likeable, candidate for Vice President. 

Though pleased politically by the choice, my asteroid astrologer’s heart sank when I heard the news.  Unlike rival contenders Mark Kelly and Josh Shapiro, there are no exact asteroid matches for Timothy Walz, and after nearly two decades of having to find compromises for the likes of Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and Donald Trump (to say nothing of Kamala, though at least Harris has an exact match), I was looking forward to having the process streamlined.  But counting CNAs (Compound-Named Asteroids, comprised of both first and last names strung together as one word, which can be separated and used for either) that start with “Tim” or “Timothy,” there are a whopping 33 options for Tim Walz!  Much as I love the art, I am not wading into that morass, so the universe is going to have to meet me halfway, and we’ll stick with just the four beginning with Timothy, his full first name.  Similarly, there is no match for Walz, but I weeded out four possible contenders, and am testing them to see which works best.

Thankfully, this will be a temporary inconvenience, done with the election:  win or lose, we won’t have to give a thought to the VP afterward.  I can’t think of a single instance when I needed to find asteroids for Biden during his eight-year tenure as Obama’s VP, and I expect the same will apply for Walz.

Let’s start by unraveling the birth chart, the foundation for all that comes after.  Born 6 April 1964 (no time available) Walz is a fiery, driven Aries, with his Sun in the same Sign as Kamala’s Moon, though the two are not conjunct.  At 16 Aries, the Sun was hit by the Solar Eclipse of 8 April 2024, a sign that big things were brewing; that eclipse at 19 Aries also opposed natal asteroid Whitehouse 4036 at 23 Libra (as does the Sun), so if anybody had any thought of a shakeup in the Democratic ticket for that November at that time, Walz would have been a solid bet for inclusion.

A wide conjunction with Mars at 6 Aries makes Walz a fighter and a leader, reinforced by an exact square from asteroid Timothylohr 28781 at 6 Capricorn (one of our four Timothy asteroids vying for his celestial marker), locking in this energy very personally.  The Mars connection points to his 24 years in the National Guard as well as the football coaching, with Mars ruling both the military and the sports world.  There’s also a nod to his status as undefeated congressional sharpshooter championship there as well (yes, folks, that’s an actual thing), and his fondness for hunting and ice fishing.

Walz sports a Saturn/Venus square from 1 Pisces to 2 Gemini, with the aspect parsed by the Sun on its midpoint, semisquare to each.  One reading of this pattern would be “female (Venus) boss (Saturn),” and with asteroid Camillo 357 at 1 Gemini (one of several celestial stand-ins for Kamala), we see who that boss might be. 

A secondary connection between the two exists in a cluster of points in mid-late Taurus, namely, asteroids Walsh 7398 (one variant for Walz) at 15 Taurus and Timothycooper 22722 (our second Timothy referent) at 24 Taurus, with asteroid Harris 2929 at 21 Taurus, between them.  What’s most significant about this, besides signifying proximity and enmeshment, is that the recent Mars/Uranus conjunction at 26 Taurus conjoins the latter two points, bringing energy (Mars) and excitement (Uranus).  This combo also casts them as “freedom (Uranus) fighters (Mars),” a focus the campaign seems to be leaning into.  More to the immediate point, perhaps, is the fact that this duo also opposes Walz’ natal asteroid Troemper 28130 (our celestial referent for The Donald) at 27 Scorpio, perfectly mirroring their joint (conjunction) effort to defeat him (opposition).  Walsh also opposes asteroid Camelia 957 at 11 Scorpio (one more Kamala stand-in), forging another bond between them.

Jupiter at 28 Aries anchors a Grand Cross of asteroid Whitehouse at 23 Libra in opposition, with the crossbars formed by asteroids America 916 at 29 Cancer and Camilla 107 at 27 Capricorn.  Jupiter rules politics and often conveys “good luck,” Whitehouse and America are self-explanatory in this context, and Camilla is another variation of Kamala, binding the political partners (Jupiter) in their quest to lead the country (America, Whitehouse). Add in asteroids Nike 307, named for the Greek goddess of victory, exact with Jupiter, and asteroid Victoria 12, named for her Roman counterpart, conjunct Camilla from 29 Capricorn, and their chances of winning come November increase dramatically.

Mercury at 5 Taurus is caught up in a Grand Trine Kite pattern, trine asteroid Timothylohr at 6 Capricorn and Uranus at 6 Virgo, with the string formed by Uranus’ opposition to Saturn at 1 Pisces, itself conjunct asteroid Timothylinn 84943 at 8 Pisces (our third Timothy variant).  Uranus with Mercury yields a quick, facile mind, able to think “outside the box” and craft unique solutions to intractable problems.  The connection also grants progressive street creds for Walz, with Uranus the ruler of liberalism and the Democratic Party.  But Walz is also centrist, with Timothylinn conjunct Saturn, traditional ruler of conservatism, moderating his stances, so Walz’ progressivism has a stabilizing edge that appeals to a wider swath of the public, and Saturn makes it easier to cement progressive pipedreams into temporal realities.

Both Timothylohr and Timothylinn interact with Mercury, one of four typical placements for one’s own PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids), the other three being the Sun, Moon or Ascendant.    Without a time of birth, we can’t be sure about the latter two, but given the info we have, asteroid Timothychang 24123 at 24 Virgo doesn’t ft this pattern, perhaps a signal that it isn’t as bound up with Walz’ destiny as the others (though for all we know, it could be smack on the Ascendant or squared the Moon).

Turning to surname variations, we find in addition to Walsh, asteroids Wald 31956, Wallia 987 and Wallin 66661.  Wald at 9 Sagittarius and Wallin at 19 Leo are both at station, signifying their importance in Walz’ bio and probable use as apt markers for him.  Wald turned retrograde on April 4^th, two days before his birth, and trines the Sun; Wallin followed suit, turning direct on April 9^th, three days later, also trine the Sun. 

Wald squares Saturn, symbol of the father and thus connected with the surname, inherited from the male ancestor.  Wallin is further accompanied by asteroids Washingtonia 886 and Donn 4689, both also at station, signifying major import in the biography.  Washingtonia represents DC, where Walz may shortly be bound, while Donn represents Donald Trump, his main obstacle in getting there.  Washingtonia turned direct April 8^th, Donn on the 4^th.  Wallia at 12 Virgo is exactly conjunct Pluto, symbol of power, change and transformation.  It also conjoins Uranus, reinforcing the progressive vibe, and is trine Mercury, inconjunct the Sun.

When Kamala Harris announced her choice on August 6^th, asteroid Wald was again at station, as at Walz’ birth.  At 6 Aries, Wald turned direct on August 3^rd, was trine the 14 Leo Sun and exactly conjoined Walz’ natal Mars, perhaps emphasizing for Harris his suitability in the “attack dog” role traditionally filled by the running mate.

That 14 Leo Sun conjoins asteroid Whitehouse at 20 Leo, appropriate for a decision involving the presidency, squaring asteroid Camelia at 14 Scorpio, indicating who was making the decision.  These overlay Walz’ natal stationary asteroids Washingtonia and Wallin.

And speaking of decisions, Mercury at 4 Virgo was itself at station, with Harris reportedly making her choice just the night before.  Also here is asteroid Wallin, at 3 Virgo, affirming her selection, with Venus nearby at 1 Virgo, ruling partners of all kinds.  One of the key concerns for Harris was picking a running mate with whom she felt a rapport, a sympatico, both Venusian attributes.  Mercury also squares asteroid Walsh at 5 Sagittarius, and trines asteroid Timothylinn at 1 Capricorn, perhaps another nudge toward Walz.

Asteroid Camilla is also at station, signifying a crucial turning point for Kamala Harris, which the choice of a running mate and governing partner certainly is.  At 26 Aries, Camilla turns retrograde on August 19^th, the start date of the Democratic National Convention which will nominate her (already at that degree).  Camilla broadly conjoins Walz’ natal Sun and sets off the natal Grand Cross of Jupiter, Whitehouse, America and Camilla, also activating Harris’ own natal Sun/Moon polarity at 27 Libra/Aries.

Asteroid Walia at 3 Leo opposes Pluto at 0 Aquarius, a nod to the potential increase in Walz’ personal power, also opposed by asteroid Timothylohr, conjunct Wallia from 27 Cancer (closely squared by Camilla).  Asteroid Timothycooper is widely conjunct Pluto from 21 Capricorn, while asteroid Timothychang at 10 Cancer is semisquare asteroid Harris, exact with Uranus at 26 Taurus.

So far, the rollout of the truncated Harris campaign, now Harris/Walz, has been a model of efficiency, a seamless transition in focus from Biden to his VP.  With some $300 million raised in July, and upwards of 200,000 new volunteers signing up in the past few weeks, and the Trump/Vance ticket flailing for direction in shifting its focus to the new nominee, the Democrats seem poised to roll on to victory in November.

But there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip, and this thing isn’t a done deal, not by a long shot.  We’ll be taking a closer look at the election itself, following the DNC.