There are many dangerous jobs in the world. The traditional ones that come to mind are firefighter, police officer, construction worker, high-rise window washers, emergency medical professions, and of course soldiers.

One I’d add today is Vice President of the United States. Back in 2021 when the current president was voted out of office, his followers wanted to lynch the vice president. Vice President is a dangerous job today.

Reading Byzantine history, I’m always amazed not just with the speed of power transfer during those times but that anyone would want the job of leader. If your predecessor lasted two days, why would you want to try?

Vance can probably explain it.

J.D. Vance’s Squares

Using the Astrotheme horoscope for JD Vance, the current Vice President of the United States, the sun and Venus are in fixed fire Leo and Saturn and Mars are in fixed water Scorpio. And that’s a square.

Squares create tension. Often successful people have a square or two as that’s like the friction that creates movement. Many creative people have had the “discomfort” of a square or opposition in the horoscope that led to creativity.

Transiting Uranus is in the last degrees of the fixed earth sign Taurus – that creates a transiting T-square. And now Pluto has entered fixed air sign Aquarius creating a grand cross (not by orb but still relevant to this astrologer).

That’s a lot of tension going on for Vance, which is understandable since much of that tension is being shared with the entire country and much of the world.

Square by square

Scorpio-Leo

In all seriousness, Vance’s conjunction of Saturn/Mars in Scorpio is something that would give medieval astrologers pause. Saturn and Mars are “not good bedfellows” as an astrologer or two has noted (Liz Greene maybe?).

Why?

Saturn is contraction (or control) and Mars is assertiveness (or aggression). In Scorpio, which is the water element, the fixed nature makes every slight feel like a gashing knife wound and the emotional response is strong and can be vengeful. So it can be mean and even violent.

Vance’s moon is in balance-oriented and pleasure-loving Libra but is conjunct Pluto which rules Scorpio. This is another marker of need for emotional control both of self and others. Libra is an air sign so not comfortable with emotion and when encountering negative emotions often disassociates.

If sun in Leo and moon in Libra were free to express without the other planets, Vance would be a more jovial, lighthearted individual. That might be a spiritual goal for his incarnation on earth, but it will be a challenge, especially when surrounding himself with the Pluto-type individuals of earth who form the appropriately termed “plutocracy.”

Transiting Squares

Transiting Uranus has been in Taurus, the fixed earth sign, since 2018 soon to pass to mutable air sign Gemini.

Uranus adds the unexpected in the realms of body, money, assets, property and values. This is the transit of the pandemic and changes to supply chain, body and medicine. For Vance, it would have also created issues with virility and intimacy opposing his Scorpio planets and squaring his Leo planets. Vance’s natal sun/Venus in Leo and moon in Libra are romance junkie placements, but squares create blockages to romance and intimacy due to control issues and emotional sensitivity that block sexual expression. These may have resulted in physical issues as well.

Now Pluto has entered fixed air Aquarius for a 20-year haul. This is the fourth of the fixed signs creating a grand cross (very wide and to other astrologers not in orb). Aquarius is opposite Leo being group consciousness in contrast to personal consciousness. Vance will be learning a lot about group consciousness, and it will appear to be as conflict, as oppositions feel like open enemies.

However, the oppositions – which are polarities – contain variations of an energy. While Vance may be seeking office for personal (Leo) reasons, by supporting political groups and agendas, he’s moving into the Aquarius side of the polarity. Through desire to express self and receive recognition for self, he may be abdicating personal expression to the group.

Likewise on the Aquarius side, often shared group ideals can turn into following the crowd. Aquarius likes to be rebellious which can be in relation to perceived unfairness (like Rosa Parks not giving up a bus seat) or a reaction to other group ideals (if everyone is wearing their hair long, wearing it short). One manifestation is productive; one is not.

And if squares weren’t enough

And if squares weren’t enough, when Uranus moves into Gemini in the summer, it will opposite Vance’s natal Uranus. Unexpected behavior of the Gemini sort which is more short-term, local, and personal will create unexpected behavior in Vance of the Sagittarius sort which is more long-term, distant, and philosophical. Vance may simply find ways to “escape,” as Sagittarius likes heightened experience, not the day-to-day stuff like paying bills and making dinner.

This summer Vance may take a long vacation.

It’s easy enough to read the news and know that Vance’s life is going to be tense for the near future, at least the next four years.

What astrology tries to understand is the motivation behind it all. Vance’s horoscope with four fixed signs and Pluto conjunct moon creates a “battle of wills” type of personality. If you say up, I say down. Small disagreements become major conflicts. Mountains out of molehills. That sort of thing.

Beneath it all is the Venus influence – Venus in romantic Leo and moon in Venus-ruled Libra. There’s a playful, joyous person in Vance, an insecure one who just wants to be loved. In the end, we all just want to be loved, right? It’s the boy who had a teddy bear too long and was the subject of ridicule and vowed never to be laughed at again.

Vance hanging with the tough guys relying on his background of control and violence probably isn’t the road to joy and pleasure. The path appears dangerous.