Political Astrology: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Of course, her op-ed today in Newsweek had me wonder about what the libertarian feminist's natal chart says about her personality. Because we don't have an exact birth time for Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 12 noon is used as a stand-in midpoint birth time on her birth date.

Without an exact birth time, we are missing her Ascendant sign (which represents the "face" that she presents to the world and is a placement as important as her Sun Sign....although I suspect that she is Sagittarius Rising). To complicate things even further, the Moon changed positions on the date that she was born. Thus, she can either have a freedom-loving Sagittarius Moon or an ambitious-oriented Capricorn Moon (I suspect that Ms. Hirsi Ali has a Capricorn Moon, because the media describes her as a shy and very soft-spoken woman).

However, we can still do a decent personality analysis based upon her planetary placements and planets' aspects to each other. Her chart isn't quite as exciting as Rep. Allen West's natal chart, but she has some interesting placements:

Seductive Shyness

With three of her five personal planets/"planets" (Sun, Mercury, and Venus) in Scorpio, Scorpionic tendencies are very strong in Ayaan Hirsi Ali's personality.

Of course, not all Scorpios are alike. With a November 13 birth date, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a second decan Scorpio. One website states: "The second Decan Scorpio personality is characterised by seductiveness, shyness and artistic talent. You can be quite shy and don't like to expose too much of yourself even to close friends and family. You prefer to work quietly in the background and shy away from the limelight. You also don't mind being alone and pretty much enjoy your own company where you can fantasise and dream your imaginative dreams. You are a generous and attentive lover and use your powers of seduction to get what you want. You are very intriguing, mysterious and seductive to others. They can easily become beguiled by you. You have a great deal of artistic talent and can become a successful artist, writer or musician. However your shyness might hold you back in seeking celebrity fame and fortune. You can experience great highs and lows and will be adversely affected by mood swings."

As a Scorpio, Ms. Hirsi Ali is naturally seduced by power and uncovering the unknown. Thus, her attraction to the political sphere (she is a former member of the Dutch parliament and has a Master's degree in political science), her background as a former political researcher, and her marriage last year to prominent (and multi-millionaire) Scottish historian Niall Ferguson.

You know that men eat seductive shyness up....which surely played a role in Mr. Ferguson kicking his wife of 16 years to the curb in order to (wrongfully) woo Ms. Hirsi Ali (wrongfully), in an affair that made international headlines back in 2010.

Highly Intelligent & Highly Opinionated...But She Was "Destined" To Be A Political Reformer & Commentator Because Of It

You probably already assumed that she was smart and opinionated, but her natal chart reinforces it. Her Mercury (thought and communication) is positioned at 19° Scorpio. What one website states about this particular placement: "Proud, independent, and fair character attracted to oriental [Eastern] matters. Success and fame can be achieved in politics and/or reforms and discoveries, particularly if the Sun is strong in the natal chart [as it is in Ayaan's chart]. This degree heralds that the greatest honours are granted, and that all ambitions are fulfilled, even the wildest ones."

Her Sun (core being) in Scorpio is conjunct her Mercury in Scorpio. Conjunctions are the most powerful astrological aspects. The Sun-Mercury conjunction gives Ms. Hirsi Ali a high intellect...but also makes her highly opinionated. Ayaan's Scorpio Sun is at 20° Scorpio. What one website states about this particular placement: "Since one cannot bear any form of constraint, one is determined to struggle for freedom, one's own as well as that of other people. Youth is plagued by hardships [Ayaan's father had to go into exile for his political views, and she underwent female genital mutilation at the age of 5], but the sufferings undergone in early life turn into a powerful spur to later become a brilliant champion of law and social reforms."

Because Neptune represents creativity, her Mercury-Neptune conjunction provides her creative talents as an author and former documentary scriptwriter. With Mercury trine (harmonizing) her True Node (which represents her "destiny"), it is easy for Ayaan (and her "destiny") to utilize her communications skills — she is fluent in six languages — to influence the public about her ideas. Her particular emphasis is often criticizing Islam in the Middle East (which technically geographically lies in Asia, the Orient).

Highly Determined, Highly Stubborn, Not Prone To Compromise, Hates Change

Six of Ayaan's astrological planets are in fixed signs, which means that she is a very determined but very stubborn woman. individual. What Astrology-Numerology.com states about people with a preponderance of Fixed signs in their chart: "The strength in fixed signs in your chart suggests that you hold to fixed or rigid ideals and goals. What you may lack in daring, you make up for in perseverance. You are usually able to achieve whatever you undertake, purely from the strength of your determination. You are extremely strong-willed and resistant to external influences. You set values and ideals over individuals and situations, often in an uncompromising manner."

Ayaan's chart has only one planet (Pluto) in a mutable sign. Thus, trying new things and change are very difficult for her. A strong desire for stability is at the core of Ayaan's personality (which is reinforced by stability-minded Saturn in security-minded Taurus). Thus, her fleeing Somalia for the Netherlands from to escape an arranged marriage (and later fleeing the Netherlands for the U.S. to escape Islamists and the controversy surrounding how she acquired asylum in the Netherlands) were surely extremely difficult actions (much more so than for the average individual) for her.

Why Is She A Libertarian Feminist?

Ayaan is a libertarian partly due to her Mars (action) being in the sign of freedom-loving Aquarius. CafeAstrology.com writes: "One of the most pleasant characteristics of Mars in Aquarius natives is their willingness to let others be. They place a lot of value in freedom and individuality — theirs and yours. They need space to be themselves and plenty of room to breathe. Generally not the touchy-feely types, these natives often laugh at sentimentality and tradition."

In addition, with Mars (action) trine her Uranus (rebellion), Ms. Hirsi Ali demands a great deal of personal freedom.

Her Jupiter (expansion) in justice-seeking Libra gives Ms. Hirsi Ali a strong humanitarian impulse to promote equal rights. In her particular case, the equal rights of women in the Muslim world. Also, Ayaan's Venus (symbolizing women) squares her Mars (symbolizing men). Thus, Ms. Hirsi Ali will take an angry and somewhat oppositional stance to men by nature. It's no surprise that Ayaan has a charitable foundation that focuses on women's rights issues.

Many Problems In Romantic Relationships: She Is A Difficult Romantic Partner, Has Low Self-Esteem In Relationships  

Ms. Hirsi Ali has two very harsh aspects in her chart, related to her Venus. One is her Venus square Mars placement. While Venus square Mars means that Ms. Hirsi Ali had no shortage of male suitors in her bachelorette days (although she ignored them...see why below) because men find her very alluring, it also means her relationships are fraught with many problems. More specifically, she will have a love-hate relationship with her partners. This placement also suggests that Ayaan is prone to many emotional outbursts in her relationships, so she is likely difficult for her husband Niall Ferguson to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

With her Venus (love) opposition her Saturn (delay), Ms. Hirsi Ali was "destined" to marry late, if at all. She married Mr. Ferguson last year, at the age of 41 and also gave birth to their son last year shortly after turning 42. Why? This harsh aspect gives Ayaan a strong tendency to underestimate her self-worth, regardless of her achievements and what's happening in her life. The lack of self-confidence is further reinforced by the fact that Ms. Hirsi Ali has no planets in Fire (passion) signs. Venus-Saturn opposition also means that Ayaan has likely had very few romantic relationships in her life (she can possibly count them on one hand, with a finger or two left over).

Advice: Ayaan Must Keep Her Tendency To Merge Her Personality With Others (Especially Men) & Her Escapist Tendencies In Check

While her natal chart shows that she has a difficult personality in her relationships, Ayaan's Sun (core being) conjunct Neptune (dreaminess) placement means that she often blurs her personality with that of others. She may especially idealize the men (i.e., her husband) in her life, as a replacement for her inaccessible father (Ayaan was born under Saturn retrograde, which symbolizes that her father was physically and/or emotionally absent from her life).

Ayaan is extremely receptive (for good and bad) to her environment. This also makes Ayaan prone to escapism in order to deal with her troubles (or the troubles of humanity), and susceptible to alcohol/drug addiction. She's significantly less susceptible in the addiction area than what was found in Rep. Allen West's natal chart, but it is still raises a red flag.