There are plenty of ways to evaluate the candidates running for Georgia governor. Their policies. Their experience. Their plans for spending your tax dollars.
I wanted to know their zodiac signs.
More specifically, I wanted to know whether Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms or Republican Rick Jackson would be the better astrological match for Georgia.
Yes, the state has a sign, too.
For this exercise, Georgia is a Capricorn, using Jan. 2, 1788 — the day it ratified the U.S. Constitution — as its birthday. Bottoms is also a Capricorn. Jackson is a Pisces.
But apparently, sharing a Sun sign doesn’t settle the question.
I asked Kathryn Silverton, an Atlanta-area astrologer who said she became professionally certified in 1983, to compare the candidates’ birth charts with the state’s. We discussed everything from communication styles to healthcare to whether a candidate’s personality might be a better match for Georgia.
Her initial assessment favored Bottoms as potentially the more beneficial match for the state. Her election prediction favored Jackson.
Those are different questions, she said.
Silverton gives Bottoms the edge in compatibility, largely because of the relationship between her Jupiter and Georgia’s Moon, which represents the public in Silverton’s reading.
The Peach Pulse
Become a founding subscriber
Get PeachPol’s exclusive Georgia political reporting and analysis — and lock in your founding subscriber rate as long as your subscription remains active.
Jupiter, she said, symbolizes growth, wealth and abundance. But it isn’t all upside.
“The down side to Jupiter is that it can be bloated and perhaps overspend,” she wrote in a follow-up email.
Jackson’s Saturn also aligns with Georgia’s Moon. Silverton interprets that relationship as more restrictive and conservative, with an emphasis on long-term planning and business.
So the choice, in her reading, comes with trade-offs: expansion and possible excess with Bottoms; structure and possible limitations with Jackson.
Silverton has made election predictions for publications before. In a 2001 Creative Loafing Charlotte feature, she picked Pat McCrory to win the mayor’s race and identified three eventual winners of at-large City Council seats. She also considered Patrick Cannon unlikely to win. He won a seat, too.
Before we get into it: This is a little election-season fun.
Astrology has made its way into American politics before. After the 1981 assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan consulted astrologer Joan Quigley about favorable times for his travel, appearances and meetings, according to Stanford’s Hoover Institution, which holds Quigley’s papers.
The extent of Quigly’s influence became a public controversy in 1988. Ronald Reagan denied making decisions based on astrology.
Astrology is not a scientifically validated way to determine who would govern well or win an election. Please read Bottoms’ and Jackson’s platforms, too.
Georgia
Sun: Capricorn
Moon: Scorpio
Rising: Unknown. We don’t have a founding time.
If Georgia’s business recruiters were picking a sign for the state, Capricorn would probably make the short list.
Silverton describes the earth sign as practical, ambitious and interested in structure and long-term accomplishments. Its symbol is the mountain goat, steadily making its way to the top.
That fits her interpretation of Georgia as a state with a strong corporate identity.
But the Sun is only part of the chart.
In Silverton’s reading, the state’s Scorpio Moon represents the public. She associates Scorpio with emotional intensity, research and a willingness to look beneath the surface.
The combination suggests a state that wants to get business done, with residents who may have some follow-up questions.
Other placements in her reading emphasize transportation, higher education, technology and connections beyond the state’s borders.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Sun: Capricorn
Moon: Gemini
Rising: Unknown. Silverton used noon as a placeholder.
Bottoms has several placements in Capricorn, including her Sun, Mercury and Venus. Silverton interprets that concentration as reinforcing ambition, practicality and a businesslike approach.
In other words, Bottoms and Georgia have some things in common.
Her Mercury placement in relation to Georgia’s Sun suggests she could be a good spokesperson for the state, Silverton said. Her Gemini Moon adds an ability to handle different information and competing demands.
For those of us who know a little about astrology but haven’t graduated to reading charts, Silverton offered a useful distinction: Earth signs bring a grounded approach; Gemini brings some juggling.
Bottoms has both.
The relationship Silverton emphasized most, however, was between Bottoms’ Jupiter and the state’s Moon.
She associates Jupiter with growth and expansion. With the Moon representing the public in Georgia’s chart, Silverton interprets that relationship as potentially beneficial to residents.
Healthcare was one example. Silverton said the placement could suggest a willingness to rebuild or expand services in communities that have lost them.
When I asked whether that fit with Bottoms’ support for Medicaid expansion, she said it did.
The reading wasn’t entirely favorable. Silverton also identified a Saturn relationship that she said could indicate financial constraints or economic benefits taking time to materialize.
The Bottoms campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Rick Jackson
Sun: Pisces
Moon: Leo
Rising: Unknown. Again, noon is a placeholder.
Jackson’s chart brings a different personality to the relationship.
Silverton associates his Pisces Sun and Mercury with sensitivity, adaptability and communication rooted in emotion. She said those placements suggest someone who can draw on personal experiences to connect with other people.
His Leo Moon adds a desire for recognition and a willingness to be in the spotlight.
A candidate for governor who appreciates attention? That part may not require an astrologer.
Silverton said the Leo placement also suggests loyalty and determination. The potential drawback is taking on too much — or allowing a big personality to become the main event.
She sees a possible tension between that more dramatic approach and the state’s comparatively buttoned-up Capricorn identity.
Jackson’s chart also has relationships she interprets as useful for Georgia.
His Jupiter placement aligns closely with the state’s Jupiter, which she connects with transportation, communication and the flow of information.
His Saturn’s relationship with Georgia’s Moon suggests experience and organizational structure, Silverton said. She connected those qualities with his background in the healthcare business.
But Saturn, in her interpretation, can also bring restrictions or rigidity.
The Jackson campaign did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
A few missing details
Neither candidate provided their verified birth time for Silverton’s reading. Nor did Silverton have an exact time for Georgia’s ratification.
She used noon charts for all three.
That means the charts include no reliable rising signs, which depend on the time and location. It also means some uncertainty about the Moon’s precise position. She said the resulting uncertainty in the Moon’s precise position does not change her overall compatibility assessment.
Silverton said the Moon remains in the same sign throughout each relevant day, but its position could vary by roughly six degrees on either side of the noon placement.
She said she allows a range around planetary alignments — called an “orb” — when interpreting their influence.
For her election forecast, she compared both candidates’ charts with planetary placements at 7 a.m. Nov. 3, when polls open. Although voting begins earlier, she chose Election Day as the reference point for that reading.
So, who gets the job?
Compatibility is one thing. Winning an election — and what the stars are doing that day — is another.
Silverton leans toward Jackson in her election forecast because she interprets a cluster of planets in Leo as activating more placements in his chart than in Bottoms’.
“I favor Rick Jackson to win primarily because the stellium (cluster) of planets in Leo triggers more placements in his chart than they do in Keisha’s chart,” she wrote in a follow-up email.
A separate look at Inauguration Day was less decisive. Silverton described that comparison as a toss-up, with placements she interpreted as favorable for each candidate.
Whatever their charts suggest, both candidates are still going to need votes. And only time will tell.
The last day of advance voting is Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Want sharper Georgia political analysis in your inbox? Become a founding subscriber to The Peach Pulse.
