Tantalus stood in crystal water with luscious fruit trees dangling fruit mere inches from his face. As he stooped to drink, the water receded. As he reached for the fruit, the wind blew it away from him. He was tantalized but never could obtain either. Surrounded by this abundance he could never partake. This particular type of karma is represented by the asteroid Tantalus.
Look for Tantalus in the natal charts of individuals where a particular desire is abundant and surrounds them in their lives but they are unable to realize their desire. Tantalus plays a major role in transit charts where you come closest to getting something you desire but ultimately it eludes you. Closest ever. Tantalizingly close.
Hillary Clinton was First Lady living in the White House and she also was elected a Senator and appointed Secretary of State. For many people, that would be considered the pinnacle of a career but she never got the prize she wanted. She was surrounded by political power but she ultimately was not able to wield the power she sought twice. Losing out to Barack Obama in the 2008 primary and then losing the 2016 election to Donald Trump.
The loss to Trump was a prime example of the way Tantalus works. As she has said, she didn’t know until that night that she would lose the election. Film of the Javits Center shows the crowd’s mood changed when Georgia was announced. Videographers began interviewing officials about what to expect now. It was clear that Georgia’s announcement was close to the actual moment everyone in the Javits Center realized it was over. Georgia was called at 11:54 pm. After Georgia, the Midwest subsequently went to Trump and the election was over. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote. She came very close to realizing her dream of achieving the pinnacle of Presidential power. Closest ever. Tantalizingly close. The sweet smell of the fruit was waffing in her nostrils when the breeze started blowing and the fruit shifted away.
Hillary Clinton has Tantalus conjunct her Chiron and it is tightly quincunx her Ascendant by 1 and a half minutes. Donald Trump does not have a major placement of Tantalus but it is conjunct Hillary’s Ascendant by 22 minutes. This shows incredibly tight aspects. It also shows two ways in which the asteroid Tantalus works. Hillary’s Scorpio Chiron is a wound related to power. In all of Hillary’s powerful positions, she had to share power and ultimate decisionmaking authority with more powerful partners. Her asteroid Tantalus marked her with a karma to suffer a rewounding related to power. You can also see another side of Tantalus in Donald Trump. Donald Trump does not have a prominent Tantalus but it is conjunct Hillary’s Ascendant. Donald’s Tantalus represents the forces of wind and water that denies Hillary Clinton the election. One is acting as Tantalus and the other is acting as the outside karmic force that draws the desire from another. It is the wind and water force drawing everything away.
Now to understanding a bit about the transit of Tantalus. On Election Night 2016, the asteroid Tantalus was conjunct the Ascendant when Georgia was called. In the Javits Center, Georgia changed the character of the gathering and you can almost visibly see the realization that the fruit is drifting away and the water is receding.
Within people’s natal charts, it seems that Tantalus on its own with no other major supporting placement such as a planet or angle tends to represent the force and is therefore not important generally in the native’s life unless it interacts with another person or an event. When it is conjunct a planet in the natal chart, it becomes a whole other story, the person acts as Tantalus. Surrounded by everything they could desire but ultimately unable to satisfy that major desire they have. This is how you recognize you may be dealing with a Tantalus native. They often have amazing and recurring experiences that would be remarkable to other people but are short of the native’s real desires.
Tantalus’ Karmic Power
I know of one Tantalus native who has the asteroid conjunct his I.C. and Jupiter in Capricorn. Tempted (Tantalus) by Big (Jupiter) Business (Capricorn). His Sagittarius Mars lies close by as well. He has had the opportunity to start a company with a minority stake and when it became very profitable he was forced to sell by the majority stakeholder, he worked on the startup of a non-profit company and so couldn’t profit from its success and has been surrounded by many opportunities where he worked as an advisor or executive to start new deals but has never been able to attain the role of the primary shareholder. All of these deals started a company from nothing and turned it into millions of dollars of revenue and often millions in profits.
Tempted almost nonstop by big business deals he is still working from his home to obtain his desire in his late seventies. It is his experience that reminded my husband of the myth of Tantalus and got me to look into the astrology of it. Discovering this gentleman had a Capricorn Tantalus conjunct Jupiter immediately demonstrated Tantalus’ karmic power. This particular glyph is ruled by his Virgo Saturn in the 11th. He is continually pushed to work hard at altruism to the poor but his spiritual rewards often are overlooked while he continues to long for the Capricorn material rewards that Tantalus withholds from him.
Hillary Clinton’s Scorpio Chiron in the 6th is ruled by her Leo Pluto conjunct Mars and her I.C. in Leo. She has been pushed to work with the powerless (Scorpio Chiron) and started out working for children (Leo). Her Pluto is not interested in the high office of the Presidency. That would be the Midheaven and not the Imum Coeli. Had Pluto been on the M.C. she may very well have attained the Presidency but in that case she likely still would have been denied her ultimate goal. This is how Tantalus works, it denies you the ultimate desire you have. Tantalus takes no notice of any means to an end. She wasn’t playing to be Secretary of State so it was obtained. She wasn’t playing to be a Senator and so it was obtained. She was playing for President and Tantalus denied that. Although she has been surrounded by positions of extreme power, her Pluto makes it clear it has been to pull her toward sharing resources with powerless children from her neighborhood (3rd house) and home (I.C). For those who are playing the role of Tantalus, the ruler of the asteroid will tell you much about the purpose of the karma.
Donald Trump had a special karmic role to play in Hillary Clinton’s life. This type of karma is most likely an agreement between two souls, one of who needs to do some intense work around a particular issue. Since Hillary’s Ascendant is in such tight aspect to her own Tantalus, it is very striking that Donald Trump’s Tantalus is conjunct her Ascendant. He was tailor made to bring the force that would deny her the Presidency. The extraordinary life Hillary Clinton got to lead as First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, Junior Senator from New York and Secretary of State may not have been her end goal for personal power but Tantalus took her on a wild ride. Tantalizingly close. Tantalus has to be one of the most painful types of karma. If it is active in your chart, try to appreciate the journey along the way.