A life size cut-out of US presidential candidate Barrack Obama, in New Delhi
© AFP Prakash Singh MUMBAI (AFP) - "Obama is 100 percent in Leo and Leos are not only born leaders but they have a special charm all of their own," well-known Indian astrologer Bejan Daruwalla told AFP.
"(Republican candidate) John McCain has good points but he's nowhere in the picture. He's miles away. He has been outshadowed by the Leo. He might have been very good in his time but this is not the right time."
Fellow Mumbai astrologer Raj Kumar Sharma also forecast a clear Obama victory in the November 4 vote -- mirroring the latest opinion poll data that suggests the 47-year-old Illinois senator is out in front.
"The circumstances and conjunction of stars are very clearly indicating that John McCain is going to lose this election and Barack Obama is going to win, at least by 10 percent," he said.
But he said he was worried about the weak sun moving into Obama's chart from April 2010 to January 2011.
"The month from April 5, 2010 to May 16, 2010 is very dangerous for him. I really pray that everything should be all right," he said.
Indian devotees gather around a statue of Lord Hanuman
© AFP/FileAsked to elaborate, he added: "I see danger for his life from April 5, 2010. I see the chances of 25 percent of survival. So he should be very careful about his security, about the people working for him."
To counteract the weak sun, Obama should wear a ruby, he said.
Indian Obama fans sent him a small statue of the revered Hindu monkey god Hanuman earlier this year, after hearing he carries a good luck monkey charm with him at all times. Hanuman is said to protect from evil spirits and curses.
Daruwalla, who writes a column in the Times of India newspaper, said the United States was in transition after being ruled by comfort-loving Cancer -- sign of the outgoing President George W. Bush -- and Gemini the communicator.
"America is now ready for a change because America is entering into the age of Aquarius, which means liberal thinking and tolerance. Therefore I think that Obama is the right person in the right place and at the right time," he said.
"He is very liberal in his thinking, clear in his vision and actions. That makes him charming and attractive."
Obama's other traits are typical of someone whose moon sign in Indian or vedic astrology is Taurus -- strength, determination and durability, he said.
An Indian palmist and astrologer (right) talks to an Indian couple
© AFP/File Prakash SinghSharma, whose work covers the gamut from financial predictions to travel and marriage prospects, agreed that both Obama and McCain were influenced by Leo, making them strong, dynamic characters with good leadership skills.
But the key influence of luck-giving Jupiter was currently more favourable to Obama and strengthened by its combination with powerful planets Saturn, Venus and Mars in his chart, he added.
Election day is also a more auspicious moon period for Obama, Sharma said, as the Earth's satellite moves from Sagittarius to Saturn's own house of Capricorn, indicating he could become very powerful.
Jupiter has been rising in Obama's horoscope since December 1999 and would remain in the ascendancy until September 2015, making his rise unstoppable, the astrologer said.
On the other hand, the planet's influence on 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran McCain was now on the wane, after strongly helping his rise to public prominence from the mid-1970s to the turn of the century, he said.
That was "the most profitable, most beneficial and most powerful period of his life" but since then he has been "in decline," Sharma said.
©AFP