Asteroid-World Spring 1994
Zip Dobyns
Accurate data remains a perennial problem in astrology. Most of the data in a previous The Mutable Dilemma article on the coming Mexican presidential election was provided by Luis, an astrologer in Mexico City. During her recent visit to teach in Mexico City, Maritha was told by Luis that Colosio’s time zone should have been MST rather than CST. As most of our readers will know, Colosio was assassinated on March 23, 1994 in Tijuana, Mexico. His accused killer was captured immediately, but many rumors continue to circulate about possible associates who master-minded the crime. Drug leaders and/or right-wing reactionary political leaders and/or left-wing revolutionaries have all been named by the rumor mill. One theory suggests that the political leaders of Baja California were behind the killing; that they would like to separate from Mexico and keep their tourist dollars at home instead of sending taxes to Mexico City. On April 4, the Mexican investigators announced that videos and photographs of the fatal rally in Tijuana showed that at least seven men were involved in the murder. Five were said to have been arrested and two were still at large. If any definite information has been revealed since then, I have missed it during my travels. I have spent much of this spring on the road where it is hard to keep up with what is happening in the world.
A recalculated chart for Colosio using MST shows the power-struggle which started in a socially appropriate way in politics but ended in his death. Colosio’s P MC was quincunx his natal Sun in the fourth house, an aspect for separation which could have simply indicated his departure from home to campaign but which also fits a permanent departure from home and family. P MC had also just started a conjunction with natal Juno, a Plutonian asteroid, and an octile to the natal MC which represents the same principle as Saturn—issues involving the LAW. In Tijuana, Colosio’s P MC had just started a conjunction to natal Saturn and was octile the natal, local MC. I progress the MC the same distance that the progressed Sun has moved from its natal position; the solar arc. In the system called Solar Arc Directions, the solar arc is added to every factor in the natal horoscope to provide another way to symbolize current issues and allow one to look into the future. With this technique, when P Sun reaches the octile to natal Sun, all directed planets are octile their natal positions. Everyone experiences this period, called by some psychologists the “mid-life” crisis, at around the age of 45.
As usual with a death, the progressed eighth house cusps (Placidus) were also significant. Colosio’s P Moon was conjunct his birthplace P eighth cusp so his P Part of Death was conjunct his birthplace P Ascendant. His Tijuana P eighth cusp was square his P Sun and P lunar nodes. The P local MC was also quincunx the Tijuana natal Part of Death in 16 Aries 30, forming a yod with natal Pallas in 17 Scorpio. Pallas is typically involved in political issues. Many additional aspects could be mentioned, but we will include the horoscope so students can study it for themselves.
I have received additional data from Emilio Perez-Limon M.D., a doctor in Guadalajara with a serious interest in astrology. According to Emilio, Colosio’s accused killer, Mario Martinez, was born on October 3, 1970 at 5 A.M. CST in Zamora de Hidalgo, Mexico, 19 N 53.1, 102 W 17.1. As readers can see, Mario’s East Point, Ascendant, and Mars cluster on Colosio’s natal and P Saturn and P local MC. Colosio’s P Moon and P eighth house cusp were moving over Mario’s Saturn/south lunar node midpoint, a potentially major lesson point, as the assassination was planned. Mario’s P MC had just started a one-degree orb conjunction with his P Saturn/south node when he shot Colosio.
The normal astrological description of Virgo does not sound like a cold-blooded killer who would shoot an unarmed man at close range. But, as readers know from our previous descriptions of Vesta, the ultimate Virgo asteroid, the single-minded “devotion to duty” associated with Virgo and Vesta can produce tunnel-vision which ignores everything and everyone except the “job” to which the person is committed. I have repeatedly described the way in which Vesta, especially when supported by strong-willed planets like Mars, Pluto, and Uranus, can demonstrate a ruthless lack of empathy.
Mario’s chart is dominated by six factors in Virgo and four in Scorpio, showing a potential obsessive-compulsive, with the first house Sun-Uranus adding the potential for a revolutionary. Of course, I think that the planets are the most important of our primary astrological factors, the houses second in importance, and the signs last. So Mars and Pluto in the first house in addition to the Sun and Uranus emphasize a potential strength of will which might use personal power in whatever way the individual chooses or for whatever “cause” he identifies with. Virgo, without the willingness to act forcefully which is shown by those first house planets, might simply be a nag or become ill out of frustration over a world full of flaws. Venus, a key to personal identity since it rules the Libra in the first house, is conjunct Neptune and Chiron is in Aries, so Mario was personally idealistic, however misguided his beliefs. The Moon conjunct Jupiter also shows Mario’s idealism. However, Saturn in the ninth house and the south lunar node in the twelfth house point to lessons connected to beliefs along with the values and ethics which depend on the beliefs.
At the time of the assassination, Mario’s P Moon was conjunct his Tijuana P Ascendant so his P Part of Death was on his Tijuana P eighth house cusp. His birthplace P Part of death was conjunct Saturn while P Saturn was on his natal Antivertex (an auxiliary Ascendant) and opposite Venus as he acted against the law. P Saturn was also quincunx natal Vesta while P Mercury and P Sun were both conjunct P Vesta to support the potential for a ruthless focus on accomplishing his “job”! P Pluto sextile Neptune, P Jupiter sextile the East Point, P Moon and P L Ascendant trine the ninth house Juno, P Ascendant and P East Point conjunct natal Sun and P Uranus, all suggest that Mario believed in the rightness of what he did. His P south lunar node in the twelfth house holding a long square to Neptune, natural ruler of the twelfth house, shows the conflict between the capacity for reason of the third house and the mostly subconscious and often unrealistic faith of the twelfth house. In short, “someone” probably conned Mario.
There are so many appropriate asteroids in Mario’s chart, it is hard to know where to start. P Libitina (Roman goddess of death) and P Dionysus were conjunct his natal Ascendant and P Lincoln (one of our assassinated presidents) was on his Tijuana natal Ascendant. Natal Libitina was conjunct Mario’s true south lunar node within one degree. Natal Hel (Norse goddess of death) was on Mario’s eighth cusp and P Hel was opposite his natal Sun and P Uranus and P East Point. P Winchester (guns) was square the Tijuana Antivertex and octile the Tijuana Ascendant and natal Libitina. P Maria (female equivalent of Mario’s name) was opposite his natal Part of Death and Damocles, noted for a sword hanging over his head. P Orpheus, another mythical figure associated with death, opposed the natal Saturn/south lunar node midpoint. The picture clearly shows a normally self-effacing introvert brooding about injustice and death.
Another major theme in the chart involves the idea of overreach. Bacchus is the Roman version of Dionysus, the god whose religious extremism, fed by alcohol and drugs, could lead to the death of the god, torn apart by his crazed followers. Natal Bacchus was closely conjunct the Moon and P Jupiter had been on it for years and was still within the one-degree orb permitted in progressions. P Bacchus and P Bellona (goddess of war) were both conjunct Neptune and sextile P Pluto which was on natal Hybris (hubris). P Hybris opposed Chiron. As mentioned above, P Dionysus was on the Ascendant. It was also conjunct P Eleutheria, goddess of liberty. I think that Mario believed that his self-sacrificial action would somehow contribute to freedom for his country. Mario also had P Fanatica on the south lunar node and square the natal Tijuana MC. P Icarus squared the natal East Point. P Mars was on natal Phaethon. P Phaethon was octile the Tijuana Part of Death. The message of “overreach” is overwhelming.
The role of religion is also highlighted by the asteroids, but it is not possible to be certain whether the symbols refer to Mario’s misguided personal beliefs or to a role in the assassination played by religious leaders. One of the many rumors floating in Mexico is that the leader of the Chiapas uprising is a Jesuit Priest defending the rights of the Indians. Pope John Paul II continues to oppose the Catholic Priests who stand up for their poor followers. In addition to P Eleutheria on his P Dionysus, Mario also had P Loyola within one degree of both of them and P Loyola was within a one-degree square to his MC. Loyola was the founder of the Jesuit order. P Phaethon squared natal Loyola and P Chiron was quincunx it. Natal Ignatius (Loyola’s first name) was conjunct Venus and P Saturn had recently reached an opposition to it. P Ignatius squared the mean lunar nodes. Natal Vaticana was conjunct natal Vesta so P Saturn held a quincunx to both, while P Vaticana (along with P Eunomia and P Dunant) were all conjunct the P Mercury, P Sun, P Vesta cluster. Eunomia symbolized order and justice and Dunant was named for the founder of the Red Cross, an organization dedicated to helping people faced with crises. Many other asteroids were also relevant, but we need to move on to other charts.
Another treasure from Emilio is the birth data of the candidate who replaced Colosio—Ernesto Zedillo. He is said to have been born on December 27, 1951 at 16:30 CST in Mexico City. He is the former campaign manager for Colosio, a brilliant economist, but much less charismatic than Colosio. Zedillo is clearly identified with his mind with his East Point and Ascendant both in Gemini, Mercury in Sagittarius, the Moon (ruling part of the first house) also in Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Aries. Chiron closely conjunct the Sun in Capricorn shows the application of his mental abilities to his career. Mars conjunct Saturn adds to the ambition while their placement in Libra along with two keys to identity in the seventh house is appropriate for Zedillo’s involvement in politics. Pallas in Aquarius, our most political asteroid, completes a grand trine in air with the Ascendant and the three planets in Libra to repeat the theme of verbal fluency.
Personal idealism is also shown by the repeated connection of identity to letter nine as well as by Mars conjunct Neptune. Of course, it depends on the person whether the idealism manifests as a feeling of one’s personal right to what we want or whether it includes some empathy for the needs of others.
Zedillo’s south lunar node and Vesta in Virgo in the fourth house fit the difficulties of his early life, usually indicating someone who learns to work while young. The Capricorn Sun connects self-esteem to career. Chiron in Capricorn, Saturn widely conjunct Neptune, the Pisces MC, and Sagittarius in the sixth house connect career to faith/idealism. As usual, the principles can be manifested in many different details. We may make our work an ultimate value, putting our faith in our ability to be successful in the world. We may look for the “perfect” job or try to do our work perfectly. We may choose work which makes the world more ideal.
Two rulers of signs in the first house (keys to personal power) as well as the Sun (self-esteem) in the seventh house and Mars in the seventh sign are often associated with vulnerability to the opinions of others, feeling that our personal power is in the hands of others. We can give in and try to please others, or try to control them for personal security, or retreat from them into introversion. Or we can learn to share the power with compromise and cooperation; we can have healthy competition (in sports, games, business, politics, etc.); and we can help people. Keeping it a “game,” being able to take it lightly whether we win or lose, keeps competition “healthy” rather than a matter of life-and-death.
When Zedillo’s chart is progressed to the coming Mexican election on August 21, 1994, his P MC will still be opposite P Saturn. This is not a very encouraging aspect, though it could mean a change in his handling of power by becoming president along with less time for his family (Saturn in Libra in the fifth house). P MC will be opposite Neptune, ruler of the MC, and trine Pluto, ruler of the sixth house, at the end of the normal six-year term of office. The combination could mean completion of the term with some reasonably good media coverage, or running again with more success if Zedillo loses in 1994. P Venus, which is currently square Saturn and P MC and quincunx the Ascendant, is also not a good augury. Conflict aspects can point to one’s inability to get what is desired or to getting it and having problems with it. Clinton is a shining example of the latter outcome. There is no doubt that Mexico will have problems during the coming years, and Zedillo’s P MC opposing Mars for two years during the term of office would be a further indication of that if he is elected. He does have P Sun trine Mars but it is also octile Juno and moving into an octile to Jupiter, Chiron, and natal Sun. P East Point is conjunct Uranus which would fit an upset election. Zedillo’s PRI political party has held power in Mexico during the 64 years since it was founded, but most observers feel that this success has only been maintained by vote fraud and there will be more attention from the world this year. P East Point is also quincunx Pallas which could mean a separation from his political goal, and it is moving into a square to Saturn in the fall of 1994.
Zedillo’s relevant asteroids at the election include P Karma conjunct Mercury and P Helio, a sun god for power and/or fame. P Winchester is conjunct P Venus and square Saturn which could point to Zedillo’s chance to compete for the presidency as a result of the death of Colosio, or it could warn of his own life being in danger, or just indicate his fear of an attempt on his life. Zedillo’s P Ascendant opposite P Juno carries the same potential meanings. The Ascendant and Juno are part of a cardinal cross which includes P Pele (goddess of volcanoes and earthquakes) in Aries, Nemesis, P Photographica, and P Medea (who killed her children) in Libra, and Union and Orpheus in Capricorn. Additional asteroids in adjoining degrees are connected to the cross by overlapping orbs. P Unitas conjunct P Uranus repeats the focus on issues involving unity and a choice between voluntary cooperation versus revolution. P MC is also conjunct P Aten, another sun god, for more focus on power and the limelight. P Eleutheria (liberty) is moving to oppose Saturn to again highlight freedom versus bureaucratic power. On Election Day, the Quotidian MC will be conjunct P Bellona, a goddess of war. The patterns are appropriate for the election contest and also would fit the inevitable tensions of dealing with the continuing problems which will face countries and individuals in the years ahead.
Emilio has also provided a different time for Mexico’s Constitution which comes from the Acts of the Constitutional Congress in Queretaro, official government documents. The date and place are the same as the chart I was given by Luis, but the time is given as 17:00 LMT in contrast to 11 LMT. The UT for Emilio’s chart comes out at 23:41:32. For the moment, we have to consider the data questionable. If it is accurate, the chart shows an incredible emphasis on religious issues, which can include ethics and morality that are based on our beliefs. Jupiter was on the MC within one degree and Neptune was retrograding just over two degrees from the Ascendant so it would have remained conjunct the Ascendant for years up to and including the present.
To further hammer in the point, natal positions include Vaticana on the MC and Jupiter, plus Loyola square Ignatius and opposite Chiron. P Loyola is conjunct natal America and P Ceres, octile the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node in the twelfth house, and quincunx the midpoint of Sun/Moon in the ninth house. P Ignatius is conjunct the mean north lunar node and P Hidalgo. The latter asteroid was named in honor of Mexico by visiting astronomers who appreciated the country’s hospitality. Both P Ignatius and P Hidalgo at 17 Capricorn were square P Mars in the ninth house and P East Point in the third house as well as octile P Part of Death in 3 Sagittarius when Colosio was killed. P Vaticana at that time was in 19 Taurus square Uranus, ruler of the eighth house, and Hispania. I think that astrology shows us psychological principles, so patterns such as the preceding could simply picture the rumors described above.
If this time for the Mexican Constitution proves reliable, the years immediately ahead will continue the recent high focus on the power and wealth of the ruling elite of the country. P Sun has just finished a conjunction with the natal MC and is still on Jupiter. P Venus has just started its conjunction to the MC. The number of billionaires in Mexico has more than doubled during the Salinas term of office, but very little is trickling down to ordinary people where 25% of people who were once above the poverty level are now reported to be below it. When Colosio was killed, P Moon was in 25 Pisces trine Saturn (the power people) but square P Karma in 25 Gemini and natal Libitina in 25 Sagittarius, suggesting a crisis in faith. The mutable T-square formed octiles or trioctiles to natal Sun, ruler of the Ascendant. P local MC, calculated for Mexico City which is the capital of the country, is moving into oppositions to P Hidalgo and P Ignatius. Though most observers consider it almost unthinkable, the PRI might be upset in the coming elections, or they might win with the help of fraud and experience continuing problems in maintaining order in the country. As transiting Uranus moves into its own sign for about seven years, we can anticipate more revolutions unless we move toward more voluntary cooperation and equality.
Two famous people have left the earth plane in the last few weeks. Long-time astrologers will have their charts, but there may be newer students who would like them. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born on July 28, 1929 in Southampton, Long Island, NY. Two birth times have been published for her, 14:30 and 15:12 EDT. The 14:30 time was originally printed in Horoscope magazine, was supposed to be from her birth certificate, and seems to work well. Jackie died in New York about 22:15 EDT on May 19, 1994. Her cancer was only diagnosed in February 1994, but it was described as one of the most virulent, aggressive forms of lymphoma. It had spread through her whole body, including her brain. When the hospital acknowledged that there was nothing more they could do for her, she chose to die at home surrounded by her family.
Jackie became famous as one of the most admired First Ladies in U.S. history. She was especially admired for her courage and dignity when her husband, John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Though the government did its best to convince the American people that a single gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, had killed Kennedy, the majority of U.S. citizens remain convinced that the actual killers included members of the Mafia, one or more high officials in the U.S. including the police chief in Dallas, and possibly some renegade members of the CIA. Many analysts think that the public’s present distrust of their elected officials had its beginning in Kennedy’s death and was exacerbated by the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, our second public figure to be discussed here.
Jackie Onassis was noted for both her glamour and for her reserve which was demonstrated in her efforts to protect her privacy. Jack and Jackie occupied the White House for less than three years, but the time is described as magical, often associated with the mythical realm of King Arthur—Camelot. Yet the events of that brief time were extremely challenging, even epochal. JFK had to deal with the Cuban Bay of Pigs fiasco, a U.S. attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro which had been initiated by Richard Nixon and for which JFK took the blame. This was followed by the Cuban missile crisis when we nearly went to war with the U.S.S.R. over Soviet missiles which were being installed in Cuba and which had the potential to hit the U.S. Eisenhower and Nixon, the President and Vice President before Kennedy, had gotten the U.S. deeply involved in Vietnam, and JFK wanted to extricate us from the morass and to make peace with Castro. The U.S. industrial-military complex did not want peace. Wars are profitable for the elite. The Kennedys (Jack and his brother, Bobby, who had been appointed U.S. Attorney General) also had declared war on the Mafia for a variety of reasons which annoyed both the Mafia and some members of the CIA who found the Mafia useful in their secret operations. The Kennedys had also threatened to dethrone J Edgar Hoover, the powerful head of the FBI who had been protecting the Mafia. John Fostor Dulles, Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, was a leading anti-Communist who delighted in pushing the U.S.S.R. to the brink and who was involved in the attempt to overthrow Castro. Dulles’ brother was the Dallas chief of police. Kennedy had told friends that when he ran for a second term, he did not want Lyndon Johnson to stay on as Vice President. A good many people had reasons for wanting the Kennedys out of power.
We have no way of knowing how much of this was known to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Bobby Kennedy knew a lot, and was biding his time, hoping that he could be elected president and reopen the investigation of JFK’s death. So the real killers of JFK had to also eliminate Bobby. It is possible that one of Jackie’s reasons for marrying Onassis was to be able to escape the violence of the U.S., to be able to raise her two children in peace with the freedom that money can buy. From what I have read, the kids are a credit to their mother.
If this birth time is accurate for Jackie, the Scorpio Ascendant, especially with an exact conjunction from the south lunar node, fits the self-doubt and passion for self-mastery which helped to keep her self-contained, self-controlled, self-possessed. Mars in Virgo in the Capricorn house reinforces her sense of duty and responsibility. Even under conditions of incredible stress, she never broke down or appeared weak. In some ways she was like Queen Elizabeth of England, always a lady, though Jackie was far more beautiful and glamorous. Yet she did have fire! Her East Point and Saturn were in Sagittarius with the East Point in the Aries house. Her Leo Sun and Mercury were in the Sagittarius house. Her Aries Moon was just at the edge of the Leo house but Uranus and Pallas in Aries were well inside the Leo house. The fire showed in her creativity, in her appreciation of the arts including drama and books, in her love of the outdoors including horseback riding, and in her need for privacy. Aries can be a loner. Sagittarius can lose itself in books and/or nature. Only Leo of the fire signs has a compelling need for attention from other people. Jackie was a natural star with her Leo and her dominant Neptune on the MC, yet always ambivalent about it.
When she died, Jackie seemingly had everything. Her two children and her grandchildren were close to her and devoted. She was living with a wealthy man who adored her though he was not able to marry her since his wife refused to divorce him. Jackie was also working as an editor for a publishing company, a job which she reportedly enjoyed. When I first heard early in 1994 that she had cancer, an accompanying report said that her one unfulfilled desire was to be able to marry Maurice and that after her illness was discovered, he was trying to work out a way to do that. It seemed possible that her illness might have been produced by her subconscious as a way to fulfill her desire for a legal marriage. Jackie was raised Catholic and reportedly remained a faithful wife despite being raised by a promiscuous father and being married to two men who were not faithful to her. (The theory of projection would say that her loyalty was not “despite” her attraction to unfaithful men but that the attraction was due to their willingness to “act out” what she could not accept in herself. For example, Uranus in Aries in the Leo house may approve of “free love.”) But the virulent and aggressive nature of Jackie’s lymphoma can not be explained as a way to get the one thing she lacked. The only explanation which makes any psychological sense is that her fire which was mostly kept under strict control all of her life had finally gotten out of control. Jackie was too responsible, too caring, to let the fire out aggressively against others. It could only go one way when it got loose—in against herself.
It is the nature of fire to express emotions impulsively and spontaneously while earth and water seek to control and hold back the fire to maintain security for oneself or others. Progressed aspects at Jackie’s death do fit a battle between her fire and her determination to control it. Her P Ascendant formed a grand cross in cardinal signs and fixed houses. It was conjunct her local Part of Death in Manhattan, opposite natal Vesta in the eighth house and square P Sun and the natal Part of Saturn. I use some Arabic Parts which are created with planets using the same formula as the Part of Fortune but substituting a planet for the Moon in the formula. The Part of Saturn is calculated by adding Saturn to the Ascendant and subtracting the Sun. The Part of Pluto is calculated by adding Pluto to the Ascendant and subtracting the Sun. I interpret these points as another form of the planet. When we add the Ascendant (personal action) to the planet, we are acting out the nature of the planet. Subtracting the Sun (our growth potential, our desire to do more than we have done before) suggests that the Arabic Part shows our potential at the beginning of life to act out the principles of the planet, prior to our growth in this lifetime. Of course we keep on “doing what comes naturally” unless we change our initial habits. When these Arabic Parts are activated by current patterns, we face the issues involved, the psychological principle of the planet.
Jackie’s P Sun was also conjunct the midpoints of Ascendant/MC in both her birthplace and in Manhattan where she died. Midpoints carry the meaning of the two factors of which they are the center point, so P Sun on the midpoint of the two major angles is similar to having the Sun conjunct both the MC (signifying laws and limits, like Saturn, whether the laws are external or internally imposed) and the Ascendant (signifying self-will in action like Mars). Any variation on the principles of Mars and Saturn signals a confrontation between self-will and the limits of self-will. With a grand cross which includes the P Ascendant and Part of Death in Capricorn, the sign of Saturn; the Arabic Part of Saturn another equivalent of the planet; and Vesta, the ultimate Virgo asteroid, in a water sign and house; outlets for the fire seem blocked in every direction. Reinforcing the message of water and/or earth containing the fire, P MC was conjunct the natal Part of Pluto in Scorpio in the twelfth house; a combination like a triple conjunction of Saturn, Pluto and Neptune demanding self-control, restraint, and self-sacrifice for the good of others if necessary. P Vesta had just reached a conjunction with natal Mercury, putting more dirt on one of Jackie’s fire outlets. P Moon in Virgo in the Capricorn house was octile natal Sun—another contest between water and earth versus fire. P Neptune, also in Virgo in the Capricorn house, had moved into orb of an octile to natal Pluto in Cancer in its own house; a heavy water and earth combination.
There were also asteroids, of course, including our familiar goddesses of death; the Roman and the Norse versions. P Mars had just started a conjunction with natal Libitina and P Hel was moving retrograde opposite the Ascendant. Natal Hel was part of a grand cross involving P local eighth house cusp, P local and natal Antivertexes, and the natal Ascendant in Manhattan. P Libitina was trioctile Uranus, ruler of the IC, and octile the natal Part of Death. Character creates destiny. The heroic qualities which have been most admired by the commentators eulogizing Jackie Onassis may be connected to her rapid death at a relatively young age.
If the assassination of President John F Kennedy initiated the profound distrust of “people in power” which has been increasing in the U.S. public, the episode of Watergate certainly accelerated the process. Richard Nixon had a roller coaster life, always a public figure but repeatedly winning and losing power and respect. It is likely that there are still some hidden details, but the facts of Watergate are far more open than is the case for JFK’s death. During Nixon’s campaign for reelection to the Presidency in 1972, a few men were caught looking for documents which could be used against the Democrats. Nixon initially denied any knowledge of the attempted theft of private Democratic information, but when he was forced to release tape recordings of his conversations with men working for him in the White House, his lies were revealed. The lies, the attempted cover-up, were more damaging than the attempted theft of political documents, and Nixon was forced to resign in August 1974 after winning the election in November 1972. He had regained some public respect as an “elder statesman” at the time of his death, but was still fighting a legal battle to keep many of his papers and tapes from being made public.
Nixon was born in Whittier, CA on January 9, 1913 at 21:35 PST. He was always driven by his desire for power. His tenth house Pluto showed a lesson in learning to share power. Saturn in Taurus in the ninth house can worship power and/or money, though it can also mean pleasure and a career involving teaching, writing, preaching etc. Mercury, ruler of his Ascendant, was in Capricorn for an identification with executive power and closely conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn which symbolizes the same principles as Saturn in the ninth house. Mars, the natural key to identity, was in Sagittarius conjunct Mercury and Jupiter. There is no doubt that Nixon was intellectually brilliant, but the identification with “God” (Sagittarius and Jupiter) can manifest as “I have the right to do what I want or the obligation to make the world be the way I think it ought to be.” In either case, the individual may live in a state of perpetual over-drive and frustration because he cannot always do what he wants or force the world to conform to his goals.
Nixon’s Sun in Capricorn in its own Leo house is like the icing on the cake in his power picture; two counts for King (Sun and fifth house) and one for the executive who carries out the law but does not make his own will into law. Nixon at times tried to play king when he was only an executive, and experienced the Saturn consequences—a fall from power. Asteroids also pictured Nixon’s inner conviction that he was “born to rule.” His personal name asteroid, Richard, remained in his tenth house all his life. Atlantis, which is often connected to the abuse of power, was in the first house in a grand trine to Icarus (with its danger of overreach) in the fifth house and Saturn in the ninth house: all in earth signs in fire houses, the “steamroller” combination. To cap the climax, Aletheia, the asteroid named for the goddess of truth, was conjunct Atlantis and trine both Icarus and Saturn. Nixon alternated between over-doing his power trip and trying to conceal the truth of what he had done!
Nixon died in New York on April 22, 1994 at 21:08 EDT, following a massive stroke—a Mars health problem. The psychological “cause” of his death is more obvious than that of Jackie Onassis. He was still fighting to keep the world from finding out the “truth” about what he had done, but his legal battles against opening his papers and tapes to public scrutiny were facing possible defeat. Even more imminently, a public conference on Watergate was scheduled in London for the week after his death, and the detailed diaries of Haldeman were published at almost the same time. Haldeman was an integral part of the Watergate episode and his diaries offer information that Nixon did not want revealed. A stroke, the bursting of blood vessels in the brain, is theoretically due to an explosion of anger that becomes self-destructive when we cannot do what we want or control our world. His stroke and rapid death released Nixon from having to face having some of his secrets revealed. Would you like to guess the location of Aletheia, the goddess of truth, when he died? P Aletheia was retrograding on Nixon’s Ascendant within 7 minutes of longitude and P King was also retrograding on the Ascendant within the one-degree orb that I use for the asteroids. He had a brief moment of kingship as world leaders praised his accomplishments at his funeral before the guarded secrets began to spill out.
Another example of the “amazing” asteroids included Nixon’s P Sun conjunct P China and P Laverna. One of Nixon’s acts which was admired by most people was his opening of China, so that accomplishment was a source of self-esteem for Nixon. Laverna was the Roman goddess of thieves, natally on his Descendant and by progression on his Sun. Nixon spent his life feeling that other people were a threat to his personal power and status in the world, that they might “steal” his rights. In the end, he apparently felt that even the respect he had earned by opening China was being stolen from him—perhaps by the current issues involving human rights in China.
One of the newspaper columns published after Nixon’s death offered some vignettes from his life. On April 24, 1994, the Los Angeles Times printed a column by John P Sears who worked as Nixon’s political aide from 1965 to 1970 and who served as executive director of the Nixon for President Committee in 1967-68. On one occasion, Nixon was looking over some planned TV ads and, after thanking the people who produced the ads, he said “God, I hope the Russians don’t see any of that: they’ll think I’m an idiot.”
On another occasion, while going up the steps of the Mormon Cathedral to see the elders of the Church, Nixon said to Sears “John, whatever I say in here, don’t you believe a word of it.”
On still another occasion after Nixon had said things in a press conference which John knew were not reflective of his real beliefs, Nixon said “John, you’ve got to understand one thing. I can say things that if someone else said them, they would be lies, but when I say them, nobody believes them, anyway.”
Nixon was a politician. Politics has been called the “art of the possible.” Nixon had no illusions about what he wanted and did what he could to get it along with hiding what he did (when he could) to keep the public in a state of illusion. It is so appropriate that when his chart is calculated for Washington, DC, his local MC is exactly conjunct his Neptune in Cancer. He so wanted to be looked up to as an idealistic leader, as the ideal parent. He was devoted to his wife and two daughters. He sought his power through politics and military force, not sexual conquests. He tried to enact a universal health care law long before the idea was fashionable. Some day, historians may be able to sort out and evaluate a balance between the good he tried to do versus the harm he actually did do. But, of course, what we consider good and harmful depends on our personal values. True believers in capitalism applaud his attempt to escalate the war in Vietnam and to overthrow Castro, and his success in using the CIA to overthrow the democratically elected president of Chile. My values rate these as destructive actions, far more serious than Watergate which actually brought him down. Hardly anyone murmured when Reagan stole Carter’s briefing book to prepare for their debate, and Reagan and Bush remain untarnished in the eyes of many despite the flouting of our constitution during Iran-Contragate. So we will leave Nixon to the judgment of his own conscience.