Tag Archives: presidents

Astro-Genealogy: Reclamation

Why do we connect with particular ancestors?  Of course it’s astrological.  Gayle Jessup White’s oral history assured her that she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson.  White’s book, Reclamation, chronicles her lifelong journey to trace her roots, and astrology shows an extraordinary connection between the ancestor and his descendant, with eleven conjunctions between the two charts.

The author gives us her birth date, and with at least five planets in Leo, White writes candidly and with love and pride.  Her Moon may be in Cancer or Leo (if she was born after 6:15 p.m.).  Cancer seems more likely since her writing also shows warmth and sensitivity.

At thirteen she overheard her older sister mention that the family was descended from the president.  After some research, they also believed they were descended from Sally Hemings, the enslaved half-sister of Jefferson’s wife Martha, who had six of the president’s children.  But their father had lost his mother at five to tuberculosis, so knew little about her life.  Though he identified as black, he remembered uncles who had “shed their black identities.”

Gayle Jessup White’s Leo Sun disposits all the planets in her horoscope (except for the Moon if it’s in Cancer), making it quite influential.  The Sun conjunct Uranus and trine Saturn shows her connection with her father and their unique heritage, as well as her interest in the past (Saturn).  It was many years before Gayle was able to piece together more of her family history.

As an adult, White regularly visited Monticello, Jefferson’s estate, always sharing her story with the tour guides when they mentioned Hemings, but got no response.  Finally, in May of 2010, with transiting Saturn conjoining her natal Jupiter and transiting Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces opposing her Jupiter, she visited again with her son, and her story found an audience.  They received a private tour and a referral to a researcher interested in their history.

In late July, as Jupiter and Uranus, now in early Aries, both stationed closely in trine to her Sun, Gayle made contact with the researcher, who quickly found her grandmother in the 1900 Census, living as the servant of a white great-granddaughter of Jefferson (a remnant from the days of enslavement).  After getting the news, Gayle had a psychic experience, hearing the voice of her grandmother saying, “It’s all I have, tell my story.”

She then continued her search with “relentless determination” (as we might imagine with Mercury, Mars and Pluto all conjunct in Leo), and was eventually able, through genealogy records and DNA testing, to confirm that she was indeed a direct descendant of Jefferson and that Sally Hemings was her four-times great-aunt.

Gayle’s astrological connections with her ancestor are remarkable.  Isaac Starkman’s rectified chart for Jefferson and the noon chart for White both share a late Cancer Moon.  Their Mars are conjunct in Leo, and Jefferson’s Saturn and Jupiter in late Leo and early Virgo conjoin White’s Mercury, Pluto and Venus.  If this were not enough to motivate a search through the centuries, their Nodes are closely conjunct in opposing signs, with Jefferson’s Pluto falling exactly on White’s North Node.  Their Saturn-Pluto conjunction is also near exact; both Pluto connections suggest their genetic bond.

What Gayle knew for so long was proved.  She had received a research grant from the Jefferson foundation and became the PR and Community Engagement Officer at Monticello.  She describes herself as “A woman who after a lifelong journey found her family, her home, her purpose.”  A strong Leo Sun trine Saturn often promises success, even if Uranus made for many twists and turns before she got there.

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Presidential Wheels of Fortune

Why did I ever get involved with the presidents?  It must be astrological.  With a strong Saturn trine the Ascendant, my connection with them began before I even thought about looking at their elections astrologically. 

When I was a kid, my parents bought me a poster with headshots of all the chief executives.  I’m not sure why they considered it an appropriate gift for a grade-schooler, but they were both civic-minded and we all had Capricorn in our charts.  The poster stood out in black and gold on my bedroom wall, and I was fascinated by the weird hairdos and fashions.  I knew very little about the people, but named my hamster after one of them.  (Fillmore’s cage sat beneath the poster, though he never got as far on his wheel of fortune as his namesake.)

When my first book about Sun-signs and career came out, one of my radio interviews was in Tennessee.  It was election season and I thought they’d like to hear about Vice Presidential candidate Al Gore’s chances for success.  Using pretty basic techniques, I already expected Bill Clinton was likely to win, and Gore’s chart settled it. 

I’d always been attracted to forecasting, and calling the outcomes of political elections was the kind of definitive, testable astrology I liked.  Clients were interested in it, too.  I focused on the natal horoscopes for my conclusions regarding major changes, continuing on a particular path, and possible success. 

Early 20th century astrologer Evangeline Adams was no stranger to prediction, and famously called the outcomes of several presidential elections correctly.  She appeared to base her judgments, at least partially, on transiting Saturn, which is so important to career and life direction.  When I began studying Adams’ work, I became more interested in her Gemini rising U.S. chart, and took more time with my next presidential forecasts, studying not only the candidates’ charts but the country’s too.

With several correct forecasts in a row, I now had a record to uphold!  I eventually became convinced that the more things I looked at, the more accurate I’d be.  I checked transits, solar returns, progressions, solar arcs, progressed declination, planetary cycles, the candidates’ progressed to the U.S. chart, as well as their progressed to U.S. progressed aspects, and included the candidates’ spouses to see if they supported my conclusions. 

Some were easier than others.  I was skeptical that an African American president could be elected in 2008, but the prevailing transit of Saturn opposite Uranus, announcing innovation, clinched my forecast of Obama’s win.  In 2012, his progressed declination was so deeply connected with longer-term U.S. progressions that I felt his work with the country was not yet complete.  At the same time, Mitt Romney had transiting Neptune squaring his Gemini Ascendant, while running mate Paul Ryan had the mirror aspect to his Sagittarius Ascendant:  I imagined their joint hopes would evaporate.

The presidential contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore, despite being one of the closest in U.S. history, seemed to me relatively easy to determine astrologically, and many other astrologers agreed. 

My brother, a die-hard skeptic, also kept me focused on the presidential predictions.  A math person with a fixed-sign Aquarius Mercury, he argued my successes were simply coincidence.  I’d actually been correct 6 out of 6 times.  The probability of choosing heads correctly in 6 coin tosses is 1 in 64, or a 1.56 % (.0156) chance. 

But by the time Hillary Clinton ran against Donald Trump, I’d become overconfident, and transiting Jupiter trine my Moon that year only added to my presumption.  Living in New York City for most of my life, I assumed most would see Donald Trump’s run as the publicity stunt I thought it was.  I also couldn’t imagine someone with such a checkered career in the White House.  We all know the result; bias is not a good thing for astrological judgment, and the lack of an accurate birth time for Hillary didn’t help. 

I was determined to do better with the 2020 election and again spent a great deal of time with the candidates, their spouses and the U.S. charts.  I also returned to basics, and only used the techniques I was most familiar with – transits, progressions and progressed declination.  My study of U.S. Inauguration charts for my book Tecumseh’s Curse also helped me call the 2020 outcome correctly, when I realized that Saturn and Uranus in hard aspect historically suggested a change in presidential party. 

I now had an accuracy record of 7 in 8 correct, or 87.5%, versus odds of 3.13% by chance alone.  When I asked my brother what he thought, he laughed nervously and began talking about Trump’s legal challenges.  (We now know that his 60+ lawsuits for voter fraud across the country were virtually all dropped or dismissed due to lack of evidence.)  More importantly, I had refined my forecasting techniques and vindicated both myself and astrology. 

A Presidential Signature?

When George W. Bush spoke out against nationalism, hate speech and isolationism in October, I wondered how his horoscope compared with Donald Trump’s.  I looked at Bush’s chart and realized that the two men were born only three weeks apart! 

In Alan Mayeda’s excellent article in the August ISAR Journal, he discussed solar eclipses and U.S. Presidents, and pointed out that Trump, Bush and Bill Clinton were all born in 1946 with Uranus conjunct the North Node high in the sky and trining Jupiter in Libra.  Mayeda’s analysis of presidents in history and these shared placements seem to be what led him to forecast Trump winning the presidency.

The three men were born in three consecutive months, an extraordinary coincidence when one considers that together they’ll likely serve over a period of at least 20 years.  What is it about this astrological combination that’s so compelling to the U.S.?  The Jupiter-Uranus trine in itself is a very dynamic aspect.  Evangeline Adams described it as “one of the most powerful and favorable aspects known,” and added that, “If you have political leanings, this vibration is an excellent one for activity.” 

But the combination of these two planets in Gemini and Libra also falls right on the U.S. horoscope, with its trine of Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Libra in middle degrees.  With the Gemini rising U.S. chart that I like, natal Mars falls conjunct the Ascendant as part of a grand trine with Saturn in the 5th house and the Moon in Aquarius in the 9th.  So the three presidents’ Uranus and North Node closely conjoin this U.S. Gemini Ascendant and Mars.  And the U.S. Moon at about 19 Aquarius also creates a close grand trine with Jupiter, Uranus and the North Node in all the three presidents’ charts as well.

Startling repeated connections!  Theodore Roosevelt is the only other president with Uranus in Gemini, but his was in an early degree.  Interestingly enough, his Jupiter was at 21 Gemini, conjoining the U.S. Ascendant and Mars and trining its Moon.  Attorney General and former 20-year Senator from Alabama Jeff Sessions was born on December 24, 1946, but his North Node is shy of conjoining the U.S. Mars or Ascendant.

Will it surprise us if the Democrats nominate someone with these astrological credentials for the 2020 election?  Richard Blumenthal, Senator from Connecticut, was born on February 13, 1946, though like Sessions, his North Node is too wide to be conjunct.  But Ed Markey, longtime Congressman and Senator from Massachusetts, was born within the “presidential window” on July 11, 1946.

Alan Mayeda’s article, “Great American Eclipses and Presidents of the United States:  an Astrological Perspective” has more, and appeared in the ISAR International Astrologer of August, 2017, p. 40-44 (unfortunately not available online).

Election 2016: Final Thoughts

The Presidential Election is upon us and most astrologers agree that Hillary Clinton will win.  I’ve presented a number of astrological techniques that support the same outcome, but there are many ways to look at the election astrologically.

I considered the Moon’s progressed declination, but not the other planets, which are slow-moving and can be very powerful.  I haven’t looked at eclipses, which are basic to astrological forecasting.  Consideration of candidates’ announcements, ingress, polls opening and inauguration and charts are also often used.  And I’ve seen terrific use of the asteroids as well.

The campaign was strongly colored by the Saturn-Neptune square, which was exact for the final time in September of 2016.  Both of the candidates are flawed (Neptune) authority figures (Saturn), with many voters unable to fully commit to either.  Some of the obvious Saturn-Neptune ideas discussed include a literal “wall” to block Neptunian illegal immigrants, and carelessness (Neptune) with classified (Saturn) e-mails.

Hillary Clinton’s horoscope is heavily Scorpio and fixed signs, while Donald Trump’s is strongly Gemini and more mutable – the two couldn’t be more different astrologically.  What they have in common is Saturn, the planet of authority and position, in signs of its detriment (opposite its ruling signs).  Donald has Saturn in Cancer and a background in real estate and property management.  Hillary, with Saturn in Leo, is more of a career public figure.  They also both share Mars and Pluto in Leo – showing why Donald might admire her energy and stick-to-it-iveness and she his children, both Leo-ruled.  While hugely successful, the two have struggled for the ultimate high-status position, excellent examples of how planets in their debility can push people to achieve.  But it’s also taken time and effort for both to get where they are today.  (Barack Obama, for example, with Saturn in Capricorn, came to office with relative ease and at a much younger age.)

The two candidates also share an emphasis on the nodes.  Trump was born on the day of a total lunar eclipse (with the Sun conjoining the North Node and the Moon opposite); Clinton has the South Node rising.  These placements may account for some of the drama in this campaign.  Bill Meridian quotes Charles Jayne as writing that, “The birth of rulers near eclipses indicates either the start or end of a dynastic line and often a state.”  Thankfully, we don’t need to worry about that, given the fact that Donald Trump is unlikely to win.

I was curious about presidential eclipses and checked out Frances McEvoy’s comprehensive “A Roll Call of Presidents” in the NCGR Geocosmic Magazine from the fall of 1996.  There has never been a U.S. President born on an eclipse.  A contemporary politician similar to Trump astrologically is Newt Gingrich, who was also born with the Sun in Gemini opposite the Moon in Sagittarius, perhaps one reason why Gingrich recently defended Trump in a live interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly!  (Kelly, funnily enough, has the Sun and Venus in Scorpio like Hillary.)

Scorpio is a common sign in the White House, and there have been five other Scorpio presidents (John Adams, James Polk, James Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt and Warren Harding).  There have only been two previous Gemini presidents, John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush, though both were elected in the late 20th century and the Scorpio presidents served earlier.