U.S. President Administration charts

[Jim Eshelman]

Throwing questions out as they come up, for whoever knows or can find the answer.

George Washington's first inauguration was April 30, 1789 in New York City. Does anyone know if it was noon? (I have to dig back through the constitution to see what was mandated, though some of it may have been by statute under the old government. Primary question is whether this date was set by law as when the term began, or if another date was specified by law independent of when the inauguration occurred.)

UPDATE: I just confirmed that March 4 was mandated by the Constitution, but the event was delayed because Congress didn't get the votes counted in time. I would argue that the administration may have run from March 4, noon, regardless - for astrological purposes - but this should be tested against events in Washington's first term. I still would like to know if anyone has a time for the oath. (I admit the March 4 chart is a much more severe chart and would likely have marked a failed administration. The April 30 chart is not only presidential but precedental, if it occurred at noon.)

Additionally, I think after his first inauguration the capital moved back to Philadelphia, which would be the location of his second inauguration. Confirmation, anyone?

[Jim Eshelman]

John Adams... was inauguration in Philadelphia? I can't confirm.

[Jim Eshelman]

Since I just calculated Lincoln's administration charts, I'll pause and check them for his assassination. He died April 15, 1865, 7:22 AM LMT, in Washington, DC. His first inauguration was at noon on March 4, 1861, and the second one on the same date in 1865.

Administration Chart
The chart itself is rather basic: Sun is at MC, with Moon and Saturn 7-8° off angles. Of possible interest and importance is a foreground Moon-Saturn partile mundane square, certainly representative of the great emotional tragedies during his presidency. Mercury conjoins Neptune, Mars conjoins Pluto.

Transits
t Uranus op. r Moon 40'
-- t Uranus oct. r Mars 57'
t Jupiter sq. r Neptune 27'
t Mercury oct. r Mercury 55'
t Moon sq. r Sun 15', op. EP 37'

Not bad. The surprise violence is shown etc. I'm not crazy about Jupiter to Neptune, but will be generous and observe the event occurred in a theater.

Quotidian
p Asc sq. r Mars 0°01'

It doesn't get more exacting than that <OMG sheesh>.

Administration Chart
The new second administration chart, from just over a month earlier has Sun at MC as always but, this time, squared by a partile Moon-Mars conjunction. Jupiter opposes Uranus a few degrees off the horizon. It captures the basic themes in the sense of a return chart describing the period.

Transits
t Pluto oct. r Jupiter 55' [but it was there in the inaug chart already]
t Uranus op. r Jupiter 14', oct. r Pluto 23' [again, already in inaug chart]
t Mars sq. r Neptune 60' [bingo!]
t Moon sq. r Sun 14', oct. r Saturn 51'

This is good!

Quotidian
p Moon-Mars conj. 51' [It had passed exact in the weeks between]
p MC conj. t Sun 07' [too wide to get t Saturn]

Not great, and not pinpointing the day.


This, of course, means that the administration of (later impeached) President Andrew Johnson began the moment Lincoln died, and is most distinctively marked by Pluto exactly square MC and a background Sun-Saturn opposition.

[mikestar13]

Readers may find this link instructive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... auguration

Note: when the date is given as March 5 or January 21, this indicates a public inauguration on Monday, as it is not the custom to conduct the ceremony on Sunday. But in each case, the President-elect took the oath privately the day before, and repeated the oath at the public ceremony. The second oath was only symbolic, the first oath was what made the President-elect into the President.

The March 4 date was not in the constitution, it was in a law passed by the Congress of the United States under the Articles of Confederation, which stipulated that the terms of the President, Vice-President, Senators, and Representatives under the new Constitution would commence at noon, March 4, 1789. As Jim noted, Washington's first inauguration was 57 days late.

It was believed that for congress to change the March 4 date would be unconstitutional, as it would result in a Presidential term of less than four years in the term in which it became effective, hence the need for a constitutional amendment. Notice FDR's first term is from March 4,1933 to January 20,1937, which is 3 years 323 days.

[Jim Eshelman]

Thanks.

I don't think the oath has anything to do with it, BTW. I think the law defines the moment someone becomes president. The oath only determines when they have power to act as president. But the administration begins from the moment law says it does.

[mikestar13]

With regard to the question of when the administration of a Vice-President who succeeds to the Presidency, Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution says: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

OTOH, Amendment XXV, Section 1 says: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

So I could argue the case either way when the term begins.

[mikestar13]

Our posts crossed, Jim. I'm leaning toward your view, with the reservation that Washington's first term legally began March 4, 1789 at noon, which produced a very inauspicious chart as you indicated.

[Jim Eshelman]

With regard to the question of when the administration of a Vice-President who succeeds to the Presidency, Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution says: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

OTOH, Amendment XXV, Section 1 says: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

So I could argue the case either way when the term begins.

As above, I distinguish become the separate stages of becoming president and being authorized to exercise the power of the president. The new administration of a vice president begins the instant the prior president dies, resigns, or is removed from office However, until the oath is taken, the new president can't do anything official.

For example, whenever someone suggests Trump just might get reelected in 2020, I fantasize that the inauguration set up will run a little longer than planned and at, say, 12:03 PM he'll be ready to take the oath of office. As of 12:00 his old term of office ended and, as a reelected candidate he is president but, at that moment, has no power to act as one. In walks Mueller to put on the handcuffs just as he is about to place his hand on the Bible

[SteveS]

Natal Quotidians (NQ2) for President's Inaugurations have proven their worth in research for future daily events for a President's Inauguration Chart (Jan 20, 2017, 12:00 Noon Washington DC). A most interesting Trump's NQ2 Inauguration set-up progressed to Nov 3 2020 Election Night, 11:00 PM:

NQ2 Moon 29,33 Scorpio
NQ2 Saturn 28,53 Scorpio
Trump's Sun 28,56 Taurus

NQ2 ASC 00,32 Cap
t. Saturn 01,22 Cap
t. Mercury 00,53 Lib
Trump's Venus 01,45 Can

[Jim Eshelman]

Natal Quotidians (NQ2) for President's Inaugurations have proven their worth in research for future daily events for a President's Inauguration Chart (Jan 20, 2017, 12:00 Noon Washington DC). A most interesting Trump's NQ2 Inauguration set-up progressed to Nov 3 2020 Election Night, 11:00 PM:

NQ2 Moon 29,33 Scorpio
NQ2 Saturn 28,53 Scorpio
Trump's Sun 28,56 Taurus

NQ2 ASC 00,32 Cap
t. Saturn 01,22 Cap
t. Mercury 00,53 Lib
Trump's Venus 01,45 Can

Good observation. I think I posted this earlier except not with Trump's natals included - which makes it really interesting. (Don't forget inauguration Mars at 29°23' Aquarius.

We don't have a lot of evidence on how these work, but we do have some, including Richard Murakami's work with administration charts published in Spica (which, as you know, is free for everyone to download from this site). The administration chart seems a valid tool for the lifespan of the administration and its critical events.

I wonder what (if anything) will happen around October 15 (interestingly immediately before the dangerous looking Libsolar) when the Moon-Saturn progressed conjunction is exact. Three days later, SNQ MC squares transiting Saturn. Progressed Moon conjoins natal Saturn October 4

[SteveS]

Jim wrote:

(Don't forget inauguration Mars at 29°23' Aquarius.

Indeed, which offers the 2017 Inauguration's partile set-up of:
I Mars 29,23 Aqu
I Saturn 28,32 Scorpio
Trump's Sun 28,56 Taurus

Jim wrote:

The administration chart seems a valid tool for the lifespan of the administration and its critical events.

I do believe its a valid tool for possible "critical events" and when we note t. Pluto will be partile cnj 2021 Inauguration MC for many months (off/on), and then note 2021 Mundo Inauguration Chart with a near foreground of a tight cnj of Moon-Mars-Uranus--- Then realizing the World will be experiencing t. Pluto partile cnj Capsolar Sun for many months ...

[Jim Eshelman]

Yesterday (1/6/21), at 1 PM, Congress met to certify the Electoral College votes. About the same time, President Trump held a rally openly inciting his supporters to march on the Capitol. They did, temporarily occupying it, vandalizing it. So far, four people have died.

Using 2 PM as a convenient time, I thought I'd progress the Trump Administration chart. The SNQ is remarkable!

21°39' Sag - t Sun
22°045' Sag - SNQ MC
22°38' Sag - r Pluto

25°02' Pis - SNQ EP
25°48' Pis - r Uranus

4°54' Ari - t Mars
5°00' Ari - SNQ Asc

1°40' Sag - p Moon
2°21' Pis - p Mars

But strangely:

1°40' Sag - p Moon
2°38' Sag - t Venus

9°05' Cap - t Jupiter
9°53' Cap - p Sun