Senator Kennedy died this evening. The news broke just after 10 PM PDT. His Demi-Solar Return, which occurred in the alst 24 hours, has transiting Saturn on the Midheaven.
Behold the Aquarius-Leo luminaries of the Senate's "Liberal Lion."
BTW, in his nativity Pluto is 6°56' above the Descendant in mundo, and Saturn is 2°28' from the Eastpoint in RA. Venus, of course, has the closest angular contact, being 0°45' from the Nadir (i.e., the lower square to the Ascendant).
Add the Sun's close conjunction with Mercury and Mars, and the 18' conjunction fo the Moon and Neptune, and the chart has some powerful planetary emphases that have driven and shaped this gigantic life.
The single event which biographers usually select as changing the course of Edward Moore Kennedy's life was the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. How does such a pivotal event appear in a horoscope? And do the charts give us any clearity that 40 years of history have not provided on the events of that night?
I'm using the time they left the party, July 18, 1969, 11:15 PM, Chappaquiddick, MA.
TRANSITS
At the least, this was marked as a bad day!
Transiting Saturn 13 Ari 41 was partile conjunct his IC, and was sesqui-squared within 2' by t. Pluto. This doesn't need much detailing: a negative, impactful, "taking from" experience that knocks one's feet out from under one, and has a traumatic effect on circumstances. One can round it out with various details - concern over family and economic issues, for example - but the main flavor is clear.
The other main outer planet transit may have been what pulled the strings to help him through it politically etc.: There was a partile Jupiter-Uranus conjunction semi-square his Jupiter. But even these show turning points in matters of reputation etc.
An important descriptive transit: t. Mars square r. Sun (44' applying). Now, this transit could represent many things that people have speculated happened that night. We might be satisfied as astrologers to see this show simply for reckless driving; or, as some have speculated, an excessively aggressive sexual overture; or just for his getting hurt. To try to narrow it, let's look at the exact language of my pre-written (not custom to this event) interpretation for t. Mars to r. Sun: "Active, aggressive, strenuous, sexual, competitive. Endurance high; but you tend to 'burn both ends,' depleting resources. Circumstances demand immediate action; possible crisis. You are more irritating to others; be tactful!" Draw your own conclusions from this.
For a vehicular event, we demand some presence of Mercury in the picture; and, indeed, t. Mercury was semi-square the natal Moon-Neptune conjunction. Most likely this was at least partly "driving drunk." For Mercury-to-Moon, I've written, "Intellectual, curious, talkative, studious. Restlessness, insomnia. Rapid data exchange," which rings all to true for his all-night consultation with advisors before reporting the accident. For Mercury to Neptune: "Mind deals with fantasy better than fact. Foggy thinking, strange perceptions, fascination with the surreal, confused communications." And, indeed, he claimed to the end that his thinking was foggy.
At the time they left the party, Kennedy's natal Venus was rising.
The Moon was in late Leo, so we'll have a Lunar Return to come back to...
SECONDARY PROGRESSIONS
It was a bad month and a bad week!
Progressed Moon at 5°46' Capricorn was within 1° of conjunct natal Saturn. This is about as simple as it gets!
And the context of this fast progression was that p. Ascendant at 3°59' Aquarius was within 4' of conjunct natal Mars! Again, we see Kennedy's martial side and behavior as at issue.
P. Mars seqsquisquare p. Jupiter has several relevant interpretations. These would have been within orb and operative for three or four years of his life.
SOLAR RETURN
The SSR for this event was, itself, a quite positive one. Natal Jupiter, exalted, was rising closely, and in close paran to solar Moon in Aries on the Midheaven (and on the natal IC). Offsetting this was r. Saturn (also dignified, in Capricorn) on the Westpoint. A partile Mars-Neptune conjunction in Scorpio (15' wide) stands as a factor to watch as the year unfolds. (And this conjunction squared his natal Mercury-Mars conjunction all within a degree!)
Transits to this SSR marked the decisively "bad day" as clearly as it has in other techniques above: For t. Saturn was in partile conjunction (53' separating) with the prominent, important SSR Moon. Also, t. Mercury was only 10' from square s. Saturn. (Advice: Don't drive under bad Mercury aspects when the rest of your chart says it will be a really sucky day anyway!)
LUNAR RETURN
On the night of the accident, there was a 2' Saturn-Pluto sesquisquare. We've already seen that this occurred with t. Saturn exactly on Kennedy's natal IC. We now see that, in the SLR occurring about a day before, t. Pluto was right on the SLR IC, and there was a (more widely) rising conjunction of t. Mercury and r. Pluto (16' orb).
The Anlunar was a dud of a chart (which isn't unusual).
KINETIC LUNAR RETURN
The full KLR of July 1 had a variety of things competing for broad foreground status. I suggest everybody cast this yourselves and draw your own conclusions on the various themes represented.
More immediate to the event was the Demi-KLR of July 15. This is a very pleasant, happy chart! Far from showing a traumatic event in his life, it shows a pattern of enjoyable social connection (such as the party they were all attending). For example, Venus rises in Taurus paran p. Jupiter is on the IC. Several other themes first appearing in the KLR are tightened a bit as "second string" meanings of this Demi-SLR. I don't see this chart as describing the accident as such, but it does seem to describe what is on public record about the events leading up to the accident. (Depending on your projections or prejudices, it may also seem to confirm a range of speculations about what isn't on the public record.)
QUOTIDIANS SNQ2: The Q2 variant of the SNQ has no natal, progressed, or transiting planets within a degree of an angle.
SNQ1: The SNQ2 has r. & p. Pluto partile conjunct the Ascendant. It also has t. Jupiter-Uranus on the IC! A dramatic, life-altering event is shown, but also the advantage and protection of his position.
SQ: The SQ Ascendant squares Kennedy's natal Moon-Neptune. I don't think anyone doubts his lack of judgment that night, and most accept that he was chemically impaired. (There's also simply the matter of the water, disorientation of the car flipping over, slipping, and all the rest of the physical details.)
It is, perhaps, of interest if we examine the parans, or "hidden aspects," in Kennedy's chart.
For his birthplace, besides the multiple and obvious paran-conjunctions between Moon-Neptune and Sun-Mercury-Mars (which we can see ecliptically as well), there is one paran of note: Uranus sets within a degree of Pluto's culmination. That is, he has a Uranus-Pluto paran-square.
Generally we are discouraged from placing too much individual significance on aspects among these outer planets. However, by the scope of his life, Edward Moore Kennedy was not simply living for himself, but at the level of mass psychology; and if there was ever a person for whom a natal Uranus-Pluto square had individual meaning in a natal chart, it must be this leader of American liberalism for nearly half a century.
Jim wrote:
and if there was ever a person for whom a natal Uranus-Pluto square had individual meaning in a natal chart, it must be this leader of American liberalism for nearly half a century.
Excellent point Jim! Another good example of a hidden natal paran that manifested in a powerful manner on the public stage. His natal Moon-Neptune conjunction was a strong aspect that symbolized his liberalism.
Jim wrote:
and if there was ever a person for whom a natal Uranus-Pluto square had individual meaning in a natal chart, it must be this leader of American liberalism for nearly half a century.
Excellent point Jim! Another good example of a hidden natal paran that manifested in a powerful manner on the public stage. His natal Moon-Neptune conjunction was a strong aspect that symbolized his liberalism.
I think that showed his idealism, just as his Eastpoint Saturn in Capricorn showed his power of perseverance, perhaps the most distinguishing mark of his career.
But to his liberalism we shouldn't miss the obvious: his great Aquarian Sun.
Speaking of signs... Something Fagan and Bradley frequently observed about a chart, and IIRC one of the things that first started to sell Fagan on the Sidereal zodiac as a zodiac, was the frequency with which the horoscopes of royalty and others of high distinction and eminence had actual rulership and exaltation, which showed in their characters, also appear in their planetary placements. Great kings, popes, and people of other exceedingly high eminence have a stubborn tendency to have dignified planets.
And in this chart, besides the decisively descriptive and defining marks of his Leo Moon and Aquarius Sun, we find:
Venus exalted in Pisces
Jupiter exalted in Cancer
Saturn at home in Libra
Three of the five non-luminary classic planets are in their dignities... not a bad showing for someone who, in his lifetime, was a close to old European nobility by birth, and as close to impassioned royal leadership by his profession, as anyone in this country.
StarAgeWiz wrote:Yes! Ted Kennedy's Moon in LEO "Lion of the Senate" While Sun In AQA has been referred to as "Champion of The Underdog" as his reputation attests to. . His fiery dramatic oratory: Sun/Mercury/Mars opp. Moon/Neptune.
SSR: Death Tr. Venus opp. S. Moon conj. N. Saturn (1/2 deg orb)... Angular SSR I.C.
SSQ: Now the S. Moon/ N. Saturn aspect sits on the SSQ MC (-2 deg)
PSSR: MC 25AQA57 ...S. URA 26AQA41....S. Saturn 24LEO36...Tr. Saturn 27LEO10
His Demi-Solar Return occurred about 12 hrs after he passed. MC 26LEO43....Demi S. Saturn 27LEO23.
Saturn has often been associated with death and the end of life and it is well represented in the above Solunars.
Ted Kennedy's SLR 8/20/09 by SSQ Prog. rate to 8/25/09 around 11:50 pm (press reports he died just before midnight)
takes Lunar Venus to I.C. suggests his loving family by his bedside when he passed.
