Starcats' Commentary
PERSONALITY: The Nixon personality has become the subject of extensive psychology inquiry. In Nixon v. Nixon (1972), Dr. David Abrahamson, a psychoanalyst, described him as a man torn by inner conflict, lonely, hypersensitive, narcissistic, suspicious, and secretive. In In Search of Nixon (1972), Bruce Mazlish, a historian trained in psychoanalysis, concluded the that predominant characteristic of the "real" Nixon behind the public figure was a fear of passivity, of appearing soft, of being dependent on others. In Richard Nixon: The Shaping of His Character (1981), historian Fawn Brodie painstakingly sought to demonstrate that he was a compulsive liar and concluded: "Nixon lied to gain love, to shore up his grandiose fantasies, to bolster his ever-wavering sense of identity. He lied in attack, hoping to win . . . And always he lied, and this most aggressively, to deny that he lied." ²
Childhood
Richard Nixon, the second of five children, was raised in poverty in Yorba Linda and Whittier, California. Of Scotch-Irish heritage, Nixon can claim a royal heritage. "Though his maternal grandfather [English-Irish], Franklin Milhouse, Nixon descended from King Edward III (1312-1377) of England. His great-grandfather George Nixon was among the troops to cross the Delaware with General George Washington during the American Revolution. His great-grandfather George Nixon III was killed at Gettysburg during the Civil War."
At ages 3 and 4, Nixon nearly died. First, he fell out of his buggy and sustained a bloody wound to his scalp and nearly bled to death. A year later, he suffered from pneumonia:
Progressed MC 19 Gemini opposite 4th house Vesta of "safety;" progressed Moon 25 Pisces, in T-square with natal Pluto and Mars. Nixon's progressed Moon reached 28 Pisces on April 1, 1916 just after his 3rd birthday igniting a two year period of life and death struggles. Twenty-eight degrees of the signs rouses Nixon's natal Pluto, positioned as the "boomerang" planet in his natal YOD. [John Dean, Nixon's White House counsel, and Henry Kissinger, Nixon's National Security Adviser, have natal planets which also set off Nixon's natal Yod.] Nixon's progressed Moon entered the sign Aries on May 26, 1916. Mars/Moon is oftentimes associated with accidents involving the head. Nixon died in 1994 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 81. [Progressed Sun 11 Aries; progressed Mercury retrograde 3 Aries conjoined to progressed North Lunar Node.]
Nixon spent his childhood hustling produce to market for display in his father's store, Nixon's Market. At night he lay in bed listening to the radio for "spin" on the Harding administration's Teapot Dome Scandal. At the age of 10 He told his mother that he ". . .would like to become a lawyer -- an honest lawyer, who can't be bought by crooks." Progressed Juno (political "marriage/destiny" trine natal Saturn, 27 Taurus in Nixon's 9th house of "law." ["The Teapot Dome incident became a symbol for supposed excesses and government graft and corruption."]
Nixon was described as ". . . quiet, obedient child, dutifully (Capricorn) helping out with chores and keeping out of mischief." For all that, obedience couldn't save his brother Arthur from death by Tuberculosis after a two year stay in an Arizona sanitarium. "His mother later recalled that Richard set out to make up for the loss by becoming a success and making his parents proud of him." [natal Mars at 29 Sagittarius opposite Pluto of "life and death" in quincunx to Neptune, signifying a disease of "malaise" and Saturn in Taurus. Mars is the ruler of Nixon's 3rd house cusp representing siblings. Venus in Pisces, ruler of his Saturn, is in his 6th house of health conjoined to Chiron of life-long wounds. Venus is exalted in the sign Pisces. "making up for loss (Chiron) by [devoting his life to] making his parents proud of him."]
Religion
Quaker. ". . . but as president attended services of various denominations." He rejected the Quaker tenet of pacifism [enlisted in Navy, prosecuted Vietnam War as president]. He ignored the Quaker ban on swearing oaths on taking office as vice president and president. ["Under the Constitution, he could have substituted the word affirm for swear, as Quaker Herbert Hoover had done in 1929."] Nixon "cited religious and moral grounds in opposing abortion. [Roe v. Wade affirmed in 1972 by the U.S. Supreme Court.]
Pluto in Gemini ruled by Mercury in Capricorn: if it benefited Nixon, he would eschew Quaker values (swearing oaths of office. The "power" of ritual). On the other hand, if Quaker values supported his political Right Wing cronies, he would cite "moral grounds" in opposition to the rights of women.
[Saturn in Taurus in the 9th house of beliefs; Venus ruler conjunct Chiron in Nixon's 6th house. Jupiter, dispositor of his 6th house planets is in status-oriented Capricorn. The "law" of religion (Saturn) is squared by Nixon's 6th house Aquarius Moon. In this instance, the Moon's Uranus ruler in dignity in the 5th house in Aquarius is Nixon rewriting the laws of religion and politics "his way." Iconoclasm.]
Marriage
At age 27, Nixon married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (age 28) on June 21, 1940, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. [Pat Nixon: March 16, 1912, Ely, Nevada.] Among the various biographical notes related to Richard and Pat Nixon, one stands out: Nixon, a young lawyer, heard from a friend that a "pretty new teacher had come to town [Whittier, California]." Pat Ryan, a teacher and part time actress was active in local community theatre. Nixon learned of her whereabouts, auditioned for part in The Dark Tower(!!!) and won a part opposite her. He proposed to her the same night. "I thought he was nuts or something," said Pat Nixon when she recalled their subsequent two year courtship.³
[June 21, 1940: Progressed Ascendant 12 Libra; Mercury 12 Aquarius trine progressed Ascendant; Venus 3 Aries conjoined to Progressed North Node in house 7. Progressed Mars conjoined to 5th house natal Sun and natal Juno of marriage (5th house/stage; acting; actors and performing). Progressed Juno 3 Aquarius, sextile progressed 7th house Venus and in the degree of the progressed Lunar Nodes. Progressed Sun 17 Aquarius conjoined to 6th house cusp trine natal MC.]
Pat Nixon
[Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon. Her nickname, Pat, was given to her by her father who maintained that Pat had been born on St. Patrick's Day. However, ". . . evidence of the birth certificate, which indicates the birth occurred at 3:25 am on the sixteenth," indicates that Pat Nixon was born the day before. pg. 28, The Arrogance of Power," by Anthony Summer, copyright 2000, Penguin Books.]
Mrs. Nixon has Venus and Moon conjoined to the USA's natal Moon (27 Aquarius) in square to RMN's Saturn. Pat's Moon/Venus set off Nixon's natal Moon/Saturn square and links him to his mother, Hannah, a woman who Nixon's psychiatrist maintained did next to little by way of nurturing RMN. Nixon's father was not above beating his sons. However, two of the Nixon children said that they would rather be beaten than be subjected to Hannah's quiet words. Words she used to rip them apart.
It is well-known that Nixon projected his early deprivation upon Pat, who he oftentimes rejected with the same kind of disdain he experienced in childhood.
Pat's Sun square Pluto ignites Nixon's chart via his 7th house of marriage and kicks off his YOD. Pat's natal Neptune at 21 Cancer, in the degree of her Lunar Nodes, is one indicator of Pat Nixon's addictive complex. She had problems with alcohol and died of lung cancer as the result of chain smoking for most of her adult years.
Both Pat and Richard share a Chiron conjunction (7 Pisces) [the "wound" arising from a failed vision of "exalted love"], another testimony that links the two to a penchant for addiction to alcohol, cigarettes and power. Halderman, for example, hated Pat Nixon. He believed she approached her position as First Lady as "a job" sans the more gentle "feelings" the American public expects from the wife of the president. [Remember that Hillary Clinton was accused of the same.] Pat's approach to her role as First Lady was the only power she had and thus refused to brook Halderman's interference. Pat's Sun square Plutoi is, in part, why it took her so long to accept Nixon's repeated marriage proposals. She "sensed" something dark in RMN, a similar darkness caught up with Pat's deep desire for her own power and independence. Pat knew, unconsciously, that RMN's drive to power would subvert her personal creative ambitions (Pat enjoyed acting and performing) and subsume her.
For Nixon's Second Inauguration, Transiting Pluto at 24 Virgo opposed Pat's natal Sun and formed a T-square to her Natal Pluto (26 Gemini). If Pat's chart alone had been analyzed in connection with Nixon's Second Inauguration chart, it would have been easy to see the "fall from grace" indicated for her husband. Transiting Chiron at 29 Pisces had also been hovering around Pat's Sun setting off its square to her and Nixon's natal Plutos, as well. At the time Transiting Saturn reached 19 Gemini, it crossed her Mars, and subsequently her own Pluto, just before before Saturn conjoined Nixon's Pluto at 28 Gemini. Pat's natal Mars at 19 Gemini opposes Nixon's 4th house Vesta (the comfort of "home fires burning"). Saturn's conjunction to Pat's Mars in opposition to Nixon's Vesta signaled from the beginning that domestic violence would be a strong part of their marriage. Nixon's rejection of Pat grew stronger the closer he came to the presidency. By the time he was first inaugurated in 1969, the separateness and coldness between them was plain to everyone. Note: The aforementioned T-square in Pat's chart on January 20, 1973 kicked off Nixon's Natal YOD.
RMN and Pat Nixon
Politics
Grolier's lists Nixon's curriculum vitae.
Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States
Nixon Chart Library
Richard M. Nixon Charts:
- Natal Chart
- First Inauguration
- Second Inauguration
- Saturn Conjoins His Natal Pluto
- Nixon Announces He'll Resign the Presidency
- Nixon Resigns the Presidency
- Death in New York City
First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1969
Second Inaugural Address, January 20, 1973
Articles of Impeachment Against Richard M. Nixon
Nixon's First Inauguration chart holds the keys to Watergate, not the Second. The plot hatched by the Plumbers occurred during Nixon's first administration and was formulated as an "arm" of CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) during Nixon's 1972 campaign for re-election.
Nixon's Second Inauguration chart has a void-of-course Moon at 24 Leo. The void Moon presages the outcome of Nixon's second victory post-Plumbers. A void-of-course Moon in an inauguration chart shows that the president will not finish his [and someday "her"] term of office. [The next presidential inauguration with a void of course Moon occurs January 20, 2009.]There is dispute among astrologers as to whether the Moon was void of course during Bill Clinton's Second Inauguration. Although Mr. Clinton finished his second term, the Monica Lewinsky debacle crippled Clinton's attempt to leave office with a positive legacy. A comparison with Mr. Nixon's Watergate scandal is "apples to oranges." However, Mr. Clinton shares with Mr. Nixon the overriding need to rehabilitate his legacy post-office. [see, Presidential Inaugurations and Void of Course Moon.]
- Inauguration Pluto at 24 Virgo is conjoined to the Midheaven of the Second Inauguration chart. (Falls in Nixon's first house).
- Inauguration Neptune at 28 Scorpio sets off Nixon's natal YOD. (Falls in Nixon's third house).
- Inauguration Moon at 4 Pisces conjoins his natal Venus and Chiron of incurable wounds. (Falls in Nixon's 6th house).
- Inauguration Chiron at 29 Pisces conjoins the fixed star, Scheat, and squares Nixon's Pluto-Mars, thus again setting off his natal YOD configuration. (Chiron falls in Nixon's 7th house). Scheat is associated with poisoning and drowning. Nixon's 11th house Neptune, ruler of Inauguration Chiron, holds partial keys to what brought Nixon down.
- The asteroid Goddess, NEMESIS, at 27 Gemini is conjoined to Nixon's Pluto; Kissinger's Mars; and opposes Nixon's natal Mars. Nemesis sits atop Nixon's "boomerang" contained within his natal YOD configuration.
[Note: Nixon's First Inauguration Mercury: 16 Aquarius and Venus 17 Pisces. These two positions were repeated in the Inauguration chart of George W. Bush.]
Cover-up
"Harry S Truman, had once said about the man had come true: 'Nixon is a shifty-eyed goddamn liar and everyone knows it. He is one of the few men in the history of this country to run for high office talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and lying out of both sides.' " Sunday Herald.
'I don't give a shit what happens. I want you to stonewall, plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up, or anything else, if that will save it, save the plan.' -- Richard M. Nixon.
Nixon maintained that he did not know that the Watergate bugging and subsequent break-in to the DNC had been planned. His diary notes, subsequent to the Plumbers' arrest, don't indicate that he was aware of how far the CREEP [Committee to Re-Elect the President] "espionage" activities were going to go. At the time of the bugging (May 28), Nixon and Kissinger were in Moscow signing off on the 1972 ABM Treaty [Nixon-Brezhnev.] [At the 2001 Saturn Return of that historic event, George W. Bush unilaterally broke the treaty in favor of resurrecting Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" antiballistic missile program.] Nixon was vacationing in Key Biscayne, Florida on June 17, 1972, the night the Watergate Plumbers were caught in the midst of their second break-in.
Natal Neptune in Nixon's 11th house (nefarious comrades; schemes; scandals; subplots) in trine to Inauguaration Chiron in the 7th, shows that the Dean/G. Gordon Liddy plot to raid the DNC would result in Nixon suffering a Chironic wound to his 7th house eventually designating him "an enemy of the people."
Second, Nixon's natal Neptune, ruler of his natal 6th house Venus and Chiron, led him to "cover-up" [Neptune/disguise] for various comrades he believed he should trust. This misguided loyalty (and c.y.a.) strategy backfired: "What did he know? When did he know it?"
Third, Nixon's Saturn in Taurus in the 9th house becomes an obvious link to his second term of office. Taurus is associated with the throat. Nixon's downfall, via DEEP THROAT, led Woodward and Bernstein through the labyrinths (underworld/Pluto) of journalistic espionage (Pluto/Gemini) resulting in pulitzer prizes and a place in history.
PLUTO/Gemini: DEEP
SATURN/Taurus: THROAT
Another key to Nixon's downfall is his Lot of Accusation at 15 Aquarius. This point conjoins Nixon's First Inauguration Mercury (16 Aquarius retrograde). Mercury, by retrograde motion, conjoined the Lot the day after Nixon's inauguration then again on March 2, 1969 when it went direct. Both the lot and Inauguration Mercury trine Nixon's Midheaven of "fame and public reputation." Inauguration Mercury as well as the Lot are in the degree of the Lunar Nodes for Nixon's second Inauguration (16 Cancer/16 Capricorn). Further, Nixon's progressed Lunar Nodes were exactly the same. Transiting Saturn had moved from 19 Aries (a critical degree) to 14 Libra by January 20, 1973 -- representing another "Saturn Return" for the United States of America. [Saturn in Libra in the USA's 10th house. The nation's highest value: THE RULE OF LAW. The President of the United States swears in inaugural oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution.]
Eighteen and One-Half Minutes
"The morning meeting with Haldeman on June 20, 1972 [after Nixon had been apprised of the Watergate plot], was recorded by the White House taping system. Eighteen and a half minutes of that tape were erased sometime before the tapes were delivered to congressional investigators." [From Reeves' "President Nixon," fn., pg. 504.]
But Nixon did know:
Nixon's Basement Tapes
"More Break-ins Plotted"
[Link Courtesy of Ina Buckner, Starcats' Anima Mundi Astrology List.]
"Newly released White House recordings tell
a terrible tale of presidential abuse of power."
It's no secret that the Nixon administration at times resorted to petty burglary -- the botched break-in against Democratic Party offices at the Watergate Hotel sparked the scandal that ultimately forced Nixon to resign. The newly released tapes reveal that Nixon ordered additional break-ins that would have been just as scandalous, had they been carried out."
Nixon's Basement Tapes
Nixon Appointed Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court!
Nixon and the Square Majority: Is the Fox a Lion? He didn't "bring us together." Why does 1972 look like his year?
by Stewart Alsop
"All this finessing has shoved the Nixon Administration a good deal further to the left than most Nixonologists would have believed possible when the President took office. But the President has been able, with an assist from Spiro Agnew, to appease the right-wing ideologues with his rhetoric—rhetoric always means more to ideologues than real issues—and with his conservative appointments or attempted appointments, especially to the Supreme Court. There are, of course, loud anti-Nixonian mutterings among the right ideologues, but their voting strength is negligible. What matters a great deal more to Mr. Nixon is the voting strength—and the electoral college strength—of the South." Atlantic Monthly, February 1972.
Second Inauguration, January 20, 1973
As mentioned above, Nixon's Second Inauguration chart holds a void-of-course Moon at 24 Leo. That is, the Moon will make no more Ptolmaic aspects until she reaches the next sign, Virgo. The Moon applies to a non-Ptolmaic aspect, however, a quincunx to Mercury at 25 Capricorn which is conjoined to the Midheaven. [Ptolmaic aspects: conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition. Quincunxes were not recognized by ancient/traditional astrologers.]
If we examine the quincunx aspect ("sacrifice" and "adjustment"), however, the Moon in Leo is ruler of the South Node of endings (16 Cancer) and is "dis-joined" by quincunx to Mercury at 25 Capricorn ruled by Saturn at 14 Gemini retrograde in opposition to Mars at 14 Sagittarius.
You will recall that Clinton's Impeachment proceedings occurred under a Saturn-Mars opposition. In the case of Nixon's Second Inauguration, the Goddess NEMESIS is at 23 Aries, conjoined to Nixon's progressed Moon(!) and is in square Mercury and opposite Uranus of sudden upheaval/rerouting of Nixon's political destiny. The T-Square configuration releases out of Mercury in authoritarian Capricorn conjoined to the Inauguration's Midheaven. The Leo Moon (at the tail end of the 4th house of "endings") had just trined Nemesis moments before Nixon took the oath of office. Also, Saturn and Mercury are in mutual reception by sign. Therefore, we can "switch" the positions of Saturn of Mercury in the chart and read the chart as if the two planets posited their receptive signs. Planets in mutual reception either "bail each other out, or get each other in worse trouble."
To see it work, do this: place Saturn in Mercury's 10th house position of the chart and switch Mercury over to Saturn's position in the chart. Saturn, by "switch" would be located in the 10th house position replacing Mercury. Saturn in the 10th house is 1) an ascension to power; or 2) a "fall from grace." The manner in which Saturn manifests as an "event" will then be in accordance with one's conduct. The 10th house is associated with one's reputation and honor. However, at the time of Nixon's Second Inauguration, he had already opted for a Watergate cover-up. By switching the chart's 10th house Mercury to house 2 of the Inauguration chart, Mercury then becomes "retrograde." Mercury retrograde in the house associated with "the future of the matter" indicates that the past cover-up would be discovered.
Inauguration Saturn (retrograde in Gemini) reached 28 Gemini by July 21, 1973 and conjoined Nixon's natal Pluto. By retrograde motion, Saturn made two more contacts with the Lord of the Underworld: January 23, 1974 and again on March 15, 1974. Nixon's progressed Mars at 15 Aquarius, is conjoined to his "Lot of Accusation." His progressed Uranus at 6 Aquarius (political upheaval) is in the degree of his Natal Lunar Nodes. The Inauguration Moon at 24 Leo falls in Nixon's natal 12th house, and squares his 9th house natal Saturn. It's sextile to his natal Pluto and trine to his natal Mars shows how "easy" it was for Nixon to slide into his YOD "boomerang." Nixon's natal Pluto at 28 Gemini conjoins Bill Clinton's Part of Fortune in Clinton's 9th house of "legal matters." Clinton was acquitted. Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald R. Ford.
Nixon resigned the Presidency to avoid Impeachment and conviction on August 9, 1974.
Biwheel: Watergate Plumbers Arrested/Second Inauguration
Mercury and the Midheaven for the Second Inauguration are one degree shy of the Lunar Nodes for the Watergate Arrest. The Ascendant, where I've noted Nixon's Progressed Moon/Nemesis conjunction is in T-Square with Inauguration Mercury/MC and the Break-in Lunar Nodes. Inauguration Moon in quincunx to Mercury/MC/Nodes and in sextile to Uranus on the lucky fixed star Spica, may signify that the "adjustment in the matter" was Gerald R. Ford's subsequent pardoning of the president.
"Deceived and confused egos, though, eventually undermined the President. So many layers of lies were needed to protect the layers of secrecy that no one, including the President himself, new what the truth was anymore."(fn.4)
Starcats' Journal Entry -- Thursday, June 13, 2002. Moon at 1 Leo
The transiting Moon conjoined John Dean's natal at the time I opened the cover of his new book, "The Rehnquist Choice, The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court." (fn.5) I took a quick glance at Nixon, Kissinger and Dean's charts:
Dean's Pluto sets off Nixon's YOD. Kissinger's Mars also sets it off.
- Neptune (24 Cancer retrograde) quincunx Mars, Mercury and Jupiter.
- Saturn (27 Taurus) quincunx Mars, Mercury and Jupiter.
- Pluto (28 Gemini, conjunct Kissinger's Mars) opposes Mars, Mercury and Jupiter creating a "boomerang effect."(fn.6)
Nixon's Plutonic "boomerang" is set off by Henry Kissinger's natal Mars! And by July 21, 1973, as transiting Saturn (5) conjoined Nixon's natal Pluto (and Kissinger's Mars), the die was cast. Nixon no longer had a hold on the presidency. [In February, 1973, The Senate established an investigative committee headed by Sen. Sam Ervin, Jr., to look into the growing Watergate scandal.]
Dean's Pluto quincunx Nixon's Mercury-Jupiter: "There's a cancer growing on the presidency."
Kissinger's Mars conjunct Nixon's Pluto (the boomerang): The Vietnam War. The Mai Lai Massacre. Escalated bombing. "Peace with honor."
Pluto/Mars opposite Pluto: powerful enemies. Paranoia. War and brutality. Covert, "mafioso" operators. Watergate Plumbers. Neptune in Nixon's 11th house: nefarious characters; subterfuge; lies; cover-up.
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