America 250:  As Time Goes By

By Alex Miller

In part one of this series celebrating the United States of America’s 250^th birthday, we focused on asteroid America in the Declaration of Independence chart, and the charts of many of the Founding Fathers.  In part two, we looked at how asteroids representing those Revolutionary War-era notables appear in the US chart.  In part three, we continue the American saga, up to the present.

But first, a bit more exploration of American themes, as seen in the Declaration chart.  The US Sun (13 Cancer) is closely conjoined by asteroid Gunn (12 Cancer), an overt homage to Americans’ love of firearms, which many see as self-defining (Sun).  Guaranteed the right to bear arms by the Second Amendment, with only freedom of speech, religion and press outranking it, Americans now own an estimated 450 million guns, roughly 1.5 for every man, woman and child in the country.  Forget mom and apple pie – it’s fire power that Americans truly love.

Such a national obsession is impossible to contain, and spills out into every area of American life; the presidency is no exception.  Four US chief executives have been assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy), and three others have been wounded but survived (Theodore Roosevelt, Reagan and Trump), while four more have had shots fired at them by would-be assassins whose fervor was greater than their aim (Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman and Ford).  In aggregate, that’s 11, roughly 25% of the total number of men serving in that position.

Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16^th president, was the first to succumb from an assassin’s bullet.  Shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC on April 14^th 1865, just as the Civil War concluded, asteroid Lincoln (4 Capricorn), a point named for him, widely opposes asteroid Gunn, which is itself conjunct asteroid Booth (13 Cancer), pinpointing Lincoln’s assassin.

James Garfield was next, on 2 July 1881, less than six months after the 20^th president took office.  Severely wounded, Garfield lingered for 80 days before dying of infection.  Asteroid James (23 Aries) squares Pluto (27 Capricorn), planetary ruler of homicide.

William McKinley, 25^th president, was shot 6 September 1901, and died eight days later.  McKinley was just six months into his second term, succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, who faced his own assassination attempt some 11 years later.  Asteroid William (19 Pisces) is semisquare Pluto and trine Gunn.

35^th president John F. Kennedy’s assassination on 22 November 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald is perhaps the most memorable, after Lincoln.  Asteroid Kennedy (1 Aquarius) conjoins Pluto, and is opposed by asteroid Oswalt (27 Cancer), an alternate form of his assassin’s surname, with asteroid Lee (13 Aries) squared Gunn.  Kennedy was also famed for his implementation of the US space program, and challenging Americans to reach the moon within the decade.  Asteroid Kennedy is also trine the US Uranus (8 Gemini), ruling space travel and exploration, showing his unwavering support (a trine aspect keyword).

Several other US presidents seem to be represented in the Declaration chart, in ways which help to define them or their presidencies.  In particular, there are two other pairs of matched surnames in the US chief executive roster, Harrison and Roosevelt, both related to each other, though not father-son.  William Henry Harrison, 9^th president, holds the distinction of being the first to die in office, after a tenure of just 31 days (he refused to wear a coat or hat at his outdoor inauguration in freezing rain, caught pneumonia and died).  His grandson Benjamin was the US’ 23^rd president, whose single term in office saw six new states added to the Union, more than any other administration.  Asteroid Harrison (27 Capricorn) exactly squares asteroid America, denoting the Harrisons as national record-setters, albeit in very different categories.

Asteroid Roosevelt (0 Aquarius), also squared asteroid America, does double duty for Theodore and Franklin, and was named for the former.  We touched briefly on Theodore Roosevelt, 26^th to hold the office, seen independently as asteroid Theodora (27 Aquarius), a feminine form of the name, exactly conjunct the US Moon.  TR was a noted conservationist, avidly promoting the protection of natural, wild environments, Moon ruled, and established the first National Park in the US, with Theodora also widely squared asteroid Parks (5 Gemini).

FDR, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore’s distant cousin (also married to TR’s niece Eleanor) and 32^nd president, is seen as asteroid Franklina (5 Libra), also a feminine form.  FDR was the longest-serving president in US history, elected four times, who shepherded the nation through the Great Depression and World War II.  Franklina conjoins the US Midheaven (1 Libra), establishing Roosevelt as a powerful figure in US history, who considerably expanded the reach and authority of the federal government (10^th House, which begins with the Midheaven).  But perhaps more to the point, Franklina also exactly conjoins asteroid Sisyphus, an image of endless repetition, no more than appropriate for the man whom Americans chose more than any other to lead them.

The presidency is a high-pressure job and some US presidents chose notably high-octane ways of dealing with that.  Three in particular, Andrew Johnson, Ulysees S. Grant, and Lyndon Johnson, were acknowledged heavy drinkers.  Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor and 17^th president, was visibly intoxicated and incoherent at his inauguration as Vice President in 1865, just a few weeks before Lincoln’s death.  At his boozy, rambling speech, Johnson was too drunk to swear in the new senators, his responsibility as Veep.

Lyndon Johnnson (no relation), 36^th US president, was famous as a hard-drinking man, often imbibing in “Johnson’s Texas Tea,” a Scotch and soda made with Cutty Sark, which he frequently carried with him in a plastic cup.  Both men are represented by asteroid Johnson (25 Pisces), opposing the US Neptune (22 Virgo), ruling alcohol, addiction and intoxication.

When it comes to hard drinking, Ulysees S. Grant, 18^th president and the general most responsible for winning the Civil War, has a perhaps unfair reputation.  True, Grant was forced by superiors alarmed by his drinking to resign his commission as second lieutenant in 1854 to avoid a court-martial, and was later subject to bouts of excessive drinking when separated from family and feeling lonely.  But rumors of incapacity from alcohol on the battlefield or during his presidency are unfounded.  Regardless, Grant’s reputation is of a heavy drinker, reinforced by asteroid Grant (28 Pisces), also opposed Neptune.

38^th president Gerald Ford holds the dubious distinction of being the only man to serve who was never elected to either national office he held.  Appointed Vice President by Richard Nixon in 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned, the 13-term US Representative from Michigan succeeded Nixon after the latter’s own resignation in 1974, and was defeated by Jimmy Carter in 1976, in his first national campaign.  The unique quality of Ford’s occupation of the office is seen in asteroid Ford’s (2 Gemini) conjunction with Uranus (8 Gemini), ruling anomalies and outliers.

And speaking of Jimmy Carter – 16 US presidents have been involved with farming, a third of the total, with Carter and his family peanut plantation the latest (and likely last) in this “gentleman farmer” tradition.  Asteroid Farmer’s (19 Aries) opposition to Saturn (14 Libra), ruling chief executives and government employees, illustrates this connection, which is further personalized to Jimmy Carter by asteroid James (23 Aries) conjunct Farmer, and asteroid Carter (27 Sagittarius) widely trine it.

When it comes to First Ladies, four in particular stand out:  Martha Washington, noted as the first First Lady; Mary Todd Lincoln, noted for her subsequent mental breakdown; Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin, noted for her good works; and Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of JFK, noted for her good looks. 

Asteroid Martha (25 Sagittarius) is sextile asteroid Juno (20 Libra), named for the Roman goddess of marriage, and asteroid America, and is trine asteroid George (27 Aries).  Asteroid Mary (25 Gemini) is trine Juno/America and widely opposed asteroid Lincoln (2 Capricorn).  Her spirit broken by the death of three of her young sons and the assassination of her husband while at his side, Mary was determined to be insane late in life, as reflected by asteroid Mary’s conjunction with asteroid Ophelia (27 Gemini), named for the tragic character in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” who goes insane and drowns herself, reinforced by a square to the US Neptune (22 Virgo), ruling insanity generally.

Eleanor Roosevelt is seen as asteroid Eleonora (0 Virgo), in sextile both to asteroid America and asteroid Hera (2 Cancer), named for the Greek goddess of marriage.  Eleanora doesn’t connect to asteroid Franklina, her husband’s cosmic referent, and is inconjunct asteroid Roosevelt, implying an uncomfortable fit.  Indeed, Eleanor’s true affections appear to have been engaged elsewhere, in a deep, decades-long romantic relationship with Associated Press journalist Lorena “Hick” Hickok. The two women exchanged thousands of passionate, intimate letters over their lifetimes, often expressing deep affection and a desire to be together, a same-sex attraction denoted by asteroid Eleonora’s conjunction with the US asteroid Sappho (3 Virgo), named for an ancient Greek lesbian poet.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onasis, considered one of the most attractive First Ladies, became the epitome of 1960s style and grace, playing Guinevere to JFK’s King Arthur in the administration known as Camelot.  Asteroid Jacqueline (27 Cancer) squares asteroids America and Juno, and opposes asteroid Kennedy.

Non-presidential US citizens of note are also to be found in the Declaration chart. 

Among the innovations and advances contributed by Americans are the first manned flight of a heavier-than-air craft, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17 December 1903, by the Wright brothers.  Wilbur and Orville Wright have each been designated an asteroid:  asteroid Wilburwright (6 Gemini) conjoins Uranus, ruling flight and airplanes; asteroid Orvillewright (19 Libra) is sesquiquadrate Uranus.  In related matters, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1932, replicating Charles Lindbergh’s feat from 5 years before.  Asteroid Earnhart (7 Aries) is named for her, and is sextile Uranus.

Uranus also shows as innovation in the case of Henry Ford, the industrialist who pioneered the assembly line for automobile production, slashing the time needed to complete a Model T car from more than 12 hours to 90 minutes.  Asteroid Ford (2 Gemini) conjoins Uranus, while asteroid Henry (24 Cancer) exactly conjoins the US Mercury, ruling cars.

From the nation’s inception 250 years ago to the present day, the sweeping saga of America seems truly written in the stars.

Sources:  historical and biographical data from Wikipedia; chart data from serennu.com

Title Image Credit:  drawn by Chat GPT