Famous Partnerships

Watergate, Bob Woodward and Nixon’s Resignation

- PlanetaryDynamics

Bob Woodward, a reporter for the Washington Post in 1972, was the first to report on the Watergate scandal. Although Carl Bernstein had an equal part in the reporting of Watergate, and in the writing of the book All the President’s Men, his birth chart is not shown here because his time of birth is unknown. A chart can be analyzed without the birth time, however the Ascendant, placement of the planets in the houses, and the exact Moon degree will not be reliable.As a result, the charts posted here have the Transits of the night of the break-in as it is compared to Bob Woodward’s horoscope whose birth time is known. Woodward was first assigned the story by the editor Harry Rosenfeld, and Bernstein came on board soon after.

What we are looking for are Transit connections from the break-in event, shown in the outer wheel, to planets in Woodward’s birth horoscope in the center wheel. For significant events, there should be major planetary interactions with close if not exact Aspects. Interestingly, we don’t find close Transit ties between Woodward’s chart and the well-publicized burglary and arrests of June 17, 1972. However, much more can be seen when using the chart for May 28, 1972, which is the initial break-in date. This is seen much like an inaugural chart for an event. On May 28th, five men burglarized the Watergate building, illegally entered the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), stole files and documents and placed a bug on the office phone.

The second break-in was on June 17th, when the men returned to the scene of the crime to fix what apparently malfunctioned with the wiretapping devise. The security guard became suspicious when he noticed tape that the burglars had placed over several door locks in the building. That prompted him to call the police, which led to the arrest of the five men when caught red-handed.

The chart for May 28th represents the Watergate scandal, because it is the first action taken to launch the clandestine plot devised by President Richard Nixon and members of his cabinet. The Aspects highly support this date, because the planets show a distinct interaction with Woodward’s horoscope. And it is through Woodward’s initial and continuing reporting, together with Carl Bernstein, that the American public first became aware of the unlawful activities of the Nixon administration.

There was a Full Moon on the night of May 28, 1972, and that was the trigger configuration that activated Woodward’s 3rd to 9th house natal Saturn/Moon Opposition – the 3rd and 9th houses = writing/reporting and publication. This vital Aspect found facilitation through The Washington Post, whereby the investigative reporters progressively uncovered the facts of the break-in fiasco.

Woodward’s Saturn Return was in full sway, and transformative Pluto was transiting his Ascendant. Pluto is slow moving and retrogrades and stations several times in its Transit to create a profound affect on the native. The Transit included an Opposition to Woodward’s natal Mercury, inspiring him to use the writing skills he himself had, as well as those of his partner Carl Bernstein, represented by Mercury’s placement on the 7th house cusp. Bernstein, the more seasoned reporter, assisted greatly in the coverage, using his experienced writing skills and daring investigative tactics.

“There was no room in the cab, but Carl, uninvited, got in anyway, piling in on top of these people (two defendants and their lawyers) as the door slammed. He ended up flying with the lawyer to New York City and came back with another piece of the puzzle. The point: Very aggressive reporting is often necessary.”  Bob Woodward, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, April 29, 2017.

A stunning connection is shown between the Watergate, US and Bob Woodward charts. The Full Moon on May 28, 1972 ties together the three charts in the dynamic that kept them together until Nixon resigned. The Full Moon parallels the US natal Uranus with the break-in’s Transiting Saturn. Woodward’s natal Saturn and Moon are shown just outside the rim of the outer wheel. The Watergate Uranus is exactly Conjunct the US Saturn close to the US 2nd house cusp. To gain leverage and resources was a prime motivation in the initial plot against the DNC.

The chart below takes a look at the planetary energies during the final days leading up to Nixon’s resignation in August of 1974. Nixon’s chart, in the center wheel, was receiving a slow moving Square of long duration from Transit Uranus to his natal Neptune. This put great pressure on the point that Nixon’s chart shared in common with the US natal Mercury, which was also receiving the transitional Square.

Transit Pluto was also in a transitional Square with the US Jupiter, but another very powerful indicator, aside from the Progressed Station and Transit Squares from Pluto and Uranus is the Transit Saturn Conjunction with the US natal Sun when Nixon finally resigned from office. Other supportive but less intense signals of the end were Transit Venus coming to Conjunct the US Mercury and Nixon’s Neptune, as Venus reveals when and how things are brought to conclusion.

Nixon’s Progressed Sun Squares the US natal Mars, showing how he himself angered an entire nation, putting a bi-partisan Congress into action against him. And his Progressed Jupiter was in Opposition to the US Sun to indicate the direct imposition his inflated ego had on the country’s population – represented by the Sun.

Nixon’s natal Pluto/Mars Opposition is activated by the Progressed Station of Pluto, shown circled in red at the midheaven. This is by far the most important Aspect to take note of in the general array of planetary interactions. A Pluto Station in Progressions is one of the most powerful Aspects for change that a chart and life related to it can encounter. During this Pluto Station on his midheaven, Nixon brought his embarrassing downfall into the full view of an entire world.

Nixon’s parting words seem tinged with conscience: “Always remember; others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win, unless you hate them – and then you destroy yourself.”

Nixon’s natal Mars at 30 degrees Sagittarius is the Sabian Symbol The Pope. Here is where the ego blatantly shows itself, full bloom, in its superiority complex.

SAGITTARIUS 30 The Pope This is a symbol of human excellence on the side of the special values exalted in the various social and political hierarchies of modern civilization, and of man’s ambition as entirely inadequate except as he is able to meet some exceptional need of everyday experience and so proceed to dramatize whatever abilities he may have developed in climbing to the position in which he finds himself. A person is strengthened within himself by the appreciation he succeeds in winning from his fellows. The keyword is SANCTITY. When positive, the degree is an effective and spectacular sacrifice of self in some enduring service to the race at large, and when negative, inordinate love of self-display and surrender to a lust for power.

“I’d say this question of “what is news” becomes even more relevant and essential when we are covering the President of the United States. Richard Nixon tried to make the conduct of the press the issue in Watergate instead of the conduct of the president and his men.”  Carl Bernstein

Related post:  US, Nixon and Trump Compared

 

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Toshiro Mifune, the face of Akira Kurosawa’s Stories

- PlanetaryDynamics

Actor Toshiro Mifune and director Akira Kurosawa had a collaborative destiny in film par excellence. Both were superb in the expression of their individual talents but it is to Toshiro Mifune that we will focus our attention. We’ll look to see what it is in the heavenly bodies that reflect what took place during his career as an actor in Kurosawa’s films.

Toshiro Mifune was born in China to Japanese parents and followed in the footsteps of his father’s career in the arts, albeit in motion pictures as opposed to still photography. His first presence on film was when he was a baby and his father used him as a subject for an advertisement project. Later, as an adult, Mifune was catapulted into stardom as an actor thanks to his good looks and larger-than-life prowess on the big screen. His dominating presence and acting style have been compared with that of Marlon Brando, and like John Ford who featured John Wayne in many of his films, Kurosawa repeatedly placed Mifune in the leading roles in his.

The world recognition of this Japanese team’s contribution to cinema came about through accolades that were given to western, blockbuster remakes of these Asian prototypes. Kurosawa’s 1954 epic Seven Samurai, starring Toshiro Mifune, was the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven released in 1960, and again in 2016 with yet another all-star cast. George Lucas’ Star Wars, released in 1977, was inspired by Kurosawa’s 1958 forerunner The Hidden Fortress where Mifune became the archetype for Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Japanese team’s 1961 Yojimbo was used as the concept for the 1967 spaghetti western, A Fist Full of Dollars which made Clint Eastwood into an international star, and there are many more remake examples of this creative team’s repertoire too numerous to list here.

Interestingly, Kurosawa considered his precursor John Ford, the famed Hollywood director, to be his idol. He admired and used Ford’s techniques in lighting and cinematography to lay the foundation for his own early films, including the 1950 film Rashomon, which received worldwide acclaim for its camera angles and style. Here again the lead was played by Mifune, who was chosen for the role because his emotional power was riveting which is just what the part required.

Astrological support for Mifune’s impressive character renditions was provided by the energy-charged Pluto, Mars, and Uranus trio of planets that are the components of a coveted Grand Trine in water signs. This Focal Determinator is a configuration that passes one planet’s energy to the others in turn in circular fashion, building character and personality along the way. The circulating energies promote a pyramiding effect that taps the inner talents with which the native was born, for the purpose of furthering its ongoing development. In contrast, opposition aspects facilitate one’s outreach into the objective world. The two very different types of aspects work together to manifest outwardly what the Grand Trine generates from within.

Akira Kurosawa

The 120-degree aspect was and still is considered a blessed feature to have in a horoscope, however, the Grand Trine was thought to be a hindrance by ancient astrologers because of its tendency to create habitual grooves of activity whether for good or ill. It also indicates an inclination to pamper or protect oneself within the confines of its own subjective reality and this can often interfere with the native’s ability to take advantage of normal opportunities that oppositions offer. Mifune’s dependence on alcohol was his way of avoiding direct interaction with challenges to his will. However, the Grand Trine still endowed him with the ability to reach a pinnacle of success at least in the world of Japanese cinema and foreign audiences up to the task of tackling subtitles.

If a negative pattern of activity is set in motion by a native and supported by the grooving propensity of a Grand Trine, as with Mifune’s periodic alcoholic binges, there is the possibility to break from this downward spiral through the activation of a planet in square with any of the three planets in the balanced triangle. A planet in a 90-degree aspect to the Grand Trine can disrupt a destructive momentum by creating an inner struggle that allows the native to withdraw, however difficult it may be, from negative habit patterns. The opportunity for such interruptions of conditioning is when there are significant transits or progressions activating the planet in square to the Grand Trine, especially by conjunction or opposition. The withdrawal from the ongoing repetitious act offers a reset in attitude and encourages new and more constructive patterns to be established. Going forward, the Grand Trine will then support a new groove of experience the same as it did for the negative cycle needing to be discarded.

Mifune’s chart configurations show that he has the capacity to break from repetitive, negative behaviors, thanks to the conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune in square with Mars that takes part in the Grand Trine. In the creative sign of Scorpio, Mars bestowed upon the native a magnetic, sexual panache. This made the actor highly desirable to audiences and that resulted in high box office revenue for the filmmakers.

The Jupiter-Neptune exact conjunction is the source of the magnitude of the actor’s big screen presence. Neptune relates to conscious imagery, with movies being the extension and projection of man’s imagination. Jupiter in tight conjunction with Neptune expands the illusory and phantasmal influence of which Neptune is characteristic.

Unique Chart Features

There are five retrograde planets in Mifune’s natal chart that encourage the highly introspective nature of the native and this emphasizes the already internalization of the Grand Trine. The sympathy and compassion for his fellow actors and the tender side he revealed to some are traits related to the three planets in Pisces. Uranus is the Cutting planet of his powerful Locomotive Temperament Type, with the pattern being fairly ideal since the chart includes the desired Grand Trine with a Core Opposition formed by Uranus applying to the moon separating from the aspect. The keyword for Uranus is Independence, However, in High Focus its keyword becomes Experimentative. With a strong sense of freedom to act as he was intuitively inspired, Mifune was given Uranian free rein in the interpretation of the characters he portrayed in Kurosawa’s films. The Locomotive temperament imbues a driving force of personality, and the momentum of the Grand Trine furthers the projection of the native’s personality onto others. Men could easily identify with the forceful, masculinity he projected, and women could melt under his fiery influence.

There is no exact time of birth documented for the actor, so one can only assume several birth hour possibilities. When supposing that Mifune’s birth was in the earliest hours of April 1, 1920, his Sun’s Sabian symbol would be The president of the country. What is fascinating about the description of this symbol is the several references to playing a role among his fellows and the impact that position would have in bringing the native notoriety.

ARIES 11 The president of the country This is a symbol of high ego on the impersonal side, evident in the complete and naïve dedication of the individual to some part he chooses to play among his fellows. Implicit here is the selection of such a role as will have a maximum breadth of recognition, so that the player may be established in a reality which he would be quite unable to sustain by himself. There is a subordination of all other considerations to one primary act of individual assurance. The keyword is IDEALIZATION. When positive, the degree is the self-sacrifice required of anybody who would be­come the creative representative of eternal value, and when negative, an often well-meaning but usually destructive assertiveness or vain pretense.

As the day progressed, however, the Sun moved to the following degree and image. Had Mifune been born just before noon or thereafter the symbol would have been A flock of wild geese. This symbol’s detailed description could also reflect the native’s actual role in life. However, it is best to avoid giving too much credence to the Sun’s Sabian image until the true time of birth emerges, which in this case is highly improbable. For comparison’s sake, the alternative symbol follows:

ARIES 12 A flock of wild geese This is a symbol of the irresistible aspiration and indomitable desire for freedom which represent the real core of personality, and which in everyday affairs are often the sole manifestation of an individual’s immortal potential. Here there are vagaries of immediate caprice to the point of irresponsibility, but through them is the undeviating course characteristic of the migratory fowl and so a promise of obligations to be met and ideals to be realized. The keyword is INSOUCIANCE. When positive, the degree is a completely naïve independence or an ever-immediate capacity for rising above any given involvement in experience, and when negative, thoughtless disinterest in anything of real value to the self.

The powerful impact on audiences of Mifune’s screen persona is provided by the Locomotive temperament that is buttressed in the chart by the multiple conjunctions of planets around the wheel. Planets that “join forces” through 0 to 10 degrees orb arrangement, amplify their potential to impress their energies onto others. This can be seen by the actor’s influence over the director when having his way continuously in terms of acting style and presentation. Spontaneous contributions were encouraged, and this can be seen astrologically by the exact opposition from the native’s Sun to Kurosawa’s Jupiter. Mifune’s ego complimented the director’s enthusiasm with each offering the other a vehicle of personal self-expression and gratification.

Mifune’s Moon-Saturn conjunction shows he was calculating and possibly passive rather than spontaneous in his acting methods, and he was known for preparing the nuances of his characters’ nature and mannerisms far in advance of his performances. The trine to the Sun from the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction is all the planetary influence he needed for the smooth interpretation of the compelling characters he played.

The Kurosawa-Mifune collaboration consisted of 16 films, with Mifune’s career spanning from 1948 to 1965. In all, the actor appeared in 150 feature films. Although it is hard to think of him appearing in any films as great as those made with Kurosawa, a possible contender might be the 1954 Samurai Trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki in which he portrayed with gusto, the renowned and undefeated swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi.

 

Jane & Lily = Grace & Frankie

- PlanetaryDynamics

Actresses Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are revolutionizing the paradigm of longtime acting. Their successful Netflix series, Grace and Frankie, sends a message to all those who are 70 + years, that there is life after “old age” and plenty of it. A delightful banter is what keeps the show interesting for best friend buddies who were previously at odds in their way of life and perspective. Now forced to live together in their mutually owned beach house, after the husbands have come out and proclaimed their gay intent to marry, they are co-dependent and loving it.

Jane was fascinated by Lily years ago and offered a part to her in the comedy Nine to Five. The concept of men verses women in the work place was a hit then, and the longtime friendship produced another great premise and example, in Grace and Frankie, of the power of women to survive in a man’s harsh world.

Now for a look at the overall comparison of two special planetary groups in partnership analysis. They are Mars, Venus, Mercury and Sun, Moon, Ascendant.

The connection  between planets in the charts of the two ladies is striking. There are few compatibilities in terms of same planet to planet comparison in the category of Efficiency; Mars, Venus and Mercury. None of the three indicators are in compatible elements. This reveals their ability to play on each other’s vast differences.

The ideal situation is when there are two harmonies and one not between the three factors in each category. Taking the Sun, Moon and Ascendant, the ladies’ Moons and Ascendants are compatible in Triplicity, and that points to what is called One Point Inharmony of Suns in the category of Vitality. A focus of disharmonious Suns equals incompatible Wills. They may differ greatly in temperament and perspective on life, but it is their “willingness to work in harness”* that facilitates the ability to manifest a message greater than each could accomplish alone. The combo of the two idiosyncratic personalities is the crux of what makes Grace and Frankie so unique in the world of girlfriend relationships. This astrological contrast and conflict of Wills fits so conveniently into their characters’ portrayal of antagonistic screen personalities.

Aspect interaction:

The planetary aspect interaction of the two charts shows that Lily’s Mercury is within one degree of Conjunction with Jane’s Moon. When there is a Conjunction or Opposition of planets between charts within one degree of arc, there is a real bonding and sharing of potentials. The quick and hilarious mind (Mercury) of Lily Tomlin buttresses harmoniously Fonda’s intense (Moon) acting style.

Progressed Contacts and Potentials:

The Tri-wheel dramatically shows, with an update of Progressed factors, the astrological reason for the present and mutual activity in the lives of the two actresses. The middle ring shows Fonda’s Natal Saturn being pleasantly activated by her own Progressed Venus. And Tomlin’s Progressed Jupiter joins the configuration to add expanded dimension and enthusiasm to their unique performing partnership.

Stimulated Saturn in Fonda’s Natal chart reveals, that the rewards (Venus) of hard work and maturity (Saturn) is so much a part of the fascinating possibilities of her late-life adventures.

*Marc Edmund Jones’ Essentials of Astrological Analysis page 331, Comparison of Horoscopes.

 

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