by Marilyn Muir, LPMAFA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney is attempting to re-invent himself in a big way. After his failed attempt at passing his political legacy to one of his daughters through positioning her as a candidate and starting an assortment of political action groups, Cheney has hit the headlines big-time this week. He and his daughter have started another (or more) political action group.
It is traditional that liberal, democratic, progressives do not like him and always rise to the bait of attacking him, his record and his opinions. But this time members of his own political side are responding negatively to his current attempt to influence the decisions of the sitting U,S, President and Congress, as well as world opinion on the huge political and humanity mess called Iraq. What I find personally interesting is that Cheney’s current rhetoric accuses opposition political leaders of his own personal history, decisions, and political stances. There is a well-known metaphysical saying that fits: “What you are speaks so loud I can’t hear a word you say”.
By now, my own political stance should be obvious. However, as an astrologer, I do have the ability to set aside any personal bias and just look at his sky-maps without such preconditioning should I choose to do so, and I am so choosing! A sky map is a wonderful thing and permits objectivity and detachment.
First, I will look at former VP Cheney’s natal plus his progression and diurnal for the 2001 inauguration and the connections to the U.S. Virgo rising chart (my preference). This is the method I used in 2009 to examine all 43 U.S. presidents to see their connections to this U.S. chart. The charts are Tropical Placidus, the natal is timed, the progression is Naibod Secondary, the diurnal is for the day of the inauguration. For those who are not familiar with diurnals, they are the personally specific transits for any day in question. Simply insert the natal date, time and place data into your computer program and change only the date.
From my presidential research, I found there are no errors as to who we elect to the presidency and, by virtue of being part of a single process, the vice presidency. The inauguration is set in stone regardless of who is elected or elevated to the position. The power of the presidency passes at a specified moment, noon for an election inauguration and immediately if the vice president must be elevated to the presidency. The astrological chart describes the qualities of that event and encompasses the staging and time to the next inauguration. Why can’t we examine the vice presidency using similar rules? The application is only slightly different. Know that the vice president is usually sworn in just prior to the president for safety reasons. Let’s see what we can find astrologically.
Former VP Cheney was born January 30, 1941 at 7:30 PM CST in Lincoln, Nebraska, Rodden rated AA. He has an Aquarius Sun, a Pisces Moon and Virgo rising with his chart ruler Mercury also in Aquarius. His Sun opposes Pluto which T-squares Jupiter/Saturn in Taurus. He has a grand earth trine involving Venus in Capricorn, Uranus and the Midheaven in Taurus, and Neptune in Virgo, which is outstanding for practical success. His Pisces Moon is midway between his Venus and Uranus providing a nearly perfect kite configuration. According to a long ago workshop by Leyla Rael Rudhyar, the kite demonstrates an organizational talent. Another dominant quality is the Taurus stellium: Jupiter/Saturn/Uranus and the Midheaven, a practical and relentless energy. His only soft placement is the Moon in Pisces.
How does Cheney compare to the U.S. Virgo rising natal chart? His fixed T-square: Sun / Pluto / Saturn / Jupiter connects to the U.S. natal nodal axis with the north node at 6 Leo 35. His Venus opposes the U.S. Mercury. As a part of the kite his Venus sextiles or trines the other planets in the kite. His Mercury conjuncts the U.S. Moon. His Moon opposes both his natal Neptune and the U.S. Neptune, therefore Cheney’s Neptune is widely conjunct the U.S. Neptune, which happens to occur on the rare (164.7 year) U.S. Neptune return. His nodal axis squares the U.S. Venus / Jupiter conjunction. His natal Mars opposes the U.S. natal Mars. His natal chart absolutely ties to the U.S. natal in myriad ways. He definitely belonged in his U.S. VP role regardless of his politics or any single person’s agreement or disagreement. That was what the presidential research taught me in 2009. There are no errors, but there may be lessons or teachers of lessons; and this information was only natal to natal.
By progression, his Moon joined VP Cheney’s natal Taurus stellium located mainly in the eighth house of destiny. This is a similar placement to JFK’s natal eighth house stellium, destiny. The progressed stellium was in an updated version of his natal grand earth trine: Saturn/Jupiter/ Uranus/Moon/Neptune/Mars. Progressed Mars was 1 ½˚ past U.S. natal Pluto of power and control. Since the U.S. natal Mercury opposed Pluto signified power and control through communication, you can see the association. This Mars was strongly in play prior to the inauguration. His progressed Mercury was two degrees from the U.S. natal descendant. Again, the person he was becoming neatly dovetailed into the U.S. natal chart. No error here.
On former VP Cheney’s date of inauguration there was a four planet stellium in Aquarius: Sun/ Neptune/Mercury/Uranus in a T-square to a wide but applying Mars opposition Saturn on the midheaven. That Sun/Neptune was trine Jupiter in the tenth and he was elevated to the second highest political position in the country, a heartbeat away from the presidency itself. Transiting Uranus that day was three degrees from the U.S. natal Moon but that day’s Saturn was square. In time the problems would surface. War and the aftermath of war were the results.
I looked at the diurnal prior Moon because it moves 12 to 15˚ degrees in a day. Late evening births at times can be triggered by the lunar position the day prior. That Moon was conjunct Pluto, public power. The inauguration day’s north node was on the country’s natal Sun. No error here. He was either the right man for the right job regardless of political position OR he was the teacher of lessons the country needed to learn.
Fast Forward to Now (2014) So what is former VP Cheney hoping to do so many years later from his position of retirement? He has had severe health issues, which seem to be stable now. His political colleagues are not happy with his intrusion into current politics. His effort to pass his political legacy to his daughter was not successful. He is getting television and political exposure, but it does not have a positive face for him. What is happening and where is this going?
His progressed midheaven has passed over his natal and his progressed Pluto, the power has shifted into the past, further proven by progressed Mars widely separating from the aspect. His 00 Scorpio 02 progressed ascendant is moving towards the square of those two Pluto’s and, over the next three years, he should pay more attention to his physical health issues. His three-planet Taurus stellium still exists in his progressions and they are still trine Neptune, but the third leg of that grand trine has traveled away, so it is history. He has a separating Sun/Venus conjunction, so this “social graces” aspect is clearly in his past. That conjunction squares the U.S. Mercury opposition Pluto communication mechanism and his advice is not well received. Separating aspects reveal the past. Applying aspects reveal the future.
What I have read so far reflects the past clearly. What about the future? His progressing Moon is 00 Sagittarius 20 trine the south node, Mercury and Pluto, a grand fire trine but of very short duration, about three months. His progressed positions no longer connect strongly the to U.S. natal chart, which represents his personal ability to affect the country has waned. A man of power does not take a back seat or retire quietly. A man of power wants to be regarded as powerful and wants to wield that power. His progressing chart no longer reflects that scenario. This is not a political opinion, but it is my reading of the available celestial energy.
Published in AFA Today’s Astrologer Jun 2014 vol76#7, republished with slight editing.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.