Seven American Presidents Have Uranus in Aquarius in Their Astrology Wheels

by Marilyn Muir, LPMAFA

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When I started my research on all the USA country and presidents’ wheels, I was quite open-minded about my studies. I wondered what the commonalities between the wheels might be but did not want to start out with pre-formed conclusions. I think it is too easy to start with what you “think” is right, research it and possibly slant your research to prove your original point. I did not want to do that. Since I am a long-time astrologer but not a trained researcher, this might be considered an error. Be that as it may, I skipped right by the hypothesis and went directly into a spreadsheet of possibilities. I trusted the actual number counts of the chart positions to grab my attention to point me in the right direction… and I was not disappointed.

First, I compared the various USA birth wheels that are postulated as “the correct one”. By using actual events in the ongoing history of the country, I rectified the four main choices and selected Virgo Rising as the most representative of our country and the events it experienced. Next, I did the same procedure with the 43 presidents until I was personally satisfied that I had the correct wheels for each. This is a huge area for controversy, so be aware that other astrologers may make other choices. I trusted my own research.  I then compared the country as a living entity with each of the presidential wheels. I used the thirteen primary astrological points, ascendant, midheaven, lunar nodes and the ten physical bodies: Sun, Moon and eight planets. Yes, I count Pluto as a planet and no, Earth is not counted because we are all standing on it. As a research standard, I used conjunctions and opposition aspects only with tight five-degree orbs.

As I have mentioned in previous articles, three important influences came out of the USA natal wheel when compared to the 43 presidents: Aquarius/Uranus, the Mercury-Pluto opposition and Neptune. I have done separate articles on each to describe their connection to and their effect on our country. In this article I want to reach back into what I determined to be the dominant pattern, the Aquarius/Uranus connections, but then look at the highest count in a different way.

The Aquarius/Uranus energy tends to be different, forward-seeking or futuristic, independent, unique, freedom-loving, highly individualized and intellectual. Uranus (a planet) itself is in charge of (rules) lightning, earthquakes, explosions and surprises, so you can get an impression of its overall energy pattern. The planet is considered the “ruler” (influencer) of the sign. Aquarius (a sign) can often feel like it was dropped off on the wrong world or that it walks slightly out of step with the mass of humanity. You have heard the saying “march to the tune of a different drummer” and that describes Aquarius or its ruler, Uranus. An old national characterization is the familiar fife drum and drawing, which is very apt. The country and president connections to this Aquarius/Uranus energy exceeded average expectation. One interesting example…

Uranus takes 84 years to complete one orbit around our Sun as one complete cycle of the twelve zodiac signs, seven years per sign. Note that there will be time overlap between signs due to retrograde motion. It has been 233 years (at this writing) since our birth so Uranus has traveled through the signs almost three times. Therefore, it should average out in terms of the spread of years and signs. 43 presidents divided by twelve signs gives an average of 3.6 per sign. Note that there are 44 presidencies but only 43 presidents because Grover Cleveland was elected twice. Uranus was in its home sign of Aquarius for seven of those 43 presidents or double the average expectancy. Here are my observations on those presidents who live with the energy of Uranus in Aquarius. Additionally, there are notes on the Founding Fathers who also had Uranus in Aquarius.

Uranus in Aquarius passage number one (March 12, 1744 to December 13, 1752)

Uranus very important to our country as it is located prominently on the country’s midheaven (mission, goal, ambition, stature – USA Virgo Rising wheel). It was in the sign of Gemini at our birth, but it assumes prominence by being directly on the midheaven. Using my spreadsheet commonality highest count, seven of our 43 presidents have Uranus in Aquarius: James Madison, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

President Madison was only 25 years old at the signing of the Declaration of Independence but he had future President Thomas Jefferson as his mentor. Delegate Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Both men were instrumental in the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (Jefferson was out of the country at that time) that gives Americans our individual freedoms. Madison is considered the Father of the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. 

While the Revolutionary War is not usually presented as a civil war, it truly was a civil war. That war was based on a break from our mother country, England, with the colonists (then current inhabitants) in disagreement with one another, neighbor against neighbor and conflict within families, the Tories (staunch British Crown advocates) against the Revolutionists.  The cost to all colonists in terms of casualties and economics must have been equally matched by the terrible division within the populace and the families. The rights that were fought for at that time were only for Caucasians and only for men. Slavery and women’s rights were tabled for another time, another battle.

I also looked at (but did not research deeply) which of the other Founding Fathers had Uranus in Aquarius. Eleven more were delegates to the Constitutional Conventions that preceded our Declaration of Independence. Six were signers of that Declaration and five more were present but were not signers.

I also looked at (but did not research deeply) the second group of Founding Fathers who are alternately called the Framing Fathers, those delegates who turned their attention and efforts to the design and implementation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that define our country. The Declaration of Independence was specifically the fight for the freedom to build a country with an intended Constitution that protected its citizens in their individual freedom. However, that Constitution had not been written at the time of the Revolution itself. The building of the Constitution was the work of a second group of Founding Fathers, so they are alternately called the Framing Fathers.  Both groups were instrumental in founding our country and deserve the title, but the two groups had quite different jobs to do.

President Madison was the president who bridged both issues. Twelve other Framing Fathers who did sign the Constitution had Uranus in Aquarius in addition to President Madison. Five additional Framing Fathers with Uranus in Aquarius went home without signing the Constitution and three delegates refused to sign, one of which had Uranus in Aquarius. The big bone of political contention at that time was states’ rights. The high representation indicates the importance of that Uranus in Aquarius energy to the individual freedoms that were being birthed and framed. However, you will not see such influence in a newborn baby. It is present in the birth energy but the fruits of that energy emerge in the adults who eventually founded and built our republic.

Uranus in Aquarius passage number two (February 18, 1828 – February 11, 1836)

Three children born with Uranus in Aquarius grew into Presidents Garfield, Arthur and Benjamin Harrison. They were post Civil War presidents during the terrible aftermath of that war as the North punished the South and the slave-holding states and territories. The slaves were freed – but to do what? They were turned loose, no training, no help, little to no policing, and no vote as angry politicians and carpetbaggers took advantage of the weakened South. President Lincoln never got a chance to aid in the transition from war to peace, having been assassinated shortly after the war ended. It took decades to bring reasonable order to the country and civil rights remained in disarray. The war had been fought:

            1) to preserve the integrity of the nation, the union itself and

            2) for the emancipation of slaves and the extension of the individual rights we declared in the name of all men at the time of our Revolutionary War. The rights of women were still not addressed.

Uranus in Aquarius passage number three (January 30, 1912 – January 22, 1920)

Enter the 1960s and civil rights again reared its head. Three children born with Uranus in Aquarius grew into Presidents Kennedy, Nixon and Ford. These were the presidents of that era (as was Lyndon Johnson, but he does not have strong Aquarius/Uranus in his chart; his energy pattern was different). We had just been through the horror story that Senator Joseph McCarthy had unleashed on our country and its citizens. This was called the McCarthy Hearings relative to suspected communism. If you read your history books, you will discover the civil rights of victims were practically non-existent at that time. Politicians and our country were still recovering from that abomination of human rights known as the McCarthy Hearings when these three presidents took office. Restoration of civil rights was in the air. Finally, what our Founding Fathers envisioned and President Lincoln attempted to enable took a forward step on its journey to civil rights for people of all walks of life.

About that time women also took off their aprons to join the civil disobedience movements and culture changes to petition for their own rights. These were the war babies all grown up, whose dads had gone to war and whose moms had run the country in the men’s absence. Have you ever heard of Rosie the Riveter? The ladies learned they could and they did… Then the women were told to go back in their homes and run their kitchens, because returning from war victorious, their men would again take charge of their lives. Can you see a problem that might erupt here? It might take a little time, but it will take place… but this time with their girl children. Equality, fraternity, liberty, and throw away the rules became the battle cry of the 60’s, I can burn my bra if I want. I can even go braless. I don’t have to abide by the rules. Give me my liberty. I am woman. Hear me roar!

Uranus in Aquarius passage number four (April 1, 1995 – December 30, 2003)

Uranus did recently complete another seven-year stay in Aquarius. Seven years of children born worldwide with the energy of independence, uniqueness, civil liberties and personal freedom hard-wired into their very being. To an American astrologer, that means that we, as a nation, have potentially given birth to another batch of presidents or civil service minded humans who have the energy that will once again work on civil rights issues. We cannot see these new energies in a newborn, but those babies will grow and develop into adults born with Uranus in Aquarius. I do not believe I will live to see them come to their potential, but I am reasonably certain what some of their issues will be.

Uranus in Aquarius has provided our country with many men and women who have benefited our drive for individuality, uniqueness, forward seeking, futuristic, social equality and intellectual processes, people of all colors and creeds. Our drive as a country is to better the human condition and to maintain personal liberty and rights. Uranus and the sign Aquarius does drive our country. It is not only what we do, it is who we are.

Published on EZine online April, 2010, republished with slight editing.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.