My memories of Margaret Thatcher are tied up with those I have of US President Ronald Reagan--which are not nice. Reagan's policies inspired me to activism in my early adulthood. Many of us considered him the enemy, and Mrs. Thatcher was his close ally.
Recently I have begun to study John Frawley’s Fixed Star CDs. The second track on Disc One is a natal study of Mrs. Thatcher (Chart 1, below). It’s a fascinating analysis. I won't repeat it here, but I will mention one point that I found especially striking. Lord 9, the beliefs we profess to live by, and Lord 3, the way we actually live our lives, are in terrible mutual reception in Mrs. Thatcher's chart.
Recently I have begun to study John Frawley’s Fixed Star CDs. The second track on Disc One is a natal study of Mrs. Thatcher (Chart 1, below). It’s a fascinating analysis. I won't repeat it here, but I will mention one point that I found especially striking. Lord 9, the beliefs we profess to live by, and Lord 3, the way we actually live our lives, are in terrible mutual reception in Mrs. Thatcher's chart.
My intention in this post is a brief discussion of the astrological testimonies for Mrs. Thatcher’s passing in her progressed, solar return, lunar return and derived lunar return charts.
Progression to January 1, 2013; progressed Asc 0 Aquarius
Looking at a progressed chart as if it were a chart by itself is misleading, so it is not included below; but please calculate it on your own if you wish to follow along. I set the chart, as usual, for the start of the calendar year.
Progressed Asc has just entered a new sign, Aquarius. This strikes me as important even though in the last degrees of Capricorn it was also ruled by Saturn and in Saturn’s terms. Saturn could signify many things, but here it is natural significator of death. This change of sign has the feel, to me, of the ante being upped.
Once in Aquarius, progressed Asc conjuncts progressed Jupiter. Jupiter, symbol of the great one-way journey we’re all destined for, often shows up in some prominent way at the time of death.
Progressed Moon has recently moved into detriment. Moon is heading to conjunct natal Saturn, here signifying death. Progressed Fortuna (‘Super-Moon’) moves to conjunct progressed Saturn, repeating the same message. The timing is not important here, just the direction of movement and its inevitability.
Solar Return, Oct 12, 2012; 0 Sagittarius Asc (Chart 2)
Note that Mars in this chart sits very close to the Asc, catching the eye right away. Mars here could signify many things, but I see it as a general indication of something bad happening. We could also think of it as natal Lord 6.
SR Lord 1, Jupiter, is widely setting by primary motion in this chart. It also falls close to the natal eighth cusp and is applying to it.
SR Lord 8, Moon, applies to oppose the Sun by antiscion.
SR Mercury, natal Lord 8, applies to conjunct natal Asc (although it's wide, five degrees). Its antiscion is applying to trine SR Lord 1, Jupiter.
Lunar Return, March 24, 2013; 12 Leo Asc (Chart 3)
The first thing I noticed here was the Moon closely opposing LR Cusp 8.
The nodal axis falls on the natal Asc/Dsc axis, putting the latter in a spotlight for our attention.
LR Mars is high in the sky here and just 3’ of arc separated from opposition to natal Mars, natal Lord 1.
LR ninth cusp, 21 Pisces, picks up the antiscion of natal Mars.
LR Mercury, natal Lord 8, is close to its natal position by antiscion. When this happens, the affairs signified by that planet often become manifest in a big way.
Lunar Return of March 25, 2013, derived from the Solar Return of 2012; 22 Taurus Asc (Chart 4)
The testimonies in derived returns can speak even more powerfully of life’s events than the 'regular' lunar returns. Knowing this, I was not surprised to see DLR Mercury, natal Lord 8, in a close applying opposition to Moon here (8 Virgo, its position in the 2012 SR). Moon as “me” does not move in lunar or derived lunar returns, so Mercury--which does move—applies to oppose it.
Natal Arc Part of Spirit (PoS, ‘Super-Sun’) falls at 13 Cancer in this chart. By antiscion it is opposite the DLR cusp 8. NA PoS is also exactly trine natal Saturn (here playing the part of death).
This chart’s cusp 9 (‘Voyage to Beyond’) picks up the natal PoS (6 Capricorn).
DLR Sun, 4.48 Aries, falls by antiscion onto natal Fortuna (24 Virgo). Antiscion of NA Fortuna is also close by (27 Virgo). This is like a new Moon, the closing of a major cycle.
Death of Margaret Thatcher (Chart 5)
Let's look at the event chart for Mrs. Thatcher’s passing for a quick check of the transits. Estimated time of death is 11:00 a.m. on April 8, 2013; we always use the natal location.
Transits are easily over-emphasized, but it’s worth a quick look for anything salient. Here are a few testimonies worth mentioning:
The event's second/eighth axis picks up the natal nodes, with South Node falling on cusp 8. Transiting Sun applies to oppose natal Sun, within a degree. Transiting Mars is one degree past natal Sun.
Transiting Mercury (22 Pisces) is moving to oppose natal Fortuna (24 Virgo), while transiting Moon (25 Pisces) separates from opposition with Fortuna.
Finally, the transit MC of 14 Pisces squares the natal second/eighth axis of 14 Sag/14 Gem and picks up the natal Sun by antiscion, placing the latter in a spotlight near the top of the event chart.
The charts are in order below this text.
I'll be looking at more of her charts in the next few weeks, so check back soon!
