On Oct 8, 1959, Margaret Thatcher was elected to Parliament. Let's take a look at her charts for this period as well as 1979, the year she became Prime Minister. Her natal chart is the first in the image gallery below.
Progression to Jan 1, 1959:
- Asc 08.27 Sagittarius
- MC 09.14 Libra
- Sun 22.14 Scorpio
- Moon 13.44 Scorpio
- Fortuna 29.27 Scorpio
- Part of Spirit 17.23 Sagittarius.
Asc has progressed onto Antares, a royal star. And look: MC has progressed onto natal Mars, Lord Ascendant. Moon will cross progressed Sun this year as it moves ahead, which is like a new moon. Fortuna and Part of Spirit by necessity will do the same, crossing over each other and the progressed Ascendant during this year.
Solar Return Oct 13, 1958; 10 Scorpio Rising (Chart 2)
The election to Parliament happens at the very end of this Solar Return. SR Ascendant is on Acrux, a star of Jupiter nature in the constellation of the Cross; this seems fitting for a major rise in career status. SR MC, 26 Leo, picks up the natal Moon. The nodal axis is 22 Libra/Aries, with North Node picking up natal Mercury, Lord 10. I find it interesting that Pluto here is closely conjunct Mrs. Thatcher’s natal MC (3 Virgo).
Since the election happens so close to the beginning of Mrs. Thatcher’s 1959 Solar Return, let’s take a brief look at that one as well (Chart 3). SR Lord Ascendant Saturn is newly dignified at 1 Capricorn. SR Lord 10, Mars, is 24 Libra—just past natal conjunction with natal Lord 10, Mercury.
Lunar Return of Sept 29, 1959; 29 Capricorn Asc (Chart 4)
The Lunar Return for the election shows LR Lord Asc, Saturn (again), newly dignified and exalting Mars (natal Lord Asc), with mutual reception. LR Mercury, natal Lord 10, is about to conjunct LR Mars. LR Sun is in a spotlight conjunct the LR nodal axis at the North Node end, which amplifies the Sun (‘me’). The Natal Arc Part of Spirit is 20.51 Pisces, tightly conjunct natal Mars by antiscion.
Derived Lunar Return of Oct 3, 1959, cast from the 1958 Solar Return; 28 Aries Asc (Chart 5)
What stands out immediately in this chart is the DLR Sun conjunct natal Mars. DLR Mars (Lord Asc here as in natal) applies immediately to conjunct natal Sun as well.
It's good to notice when natal axes are picked in return charts, and where, so I will simply mention that the Asc/Dsc of this derived lunar return picks up the natal sixth/twelfth exactly (with natal sixth at the Asc position). As the Moon here repeats its position from the Solar Return, it is setting by primary motion: Ordinary 'me' (if you will) takes a back seat to the new role of Member of Parliament.
We continue now with a look at the charts related to Mrs. Thatcher's elevation to the post of prime minister on May 3, 1979.
Progression to Jan 1, 1979:
- Asc 23.58 Sagittarius
- MC 0.18 Scorpio
- Sun 12.56 Sagittarius
- Moon 11.21 Leo
- Fortuna 22.23 Leo
- Part of Spirit 25.33 Aries.
Notice that progressed MC has just entered Scorpio, where Mars--natal Lord Asc--is super strong. Fortuna conjuncts natal Moon this year, which seems to show us 'me' meeting up with what is most hungered for. Part of Spirit moves to oppose natal Mercury, Lord 10 and will also oppose natal Sun this year. Both testimonies have the feel of a major cycle coming to culmination.
Solar Return Oct 13, 1978, 2 Libra Asc (Chart 6)
Moon in this chart—which signifies both ‘me’ and career as SR Lord 10—is 9.50 Pisces, applying to oppose natal Sun by antiscion. This is akin to a full moon. Natal Art Part of Spirit is 22.52 Scorpio, closely conjunct SR Lord Asc, Venus, in that same degree. Look at SR Mars: It falls at 15.57 Scorpio, conjunct natal Asc, with Uranus (considered as a fixed star) also conjunct. I'm intrigued that SR Mercury, natal Lord 10, falls on the natal twelfth house cusp here. I’m not ready to say for sure that this is important, but it does seem worth mentioning.
Lunar Return April 8, 1979; 27 Aquarius Asc (Chart 7)
LR Mars is 0.52 Aries, newly dignified. LR Sun at 17.44 Aries falls on the Natal Arc Part of Spirit, 18.26 Aires, which is like Sun-energy squared. Natal Arc Fortuna is 6.42 Capricorn, conjunct the natal Part of Spirit, akin to a new moon. SR Lord 10, Jupiter, is in its last degree of exaltation and about to lose dignity, the opposite of what we might expect. Perhaps this is a case of ‘get this Jupiter stuff done now while the going is good,’ which we sometimes see. The Moon itself here is in a spotlight position conjunct the Dsc and therefore setting by primary motion. Perhaps we can understand this as ‘me’ having to decline in importance as the new and powerful role of prime minister takes center stage.
Derived Lunar Return of April 22, 1979, cast from the 1978 Solar Return; 20 Virgo Asc (Chart 8)
DLR Sun is 01.53 Taurus, conjunct antiscion natal Moon. The reader will recall that Moon was conjunct natal Sun in the 1978 Solar Return, too. Mercury, DLR Lord 10, is near its natal position by antiscion. Mars is highlighted conjunct the DLR nodes by antiscion, at the North Node end. We have yet another instance in which the natal twelfth cusp shows up: this one picks up the natal Moon.
The final post in this series will briefly address the assassination attempt on Mrs. Thatcher’s life in 1984, as well as her resignation in late 1990.
Image Credit (Above): By The Sandpainter - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17538972
