In this third post on the life and death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., I will briefly outline the major testimonies in the directed charts for John’s own death on July 16, 1999. I’ve repeated the note on techniques and the abbreviations key from the second post for easy reference. The relevant charts appear in the gallery below, beginning with John's birth chart (click to enlarge).
Progressions to Jan 1, 1999
Prog Asc: 12.14. Libra
Prog MC: 13.57 Cancer
Prog Sun: 11.41 Capricorn
Prog Moon: 15.38 Cancer
Prog Fortuna: 16.10 Aries
Prog Solis (Part of Spirit): 8.17 Aries
The testimony that stands out here is prog Moon heading to conjunct natal Mars (18.30 Cancer), after which it will oppose prog Saturn (19.44 Capricorn). Mars is natal Lord 8, signifying death in John's natal chart, while Saturn is the natural significator of death. In the year just prior, prog Moon had crossed prog Mars and then opposed the prog Sun (a progressed Full Moon). John was dealing with many challenges in these last years of his life, including a failing magazine, tensions between his wife and other family members, and his cousin dying of cancer (Anthony Radziwill passed away on Aug 10, just a few weeks after John's death).
Also of note is prog Mercury (9.32 Capricorn), natal Lord Asc, conjunct the fixed star Facies. This seems especially relevant as Facies signifies blindness: officials attributed John’s accident to his inability to pilot in hazy conditions.*
It seems significant that prog Sun is closely conjunct natal Venus (11.53 Capricorn), considering that John’s wife (and his sister-in-law) died with him.
Finally, prog Solis (8.17 Aries, moving clockwise against the zodiac), signifying 'Me', will cross John’s natal Part of Victory this year (0.17 Aries), Victory being the Jupiter part. Many times we see testimonies involving Jupiter or the ninth house at the time of death, suggesting the great voyage back to God.
Solar Return for 1998 (Nov 25, 1998) – Chart 2
There are so many testimonies here that it’s difficult to know where to start!
The South Scale, a royal star in the constellation Scorpius, falls on the SR Asc (15.37 Scorpio). This Asc is conjunct natal Lord Asc, Mercury (13.14 Scorpio), putting 'Me' in a major spotlight. The SR Moon (13.49 Aquarius) squares natal Mercury from the return's mundane IC.
Mars (28.53 Virgo), SR Lord Asc, will soon move into its detriment in Libra.
Venus (9.29 Sagittarius), SR Lord 7, falls on the fixed star Antares, 'the heart of the Scorpion.' This spells trouble for John's wife. Antares is the second Scorpius star highlighted in this chart.
The SR MC/IC axis is spotlit by the nodes falling across it. Natal Uranus (25.47 Leo), signifying potentials cut short, falls on the North Node at the MC (24.43 Leo).
Natal Arc Fortuna (10.05 Aquarius), signifying either 'Me' or 'the significant female', is conjunct SR Uranus (9.24 Aquarius).
SR Saturn (27.48 Aries Rx) closely sextiles natal Moon (27.25 Aquarius), Saturn here serving as natural significator of death.
The Natal Arc Part of Love (26.41 Taurus), the Venus Part, falls on Algol and squares the MC. This repeats the theme of trouble or danger for John’s wife.
Lunar Return for July 2, 1999 – Chart 3
Jupiter is Lord Asc ('Me') in this chart. By antiscion LR Jupiter (0.42 Taurus/29.18 Leo) sextiles LR Mars (29.17 Libra).
The Sun, also signifying ‘Me’, sets by primary motion. The Natal Arc Part of Love is conjunct this LR Sun (both at 10 Cancer), seeming to show us, again, that husband and wife die together. The Sun is also LR Lord 8 in this return.
Repeating this theme of male and female joined together, NA Solis (4.42 Libra) is conjunct NA Fortuna by antiscion (23.38 Pisces/6.22 Libra).
It seems relevant that LR Pluto (8.17 Sagittarius Rx) falls on the LR cusp 12 (8.46 Sagittarius), both on Antares. The twelfth is the house of self-undoing and of hidden enemies. Navigational error was determined to be the official cause of the accident; however, at least one voice has suggested otherwise.* In either case, Pluto seems to be an active player here.
LR Mars (29.17 Libra), natural significator of violence and accidents, is in close sextile to the LR Asc (29.10 Sagittarius) and trines the LR Moon (27.25 Aquarius), both signifying 'Me'.
LR Mercury (5.44 Leo), natal Lord Asc, falls in a spotlight on LR cusp 8 (6.40 Leo), drawing our attention to the house of death.
Derived Lunar Return for July 1, 1999 – Chart 4
The DLR Asc (5.35 Sagittarius) picks up natal Fortuna (6.25 Sagittarius) as well as the natal Sun (2.57 Sagittarius). Fortuna here signifies John's wife while the Sun and Asc together signify John. Pluto hovers within a few degrees, as if ready to snatch both of them away from life.
The Moon (13.49 Aquarius from the ’98 SR). DLR Lord 8, is tightly conjunct the DLR South Node (13.11 Aquarius). Both square natal Lord Asc, Merc (13.14 Scorpio), yet another picture of death touching 'Me'.
DLR Mars (28.58 Libra) falls by antiscion on natal arc Fortuna (0.03 Pisces). It seems important that Fortuna is also conjunct the natal Part of Necessity (0.53 Pisces), Necessity being the choice that rules out any other path forward.
Natal Arc Solis (11.07 Virgo) falls on the natal Asc (11.57 Virgo), putting 'Me' in a major spotlight.
DLR Mercury (4.55 Leo), Lord 7 in this chart, falls on the natal Part of Captivity (2.49 Leo), the Saturn part.
DLR Sun (9.37 Cancer) is in the spotlight conjunct cusp 8 (7.46 Cancer), drawing our attention to the house of death.
Up Next
In the fourth and final post of this series I will present the testimonies in John’s directed charts for his marriage to Carolyn Bessette in 1996.
NOTE ON TECHNIQUES
When studying the charts for known events, the first step is to examine the progressions (Naibod in RA), cast either for January 1 or for the date of the event in question. The focus is on six key signifiers: progressed Ascendant, Midheaven, Sun, Moon, Fortuna (the lunar Arabic Part), and Part of Spirit (the solar Arabic Part). Next, look for confirming testimonies in the solar return, then in the lunar return for the month of the event, examining these charts mainly against the radix to see what is emphasized. Derived lunar returns, cast from the solar return rather than the birth chart, provide additional confirming evidence. For more information on traditional natal techniques, please see other natal studies I have written, including studies of Margaret Thatcher (May 2013) and Edward Kennedy (August 2013). I also highly recommend John Frawley’s audio lectures on natal astrology. Follow this link to subscribe: http://www.johnfrawley.com/#!audionatallectures/ct2a
KEY FOR ABBREVIATIONS
Asc = Ascendant (1st house cusp)
DLR = derived lunar return
Dsc = Descendant (7th house cusp)
LR = lunar return
MC = Midheaven (10th house cusp)
Prog = progressed
SR = solar return
*This article gives a different explanation for John's fatal accident. As far-fetched as it may seem, it really wouldn't surprise me: http://surftofind.com/coverup
The photograph above is by Ted Hisgett of the UK, from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Jr._plane_crash)
The photograph below is in the Flickr photostream of The Smuggler - Night of the Swallow ("Caroline Kennedy, 3, kisses her babybrother John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1961," original by Richard Avedon) and is used under a CC license.
