Claudius (August 1, 10 BC – October 13, 54 AD)

They say he suffered from a childhood illness that left him infirm (and famously portrayed with a stammer by Derek Jacobi in the “I, Claudius” TV series). It may have been what saved him from being slaughtered along with Caligula. However, infirm or not, he helped to restore some of the Republican ideals after he was made Emperor.

This chart is randomized, and yet there are two inconjuncts, one dependent on the timing, the other not.

Jupiter Inconjunct Midheaven

This aspect can mean that you have mixed feelings toward adults and persons in authority over you. Although you know that they have your best interests at heart and that they want you to succeed at your own objectives, it often seems as if their demands are keeping you from doing what you want. When you want to go off and have fun, for example, you are told to finish your work first. At times you want to break free of this restricting influence and go off by yourself.

Later in life, you will enter a critical period when your need for personal satisfaction and freedom force you to change jobs or even careers. When you have learned more about the world, you will understand how to make changes intelligently, but now you should discipline your Jupiterian drive for freedom and learn what you need to know to take over your own destiny. You should learn as much as possible about any subject or skill that will make you more aware of the larger world. Travel or foreign study would be beneficial, if that is possible. The more you know about how you fit into the larger scheme of life, the easier it will be to make the right decision when you have to change to a more rewarding and personally satisfying course.

Moon Inconjunct Saturn

This aspect usually means that your need for emotional security conflicts with your need to live with the world’s demands. Each of us needs to be accepted and loved for what we are, in order to have enough self-confidence to deal with the world. But we also have to learn to live with our own life situations in order to survive. In other words, we have to realize that we can’t have everything we want. With this aspect, these two needs are working against each other. Probably you will satisfy one of them at the expense of the other.

If you are able to balance the two (Moon and Saturn), this aspect can have a positive effect. You will be able to keep a lid on your feelings and control yourself in difficult situations, but at the same time feel and express your emotions when you should.

(Moon and Saturn aspects can create physical difficulties, such as stammering.)

Like other family members in the past, there were rumours after Claudius’ death that his wife (or other close staff) poisoned him. (There seemed to be a lot of that about.)

This chart is rectified to an early morning hour. I chose 3 am because he may have been unwell after dinner, and then recovered, and then re-poisoned in the night.

The consensus of ancient historians was that Claudius was murdered by poison—possibly contained in mushrooms or on a feather—and died in the early hours of 13 October 54.

Nearly all implicate his final and powerful wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Agrippina and Claudius had become more combative in the months leading up to his death. This carried on to the point where Claudius openly lamented his bad wives, and began to comment on Britannicus’ approaching manhood with an eye towards restoring his status within the imperial family. Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of Nero before Britannicus could gain power.

Wikipedia

The ‘death’ chart shows an interesting combination of aspects, all pointing to Venus (his ‘wife’). Because Venus is conjunct the Sun, the author(ess) of this event must surely be Agrippina. It looks like I may be needing to look at the women in the Emperors’ lives…