Thomas “Tad” Lincoln (April 4, 1853 – July 15, 1871)

Minor figures in history have an important place in family dynamics. Sons of U.S. Presidents are fair game. But whether this is true or not remains to be seen. I’m hedging my bets.

Tad’s chart is rectified (by me) to show his father being assassinated when Tad was just 12 years old. In fact, he was at a different theatre watching a children’s play the night John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. His words after his father’s death ring in my ears:

Pa is dead. I can hardly believe that I shall never see him again. I must learn to take care of myself now. Yes, Pa is dead, and I am only Tad Lincoln now, little Tad, like other little boys. I am not a president’s son now. I won’t have many presents anymore. Well, I will try and be a good boy, and will hope to go someday to Pa and brother Willie, in Heaven.

Wead (2003), pp. 93–94 (quoted in Wikipedia)

That Yod, pointing at the Midheaven, speaks volumes to me (based on inconjuncts from the Moon and Uranus). And the Saturn inconjunct Ascendant shows how devastating his father’s death was to this young lad.

Moon Inconjunct Midheaven

With this aspect you must learn to make your emotional needs and desires for pleasure fit in with your growth and development in the world. It is possible that these problems could make it difficult for you to choose a profession or a course that would give your life a sense of purpose. Or you may be unable to follow one path consistently. In other words, your emotional needs may be in conflict with your long-range goals. You may know what you have to do, but not feel much like doing it. Or your feelings may actually color your perception so much that you really do not see what has to be done. Try not to form bad habits, because they are especially likely to create difficulties of this sort.

You need to feel that your family, especially your parents, give you consistent and reliable emotional guidance and support. Without it, you may easily feel that you are being pulled in two directions, which can only result in going nowhere.

Uranus Inconjunct Midheaven

When you feel rebellious and unwilling to accept anything you are told, you should be allowed, within reason, to have the experience that will help you understand your elders’ point of view. If you are lucky enough to have parents who let you do this, you will eventually get over your childhood resentment of being told what to do. Although you may not always agree with what they tell you, at least you will consider the merits of their ideas.

Saturn Inconjunct Ascendant

You need to be encouraged to believe in yourself and to recognize your personal strength. You have to be helped to realize that you as an individual are worth a lot and that you need to get some satisfaction from life as much as the next person does.

On occasion this aspect indicates frail physical health, which can be corrected only by paying a great deal of attention to hygiene, personal health habits and proper diet. However, this aspect may also signify that you worry too much about your health. Try not to be too concerned about it unless a physician has diagnosed a definite problem.

You may find it rather difficult to express yourself to other people. This is another expression of your lack of self-confidence, which will change if you get positive emotional support from the people around you.

On Saturday morning, July 15, 1871, Lincoln died at the age of 18 at the Clifton House hotel in Chicago. The cause of death has been variously referred to as tuberculosis, a pleuristic attack, pneumonia, or congestive heart failure. In an obituary, John Hay affectionately referred to him as “Little Tad.”

Even though the Wikipedia page refers to Tad dying in the morning, I have set the clock at noon. The closest planet to the event horizon is Mars at 14 degrees Libra. An inconjunct links Pluto and the Ascendant. This looks ‘real’.

Tad Lincoln is the boy who never grew old, just like Peter Pan.