Warren G. Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923)

Imagine, if you will, an American president using the 50th anniversary of the founding of Birmingham, Alabama, to talk about race relations to a segregated crowd. Oh, boy…

Before we look at that, let’s look at Harding‘s birth chart.

This chart was already on my Kepler 7.0 program, so I’m going to accept it as accurate. There is a Yod pointing a Venus, which relates to his wife. She claimed that she was the reason for his success.

The inconjuncts creating this Yod are from Pluto and the Ascendant.

Venus Inconjunct Pluto

With this aspect you must learn a great deal about the kinds of friends you want and the kinds of experiences you will have through other people. Even while you are still young, you may meet persons who are quite difficult to get along with, but who seem to be impossible to get away from, even when you want to. You may be fascinated by such persons, or circumstances may force you to stay with them. These people do have a definite role to play in your life, but it may not always be a pleasant one. They will teach you something about life or about yourself.

Venus Inconjunct Ascendant

You should realize that others will respect you if you stand up for yourself and ask for a reasonable return in a relationship. If you constantly seem to be apologizing for who and what you are, people begin to wonder if they have overlooked something that is wrong with you, and they begin to lose confidence in you. Thus you may bring about the criticism that you are afraid of. You are as good and as worthy of being loved as anyone. Be yourself with others, and many people will love you.

Evidently, Harding came from a family of abolitionists.

Sun Inconjunct Neptune

You are very sensitive to your environment and to the people around you. On one level of your being, you feel what is going on very acutely. Unfortunately your understanding comes in terms that are very difficult to communicate to others, because their meaning is not clear in your own mind. Your greatest danger is in being exposed to negative people who are full of anger or depression or who act very harshly toward you and undermine your self-confidence.

You can develop into a compassionate and understanding person who instinctively knows what others need and how to serve them. True selfless service to others, giving of yourself voluntarily rather than because you feel there is no choice, will make you feel good, just as the negative behavior will make you and everyone else feel bad.

That Speech (October 21, 1921)

Let’s see how that moment in time looks, astrologically:

That Pluto @ 10° Cancer 3′ in opposition to Capricorn Rising @ 8° 6′, would have been enough to upset the Democratic South, especially where slavery is concerned. It seemed that a Republican president, even a progressive one, could tweak their noses in a very public way: note the Jupiter inconjunct Uranus aspect. It is only when you compare these two charts together that you see Harding couldn’t have done it any other way.

Both charts’ Part of Fortune are conjunct within 1° in Virgo, while both charts’ North/South Nodes are about 2° apart, but in the same Libra/Aries alignment. Having been elecetd overwhelmingly by women’s newly-acquired right to vote, the Venus position in the event chart is midpoint between the conjunction of Harding’s natal Mercury and Mars in Scorpio. I think that’s reason enough, for now.

He was a Man Ahead of His Time