Nodes in Motion: Jackie O's example

With this piece, I try to ‘investigate’ what ‘was going on’ at the time of the major – to me at least – turning point in Jackie's life, at the time of (and the short period after) the death of her second husband, Ari Onassis. Because it was only after Ari died (and the battle with his daughter Christina over inheritance was over) that Jackie left her old habits behind and became a totally different woman: she did not care to be neither the ‘First Lady’ nor the ‘First Wealthy’, she stopped seeking for the ‘(extra) rich husband’, she settled permanently in New York, and most importantly, she started working (as an editor), actually doing very well. At a certain point she started dating again, choosing however men totally different than the ones she used to (the rich and powerful). She seemed to have been born again, happy in her role of a proud mother and ‘nobody’s wife’. By the end of her life she was a sweet grandmother (of three) and lover (in an affair with probably the only man who really loved her without expecting to gain anything from her).  

When Ari passed away on March 15^th, 1975, the Nodes (at the time at 4 degrees Sag(N)/Gemini(S)) were transiting her 1^st/7^th houses. By the time she started working in September of the same year the transiting Nodes had moved closer to her AC/DC axis (natally Scorpio rising at 17°58’ Scorpio, at the time Nodes at 24°59’ Scorpio(N)/Taurus(S)) but also her natal Nodal axis (transiting nodes opposing natal) as in Jackie’s chart the two axes (AC-DC and Nodal) nearly coincide (Snode: 17°12’ Scorpio) – an indication, according to Rudhyar, that her life was controlled by karma. Transiting Nodes had also already formed an exact square aspect to her IC/MC axis (at 28°54’ Aquarius/Leo). Just before entering the Scorpio/Taurus, the transiting Nodes had squared Jackie’s Neptune. Anything that would touch her Neptune or MC would activate the entire kite involving Saturn-Moon-MC/Neptune-Venus. With nodal transits to all her angles and to the natal Nodes we have enough indications marking a life crossroad, the end of a phase in life and the beginning of a new one. The period was obviously characterized by both external events (the transit to the angles) – Ari’s death, the battles over money, the new job, relocation – and inner changes (the transit to the Nodes) – the will to change, the decision to start working and not go after another tycoon etc.

With the Nodes transiting her 1^st/7^th houses anyways the emphasis was on re-determining herself in comparison to others – Jackie decided to be ‘nobody’s wife’ and stand on her own feet. At the time, Jackie’s natal Nodes did not receive any major aspects by transiting outer planets. Around Ari’s death, the transiting north Node from Sag was trine Jackie’s Sun-Mercury conjunction. This is a contact that could be connected to the relocation, the change in status (widowed-working), the financial gain even that occurred from the death of her husband. After all, the Sun is the ruler of Jackie’s 10^th house. Mercury rules the 8^th house of loss. Ari’s death most probably wasn’t such an unpleasant event for Jackie since for quite a while he wanted to get a divorce – the death of his son and his consequent depression (even madness for some) has just put these plans aside and Jackie was lucky enough to become his widow and get richer by 20 million dollars. The marriage was not a happy one anyways.

As far as the progressed Nodes are concerned, these indeed had not progressed much until the period ‘under survey’. They had moved enough to form a within 1-degree orb aspect to Chiron (pr. NNode conjunct Chiron). I am thinking that a possible (yet simplistic) interpretation of this contact could be getting over an old wound since the north Node has to do with moving forward and leaving the past behind in order to find one’s destination. The trine between progressed north Node and natal Mars had also become closer (in comparison to the same natal contact) and this was probably something that emphasized her courage and dynamic for action so to move forward. Finally, regarding directed lunar Nodes, these formed only two minor aspects to natal planets at the time, a semisextile to Mercury and a quintile to Mars. I guess that the Nodes, transiting, progressed, or directed, always talk about lessons that have to be learned. Progressed lunar nodes however could only emphasize issues that already ‘exist’ in the chart, like if the lessons that somebody believes that s/he has to learn is something that was recorded during infancy. Transits and directions on the other hand possibly bring on new things

In the particular example it is definitely the transiting Nodes that provide with more information as aspecting the natal chart. A period of great change for Jackie in all major areas of her life, was characterized by the transiting Nodes aspecting the angles of her chart which represent exactly these major areas. Her sense of self (AC), career and status (MC), living conditions (IC), the way she related with partners (DC), everything was profoundly changed as touched by the Nodes. The nodes are by some related to karma and easily somebody could claim that Jackie lived a lot of karmic drama in her life, something possibly correlated to her nodal axis coinciding with her AC/DC. I would prefer not to give a karmic weight to nodal movement but rather speak of evolving, of doing necessary changes, of leaving things behind and moving forward. With her north Node in Taurus Jackie probably felt that she needed a partner to find her destination. Yet partnerships, the marriages she of course chose to do for specific reasons, brought her much pain. She gained the power and the money she wanted through them, but she also had to bear infidelity, and violence. At a certain point she had to close that circle and move forward. She had what she always wanted, now she should be really happy for a change. Stand on her own feet, express herself, live where she belonged.

The Last Days of Jackie O. - Transits, Progressions and Directions between January and May 1994

 Jackie Kennedy - Onassis was diagnosed with lymphoma (a form of cancer that proved to be very aggressive) in January 1994 and passed away on May 19^th, after four months of chemotherapy (since February) and a hospitalization for bleeding ulcer.

Several solar arc aspects were formed at the time: directed Moon sextile the MC, directed Mercury sextile natal Sun, directed Venus trine natal Saturn, directed Mars conjunct natal AC and the south Node and trine natal Pluto (with this latter aspect starting being active a little before her death), directed Jupiter trine natal Uranus, directed Uranus square natal Mars, directed Neptune square natal Mercury, and directed Pluto square natal Venus.

I feel that especially directed Mars in conjunction with the ascendant is very revealing. The AC represents health, vitality, the physical body so with any planet arching it we would expect some changes regarding these areas. Mars is a malefic planet something that probably points towards a ‘negative’ change and I think, without though having worked much yet with transits, progressions and directions in Jackie’s chart, that Mars might have been particularly challenging for her since it is the ruler of her chart which is also a diurnal chart (from a Hellenistic point of view Mars tends to be particularly problematic in day charts). In any case, in Jackie’s chart Mars rules both the 1^st house of health and the 6^th of disease and describes very well Kennedy’s particular condition and especially the bleeding ulcer incident (a bleeding cut in the stomach – blood and cuts have always been associated with Mars ; let’s not forget that lymphoma is a type of blood cancer).

The conjunction of directed Mars with the south Node is probably another indication of an ‘unpleasant’ development (illness) since two ‘malefics’ (again more ‘traditionally’ speaking) come together.  With directed Neptune in square aspect with Jackie’s Mercury, there might have been a ‘confusion’ regarding her perception of the situation, a ‘deception’ of some kind; as mentioned in her Wikipedia biography, Jackie and her family were initially very optimistic and herself quit smoking and continued working not having ‘foreseen’ that cancer would be so aggressive. There are two aspects between directed and natal planets involving Uranus, in one of which Uranus is the arching planet. Making a square to Mars it probably bring a sudden and unexpected development regarding Jackie’s physical condition (Mars ruler of the 1^st house and generally and indicator for physical strength). Overall, what happened was very quick, Jackie died just four months after the diagnosis. But, on another hand, one could say she had a good end, she did not suffer, she did not have to go through therapy, on drugs, in pain, for years, as other cancer patients, she faced the whole situation with much courage as her biographers claim and one night she just died peacefully in her sleep. The disease and eventual death came at a point of happiness and great satisfaction with her life; again according to her biographers, she enjoyed very much her role as a grandmother, she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren whom she adored, she had a very good relationship at the time, and her she loved her job as an editor (going in the business was a source of great fulfilment for her since the beginning). So this ‘good’ and quick end of her life, without suffering, might be shown by the directed Jupiter - natal Uranus trine (Uranus is also the ruler of 4^th house – endings of all things?). The situation developed very quickly (something that can be associated with Jupiter – the quick growth of her condition) and death came ‘easily’ (the trine).

Around the same time, transiting Uranus and Neptune (in Capricorn) formed square aspects with Jackie’s natal Moon in Aries. I consider this to be a 6^th-house Moon since it is very close to its cusp (just a bit more than 1-degree orb using Placidus – with WSH it is clearly a 6^th house Moon) and in the same sign (Moon and 6^th house cusp both in Aries). The fact that the transit is on a 6^th house planet probably indicates some health issue occurring and with Uranus being the one of the planets making the transit it is not surprising that it occurred all of a sudden and it actually didn’t give time to realize what was going on. Jackie’s diagnosis obviously was the reason for some amendment in her living conditions (Moon) – besides Uranus is the modern ruler of her 4^th house (I don’t use modern rulerships generally, but..) - , also her habits as mentioned (a ‘fanatic’ smoker for years) and it surely affected her emotions. Her Moon is also the ruler of her 9^th house and I believe that it was in this week’s readings that the idea of 9^th house involvement in times of death was discussed (the ‘long journey’). Generally, two planets generating change in hard aspect with one of the luminaries is again an indication of an ‘unpleasant’ situation, most probably of high significance. Looking at these transits only one could say that a health issue alters living conditions, has, as would be expected, psychological implications and probably creates the need for travel – many people travel to see doctors abroad and get more specialized treatment, especially in our part of the world, this could be an assumption looking at the transits only. Evidently, interpreting directions adds more detail revealing some extra challenges to be faced. There many are the outer planets transits at the time, but trying to stick to not very wide orbs I would refer to the ones above and probably also Pluto squaring (on and off) her MC.

 In Jackie’s natal chart there is a configuration but not according to the very strict definition of aspect patterns (i.e. it does not involve only planetary bodies as Burk suggests but also points). Taking also angles into consideration, Jackie’s MC (at 28 degrees Leo) forms a grand trine with Saturn (24° Sagittarius) and the Moon (25° Aries). Her Venus in Gemini opposes this Saturn and is (as expected) in sextile aspect with the Moon and MC, so a kite is formed. This kite is activated in early 1994 both by directions and transits as transiting Uranus and Neptune square the natal Moon, directed Moon is sextile natal MC, directed Venus is trine Saturn and directed Pluto squares Venus. I tend to connect this configuration mostly with her relationships and marriages, the status she wanted to gain and her public image, and how her family had influenced her in all that. Jackie became an idol partly because Neptune (idealization) was conjunct her MC (public image). She did put effort (Saturn) on it for some time but even when she ‘retired’ , and even after her death, her ‘icon’ lasted (and still does). It was easy for her to attract people (Moon trine the MC) and femininity (style, the way she dressed especially) was the main part of the icon she created (Venus sextile Moon and MC). So, and I might be total wrong here, but the way I see her, with her death Jackie made history as one of the iconic figures, one of the greatest, most beautiful and graceful women of all time (directed Moon sextile MC).

Directed Pluto, a planet associated with death, was also at the time in hard aspect with Venus in Jackie’s 8^th house, the house of death, probably acting as an indication of the fatal event but again activating the pattern and also contributing in Jackie gaining a ‘place in eternity’. I am not sure if one could also say that with Saturn being the traditional ruler of her 4^th house (endings) and it being involved in this configuration, generally good conditions towards the end of the life are suggested. Jackie was lucky enough to die without suffering, among her beloved persons and maybe more importantly, she was lucky enough to die without having seen her son being killed.  



When Jackie was diagnosed with this form of blood cancer, there were not many aspects formed between natal and progressed planets but interestingly there was some Mars activity again. In particular, progressed Mars formed an opposition with Jackie’s natal Moon in Aries. By the time of the diagnosis, the progression was in the waning phase but still within an orb of 1 degree. Mars, natally the ruler of both Jackie’s 1^st and 6^th houses (vitality/illness), opposed her natal Moon which, as above mentioned , is very close to the 6^th house cusp and could be considered a 6^th house Moon. Throughout the four months between the diagnosis and her death, progressed Mars was about (less than 1 degree orb) to enter Jackie’s 12^th house (opposing the 6^th house cusp). This was obviously another indication of a possible disease and hospitalization and I view again the Mars-Moon contact as very indicative of the bleeding ulcer incident (Moon rules stomach whereas Mars is connected with cuts and bleeding).

Although according to March and McEvers the death of an individual cannot be predicted looking at his/her chart, I believe that one could also think of this possibility looking at Jackie’s progressed chart. Progressed Mercury (Mercury is the ruler of her natal 8^th house of death) was trine her natal Venus in her 8^th house with the trine probably being indicative of the fact that her condition developed quickly leading to an ‘easy’ end. Furthermore, at the time of the diagnosis, the progressed Moon formed a one-degree orb separating conjunction with natal Mars. With the progressed Moon acting as a highlighter it was likely that issues regarding Jackie’s health and physical condition (Mars ruler of 1^st and 6^th) would come up.

At the time, the activated natal Moon was also aspected by transiting Uranus and Neptune. The two outer planets were square the natal Moon. A 6^th house body being aspected by transiting planets likely indicates a health issue occurring and everyday routine being altered (leading to other events). The fact that Moon was also activated by progressions made these aspects being expressed more probable. A challenging (the square) situation regarding health (the Moon in the 6^th) did indeed occur. It ‘popped-up’ suddenly and developed very quickly (an Uranian element). By the time of Jackie’s death, transiting Saturn opposed natal Mars, again indicating some kind of ‘limitation’ of physical health, strength and vitality. It also interesting that Mars was square natal Moon at the time of the diagnosis and conjucted it by the time Jackie passed away (an exact aspect). Of course Mars is not an outer planet, yet, it could be very challenging for Jackie who likely was ‘sensitive’ to its transits. 

Overall, considering solar arcs, progressions, and transits one could note important Mars-Moon activity reinforcing the hypothesis of a challenging health situation. Bernadette Brady characterizes Saturn-Neptune aspects as the major signifier of health problems in predictive astrology. Jackie also had a similar transit; by the time she was diagnosed with lymphoma transiting Saturn in Aquarius had already started forming a dissociate opposition (another challenging aspect) with her natal Neptune in early Virgo which soon became exact; another indication pointing out to a health issue.