Tag: Dolley Madison

Martha Washington -First of the First.

After looking at Dolley Madison’s chart a few weeks ago, I decided to take a look at the charts of other first ladies. So why not start with the first of the first….Martha Washington? This first lady, born June 2, 1731 at Chestnut Grove, Virginia at 10:29 AM, is known mostly for her quiet, regal reserve, her generosity especially to the Revolutionary war soldiers and her devotion to her husband.

First glance at her chart shows a domination of planets and asteroids in her 10th house, the house of society and government and the 9th house, the house of “searching” – reaching beyond ourselves and our borders. (I know that is a nutshell description but hang on.) She has the Sun in Gemini in conjunction with Mars and Neptune in the 10th. So her life force energy, her Sun, was in the house that generally rules social structure and government – gee, think that would account for an attraction to a outrageously ambitious man involved in government building? To that, she has Mars -raw energetic power – but that is influenced by the spirituality and compassion of Neptune. It was that Neptune, with its influence from Pisces compassion and caring for others, that lead her spend many a frigid winter and boiling summer caring for her husband’s soldiers. Mars gave her the fortitude, Neptune the desire.

Martha Washington was a very wealthy woman – mostly from her first marriage. Ah yes, first marriage – look at Pisces on the cusp of her 7th house. That usually portends karmic marriages – people we have gone around with before. (One of these days I will get around to doing a synastry chart on George and Martha. Ah so many charts so little time!) Pisces on the 7th also shows the possibility of more than one marriage in a lifetime. Martha’s first husband died leaving her very wealthy and socially positioned.

With her Moon in Taurus it was a good thing she was left wealthy. Taureans love possessions – they love comfort – just think of the Bull in the pasture lying in the sweet grass. They are very happy when they have “things” around them. Taurus resonates to the 2nd house – the house of self worth and possessions – so they have a natural affinity toward that connection – comfort and goods. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that she had Jupiter, the planet of expansion in her first house – the house of personality.)

Uranus in the 4th house indicates a unique home life that will change suddenly. With her husband off fighting wars and then retiring only to come out again to be President – I guess you can say her home life was unique. Sadly, Martha Washington buried several children -and that ability for Uranus to pull the rug out from you suddenly can manifest with this kind of loss as well.

While she deplored the hardships, all of those planets in the 9th house, the house of expansion, of learning other religions and cultures. She reveled in the opportunity to meet other people and explore their cultures. Stories of the stream of visitors at Mount Vernon are legendary. Had there been a White House in her day, she would have imprinted a legend of gracious hospitality.

Shortly before her death, Mrs. Washington burned the private letters between her and her husband much to the chagrin of historians. We will never know the Washington’s as we do the Adams. Well, blame that on Leo. Her Leo ascendancy gave her the regal gentility for which she was famous but it also gives a sense that there is a piece that the “king and queen” can’t share with the populace. Leo is the Lion – the king of the jungle remember. While the shadow of Leo can be haughtiness and snobbery – even the most elevated of Leo’s have that sense of class difference, if you will. So while she was able to share her husband, share her home and share a great deal of herself there was still that sense that you can’t have it all.

As a freak for history I can lament her decision, as an astrology I totally see where she was coming from.

Dolley Madison – A Total Taurus.

Recently, the local PBS channel ran a biography of Dolley Madison, a woman who ruled Washington, D.C. in her day and still lives in our folklore (and kitchen cabinets in the form of cupcakes) to this day. This First Lady, married to one of the most reserved and bookish of our Presidents, transformed the White House and Washington society both physically and psychicly, twice.

While watching the show I chuckled when the spoke of how she scandalized her Quaker family by wearing dresses that were low cut and revealed what they felt was too much of her bosom. “Taurus” I said to myself. “She had to have a lot of Taurus in her.” Taurus rules the chest and many people with Taurus ascendants and Suns have strong well-developed bodies and chests. When I looked at her chart, I was stunned at how strong was the Taurus influence on her!

Born May 20 1768 at 3:45 AM at Guilford, North Carolina – we see the first taste of Taurus in her Sun Sign, which was in the first house of her chart. In addition, her rising sign – the sign on the first house cusp – was also in Taurus. Remember that the ancients paid much more attention to the rising sign (or ascendant) than the Sun Sign. So even had her Sun been in another sign, they would consider her a Taurus. In addition, her Mercury, Ceres, Venus and Uranus were all in Taurus and all clustered around the first house and first house cusp. She could not help project Taurean qualities!

Taurus rules the second house, the house of possessions and how they relate to our self worth. Taureans seek comfort and warmth in their homes — the key is comfort. Think of the Bull (the symbol of Taurus) sitting in the pasture on the comfortable grass just soaking in the beauty of life and nature.

Yes, she was a sparkling hostess but look deeper. What was the first thing she did as First Lady? She charged James Hoban, the architect of the White House to redesign all of the public rooms. It was she who made the Blue Room blue – the Red Room red -etc. and who decorated them to ensure the best use for socializing and the comfort of her guests. Do you see the Taurus influence? She was not just a great hostess who made her guests at ease and then introduced them to her shy husband; she transformed the possessions around her. She changed the surroundings.

When the War of 1812 broke out and the British were marching toward Washington with torches in hand, Dolley reacted in a total Taurean way. She ordered the dinner table set with the finest of china. She was not going to appear afraid and harried. According to William Seale’s “The President’s House”, “Several kinds of wine in handsome cut-glass decanters were cooling on the sideboard; platters stood by the fireplace, filled with dishes and plates awaiting immediate use; everything in short was ready for the entertainment of a ceremonious party.” No matter how terrified she was of capture, Dolley Madison would not betray those fears to the British and reminded them that this was a home of comfort and grace.

Of course, before she left the White House, she had the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington taken from its frame and removed. That was the most prized possession of the White House – and that good old Taurus knew how to save it! She had a sixth sense about what had value. (Of course, she also stuffed silver and china in the carriages before they escaped but hey, a girl has to have her bling.) That too was Taurean- she was not saving papers or mementos — she was saving the good stuff.

When the War was over, and the White House just a shell, she and Hoban started from scratch and redid the interior. Could we have had a better-equipped First Lady to do the job?

Sadly, Dolley would lose all of her possessions to an unscrupulous son and his gambling debts. She lived long enough to see the invention of photography and in all of those shots, she is wearing the same dress and blouse -he literally took the clothes off her back. She has an intercepted fifth house, which vibrates to creativity and children. That means that the sign on the cusp of the house does not extend through the whole house and another sign cuts the house in half. That is always a pause for karma. She has Leo intercepted in the fifth house indicating in past lives she was placing her needs about others and always got what SHE wanted regardless of how. There was no idea of WE it was all about ME. Sadly, her son chose to pay back that karma in spades. I just hope they do not continue on that cycle.

With her Moon in Cancer, the ultimate sign of mothering, gave into him and smothered him with a love that did neither one of them any good. It was not until the very end of her life when her friends in Congress passed legislation to pay for her memoirs on the condition that he could not get access to that money did she wise up. Her son was furious about losing the gravy train and when he attached her verbally for it, she finally had enough of him. I just hope that at some point they get over this tit-for-tat anger and stop following each other in lifetime after lifetime playing the game of give me your money!

Dolley’s North Node (the indicator of where a soul should progress) is in Capricorn in the ninth house and boy did she progress into it. Capricorn is the sign of the government power – power structures in general – and the ninth house is all about reaching out to people beyond our immediate environs. Stories are legendary about her diplomatic efforts. Again, I quote Seale. “Washington life was greatly spiced by the diplomatic community…the diplomats entertained frequently…touches of foreign finery came to characterized Washington interiors.” She brought the world to Washington and Washington to the world – bingo –North Node Capricorn ninth house.