Under a sweating tent in the American Midwest, a dynamic figure commands attention from both the hundreds of believers and the hundreds of curiosity seekers. His lavish, wavy hair is unyielding in the August heat. At 6’ 2", with piercing blue eyes and undeniable presence, the imposing figure of a young Billy Graham preaching is a sight to behold. The Word has never seemed so charismatic. The Word has never filtered through so many television sets.

A beaming Brian Mulroney waved to the thousands of supporters at the party convention as he prepared to take the podium after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Only a year later, this man -- who had never been elected on any government level before -- became the 18th Prime Minister of Canada. In between winning the leadership of the party and winning leadership of the nation, an emotional Mulroney would note that "it is a great country where the son of an electrician can seek the highest office in the land."

Origins

In astrology, there is a special measurement we can look to reliably when we are seeking evidence of tremendous public projection potential. This is known as the Aries Point, yet it refers to zero degrees of all cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Use an orb of two or two and a half degrees maximum (which means that a planet at 29 degrees Virgo or 28 degrees Sagittarius, etc., would be considered at the Aries Point). Use planets, the Ascendant, MC and midpoints only. (Interior house cusps are not reliable, given there are a plethora of house systems in use).

The history of the Aries Point has its roots in the Uranian School of Astrology through Hans Niggemann’s ‘The Key To Uranian Astrology’. Reinhold Ebertin developed the Aries Point further in his cosmobiology work; much later, Gary Christen’s offering in the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) further outlined the concept. (1)

It was Noel Tyl who brought the Aries Point forward convincingly into mainstream psychological astrology with his presentation of the Aries Point in ‘Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology’ in the mid 1990s. (2)

The Aries Point in the horoscope has a link that is both astronomical, because it is the all-important cardinal axis, and astrological because it keys the sense of initiation within the ‘feel’ of cardinality in the horoscope. However, it is not only the sense of initiation within the Aries Point (which is characteristic of cardinality in general) bur rather its great potential for public projection related to that planet or point and its related rulerships.

Billy Graham [William Franklin Graham, 7 Nov 1918 NS, 15:30, EST +5:00, Charlotte NC, 35°N13', 080°W51']. Click here for chart.

He has seen five popes in his lifetime and has been virtually untouched by scandal while other religious leaders have fallen around him. For the Reverend Billy Graham, his march to the Lord was nothing short of meteoric, all the while hitching millions to the tail of his personal comet on the path to God.

Please study the chart of Billy Graham for a moment and feel the revealing keys to this horoscope. There is a preponderance of planets to the west, which signals that this is someone who gives himself away, perhaps even leaving himself behind in the process. Feel the Sun-Moon blend — a reigning need for opinions to be respected, particularly with regard to religious and philosophical questions (Sagittarius) with much energy for plumbing the depths and heights of knowledge - to be regarded as deep and significant (Scorpio). Now feel the idealism practically lift off the page! Sun, Mercury and Venus in the same sign (Scorpio), Neptune square Sun and Venus, Chiron square the Moon, and Jupiter quindecile the Moon! (3) In addition, the Moon is tightly conjunct Mars (persuasion, emotional force) and Aries is Rising.

The Moon is the most elevated planet in his chart and is the key planet in our discussion of the Aries Point. It falls at 28 deg 48 min, well within orb of being 0 degrees Capricorn. If the Moon receives a square (and it does - Chiron) we know automatically that this planet, too, will be at an Aries Point for our consideration. In this case, Chiron is at 29 deg Pisces 27 min, well within orb of being 0 degrees Aries. Most importantly, note that the Moon rules his 5th House (his love to give). Moon square Chiron in general is about a desperate need for healing. More specifically, it is a primal longing to heal others. The key Chironian theme of helping others more readily than helping oneself has never been more vividly illustrated then it is in this chart. But when we see that both the Moon and Chiron are at 0 degrees of cardinality, we know there will also be a gargantuan need to go public with this spiritual hunger. This is the power of the Aries Point.

It is perhaps paradoxical that Chironian energy is almost antithetical to the Aries Point symbolism; yet Graham manages to focus the elusive Chironian energy within our understanding of this remarkable point.

Graham was born in rural North Carolina, the son of a farmer, and learned very early that hard work would precede any achievement. A typical day might involve waking up at 3 a.m. to milk the cows and then catching a bit more sleep later before waking up again to make it to school on time. He later paid his way through college by shining shoes, selling Fuller brushes, and working as a dishwasher. He was ordained in the Southern Baptist ministry in 1939, just as the world plunged into war for the second time in the 20th century. In 1950, Graham founded his Evangelistic Association where his "Hour of Decision" radio program and newspaper column reached millions world-wide each week, sparking the Aries Point potential into manifestation.

After a one-year stint at Bob Jones College (now Bob Jones University), Graham went to the Florida Bible Institute in Orlando where he was exposed to a wide variety of denominations and gained an understanding and insight for the ecumenical. He also got his first experience at sermonizing at a nearby Baptist church, practising his oratorical flair. Soon after this, he was ordained a Southern Baptist minister.

Graham had numerous successes as a young pastor for various churches, with radio shows setting the tone for his future outreach. Yet Graham had bigger ambitions.

"Preaching throughout the Midwest made me restless with the pastorate," he wrote in his autobiography. (4)

"It seemed to me, perhaps because of the war, that the whole world was ripe for the Gospel. I wanted to be moving, traveling, preaching, anywhere and everywhere," he said. (5)

A fledgling organization called Youth for Christ International gave Graham the opportunity he desired, so he resigned from the Village Church where he was preaching and committed to full-time evangelism for the first time in his life. His rallies around the country had audiences averaging around 5,000. Later, he embarked on a preaching tour of Europe with equal success. Two years later, he'd become an institution.

His countless world-wide conferences and conventions have motivated and elevated more than 125,000 pastors and evangelists to preach the gospel everywhere and he has privately counseled many U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush. Be it senators, congressmen, governors, international political leaders of differing faiths, pastors and ministry heads, business and media leaders, entertainers, sportsmen, and scores of others have all been influenced by him throughout the years. (6)

Depending on the source, Graham has won 225 million souls for Jesus and has sermonized in most of the countries in the world. The crusade is Graham’s speciality, surely a concept that absolutely and accurately reflects his Aries Point Moon in Sagittarius in the 9th House, square Aries-Point-Chiron on the Ascendant! In fact, since 1947 he has led 410 crusades involving tens of thousands of churches, a massive, powerful public display of his charismatic talents.

It has been said that Graham was the first person to fully harness the power of the broadcast media in getting his message out. Evangelists before him -- starting with Charles Finney in the 19th century -- understood the value of creating a spectacle in making converts. Early 20th-century preachers Dwight Moody and Billy Sunday applied advertising techniques to the proselytizing art, too. But Graham not only embraced all of this, he upped the ante a thousandfold by making radio and TV part of his ministry.

In our study of Graham’s life and his soaring public outreach, is it no wonder that to express the hurt and longing for redemption on behalf of others he used the spectacle of the crusade and television — his Aries Point vehicles — to achieve this staggering level of success.

Brian Mulroney [20 Mar 1939 NS, 07:47, EST +5:00, Baie Comeau Canada, 49°N13', 068°W10'] Click here for chart.

The dominant Conservative Prime Minister of Canada throughout the last half century, Brian Mulroney (pronounced Mul-roo-nee), provides another excellent example of Aries Point power. Mulroney led his nation for over nine years between 1984 and 1993, winning back-to-back majority governments. This had not been accomplished by a Conservative Prime Minister in Canada since its first Prime Minister, Sir John A Macdonald.

Mulroney was the son of an electrician from rural Quebec. He had an Irish mother and Québécois father and had no familial background in politics. Thus, he was a self-starter/networker from the get-go. He graduated from law school (taking his course loads in French, though he was born into a predominantly English-speaking family!) and then went on to become one of the most accomplished labour lawyers in Canada. Soon, he would become President of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, which was a large American branch plant, before he won the Conservative leadership convention in 1993. He later lead the way in proposing the Free Trade Agreement with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and was a major player on the world stage, including leading the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He was also short-listed for the job of UN Secretary General in the mid-1990s.

Now, let’s look at Mulroney’s horoscope. The first thing we look for, as always, is the first impression with the hemispheric emphases. This horoscope is dominant to the south (at the top of the chart) suggesting this is someone who lets the environment fashion a life for him, rather than the other way around. There is simply not much to anchor the life here with only Chiron, Pluto and Neptune scattered below. The eastern side of the chart is also heavily weighted, pointing to a defensiveness within the personality structure, a self-protection at work. Next, we can’t help but notice that Mulroney is a double Pisces, with both the Sun and Moon in the last sign of the zodiac. The Sun and the Moon are, in fact, conjunct, indicating a New Moon birth. This is generally a sign of listlessness. So does this sound like the chart of an ambitious, accomplished politician? Certainly not! Conspicuously, the life lived does not match the Sun-Moon blend. However, notice the 10th-House Sun is at 29 degrees Pisces, or 0 degrees Aries, the Aries Point! Please also notice that the Sun is square Mars in Sagittarius at 29 degrees, or 0 degrees Capricorn, another Aries Point! And, we also note that Mars is in the very public 7th House. With two masculine principles (Sun and Mars) so configured there is ample opportunity to see the tremendous public projection at work here.

As we have noted, Mulroney was born into a lower-middle class family in a rural Quebec community. We can feel the environment pressing against him, not with him, as he worked to overcome familial prescripts and the societal pressures for sameness. We can feel the potential for succumbing to listlessness (New Moon) and his feeling of being anchorless (southern hemispheric emphasis). Indeed, Mulroney failed in his first try at law school. Note that the ruler of the 9th House (higher education), is Uranus. This planet is under high developmental tension in his chart, with a strong square from Venus, a sesquiquadrate from Mars and semi-square from the Sun. This so very often shows us an interrupted education.

But Mulroney persevered, finishing his years in university successfully and went on to a very public life afterwards. His years as Canada’s Prime Minister were politically tumultuous in that major pieces of legislation were enacted, not all of them universally popular. Mulroney’s determination to chart a course for the country with much activity, as opposed to a ‘stay-the-course’ mentality, speaks through his Aries Point configurations.

This is also a politician whose self-worth very much hinges on his ability to be public — to be ‘out there.’ We see this as the ruler of the 2nd House (the Moon) squares the 7th House Mars and conjuncts Jupiter, giving us that sense of internationalism. With Uranus in the 11th House (love received), ruling the career-oriented 10th House, we feel instinctively that his ability to receive love hangs on whether or not he can integrate his career and status within a framework of acceptance. We expect issues of self-worth to be strongly tied with his efforts to be in the public arena.

In fact, an historian, in his book review of a Mulroney biography, written by John Sawatsky, wrote that "this is obviously a man who seems to have been born with an organizational knack, with a gift for making friends, with extraordinary skills of self-promotion, and with a deep-seated craving for affection." (7)

Although Sawatsky was not an astrologer, could he have picked a more Aries Point title? The title of the book is "The Politics of Ambition."

Prominence

It is difficult to conceive of Brian Mulroney reaching the pinnacle of power in Canada if we look at his horoscope without benefit of the Aries Point understanding. Similarly, it is difficult to conceive of Billy Graham’s international stature as a powerful religious figure without benefit of the Aries Point. What else indeed could have allowed Graham to focus diffusive idealism into a hammer of righteousness within the public arena? For in reality, family structures generally preserve sameness, executing the status quo with steady, unremarkable results. In many cases, those who do achieve prominence do so because there is some point where astrological measurements intersect with the human determination to break free. This is often The Aries Point — and it is crucial we integrate its strength within ourselves and for our clients.

References

1. Christen, Gary. The Cardinal Axis. NCGR Journal, Winter 1993.
2. Tyl, Noel. Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology: The Professional Manual.
Llewellyn. St. Paul, Minnesota, 1994.
3. If you are not familiar with the quindecile yet, do not deprive yourself of this powerful aspect representing obsession and unrelenting motivation. Set your computer to highlight aspects of 165 degrees (with a small ‘q’ for the symbol). Astrologer Ricki Reeves, author of The Quindecile (Llewellyn) has developed a symbol for future astrology programs.
4. Graham, Billy. Just As I Am. Harper, 1997.
5. Ibid.
6. McLellan, Vernon. Billy Graham: A Tribute From Friends. Warner Faith, 2002.
7. Granatstein, J.L. York University, Ontario.