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 Reverend
Jesse Jackson (born October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina at 2:15
pm) has been a familiar and controversial figure for more than thirty
years. Loved by many, hated by some, this ordained minister has fought
passionately and tirelessly to uplift and empower the disadvantaged and
the disenfranchised. As altruistic as he is outspoken, Jackson has inspired
countless inner-city children around the United States to “just say no”
when it comes to alcohol, drugs and premarital sex. So when news broke
recently that Jackson had fathered a child out of wedlock in May 1999,
it created a crisis that rocked his professional image and family life.
Inner
Man and Outer World: Sun-Mars Opposition
The tug of
war between his public reputation and private behavior is illustrated
in Jackson’s horoscope through two notable oppositions: Libra Sun opposite
Mars in Aries, and Scorpio Venus opposite Saturn and Uranus in Taurus.
Formed when two planets are 180 degrees apart, oppositions represent two
forces taking turns at center stage.
Jackson is a deeply caring individual capable of uniting people of all persuasions and mediating disputes when others cannot. This is a classical characteristic of his Sun sign Libra, symbolized by the scales of justice and ruled by compassionate Venus. In dedicating his life to civil rights causes at home and
abroad, Jackson, founder of the Rainbow Coalition, gives tirelessly to
others, perhaps as a way to balance and harmonize the conflicting elements
in his own horoscope.
Action-oriented
Mars, strengthened in its own sign of Aries, makes Jackson’s essential
humanity come through loud and clear, and gives the kind of relentless
energy he used in pursuing his two runs for the presidency in the 1980s.
While its opposition to the Sun can fuel anger at the world around him,
it also makes him a dedicated fighter for humanitarian causes, and an
unstoppable crusader against poverty and injustice. But this same signature
in the chart can foster conceit, arrogance and a powerful libido that,
in recent years, has veered out of control.
Pleasure,
Guilt and Redemption: The Venus Roller Coaster
The other
opposition, and the one reflective of his present dilemma, centers on
Venus in Scorpio, a placement that makes his capacity for love (Venus)
boundless and intense, and potentially self-destructive. This same passion
that drives Jackson’s need to help others can also affect him as a man, suggesting a raw, powerful and unbridled sexuality. On a positive note, the opposition
from responsible, hardworking Saturn shows strong family ties, with
a longstanding marriage that produced five children. But it also means
that his work comes first, taking him away from home for long stretches
of time. Add independent and eccentric Uranus to the mix, and you have
someone who may go back and forth between taking the moral high ground
(Saturn), and indulging a periodic need for sensual pleasures and romantic
variety (Uranus).
As a public
figure, and a minister striving to provide moral inspiration to others,
Jackson has no doubt struggled mightily with this other side of himself.
With spiritual Neptune sextiling Venus and trining the Saturn-Uranus conjunction,
Jackson’s faith will undoubtedly see him through this current crisis,
as it probably has at other times in his life.
On
the Ropes, or the Comeback Kid?
Once his
extramarital affair was revealed in January 2001, an event corresponding with transiting Saturn approaching the Venus configuration, Jackson announced
that he had been providing financial support to both mother and child.
At the same time, he removed himself from the public arena to heal his
wounds and make amends with his family. But within less than a week, Jackson
and his family appeared to rebound, making a series of public appearances.
When asked why he reemerged so quickly, his answer was, “The ground is
no place for a champion.”
As current
astrological factors warn of trouble ahead, Jackson may come to regret
that response. Saturn continues to activate the Venus configuration until
the end of April. In March, Venus stations on Jackson’s headstrong Mars
before it retrogrades, meaning more unhappy consequences could flow from
his actions. Fight them though he might, by early next year, when Uranus
squares the Venus Saturn opposition, he may look less like a champ and
more like the punch-drunk fighter hunkering against the ropes to ward
off the blows of a strong and determined opponent. Trying to control the
situation with anger, denial or egotism will make it all the worse, and
his biggest struggle will be with himself. There is hope (along with light)
for Jesse Jackson at the end of the personal tunnel he’s created for himself, as he now faces his contradictions and chooses how to express them in the future.
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