Juno: of Dandies and Dictators

In doing research for something totally unrelated, my attention was drawn to Juno being part of particular patterns or placements in the male chart. I use Juno now, in a man’s chart, to signify what he finds ‘wifely’ (or mate-like) behavior, and to suggest facets of his relationship both to women and to his own anima. What I’ve noticed doing this research, though, is that Juno may have another set of meanings, two sides of the same coin, each a kind of fixation on the female; it shows as either a true love of and appreciation for women, or as an extreme urge toward power, an ‘end all and be all’ that I can best express as a kind of ‘vagina envy’! This latter manifestation seems to seek total power in the world by incorporating male and female–if one contains everything, one is without need of anyone–the perfect description of the inner viewpoint of a dictator.

I started out looking for Juno rising, as this was what initially caught my attention, in current Vice President Dick Cheney’s chart. It is just inside the 1st at the Virgo ASC, trine the Saturn/ Jupiter conjunction in the 9th, suggesting an impetus to reach out to foreign lands, and he certainly has; Juno also makes a square to Pallas at the IC and a quincunx to the South Node, and these bring forward the idea that his Juno themed actions may be grossly at odds with both his inner wisdom and his actual experiences of the past. So, we can theorize that aspects to Juno may show the ways in which one reaches out for power, to make the Self felt by others. Of course, I had to see, then, the situation of Juno in the chart of his ostensible ‘boss’ George W. Bush, and there we find Juno conjunct the Moon, Chiron, and Jupiter, all in Libra. Okay! This introduces the possibility of projection onto a partner (through both the function of Juno and through Libra), and an inextricable binding of Juno to the maternal, to the emotions, to the primal wound, and to society at large. So I had to see about Dad, George H. W. Bush, and he also has Juno in Libra, rising late in the 1st and quincunx Vesta. Ah, so Daddy has the power urge of a dictator, just as Dick does (both Juno rising) and to top it off, GHW’s Juno is quincunx Vesta, perhaps causing him to have to ‘adjust’ his ideas of morality/ the sacred in order to follow Juno. Just for fun, I had to look at Barbara Bush’s chart, and I was not disappointed; the lady doth protest too much, with her ghost-written books by Millie and her cause of literacy–she has the genuine spirit of a dictator, too, with a Juno/ Earth conjunction rising in Sagittarius!

Next I had to test, at least take a sampling, of famous undisputed dictators, and this actually caused me to enlarge my idea of the way Juno might describe a relationship to power; specifically, when not rising in the 1st I found it commonly falling in the 7th, making it a tremendous vehicle for projection. Mussolini had Juno in the 7th in Gemini sandwiched at the midpoint of the Moon and Saturn, and also conjunct Ceres, Chiron, Pluto, and Mars. With all this in the 7th, could there have been some fear (Saturn) that the feminine (the Moon, Juno, Ceres) may hold authority and suppress (Saturn) or even destroy (Chiron, Pluto) the masculinity and ability to assert the Self, to act (Mars)? Ho Chi Minh also had Juno in the 7th conjunct Mars and Earth, and opposed almost everything else, signifying a touch of paranoia, perhaps?

Hitler took the wind out of my theoretical sails, as he has it neither rising nor in the 7th; but I found it delicious in it’s own right that his Juno is located in the 11th of, among other things, ‘hopes and wishes’! But enough about those men who might long to usurp women’s natural power; on to those who love women, and let it show.

Director Alfred Hitchcock was known for his fixation on a succession of cool blondes he cast as leading ladies in his films. His Juno sits in the 5th of romance, conjunct Chiron and Saturn, perhaps implying that this very fixation was deeply wounding to him (Chiron) and that he repressed the desire to hold the power himself (Saturn) in favor of attempting to control each fantasy-actress in turn. The near legendary success with women of actors Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson is indisputable, and is widely attributed to the way both men genuinely like women, which is undoubtedly aphrodisiacal for the women! Both Beatty and Nicholson have Juno opposed Saturn–the last thing they want to do is suppress the spirit of female power. Beatty’s Juno is in Libra in the 1st conjunct the Virgo ASC and trine Pallas, showing appreciation of female wisdom and guidance. His Venus happens to be in its own sign of Taurus conjunct Uranus–adding to the picture the idea of the sensualist and the swinger! Nicholson’s Juno is in the 1st quadrant of the chart conjunct the Moon and opposed Saturn–maybe Mommy was the biggest influence here, and Daddy but a distant figure.

Obviously, Juno will show a variety of features, just as any placement will; but it’s interesting to consider that it might show us more about the male psyche in relation to the individual’s concept of the female than we may have previously imagined.

ENDNOTE: I’m beginning to think that contact with Saturn might be vital to making Juno a significant force in a man’s chart–the need to bring about a solid manifestation of the energy would explain a lot! JD

Look for my upcoming book on Juno, and in the meantime, try my other books http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com Thanks!