The Sun in the Twelfth House Across the Centuries
Catherine de Medici was the Queen Consort and then the Queen Mother of France from 1558 to 1589. During this period Catherine was a powerful person and the de facto ruler of that country. She may seem like a distant and obscure figure now, but there are some interesting similarities between this Renaissance Queen’s horoscope and that of President Joe Biden. For one thing, they were both born with the Sun in the Twelfth House. (Click on Catherine de Medici to see the chart.)
Previously, I have pointed out how having the Sun in the Twelfth House seems to limit the effectiveness of people who aspire to positions of power. I have cited examples among previous U.S. presidents, such as Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. This tendency extends to rulers of other nations at other times as well. Catherine is a good example.
Like Joe Biden, Catherine ruled over a nation that was sharply divided. For Catherine the divisive factor was religion. During her reign France was rocked by a series of bloody wars between Catholics and Protestants. Catherine tried at various times to end the fighting but, for the most part, her efforts were in vain.
Catherine’s rule was not direct. It depended upon the influence she exerted over her three son, all of whom became Kings of France. Of course, President Biden’s rule is also not direct. It is dependent upon the will of Congress and, like Catherine’s sons, the current Congress has proven to be a capricious and troublesome lot.
Catherine’s efforts to bring peace to her divided country led to one of most famous political blunders in history on St. Bartholomew’s Day in 1572. Catherine had arranged for the marriage of her Catholic daughter to a leading Protestant noble, Henri of Navarre. As often happened when Catherine did something to appease one side of the divide, the other side rose up in outrage. These Catholic partisan wanted to take advantage of the fact that leaders of the Protestant group had come to Paris to celebrate the wedding. Catherine gave permission for members of the Catholic side to assassinate a few leading Protestants. However, this “surgical” strike quickly turned into a bloodbath and Catholics began slaughtering unsuspecting Protestants all over the city of Paris and, in the days that followed, all across France.
Fortunately, despite what we see in the news, we live in less bloodthirsty times. Still, President Biden has also been guilty of trying to appease both sides of the divide. He introduced some sweeping and very expensive legislation in Congress that got liberals excited and then stood back as conservatives and moderates trimmed away the social programs and environmental initiatives that offended their aims. These actions, thankfully, have not led to the drawing of swords but they have apparently cost Biden some support on both sides.
There are other similarities between the horoscopes of Catherine de Medici and Joe Biden. Both have the Suns in Fixed signs. Catherine’s was in Taurus and Biden’s is in Scorpio. Both also have Uranus, the planet of sudden change, strongly placed in their charts. But there is one striking difference. Catherine was born with Saturn conjunct her Midheaven while Biden has Venus placed close to his Ascendant.
The difference between these two placements is huge. Saturn on the Midheaven is an indicator of ambition but it also promises major challenges and the potential for harsh judgement when those challenges are not met. This has certainly been the case for Catherine. She has been vilified by historians, largely for her role in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre but also for her inability to overcome the impediment of having the Sun in the Twelfth House.
Not only is Biden’s Venus within the range of a conjunction to his Ascendant, it is trine Jupiter in his chart. This combination indicates popularity. The fact that Biden’s Venus is opposed to Uranus tells us that that popularity with be subject to sharp rises and declines but it will always be there. Joe Biden may be just as much impeded in his Presidency by the Sun in the Twelfth as was Catherine de Medici, but his personal appeal is unlikely to suffer.
As for a Joe Biden St. Bartholomew’s Day, that remains to be seen. Right now, the country has the issue of raising the debt limit hanging over it’s head. A failure to do this by Dec. 3 would likely result is a financial bloodbath both for the United States and the world. We have to hope that Joe Biden handles the impediments represented by the Sun in the Twelfth better in 2021 than Catherine did back in 1572
