Hubert Humphrey and Bladder Cancer

This blog entry was adapted from my posting on Noel Tyl's public forum from May 9, 2010.  I have no complaint with either Lauren Delsack’s discussion of how emotional upheavals can trigger critical illness, nor of Noel’s dynamic and seminal textbook, The Astrological Timing of Critical Illness, save for the exception of some somatic rulerships.  Although I applaud original thought, one cannot abandon hundreds of years of astrological knowledge without good cause.  I disagree emphatically with Noel and Lauren about the rulership of the bladder.  The bladder is ruled by Scorpio and Pluto, (historically by Mars), not by Libra and Venus.  Libra and Venus have some influence upon the urinary system because they do rule the kidneys.

So why, pray tell, am I writing about Hubert Humphrey?  Former Vice-President and Senator Hubert Humphrey was the only public figure I could find who had had bladder cancer.  Furthermore, bladder cancer is the disease that killed him.  (Later, former NBA basketball star Maurice Lucas also died of bladder cancer, but I could find no time for him.)  So although I had once submitted the horoscope of a woman who had survived bladder cancer through early detection and prompt medical care, the results were inconclusive because that woman had both a Scorpio ascendant and a Libra Sun in the 12th house.  Now the difficulty with using Hubert Humphrey as an example for anything is that his birth time is not known conclusively.  Astro Databank offers three potential birth times.  Making the assumption that one is more correct than the others, I will attempt to ascertain which of Mr. Humphrey’s birth times support the other facts of his life.

We know for a fact that Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. was born May 27, 1911 in Wallace, South Dakota. The three possible birth times are 4:43 a.m., 5:13 a.m. and 8:40 p.m. all CST.  All three times are attributed to his father, a small-town pharmacist, who provided the start to young Hubert’s career.  The ascendants for the three times are:  1:12 Gemini, 10:12 Gemini and 13:54 Sagittarius, respectively.

When astrology offers multiple ways to interpret a horoscope or offers conflicting birth data for a horoscope, the astrologer must test the various alternatives, keeping in mind that assumptions are being made.  Charts #1 and #2 are not that much different, aside from three planets being in different houses and in that chart #1 has 2 quindecile aspects that chart #2 lacks.  Humphrey’s energy and focus would suggest chart #1 to be more likely than chart #2.  The vocational profile for chart #1 has MC Aquarius...UR10•SA9•VE6,12<>MO3.  Humphrey’s ebullience and loquaciousness do not really correlate with the Moon tenanting the 12th house.  Chart #1’s reigning need would be represented by that Taurus Moon in the 12th house, which suggests working behind the scenes to keep things as they are or are supposed to be, possibly by teaching or writing as the Moon is oriental and the ruler of the 3rd house.

The vocational profile for chart #3 has MC Libra...VE5,6,10•MO8•ME7,9•VE.  When dispositor dynamics end in a loop, the middle planet of the loop gains importance.  Since the Moon rules the 8th house, Humphrey was drawn to respect and value other people’s strengths.  And as the 8th house is the natural house of Scorpio, we look to Pluto for more corroboration.  PL11,12•ME7,9•VE, etc.  Humphrey’s Moon tenants the 6th house, suggesting a workaholic.  The Libra MC is a double-bodied sign (in my opinion), suggesting more than one vocation, either sequentially or concurrently.  Humphrey trained under his pharmacist father and earned a pharmacist’s licensure of his own at a trade school when finances forced him to drop out of college prematurely.  In Chart #2, the conjunction of ME and SA figures into the vocational profile, adding the inclination to turn to politics to effect his desire to take things to where they are supposed to be.

Based on vocational profiling, I conclude, therefore, that Chart #3, with 13:54 Sagittarius rising is the most correct of the three.  But I should test this chart with some important dates.  Hubert Humphrey was inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States under Lyndon B. Johnson on January 20, 1965 just before noon.  So I would test this date with a diurnal chart for 9:40 p.m., January 19, 1965 in Washington, D.C.  Fourth harmonic aspects within one degree are:  Sun conjunct natal Uranus, Saturn square natal Moon, Moon square natal Sun, Mars square natal Pluto and finally, diurnal Midheaven opposition natal ascendant.  I am convinced of the validity of Chart #3.

Hubert Humphrey announced to the world that he had terminal bladder cancer on August 16, 1977.  Few people may remember that incident because Elvis Presley died later that same day!  The diurnal chart for Humphrey’s cancer announcement had the ascendant, midheaven and vertex all at the Aries point, 0º of Aries, Capricorn and Libra, respectively.  The Node was conjunct natal midheaven and Uranus was opposite the natal Node.

Now that I have established which chart for Vice-President Hubert Humphrey is correct, I would like to evaluate it from the perspective of critical illness.  The ascendant is the health center of the horoscope.  Ruling Jupiter is in Scorpio in the 11th house, but the sign of Scorpio is on the 11th and 12th house cusps.  Pluto is in Gemini, disposed of Mercury conjunct Saturn.

Humphrey died January 13, 1978.  When someone passes away from a major illness, the transits are seldom spectacular.  Diurnal Mars was conjunct natal Vertex.  Diurnal vertex was square natal Jupiter.  And the transiting ascendant was square the natal Sun.

In conclusion, I have ascertained which of Hubert Humphrey’s published natal charts is the most likely to be correct.  In doing so, I have also found no indication whatsoever that the human bladder, and the diseases thereof, have any correlation whatsoever to the sign of Libra nor to the planet Venus.  The correct rulerships are Scorpio and Pluto.

Don Borkowski