Originally published on May 15, 2014
Available Birth Data
Astro-Databank: Hannah Arendth – Rodden Rating AA
Astrodatabank reports an AA-rated birth time of 9:15 p.m. The proposed rectification is slightly earlier with the MC moving from early Pisces back to the 30th degree of Aquarius.
Proposed Rectification
Hannah Arendt
14-Oct-1906
8:55:54 PM
CET -01:00:00
Hanover, Germany
9e44, 52n24
ASC 4CA50’22”
Stage I. Determine the Ascendant sign
For an AA-rated birth time, the objective of Stage I rectification is to confirm the Ascendant sign.
Moon’s Configuration
For the 9:15 p.m. birth time the Moon separates from Saturn and applies to Jupiter. On the day of Arendt’s birth, this condition is true for the time period 8:13 p.m. to 11:12 p.m. with a corresponding Ascendant range of 24GE46 to 1LE10. Cancer rising occupies the majority of this time period. Does the Moon’s configuration match Arendt’s life affairs? Yes. As a significator of isolation likened to a castle surrounded by a moat, Saturn/Pisces is the logical significator for Arendt’s condition of statelessness between the years 1937 (when she was stripped of German citizenship) and 1951 (when she became a naturalized citizen of the USA). Statelessness, or the legal act of creating a ‘nonperson,’ was a key legal maneuver common to totalitarian regimes according to Arendt. Jupiter’s universal significations include teaching, judging, wisdom, and abundance. Placed in Cancer, sign of Jupiter’s exaltation, brings out the highest qualities Jupiter offers. With Moon-ruled Cancer tied to the public-at-large within mundane astrology, Jupiter’s interests include social movements and judgments of public events. All of these activities were central to Arendt’s post-war life in America.
The separation from Saturn and application to Jupiter are consistent with Arendt moving away from statelessness and towards a Jupiterian role of teaching, judging, and philosophy as her life progressed. Were the Moon to apply to Saturn (born prior to 8:13 p.m.) Arendt would not have been as lucky; most likely she would have died in the Holocaust.
Configuration of the Chart
With Cancer rising occupying the majority of the time period between 8:13 p.m. and 11:12 p.m., is there any evidence that late Gemini could rise, pushing the birth time earlier to an 8:13 – 8:34 p.m. range? Probably not as this condition would place the South Node in the 9th of philosophy and higher education (whole sign houses) both of which were strong affairs. SN/9th would deny this.
Based on Hitler’s nativity, Saturn/Leo is the astrological significator for Hitler’s totalitarianism. Because of Hitler, Arendt fled Germany, was arrested in Vichy France, and subsequently published her book The Origins of Totalitarianism which concentrated on Nazi Germany. For Arendt, Saturn/Leo does not appear in the horoscope (e.g., Saturn is placed in the sign of Pisces). However the Lot of Fortune is placed in the bound of Saturn/Leo for a birth time range between 8:32 and 9:05 p.m. corresponding to an Ascendant degree range of 29GE40 to 6CA56. This again suggests the validity of a Cancer Ascendant with literally only 2 minutes between 8:32 and 8:34 p.m. for a possible Ascendant in the 30th degree of Gemini.
Conclusion: Cancer is the correct Ascendant sign.
Stage II. Determine the Ascendant’s range within 1-4 degrees
Configuration of the Chart: Midheaven Degree Sign
The observations made concerning the Lot of Fortune’s logical placement in the bound of Saturn/Leo made in the prior section suggest the AA-rated birthtime of 9:15 p.m. is too late; instead the birth time should be prior to 9:05 p.m. If so, the Ascendant range is 00CA00 to 6CA56. At this rectification stage the better question focuses on the MC degree: whether the MC degree is placed in Aquarius (corresponding to an ASC range of 00CA00 to 5CA39) or Pisces (corresponding to an ASC range of 5CA39 to 6CA67).
With the MC degree a significator for the kind of government that stripped Arendt of her citizenship in Germany, I favor Saturn-ruled Aquarius as the MC degree sign. Aquarius is also a fixed air sign which seeks to organize, categorize, and theorize intellectual matters which again is a better fit to Arendt’s career and reputation. If we keep the MC degree in Pisces, then we lose Saturn’s contribution to the influence of government-sponsored statelessness on Arendt’s career and reputation. If Pisces, then both Jupiter by sign and Venus by bound rule the MC degree. Benefics Jupiter/Cancer and Venus/Sagittarius both in strong solar phases and for Jupiter in the sign of exaltation are simply not consistent with Arendt’s struggles with government which was a major life theme.
Lots and Sensitive Degrees
Gurs detention. Arendt received notification of interment at Gurs on 5-May-1940, arrived 23-May-1940, and escaped during the confusion immediately following the fall of France on 22-Jun-1940 (no exact date of escape found). Consistent in my rectification work is dynamic activity to the 12th house Lot of Accusation, Exile, and Injury for arrest and incarceration. In addition, dynamic activity of the Lunar Nodes to the angles singles out individuals in the public eye.
Lot of Accusation, Exile, and Injury (final rectified time): 16CP12; antiscia is 13SA48.
| Date | tr. Mars | tr. North Node | c. tr. North Node | c.s.a North Node |
| 5-May-1940 | 22GE21 | 18LI53 | 26TA59 | 4CA59 |
| 23-May-1940 | 4CA00 | 17LI56 | 27TA57 | 4CA56 |
| 22-Jun-1940 | 23CA14 | 16LI21 | 29TA32 | 4CA51 |
For the final rectified time, position of the transiting Nodes by direct transit squares the Lot of Accusation, Exile, and Injury a few days after the fall of France on 22-Jun-1940. By converse transit the Nodes square the MC-IC axis at the same time. On 30-Jun-1940 the North Node by converse solar arc exactly conjoins the Ascendant degree. Transiting Mars does conjoin the Ascendant degree on the day of Arendt’s internment but I would not consider that evidence decisive. But the Lunar Nodes are decisive. By whole sign houses, the Lunar Nodes are placed in the 2nd-8th house axis. In Arendt’s case, the appropriate delineation of this axis is the Gates of Hell with the 8th cusp the entry and 2nd house the exit. In this case, the North Node/2nd amplifies 2nd house affairs generally, and specifically the exit from the Gates of Hell by North Node ruler Sun/Libra. Here Sun ruling the 10th in the 4th signifies the fall in government with Sun/Libra literally in the sign of the Sun’s “fall.” So the fall of France on 22-Jun-1940 is the agency which increases the 2nd house activity of exiting from the Gates of Hell (Gurs internment camp).
Husband’s death. Another 2nd house affair is death of the spouse. For Arendt, death of her husband Heinrich Blucher on 31-Oct-1970 towards the end of her life was a significant loss. On this date, tr. North Node at 29AQ11 confirms the validity of the 30th degree of Aquarius as the proper MC degree.
Conclusion: Ascendant degree range is the 5th-6th degrees of Cancer with the MC degree in the 30th degree of Aquarius.
Stage III. Determine the exact Degree and Minute of the Ascendant
Linking the Rise of Hitler and Eichmann in real time to Arendt’s research on Eichmann 30 years later.
Special Note for rectification students: this is one of the more profound examples of the Solar Arc – Primary Directions proposition outlined in A Rectification Manual, pp. 138-139.
REG D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 5-Mar-1933
REG D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 9-Nov-1933
REG D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 29-Jun-1936
REG D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 16-Mar-1937
PT D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 27-Aug-1938
PT D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 29-Mar-1939
PT D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 8-Jun-1941
PT D Venus/Virgo P Moon c. => Mercury 16-Jan-1942Burning of the Riechstag on 27-Feb-1933 and the Wannsee Conference of 29-Jan-1942 which organized the extermination of the Jews form bookends to this primary directions sequence. Eichmann joined the SS the summer of 1933 and was placed in charge of logistics for the Final Solution at the Wanssee Conference. Arendt would study Eichmann when these same dynamic measurements were repeated by solar arc direction 30 years later. Mercury rules the 12th of evil.
4-Jul-1961. d.s.a. Moon conj Mercury
18-Feb-1963. c.s.a. Mercury conj MoonThis time period covers Arendt’s research on the Eichmann trial (11-Apr-61 to 14-Aug-61) the results of which appeared in a five part New Yorker series (16-Feb-63 to 16-Mar-63).
17-May-1963. d.s.a. Nodes square ASC
8-Feb-1965. c.s.a. ASC square NodesPublication of Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, 17-May-1963. This was the book version of the same set of New Yorker articles published Feb/Mar 1963. Documentation of Jewish support of the French Resistance displayed at the Memorial of the unknown Jewish Martyr in Paris, France, 5-Feb-1965. This was one of many ‘rebuttals’ to Arendt’s portrayal of the guilt of some leading Jews for their cooperation with the Nazi regime.
8-Mar-1975. d.s.a. MC square Nodes
11-Mar-1975. c.s.a. Lot of Fortune square MoonDinner at Danish Embassy in Washington where plans were discussed for Arendt’s receipt of the Sonning Prize for Contributions to European Civilization to be held in Copenhagen on 18-Apr-1975. The Embassy dinner was held 11-Mar-1975.
Primary Directions
PT D Mars/Cancer P ASC c. => Mars 24-Oct-1975
PT D Mars/Cancer P ASC c. => Mars (l=MA) 13-May-1976Death from heart attack, 4-Dec-1975.
From the ‘Medieval Astrology Profile for Hannah Arendt’, Natal Database
For more information on Doctor H’s work, visit the House of Wisdom