Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan carried the sunny, larger-than-life optimism of a Sagittarius rising into everything he touched, and it was the mask that made him. He met the world as the jolly, likeable preacher-philosopher, the man who could stand before a nation and give a lecture that felt like a fireside chat, always smiling, always reaching for the big picture rather than the fine print. From sports broadcaster in Iowa to Hollywood actor, to two terms as Screen Actors Guild president, to Governor of California, that Jupiterian charm expanded whatever it fell upon.

His Sun in Aquarius, though, tells you why he became the 40th President rather than merely a star. Aquarius shines through the collective, the tribe, the movement; placed in the second house of money and values, his identity fused with resources and worth, and Reaganomics, deregulation, and tax-cutting became the very foundation of his creed. His Moon, exalted in Taurus down in the fourth house of home and roots, gave him an earthy, immovable emotional security, loyal, steadfast, unwavering, patriotically bound to the idea of America itself. He escalated the Cold War then talked peace with Gorbachev, survived an assassin's bullet, and left office in 1989 beloved by many, a fixed and sentimental man to the end.