Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Mercury in Aquarius, a great communicator for humanity.

Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and I began to think about how much we still look to him today for inspiration and calm in the face of hate. My first thought of course is to look at his natal chart and see where his personal planets are and what houses were prominent in his chart. I wasn’t surprised by what I saw, but it made sense to for me to see the balance of strength and beauty in it. Of course he wasn’t perfect but what he did for this world and the sacrifices he had to make, makes him pretty darn close. Anyhow, I thought I’d share a bit of what I see with you.

Dr. King had Mercury in Aquarius in the 10th, which shows that his ability to speak to better the future of humanity, a “free-thinker”, would be his life’s work. Some astrologers say that Mercury in Aquarius is exalted as opposed to Virgo, and I want to say that I agree. Mercury is how we learn and communicate—sharing ideas. To have that energy in airy innovative Aquarius, the sky’s the limit in the knowledge one could express. I guess all that mental energy without it being grounded in earthy Virgo, could be too powerful for some, but in Dr. King’s chart it would give him that extra boost to rebel—to step out of the norm to become a leader of something no one had successfully done on such a grand scale. Now I look to Uranus ruler of Aquarius. For Dr. King Uranus is found in Aries (leadership), in  the 12th house (the unknown), again reinforcing the idea of him as a leader in something that has never been done before. Oh and his Mars in Gemini in the 2nd house, he would be driven to use words—strong words, to get you to look at what you value. 

Going back to the 10th house where Mercury sits, this house rules our status, career and how we show up in public and we were fortunate to receive such a gifted man in a great time of need. (We could use him now which is actually quite frustrating!) Working with his Sun in Capricorn in the 9th house of spirituality and higher learning, he took his career as a pastor to new heights, sharing his message globally. Connecting to others is a very strong necessity for 9th house suns to do. His Taurus ascendant yielded him with a commanding yet warm voice, (Taurus rules the throat/voice) and reached so many, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Since Venus rules Taurus, and thus ruling his entire chart, I looked to its placement. She sits close to his moon in Pisces in the 11th house of community. Venus is exalted in Pisces and in the Aquarian ruled house it gave a humanitarian spin to the dreams that Pisces can envision. Clearly his “I Have a Dream” speech was the result of those two energies coming together. Some say that when you have this placement your love of people is so strong, it compels you to send that love to everyone you meet, and people instantly feel that connection. Perhaps this is true, because another famous peacemaker, Mr. Rogers had this placement. 

I should also note, expansive Jupiter, ruler of the 9th and 12th house (traditional) is in Taurus in the 12th. expanding these ideas, that can connect in a practical way, through words and sincerity. His sacrifice for the greater good, pushed this message even further. Also, with his Saturn in Sagittarius in the 8th, the responsibility of knowing the burden of what this change could do to him, outweighed his fear of doing it. He was a man of faith and that is what Sagittarius brings to us. Saturn here is also said to give one a person a “bad reputation” because it makes the taboo what is hidden come out. It makes sense that our government was instrumental in creating that narrative, they did not want the status quo of Saturn to change, which the 8th house does—it transforms, because making the country more inclusive to everyone was definitely what they worked against. 

Since Mercury is in Aquarius use this energy to learn new ways to be more inclusive, in your community and to share these ideas with family and friends who could use a change in their perspective on race and equality.