Mr. Rogers (Fred Rogers) Case Study
I’ve been going through my binders of old charts, looking for someone interesting to use for a post, and I came across Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers. He seemed like the perfect antidote to this crazy time we’re living in right now. Such a kind and gentle man who made it his mission to make the world a better place through his art and his work with and for children.
I watched Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid and retained a vague happy feeling about him as an adult, but didn’t know anything about him personally. I was too wrapped up in my own teenage angst to realize he continued to receive accolades and make an impact after the show ended and up until his death in 2003.
The chart originally came from my teacher so I trust the birth information. I’ll reference a few highlights about his life in the post, but the sources I used were his obituary on NYTimes.com and the information on Wikipedia, if you want to read more about him. As always, there’s so much info available in the chart but I’m going to focus on just a few points. Feel free to comment if you want to add any insight or if you have a specific question.
I think my favorite random fact on Wikipedia was that after being bullied for being overweight as a child, he maintained a weight of about 143 pounds the rest of his adult life. He mentioned it to a friend that he considered it part of his destiny since 143 in his mind meant “I love you.” (I is one letter, love is 4 letters and you is three letters.) I don’t know why, but I just find that really touching.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS
First let’s take a general look at the chart. The importance of these points will become clearer as we dive a little deeper into the analysis, but I just wanted to give a starting point. We see a Taurus Ascendant and Capricorn Midheaven, so there’s obvious distortion in the chart. With Taurus on the 1st house, he should have Aquarius, another fixed sign, on the MC.
We also notice that the houses in the 6/12 axis and 5/11 axis are quite large, encompassing more than 30 degrees each, and potentially having an outsize impact on his life. Houses 6 & 12 have to do with service and psychology and 5 & 11 have to do with children and large organizations. Kind of perfect, no?
There are several conjunctions in both the 11th and 12th houses as well. Conjunctions represent 2 planets working as one and give an added strength to the person.
SIDENOTE: One of the first things I learned was to do at the outset was a quick 16-point analysis of the chart, which helps you get an overall tone. It assigns 2 points each for the Sun, Moon, Ascendant and MC, and one point each for the remaining planets for polarity, quadruplicity and triplicity. When you do this, you find the chart has the most points in Feminine, Water and Mutable signs, which is analogous to the sign Pisces. It’s a complement to the Taurus Ascendant and helps reinforce some of the major themes we’ll uncover through analysis. If there was a marked contrast, for example more of an Aries tone, it would show some sort of underlying discord that you’d need to be aware of as you went through the chart. Below is the result of the 16 point scale for this chart.
One last thing I want to mention here, and it took me a few minutes to see, but he also has a Grand Trine in Fire with Jupiter in 12, Saturn in 8 and Neptune in 5. The orbs are a little large with Neptune, but this configuration is an important factor when you consider his motivation.
PERSONALITY
One of the most memorable aspects of Mr. Rogers was that he was soft-spoken and had a gentle demeanor with both adults and children. We see this through his Taurus Ascendant and both rulers, Venus (traditional ruler) and the Moon (ruler by exaltation) in Pisces in his 11th house. This combination exponentially increases the feminine tone of the chart. And that’s feminine in terms of polarity – how active or passive you are; it has nothing to do with sexuality.
Since it’s a feminine sign, Taurus is pretty docile unless provoked, content to stay in the same routine as long as it’s relatively comfortable and its needs for food and security are being met. Add to that both rulers in Pisces, and you have someone exceptionally sensitive to his environment and attuned to the emotional states of others. Now, this doesn’t sound like someone who would make a huge splash in the world, so where does his motivation come from?
Let’s look at the planets that are connected to his Ascendant. First, we see the exact sextile from Pluto in the third house to the cusp of his Ascendant. Pluto is the planet of nuclear energy and transformation so the sense is he’s able to have an indelible impact through communications (3rd house). In Cancer, it’s likely to involve home and family issues. Also interesting, I believe it was the NYTimes.com piece that mentions his personality was remarkably consistent between the show and everyday life, but that there were flashes of intensity under the surface that revealed themselves when he was focused on his puppetry and the production aspects of the show.
Mars in Aquarius sending a square to the Ascendant is another important aspect. I consider this as coming from the 11th house even though it’s physically in the 10th. I’ve learned that if a planet is within about 5 degrees of a house cusp to consider it working for the next house. Here we see another factor contributing to motivation. Mars is the planet of energy and muscle, and in the altruistic sign of Aquarius it’s pushing him (sending a square) to fulfil his hopes and wishes for a better world through his actions.
Next, we have the Moon in Pisces, the ruler of his Ascendant by exaltation, sending a sextile to the Ascendant from the 11th house. As mentioned before, this adds to his intuition, sensitivity and strong instincts in regards to children and how to utilize large organizations to fulfill his vision for the world.
Although it’s a wide orb, I would consider Neptune in Leo sending a square to his Ascendant as well. Not only is it approaching his Ascendant through its retrograde movement, but also because the sign of Pisces is incredibly influential throughout the horoscope. As co-ruler of Pisces, ruler of his 12th house, and dispositor of Moon, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun, Neptune’s impact is seen repeatedly.
Plus, it’s part of that Grand Trine in Fire signs, which is another reason he had such a large impact on society. In Fire, the Grand Trine provides a productive flow of energy among his 12th (Jupiter in Aries), 5th (Neptune in Leo) and 8th (Saturn in Sagittarius). This is expressed by his ability to attract the money of other people to continue his work generating transformative experiences by bringing out the unconscious/hidden feelings of others (especially children) through his work. Personally, it also shows how he’s able to creatively bring out his own fears and feelings from his childhood to transform himself. When this Grand Trine in Fire is combined with the heavy influence of water in his chart, it produces the inspiration and sensitivity of an artist. You can read more in his bio about how he wrote, composed and performed original music, and of course created all the puppets used on his show.
If we look at Venus, the traditional ruler of Taurus, we see it’s exalted in the sign of Pisces, meaning that he’s easily able to use the purest qualities of the planet; the highest expression of love, beauty, art and harmony. In the 11th house and conjunct the Moon, he’s able to bring those qualities to the public through large organizations and children. In addition, Venus makes an exact conjunction with Mercury in Pisces. We consider this Mercury as “coming from” the 6th house since Virgo is on the cusp. It’s a beautiful example of how his heart and mind are united in service to change society.
EARLY LIFE
His bio mentions a lonely childhood where he cultivated his creativity through homemade puppets and storytelling. With Cancer on the cusp of his 4th house, home and family are very important so let’s take a look at the rulers & their placement. The Moon, ruler of Cancer, is in the 11th house in ultra-sensitive Pisces. Clearly he was more emotional than most others his age and deeply hurt by the bullying he received for his weight. If we also look at Cancer’s ruler by exaltation, Jupiter, we find it in the 12th house in Aries. Additionally, Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces so it’s also the dispositor of the Moon (along with Venus and Mercury). This represents how he suffered and retreated into his own world. Jupiter in Aries is considered in honor of triplicity, though, so he put that isolation into good use with his endless creativity making up puppets and stories to entertain himself. Again, this Grand Trine in Fire helps here as well with him being able to direct that energy through Saturn (discipline) and Neptune (creativity).
FAITH
Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister and considered entering the seminary before finding his calling in television. His bio also mentions he studied the tenets of other religions as well. As we mentioned above, with both rulers of his Ascendant in Pisces with Mercury, he surely had an instinct to bring people together on an emotional level through large organizations (11th house), but there’s another interesting point to consider.
Any sign on the Ascendant belongs to a certain element and you should have the other two signs in that same element on the 5th and 9th houses, creating a 3-fold identity via the trine aspect. For example, with earth sign Taurus on the Ascendant, there should be Virgo on the 5th and Capricorn on the 9th. Or, as a Taurus, you’re not one to gamble or stray from your partner, you’re selective about who and what you spend your time on, and your outlook on life is rock solid, built up after years of careful consideration.
If you look at Mr. Rogers’ chart, there is distortion due to the location of his birth and we see instead Virgo on the 6th house and Capricorn on both the 9th and 10th houses. Instead of identifying with his interests/hobbies/love life (5th house), he identifies with the need to be of service (Virgo on the 6th). For him, this is expressed through large groups and organizations (Virgo’s ruler Mercury in the 11th). Capricorn on the 9th is expected, but as it’s yoked together with Capricorn on the 10th house cusp as well, so the feeling is that he brings out his value/beliefs (9th house) though his career (10th house).
People may not consider this part of his faith, but I think it’s relevant to put his conversion to vegetarianism in this section. I’m a meat-eater so I’m not advocating one way or another, but such a heavy influence of Pisces and the 12th house in his chart would have made him keenly aware of suffering on all levels. I would like to think he considered it part of his spiritual practice to alleviate suffering in any way he could.
SUCCESS/CAREER
His career highlights and awards are too numerous to list here, but suffice it to say, he shaped television history and continues to be a beloved icon to this day. To get a tiny sense of this in his chart, we look to his 10th house with Capricorn on the cusp. As we already mentioned, with Taurus rising, he should have Aquarius on the MC, creating a natural push (square) to build up his future. Instead, he has the 9th sign on his 10th house showing he easily identifies with his career and wants to use it to express his beliefs. Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is a sign of obligation, discipline and foresight, so whatever path he chose, it would have been colored by these qualities and you can see in his bio how these traits ran through everything he did, both personally and professionally.
As ruler of the MC, we see Saturn in Sagittarius in the 8th house. The 8th house represents conscious transformation and Sagittarius is the sign of ethics, law and higher learning. From this combination, we get the sense of him showing others how to evolve through discipline to consciously transform their thinking. The 8th house also represents the money of other people so he’s also able to secure funding of others through his work, as he famously did for PBS in his address to the Senate in 1969.
Capricorn’s ruler by exaltation is Mars, which we’ve already mentioned in relation to his Ascendant so it’s doing double duty for two major angles in his chart. (Plus the 7th, if you consider Mars is co-ruler of Scorpio on his 7th cusp.)
Saturn and Capricorn aren’t usually known for honors, but working its magic here is the Sun, sending a sextile aspect to the cusp of the MC. The Sun in general signifies honors – the sun is literally shining on you – so it’s a big contributor the accolades he received for his work. In the 12th house and in Pisces, it reinforces the idea of work he’s done related to psychology and children.
Jupiter is working here as well, even though it looks trapped in the 12th house. It’s known as the greater benefic and in an excellent state, like it is in Aries, it adds an expansive element and good fortune to everything it touches. Let’s add in another layer and see how the beneficial influence of Jupiter in Aries pops up again and again by influencing every other planet in the chart:
Jupiter sends a trine to Saturn, ruler of the MC
Jupiter sends a sextile to Mars, ruler of the MC by exaltation
It’s the traditional ruler of Pisces, so it’s disposing Venus and the Moon, rulers of the Ascendant, plus the Sun and Mercury
Jupiter is the ruler of Cancer by exaltation so it deposes Pluto plus sends a square
It’s conjunct Uranus in Aries
It’s part of the Grand Trine with Neptune and Saturn
Black for aspects, green for dispositorship.
ILLNESS
Mr. Rogers died of stomach cancer in 2003, within a year of being diagnosed and just shortly before his 75th birthday. I’ll start out by saying there are people who have studied medical astrology as its own discipline but I am not one of them. There are just a few points in the chart that support the diagnosis that I wanted to explore.
First let’s look at the 8th house, which is considered the house of sex and death. We see Saturn physically in the house so its impact is 100% on its affairs. Saturn in general is considered a malefic because it signifies, among other things, obligation, isolation, responsibility, limitations and constriction, and it’s this last one that makes most sense to me because one of the symptoms of stomach cancer is unexplained weight loss.
We also have Sagittarius on the cusp with its ruler, our friend Jupiter, in Aries in the 12th. While this Jupiter was very beneficial in terms of his career, its placement in the 12th shows its connection to hospitalizations and long-term sicknesses. The expansive element was helpful for honors and achievement, but can also represent the growth of his cancer, leading to hospitalization. In terms of aspects, Jupiter’s trine to Saturn and conjunction with Uranus show the potential for a rapid change in health.
We should consider the 4th house here as well. We talked about it in reference to his early life since it signifies the home and family, but it also represents the end of life as you get older. The sign of Cancer on the cusp is relevant not because he died of cancer, but because in general the sign rules over the stomach, in addition to the breasts and chest. The rulers, the Moon and Jupiter (ruler by exaltation) are also the rulers of his Ascendant, 8th house and 12th house. Additionally, Venus is conjunct Mercury, ruler of his 6th house (health & hygiene), so his life (Ascendant) is powerfully connected to these “unfortunate” houses at the end of life.
One last note here on Pluto in Cancer. While its connections to the Moon and square to Jupiter in Aries would contribute to his health, the Wikipedia entry mentions his memorial had to be kept secret so the family could mourn in private.
I hope you found this interesting. Let me know what you think.