At age 27, Nixon married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (age 28) on June 21, 1940, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. [Pat Nixon: March 16, 1912, Ely, Nevada.] Among the various biographical notes related to Richard and Pat Nixon, one stands out: Nixon, a young lawyer, heard from a friend that a "pretty new teacher had come to town [Whittier, California]." Pat Ryan, a teacher and part time actress was active in local community theatre. Nixon learned of her whereabouts, auditioned for part in The Dark Tower(!!!) and won a part opposite her. He proposed to her the same night. "I thought he was nuts or something," said Pat Nixon when she recalled their subsequent two year courtship.³

[June 21, 1940: Progressed Ascendant 12 Libra; Mercury 12 Aquarius trine progressed Ascendant; Venus 3 Aries conjoined to Progressed North Node in house 7. Progressed Mars conjoined to 5th house natal Sun and natal Juno of marriage (5th house/stage; acting; actors and performing). Progressed Juno 3 Aquarius, sextile progressed 7th house Venus and in the degree of the progressed Lunar Nodes. Progressed Sun 17 Aquarius conjoined to 6th house cusp trine natal MC.]

[Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon. Her nickname, Pat, was given to her by her father who maintained that Pat had been born on St. Patrick's Day. However, ". . . evidence of the birth certificate, which indicates the birth occurred at 3:25 am on the sixteenth," indicates that Pat Nixon was born the day before. pg. 28, The Arrogance of Power," by Anthony Summer, copyright 2000, Penguin Books.]

Mrs. Nixon has Venus and Moon conjoined to the USA's natal Moon (27 Aquarius) in square to RMN's Saturn. Pat's Moon/Venus set off Nixon's natal Moon/Saturn square and links him to his mother, Hannah, a woman who Nixon's psychiatrist maintained did next to little by way of nurturing RMN. Nixon's father was not above beating his sons. However, two of the Nixon children said that they would rather be beaten than be subjected to Hannah's quiet words. Words she used to rip them apart.

It is well-known that Nixon projected his early deprivation upon Pat, who he oftentimes rejected with the same kind of disdain he experienced in childhood.

Pat's Sun square Pluto ignites Nixon's chart via his 7th house of marriage and kicks off his YOD. Pat's natal Neptune at 21 Cancer, in the degree of her Lunar Nodes, is one indicator of Pat Nixon's addictive complex. She had problems with alcohol and died of lung cancer as the result of chain smoking for most of her adult years.

Both Pat and Richard share a Chiron conjunction (7 Pisces) [the "wound" arising from a failed vision of "exalted love"], another testimony that links the two to a penchant for addiction to alcohol, cigarettes and power. Halderman, for example, hated Pat Nixon. He believed she approached her position as First Lady as "a job" sans the more gentle "feelings" the American public expects from the wife of the president. [Remember that Hillary Clinton was accused of the same.] Pat's approach to her role as First Lady was the only power she had and thus refused to brook Halderman's interference. Pat's Sun square Plutoi is, in part, why it took her so long to accept Nixon's repeated marriage proposals. She "sensed" something dark in RMN, a similar darkness caught up with Pat's deep desire for her own power and independence. Pat knew, unconsciously, that RMN's drive to power would subvert her personal creative ambitions (Pat enjoyed acting and performing) and subsume her.

For Nixon's Second Inauguration, Transiting Pluto at 24 Virgo opposed Pat's natal Sun and formed a T-square to her Natal Pluto (26 Gemini). If Pat's chart alone had been analyzed in connection with Nixon's Second Inauguration chart, it would have been easy to see the "fall from grace" indicated for her husband. Transiting Chiron at 29 Pisces had also been hovering around Pat's Sun setting off its square to her and Nixon's natal Plutos, as well. At the time Transiting Saturn reached 19 Gemini, it crossed her Mars, and subsequently her own Pluto, just before before Saturn conjoined Nixon's Pluto at 28 Gemini. Pat's natal Mars at 19 Gemini opposes Nixon's 4th house Vesta (the comfort of "home fires burning"). Saturn's conjunction to Pat's Mars in opposition to Nixon's Vesta signaled from the beginning that domestic violence would be a strong part of their marriage. Nixon's rejection of Pat grew stronger the closer he came to the presidency. By the time he was first inaugurated in 1969, the separateness and coldness between them was plain to everyone. Note: The aforementioned T-square in Pat's chart on January 20, 1973 kicked off Nixon's Natal YOD.