Joan Kennedy – a dream turned to drink

Joan Kennedy, the shy, vulnerable first wife of Ted Kennedy, who had three children with him, and shared his problem with  alcohol, has died. Two of their children were cancer victims. Ted Jr. developed bone cancer aged 12, and Kara contracted  lung cancer and died of a heart attack in 2011 aged 51.

 Joan was born 5 September 1935 6.10am in Manhattan and married Ted when she was 23 under pressure from Joe Kennedy, his father, when she developed cold feet after an over-hasty engagement.

 She was a vague,  creative Sun Neptune in Virgo in a high-anxiety opposition to Saturn in Pisces on her Descendant square a super-sensitive focal point Sagittarius Moon. Her Saturn in her house of one-to-one relationships hinted that her marriage would be hard work. Her Sun, Neptune, Venus inclined her towards a love of classical music – she was an accomplished pianist and taught  classical music to children.

  A yod of Mercury in Libra sextile Moon inconjunct Uranus would give her a quirky, maverick streak which may well have been suppressed by an over-controlled Mars in Scorpio trine Pluto.

  Another yod of Uranus sextile Saturn inconjunct Mercury would initially make her a scattered thinker although handled well it could have been channelled into effective communication.

  She seemed a sweet natured soul, not robust enough in terms of self-esteem to cope with the rumbustious Kennedys. She had a marked victim/sacrifice/healer 12^th harmonic and 13^th harmonic as well which has been associated with a lack of a strong identity though well handled it can produce talent.   

 Ted Kennedy, 22 February 1932 3.58 am Brookline, MA, had a see-saw chart with three major oppositions giving him a tendency to constantly slide from one extreme to the other trying to find balance in relationships and elsewhere. His 2^nd house Pisces Sun opposition an 8^th house Neptune Moon in Virgo would give him commitment problems and it  fell across Joan’s 7^th house Saturn opposition Sun. His financially ambitious 2^nd house Mars Mercury in Aquarius across from an 8^th house Jupiter in Leo hinted at family wealth  but squared Joan’s Mars Jupiter. And his tough, hardened Saturn in Capricorn opposition a 7^th house Pluto in Cancer fell close to her 5^th house North Node in Capricorn pointing to a lack of spontaneity and also highlighted concerns about children.

 Their relationship chart had a vague, can-be-disappointing composite Neptune square Sun Mercury; with an intense 8^th house Venus trine a hidden 12^th house Moon trine North Node Saturn in Aquarius in the 4^th house of family, formed into a Kite with Moon opposition Uranus. A complicated, fairly subterranean bond, not warm but a Jupiter in the composite 11^th would help keep them on friendly terms even after their divorce.

  The death of Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick when Ted Kennedy was driving occurred 18 July 1968 when tr Saturn was exactly conjunct the composite Descendant on their relationship chart – perhaps widening the crack which led to their ultimate separation. Although pregnant, and having been confined to bed in the wake of two previous miscarriages, she attended Kopechne’s funeral, and suffered a third miscarriage shortly thereafter. Tr Saturn was crossing his IC at this point putting a strain on his family. Ten years later they separated and at the time she gave interviews discussing her struggles with alcoholism, which was a result she said of unhappiness and social pressure. The divorce was finalized in 1982. Her later  years were blighted by chronic alcoholism, repeated drunk-driving arrests, court-ordered rehabilitation and ultimately to kidney damage and dialysis. Apart from a brief relationship shortly after her divorce, she never remarried or pursued another relationship.

 Just as an aside on the positive side of see saw charts. When Ted Kennedy died a friend who knew the political scene said that despite his damaged scandal-prone reputation, he did have a talent in Senate for cross-aisle negotiations – bringing the opposites together.