Welcome to the inaugural post of my political figure nativity analysis series. I’ve been racked with a lot of doubt about how to execute this, to be completely honest with you all. Clarence Thomas is a polarizing figure, to say the least. As the longest serving justice on the Supreme Court, he has had a direct detrimental influence on the direction of societal progression in the United States – most notably in the striking down of *Roe v. Wade*. Outside of that, he is arguably the most powerful black conservative Republican of current times. It is undeniable that his name will be etched within the annals of American history, most likely with an ink of utter infamy. Today, though, I aim to apply a series of basic traditional astrological techniques in order to get an idea of the themes surrounding his life. Without further ado, let us delve into the character of Clarence Thomas.
So like always, we start this analysis by looking at the Moon, which will give us insight into his character and background. In this nativity, the Moon is in the sign of Aquarius, a fixed air Saturn-ruled sign. The combination of those qualities gives us someone who is contemplative, idealistic, and anxious at their core ; they’d be prone to frequently fretting over the future, as well. The Moon is in the bounds of Mercury, further providing indications to a cerebral nature in the character. It also speaks to the native’s affinity to writing, as well as a strong sense of judgement – both things that are tied rather literally to Clarence’s profession. Mercury itself is in the heart of the Sun as well. When a planet is in the heart of the Sun, that indicates that its matters begin as a point of difficulty in the native’s life, but are eventually improved as the planet is reinvigorated by the luminary. This is reflected in Clarence’s relationship with verbal expression – as a youth of Gullah Geechee heritage, he grew up speaking with an accent and a dialect indicative of that. Doing so earned him ire and ridicule from white classmates in school, who perceived the Geechee dialect as a mark of poverty and disadvantage.
“When I was 16, I was sitting as the only black kid in my class, and I had grown up speaking a kind of a dialect … called Geechee. Some people call it Gullah, and people praise it now. But they used to make fun of us back then. It’s not standard English. So I learned that, and I just started developing the habit of listening. And it just got to be, I didn’t ask questions in college or law school,” he said. “For all those reasons and a few others, I just think that it’s more in my nature to listen rather than to ask a bunch of questions. The only reason I could see for asking the questions is to let people know I’ve got something to ask. That’s not a legitimate reason in the Supreme Court of the United States.”
– Clarence Thomas to the New York Times
Even his grandfather, who Clarence credits with shaping him into the man he is today, would strongly urge him to adapt to more conventional English. Clarence would dedicate himself to doing so, even majoring in English during his first stint in college. The efforts of those pursuits are immediately noticeable if you’ve ever heard him speak publicly or read any of his court opinions, as he is a very capable orator and excellent at articulating himself regardless of the medium. In spite of this, however, those early experiences affected how Clarence would come to participate in conversations as a whole. He is infamous for remaining silent while hearing cases in the Supreme Court. This relationship with expression aligns with the Moon in Aquarius moving through the bounds of a Mercury cazimi that it is also averse to.
The Ascendant is in the sign of Capricorn, a tropical earth Saturn-ruled sign. As both Capricorn and Aquarius share a host planet, they give many of the same indications when tied to one’s character – anxiousness and bluntness, namely, but delays in experiencing love as well (more about that later). Something else that both signs can point to in the native is a tendency to form strong opinions from which they cannot easily be dissuaded. Clarence possesses this in spades, one that is reflected in his profession. He is someone who adheres to tradition, seemingly relying on his interpretation of the founding father’s intent for the Constitution in order to form his opinions on cases.
“In nearly 28 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas has been its most unwavering “originalist.” That means that he reads the Constitution as meaning today what he believes those who wrote it meant back then, no matter how conditions may have changed in America in the meantime.”
– Lyle Denniston – Justice Thomas, originalism, and the First Amendment
Clarence is also a staunch conservative and a proponent for a “bootstrap mentality” – he vehemently opposes government assistance programs under any circumstances, especially ones that level the playing field for black people in general. He holds disdain for those who rely on welfare, to the point that he even made an example of aligning his own sister with the infamous “welfare queen” stereotype.
I’d also like to call attention to something else that is connected to the Ascendant. Capricorn can indicative that the native is an ambitious person who caters to lofty ideals. One of its more extreme manifestations has the native being willing to do anything in order to climb the social ladder – Clarence is one such example. and The Ascendant projects its 12th part to Scorpio, the 11th house of the nativity – that covers topics such as alliances and elevation, further reinforcing those matters in Clarence’s character. Clarence actually positioned himself as a black conservative in order to stand out more easily, which would enable him to garner support from Republicans in service of his own goals. He tokenized himself in order to reach the position that he is in today.
Even now, Clarence relies heavily on the various connections that he established early in his tenure as a justice. He’s been tied to billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow, waste management entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga, oil & gas mogul Paul Novelly, the Koch Brothers, and more. It is also notable that Clarence regularly did not disclose any gifts that he received from those allies, choosing to obscure them – troublesome because they are all conservative activists and philanthropists who fund various right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups, which has concerning implications for how he would be influenced by those individuals. Notably, the 2nd triplicity lord of the 11th house represents the friends and allies of the native. What planet takes on this position in Clarence’s nativity? Venus, the planet of socializing and gathering, which happens to be combust – scorched and obscured by its proximity to the Sun.
Pivoting back to Scorpio, though, I’m going to cite Dr. Ali A. Olomi’s translation of Abu Ma’shar’s interpretations of their 12th parts.
“Those born under this sign will be drawn to religions, occult matters, and will discuss and think of the afterlife often. […] They are clever and skilled at scheming. It is unwise to make of them an enemy. Should an enemy scheme against them, they [the enemy] will fail.”
Clarence is a devout practicing Catholic, having been introduced to the faith by his grandfather. For a while, Clarence even aimed to become a priest, attending seminary in pursuit of that goal. However, he was the target of consistent ridicule because of his dark skin, which created an uncomfortably racist environment for him. After news of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s murder broke, a classmate expressed joy upon hearing it, which served as the catalyst for Clarence abandoning his faith for decades. He did not reconcile with the church until much later in his life.
A warning – the next section of this post touches on sexual transgressions.
However, what I really want to highlight is the section of the interpretation that follows.
“They are a lusty sign and will find great delight in their partners though will be demanding of them. Their lust may lean on the lecherous but must be checked against the exalted lord and master for their lusts may lead them to trouble and suffering.“
The idea of having a high sex drive or potent lustfulness is attested to a few times in the nativity – Mars is the thread that links some of those indicators together. While the malefic is not in difficult condition, it still doesn’t carry completely positive indications either. Mars serves as the exaltation lord of the Ascendant, as well as the bound lord of the Cancer stellium in the 7th house. A combust Venus being a part of the stellium adds to this as well, as it is a general indicator of sex. Capricorn being the sign of the Ascendant is also a powerful indicator, as it is a lusty sign. Due to the influence of Mars it has also connection to transgressing boundaries. A potent lustfulness with a propensity for transgressing boundaries is something that Clarence is said to possess by multiple women who have crossed his path. We see this prominently during his senate Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991. One of his former employees, Anita Hill, accused him of sexual harassment. She claimed that Clarence would discuss extreme pornographic scenes that he had watched, and that he would also brazenly brag about his own sexual prowess. She was not the only women who had endured this, either. Angela Wright and Sukari Hardnett, also former employees of Clarence, described similar experiences with him.
“He came to my apartment one night, just showed up. It was really awkward, just talking, but he would always say little stuff like ‘I think I’ll date you.’ We used to do these [EEOC] workshops around the country. … He asked me, ‘what size are your breasts?’ … It wasn’t like I was afraid of him. To me it was just stuff he said and he did. … Consider that he was at the EEOC, the agency that’s charged with fighting discrimination in the workplace. […] It bothers me that people didn’t get to see all of him because they painted this nice conservative Republican. … If you knew the whole man and some of the other ways he treated people, maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult for you to understand that yes, he’s a sexual harasser, too, because he was no respecter of people on so many other levels.”
– Angela Wright Shannon on Clarence Thomas
“What I wanted to do was corroborate the fact that Anita Hill, like so many other young females at the commission, would be an audition by Clarence for whatever purpose. He would call them into his office. In particular with me, Clarence expected me to be available to him every morning and for lunch, and I would run down to a friend of mine’s office and hide just to avoid being in the situation with Clarence where I would have uncomfortable conversations.”
– Sukari Hardnett to Michel Martin, NPR
Even Lillian McEwen, a former prosecutor who dated Clarence prior, not only attested to his passion for consuming pornography, but found Anita Hill’s accusations to be completely believable based on who she knew the man to be.
“Given that history, she said Hill’s long-ago description of Thomas’s behavior resonated with her. “He was obsessed with porn,” she said of Thomas, who is now 63. “He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting.”
“According to McEwen, Thomas would also tell her about women he encountered at work. He was partial to women with large breasts, she said. In an instance at work, Thomas was so impressed that he asked one woman her bra size, McEwen recalled him telling her.”
– Michael McFielder of the Washington Post, 2010
In the next entry, we will delve a bit deeper into his character by looking at the markers of Clarence Thomas’ soul, particularly Saturn. Thank you all for your support and patronage, I appreciate it immensely. Until next time, please take care of yourselves.
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