LBHD October 2018: John McCain & Burt Reynolds - men of a bygone era

We lost two men of a by-gone era over the past month – Senator John McCain III and Burt Reynolds. While they were in totally different fields – government service and entertainment – they were both born in 1936, and had a lot in common on their charts. They were both Emotional, both had a Will Center defined and both had a lot of energy. McCain was a Manifesting Generator and Reynolds was a pure Generator, each with multiple motors to keep them purring in their chosen professions.

Senator John S. McCain III

Born: August 25, 1936 in Panama City, Panama Canal Zone (US)

Died: August 25, 2018 in Sedona, AZ at age 81

Human Design: Emotional Manifesting Generator with 1/3 Profile

Senator John McCain has a biography that is well-know by many, so I’ll focus on the personality traits that I see in his chart. His Will Center and the Emotional Solar Plexus are what stand out. He was someone who believed in the process and the contracts and agreements above all else – whether it was in the Navy or in the Senate. Keeping his word was extremely important to him, even if he wanted to change his mind during the process. He often made that point about process during his years in the US Senate. However, he was also emotional at times, and whether he was up on his emotional wave, or feeling more melancholy, might have determined his opinions on a certain issue.

His biggest conundrum in the chart that I see is his conflicting emotions between his Gate 15 – the Love of Humanity – and his Gate 6 – Conflict/The Warrior. He was indeed a warrior for most of his life, but there were also many times when he extended an olive branch of peace, as when he and John Kerry restored diplomatic relations with Vietnam, after he had been imprisoned there for more than 5 years of his life during the Vietnam War.

Because they were born only six months apart, both McCain and Reynolds had a number of similar gates in their chart – where the outer planets play a role. They both had the Gate for Charm and Grace (Gate 22); Responsibility (27); the Storyteller (56); Abstract thinking (64) and Details (62).

Burt Reynolds

Human Design chart of Burt Reynolds

Born: February 11, 1936 at 12:10pm in Lansing, MI

Died: September 6, 2018 in Jupiter, FL

Human Design Type: Emotional Generator

Millennial folks may not be aware of Burt Reynolds and his long career, but many of the rest of the world is well aware – whether you liked him as an actor or not. He was in his own words “irreverent with a self-deprecating humor” and when he finally realized that it was okay to be that way in his roles, his career took off as he turned 35. Prior to that, things were really touch and go and while he got lots of roles, nothing seemed to stick. His strong Will and very nurturing Spleen Center gave him lots of personality and a way with women that wasn’t lost on the directors and producers of the time. One even said: “I don’t care whether he can act or not. Anyone who has that effect on women deserves a break”.

And so he got the roles! In his filmography, they list 145 Feature films, 13 television films and nine TV series for a career spanning from 1961 through his death in 2018. That’s 57 years! Pretty good for a Generator with an emotional wave that’s quite erratic – lots of high highs and low lows. But he always kept moving – usually doing two or three films a year. Many of his relationships – with directors, producers, actors and personal relationships – were quite tumultuous and he never seemed really satisfied with his career. He loved directing but that took money, and he was often “investing” in projects that didn’t pan out. Perhaps he was intent on the willpower to finish the things he said he would without listening to his gut for the response, and as a result, got into more things than he really wanted to financially. As one critic noted, “He charmed everyone but Burt Reynolds”.