Nancy Reagan became forever linked with astrology
Reagan will be remembered for many things, including her acting career, the "Just Say No" campaign, and her political savvy behind the scenes. But she was also responsible for one of the strangest episodes in White House history: the use of an astrologer to make scheduling decisions for the president while he was still in office.
In response to Regan's book, astrology became more publicly Nancy Reagan's domain. Following its publication, numerous (albeit anonymous) staffers provided examples of astrological influence on the presidency. According to one former aide, President Reagan timed his re-election campaign announcement to coincide with favorable astrology, for example. According to Ted Koppel, an astrologer warned Nancy Reagan that there would be "an incident" on March 30, 1981, the day her husband was shot.
When asked about astrology, President Reagan deflected the question to his wife, claiming that her meeting with an astrologer following his assassination attempt could be explained by the upsetting nature of the event itself, "a trauma that didn't go away easily." The astrologer in question was a San Francisco socialite named Joan Quigley, whom Nancy Reagan began calling after the 1981 shooting, according to a 1988 People magazine story. The friendship would last the duration of her husband's two terms in the White House. Prior to Donald Regan's revelations, the Vassar-educated seer acted with the discretion that any country club Republican would.
