January 1, 1988: To start the final year of Ronald Reagan’s two-term presidency, his former White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan released a memoir. In it he described how during his two years serving the President he clashed with First Lady Nancy Reagan.
Regan claimed the President and his wife routinely took policy advice from an astrologer. According to the memoir, the woman suggested the best times to hold important meetings, when the President should have an operation, and the dates for reelection debates. Regan also claimed Air Force One wasn’t permitted to fly until the astrologer approved.
Nancy Reagan had a special telephone line installed in the White House and at Camp David solely for use by her astrologer - whom she would chat with up to three times daily.
The woman’s identity, her advice, and the frequency of her personal readings were kept extremely private to avoid public scrutiny and controversy. Even Donald Regan, the President’s Chief of Staff, did not know who she was at the time of his book’s publication.
Her name was Joan Quigley.
She was born and raised in San Francisco in 1927, the daughter of upscale parents. Her father was a hotelier, and the family lived on Nob Hill, one of the city’s toniest neighborhoods. Joan was a society girl born to prosperity.
After attending Vassar College, she took up astrology. Joan never married.
1980: Quigley, a long-time Republican, volunteered on Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. She chose him as her candidate after being dazzled by his astrological chart.
March 30, 1981: Just months into his first term in office, President Regan was shot by John Hinckley. The assassination attempt deeply unnerved Nancy Reagan.
Daytime talk show host Merv Griffin introduced her to Joan Quigley. He used her for his own personal astrology readings, and she was a recurring guest on his TV programs throughout the 70s and mid-80s.
Mrs. Reagan contacted Quigley and asked if she could have foreseen the 1981 attempt on President Reagan’s life. Quigley said yes. Mrs. Reagan feared more shootings and wanted to do all she could to prevent her husband’s demise, including consulting an astrologer.
Not long thereafter, Mrs. Reagan used a secret interlocutor to hire Quigley’s services. The astrologer received payments of $3,000 per month for her services (in 2024, that would equate to roughly $110K annually). Her consultations continued for seven years.
The First Lady gave Quigley the President’s itineraries to determine whether those days were safe for him to travel, which was a major security breach. The astrologer even advised the best dates for press conferences.
Few of the White House staff knew about Quigley’s counseling. Those with the knowledge looked the other way. But not Donald Regan.
Although Nancy Reagan scoffed at Regan’s descriptions of Quigley, she never denied their relationship. In her own memoir, the First Lady recounted how her husband didn’t disabuse her from seeking the astrologer’s readings. “If it makes you feel better,” Ronald Reagan supposedly said, “go ahead and do it.” He added, however, she should keep things quiet because of appearances.
Joan Quigley produced her own tell-all memoir What Does Joan Say? She claimed the title referred to the question President Reagan often posed to his wife Nancy.
She also said that after Donald Regan’s autobiography came out and her identity was revealed to the public - which brought an avalanche of late night jokes - Nancy Reagan never spoke to her again.
Joan Quigley harbored resentment against the Reagans for the rest of her life.
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