Chiron return

The astrology of Anne Heche, RIP

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Anne Heche first came to my attention when she began dating Ellen deGeneres back in 1997. I had seen her in a couple of films but it was that relationship that put her in the public eye, especially since Ellen came out as a lesbian while in that relationship – a somewhat shocking event for that time.

Heche and deGeneres broke up in August 2000, and hours later Heche was found in the desert waiting for a spaceship. She later revealed that she had taken ecstasy and went on a bender following the breakup, but tales of her mental breakdown followed her for years and the scandal of her relationship with deGeneres (it was a different time back then!) put limitations on what would have been a brilliant career.

Anne Heche had the Sun conjunct Mercury in the sign of Mercury-ruled Gemini – a triple whammy of Mercury influence. Mercury is curious and changeable, eager to learn about all facets of life including different aspects of love.  Mercurial factors in the natal chart of actors imply the ability to disappear into a role, and we certainly saw that with Anne Heche.

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Her Venus (relationships) was in the independent sign of Aries and opposed her Libra ascendant, suggesting that the need to balance autonomy (Aries) with compromise and relationship (Venus/Libra) was a theme in her life and chart which we can see in her fierce independence (Aries) combined with serial monogamous relationships (Venus/Libra).  Still, ideally these polarities need to be reconciled and balanced, something which few of us manage to do successfully.

At the time Heche met Ellen deGeneres, transformational Pluto was opposite her Sun and Mercury, likely forcing long-buried trauma into consciousness. […]

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By |2022-08-13T07:35:09-04:00August 13th, 2022|People|6 Comments

An astrological review of “The Happiness Curve”

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It can be somewhat frustrating to read articles about questions that are easily answered by astrology.  Astrologers know that beginning at around age 40, we humans experience a series of planetary cycles that I like to call the “midlife crisis transits.”  This series begins at age 37-40 with the Pluto Square (transiting Pluto forming a stressful square aspect to Pluto in the natal chart), and continuing at age 40-43 with the Uranus Opposition (transiting Uranus opposite Uranus in the natal chart) and the usually simultaneous Neptune Square where transiting Neptune forms a stressful square aspect to Neptune in the natal chart.  This series begins with breakdowns and power struggles under Pluto, and continues with the restlessness and desire for change under Uranus combined with the confusion and self-delusion of Neptune.  Then there is a break for a few years until the Chiron Return at age 50-52 which can be a culmination of life lessons and the emotional reactions to them.

A recent book by Jonathan Rauch called The Happiness Curve asks why life gets better after age 50:

He explains: “I was someone who was fortunate. I had good health and after my 20s, which were difficult because I came out as gay, I met one goal after another with more success than I’d ever expected.

“Yet around the time I turned 40 I noticed this strange feeling of restlessness and discontent. This continued to grow as I got into my 40s to the point where I was 45 and I won the most prestigious award in magazine journalism [a National Magazine award] and that gave me a great feeling of satisfaction with my life for approximately 10 days.

“All these feelings of discontent and […]

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By |2019-11-10T19:09:04-05:00March 9th, 2019|Planetary cycles|3 Comments

RIP James Gandolfini

Gandolfini astrologyA birth certificate has just emerged for Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, and I will be posting about that shortly. 

photo credit: NY Times.  James Gandolfini died yesterday at the age of 51.  As an astrologer I am always drawn to the ages of people who are in the news:  51 (Chiron return), 29 (Saturn return), 41 (Uranus opposition), 62 (Uranus square).  The death of James Gandolfini at the age of 51 during his Chiron return is especially critical because Pluto opposed Chiron in his chart.

Chiron is the planet that governs the healing of energy blocks in the psycho-emotional system that take root in the body and create distress and disease.  Its route to healing is through release of emotional wounds that are denied and repressed so that they can be fully processed and digested.

Someone who has an aspect of Pluto to Chiron in their chart is doing what I call “soul surgery” during this lifetime.  Pluto, as god of the Underworld, takes us deep within the psyche to excavate the darkness that lies there so that Chiron can do its work of healing and bringing wisdom to the soul.

Gandolfini is suspected to have died of a heart attack although no details have yet been provided.  His astrological chart (born September 18, 1961, Westwood NJ, time unknown) shows that he has the Sun in Virgo and a retrograde Saturn.  Virgo is known to be the sign of the perfectionist, and when Saturn (the voice of self-doubt) is retrograde in the natal chart it tends to show someone who is particularly self-critical. Combined with the Pluto/Chiron opposition, this puts a lot of pressure on an individual to achieve and to make something of oneself in the world […]

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By |2013-06-20T03:11:03-04:00June 20th, 2013|Death, People|11 Comments

The power of 1962

aquarius stelliumThis image is an actual gift basket that can be purchased hereEverywhere I look these days I am reminded of 1962. This year marks the 50th anniversary of 1962, so it is an important anniversary and coincides with the Chiron Return. First I wrote a blog post about Demi Moore, born in 1962. A commenter wrote that actress Janine Turner was also born in 1962, and I followed up with a comment of other major stars born in 1962: Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Ralph Fiennes, Steve Carell, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, John Hannah (in the UK), Cary Elwes, Joan Cusack, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paula Abdul, Eddie Izzard (Izzard is one of the AquaStell people born in February that year with seven planets and luminaries in Aquarius), Jon Bon Jovi, Rosie O’Donnell, John Stewart, Andrew Braugher. This is the 50th anniversary of some of the major iconic bands from the 1960s, including the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, two very different bands that had a powerful impact on pop culture. Then yesterday I did a reading for an Aquastell client, a relatively rare event in my practice. And today I find that it’s the 50th anniversary of my favorite book as a child: A Wrinkle in Time. (I wrote about that book here.) In early 1962 there was a lineup of Aquarius planets that at one point featured seven planets within 16 degrees of Aquarius including the Aquarius New Moon on February 5th.  Aquarius is the sign of innovation and urges a departure from that which has been known before.  There was likely an explosion of creative intelligence that erupted during this “Grand […]

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By |2019-05-11T07:35:27-04:00February 10th, 2012|Astrology|0 Comments

An astrologer looks at 50

Chiron ReturnArt borrowed from the New Moon JournalIt’s good to see Huffington Post carrying some serious astrology articles like this one (not that our friend Michael Lutin, HuffPo’s usual astrological source, isn’t serious although he is quite entertaining).

Astrologer Virginia Bell has a good article on the Chiron Return as the turning point at age 50 (technically the Chiron Return occurs at age 51, but let’s not quibble).  I particularly love this paragraph:

At our Chiron Return we have the power to change our story and it is not unusual for our life to take off in a new direction. The period leading up to the Chiron Return, in our late forties, is significant as ideas, plans, and projects are seeded at this time. Located between the orbit of Saturn and Uranus, Chiron is frequently described as a bridge. Often a teacher or mentor appears at this time to act as a bridge or catalyst from one life to another.

I wrote about this on my Facebook page – the fact that the role of mentor is an aspect of Chiron that often gets lost when we think of him solely as the Wounded Healer.  I have found that it is not correct that Chiron’s Wound doesn’t heal – as we age, particularly as we age through the Chiron Return, the wounds CAN heal.  As the wounds heal, the energy that they hold are replaced by a wisdom that goes deep into the soul and at that point we may take on the role as teacher or mentor ourselves.

Today is my birthday, and as many of you know I am in the middle of my Saturn Return right now […]

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By |2021-10-08T08:08:39-04:00October 12th, 2011|Planetary cycles, Saturn Return|13 Comments