Though we are no longer incarnate in physical form after death, our charts continue to live and breathe. Famous people are wonderful examples of how a chart can still be used to predict events, especially with the way a person’s legacy remains alive in the public consciousness. There is further insight into the unfolding of their personality, growth, and psychology through the events that occur after death as represented by transits and progressions. That person often comes back into the consciousness of the public for a reassessment of their talents and contributions, as well as learning more about who they were and why they influenced the world in such a profound way.
As most of my friends and colleagues know, I have an obsession with Joan Crawford!! I love studying her chart. She is a larger than life star, actress and film legend of the 20th century and never did anything in a small way. While alive, she led an extraordinarily active and complex life, so it’s no wonder that in death she remains a fascinating and polarizing woman who continues to have an active and complex afterlife that is under constant scrutiny and reassessment.
On August 12, 2016, coinciding with transiting Saturn’s direct station in Sagittarius, there is a major revival of one of her greatest hits from 1952, “Sudden Fear,” for which she received an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. It is being re-released in a digitally remastered version and is playing for a week at Film Forum in New York City, a revival house known for premiering Hollywood classics of yesteryear, as well as current independent, foreign and art house releases. The film is having a sold out run as it is rediscovered by new and old fans and film aficionados. Modern critics have been praising the film, Crawford’s performance and her enduring legacy. She’s getting reviews now, well after her death that she often didn’t get while alive. There is a reevaluation of her talent, as well as resurgence of her popularity and reputation.
Joan Crawford’s birth information is somewhat in dispute, but I am using the chart that came with Solar Fire. This time was given to astrologer Nelle Sliter by Crawford herself. I have used this chart since 1999, and it works incredibly well. Though you will see more popular dates such as 1904 and 1906, it is the 1903 date that has worked so very well in all my research.
Birth Information: March 23, 1903, 10:00 p.m., San Antonio, Texas
Let’s interpret transits and progressions to the birth chart for August 12, 2016. I use this date because it is the re-release date of the film “Sudden Fear,” and numerous reviews of Crawford’s work in on-line publications such as Film Comment and Roger Ebert, as well as Karina Longworth’s sensational podcast “You Must Remember This,” which chronicles Crawford’s ground-breaking career. There has also been an announcement of the upcoming made for TV series by Ryan Murphy called “Feud,” which chronicles the tense rivalry between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis during the filming of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” due for a 2017 telecast and starring Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.
Since there currently is a resurgence to rehabilitate Crawford’s professional standing and career achievements, I thought that there must be something happening with the planet Saturn, which has to do with one’s legacy, reputation and status in the world. Saturn, at its best, is a builder, and there is a restructuring element going on to re-establish Crawford’s legacy and stature.
The re-release of this film along with the positive articles and reviews are occurring on the station direct of Saturn at 9.46° Sagittarius. This alone can account for the prolonged showing of the film for a week at Film Forum. To have a film from 1952 play for an entire week straight at any theater is quite an accomplishment, and the Saturn station symbolizes the long lasting nature of the run as opposed to a one-time showing that one can miss with the blink of an eye. She’s lasting and durable!
Keep in mind that we are entering an eclipse season and the important degrees are 9 and 24 of the mutable signs. The solar eclipse takes place on September 1 at 9.21 Virgo followed two weeks later by the lunar eclipse at 24.20 Pisces. When looking at transits and progressions to her natal chart, we will see these degrees highly emphasized.
Her progressed MC (reputation, status, standing, career, legacy and recognition) is 9.03 Sagittarius. Transiting Saturn is conjunct it, indicating her reputation is due to undergo a restructuring and rebuilding. It is ready for this overhaul now, at this moment in time. Transiting Saturn and the progressed MC are forming a tight sextile to natal Mars (the handle of a bucket chart and co-ruler of her natal Ascendant and Aries Sun). The solar eclipse degree occurs in her 10th house, doubly emphasizing career resurgence. Progressed Venus at 7.14 Virgo tightly opposes natal Jupiter at 7.32 Pisces and squares natal Juno at 7.30 Sagittarius. This T-square resolves in the 7th house of the opinion of others. There is a rebalancing and recalibration by critics and public as to the true self-worth and talent of the woman, which has been dimmed and somewhat undermined over the years (Taurus on the cusp of the 7th, Venus as ruler of the 7th and 12th, Jupiter as ruler of the 2nd and 5th). Juno forming the apex of this progressed T-square has something to do with gaining an understanding and reforming our negative opinion on just how much of a shrew she really was as new information of the facts comes to light through the written word (Gemini is the empty leg). Juno is also the first lady of the zodiac and here we have some important work to resuscitate her standing as one of the great first ladies of the cinema.
The lunar eclipse degree is also highly emphasized through the healing of Chiron and Jupiter. Progressed Jupiter is 23.14 Pisces, progressed Moon is 25 Pisces and transiting Chiron is at 24 Pisces. All this indicates the chart is ready for a healing via a more optimistic and empathetic view towards Crawford by the public and how she connects with the collective unconscious. The biggest indication of a reversal in our outlook and view of her talent, self-worth and historical significance is that her natal Uranus at 25.36 Sagittarius is being hit hard by the September 16 lunar eclipse. New information is coming to light and something is being awakened and reversed (Uranus) about the past and history of this woman (Uranus as ruler of the 4th). There is a more detached and objective perspective being revealed about a woman who is a very polarizing figure–I mean you either love her or hate her–there is very little middle ground when it comes to Joan Crawford. She’s a rebel, maverick, independent and revolutionary 20th century person.
Progressed Saturn has been retrograde for many years and will make an exact conjunction to its natal position of 6.47 Aquarius in 2020. It currently is approaching exact conjunction by 17 minutes. Here again we have the slow influence of Saturn reassessing her reputation, which will only increase over the coming years as more and more is written about her (natal Saturn resides and rules the 3rd).
Progressed Mercury tightly squares natal Mars, so the written word is being activated. A new direction is needed and the chart is ready to change direction on what is written about her persona and career.
Transiting Uranus is trine natal Uranus and that’s a rather upbeat energy regarding her career and talent (natal Uranus sits in the 2nd and transiting Uranus is in the 6th). It indicates an awakening to what her true talents and skills are as an actress and revising the past story (Uranus rules the 4th).
The frosting on the cake is the transiting Sun conjunct the MC on the day of the re-release of this film. It’s a day of victory, basking in the glow and light of being a star!
On top of everything, as this article goes to print, the week long run at Film Forum has been so successful they extended it another week. This is a good example of Saturn slowing things down in a beneficially enduring way.
Joseph Addeo is a Level IV NCGR-PAA Certified Astrologer and serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Chapter. He can be reached via his website at www.josephaddeo.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/josephaddeoastrologer

Do people ever ask you what’s your rising sign or ascendant? They’re the same thing; just two different ways of identifying it. The rising sign is an extremely important part of the astrological chart and says an immense amount about your personality. It is the persona or mask we adapt in our approach to life, new situations and people. It is how we interface with the world. Usually it is easier to identify a person’s rising sign because it is what we feel most comfortable showing people on first encounter. The Sun sign which really is our identity and who we are at a core level is something that is not always visible until you get to know a person better. The Sun sign comes out and shines once our ego feels a certain amount of confidence and security. The Ascendant or rising sign on the other hand is much more immediate and evident. Think of it as being much more social; the good, or bad face, you put on when you meet people. Here’s a wonderful example to explain the difference between your Sun and Ascendant. Imagine yourself home all alone in the house; you put on some great music and you begin to let loose dancing and singing at the top of your lungs, not caring what you sound like, dressed or undressed in whatever you feel most comfortable.  It’s just like that scene in Risky Business with Tom Cruise – you remember the one – when with full abandon he’s dancing around the house without a care just expressing his identity in total and complete joy. That’s you and that is your Sun. Now suppose the doorbell rings and you have to answer it. All of a sudden you shift gears, turn the music down, fix your hair, get dressed or rearrange your clothes, look in the mirror to make certain you look presentable, preparing yourself to make your standard impression to face whoever is at the door. In other words you put on your mask, which may be friendly or not. That is your rising sign. Now when you open the door it could be someone you feel extremely comfortable with and so you may make another shift. The Sun and rising sign work very much together because they are both indicators of our identity. Some people view the rising sign as more superficial but I don’t think so. We are constantly adjusting and adapting to new situations every day as we try to get along with people. You show your rising sign to every stranger you meet. It’s only those people close to you that get to see your Sun sign. How many people have said “After we got married they became someone totally different.” Well, that’s what happens when the Sun sign begins to emerge and we let our mask (rising sign) down.

The only way to find out your rising sign is to know the exact time of your birth. It is worth getting a hold of your timed birth certificate so that the next time someone asks “What’s your rising sign?” you’ll know.

No matter what the sign or house placement of Mars in the birth chart it is a yang planet representing action, work, anger, sex, energy and how we get what we want. It is the get up and go in our lives and without it we’d be dead. Martian energy, normally outgoing, when retrograde is turned inward urging us to reorient in a new direction. Time to get in touch with our inner warrior. We must confront ourselves rather than others and that is not something Mars normally feels comfortable doing. Mars by nature is not very introspective. But every 2 years we must burn the fire within and purify our Martian energy and take stock of our actions. By surging inwards for the 6 week retrograde we can test our motives for proper action so that on the direct station we can reanimate ourselves with renewed vim and vigor. Our energy healthily revitalized. It would be great if we could all do that but so much of the time Mars retrograde becomes anger turned inwards against ourselves. Mars can be a bully and when retrograde we are much harder on ourselves because it is very difficult to let off steam appropriately. It’s very easy to push too hard and inflame unhealthy patterns causing flare ups to old health issues. Misdirected and misguided anger has an odd way of physically manifesting in the body as boils, welts, sores, fevers, accidents and a myriad of other problems. Individual consciousness and awareness dictates how well this energy can be incorporated. The purpose of Mars retrograde is to evaluate what motivates us and determine if we’re on the correct path. It’s time to adjust actions and aggressive instincts to ensure that we can accomplish our goals. Old resentments have a way of resurfacing and it is an ideal time to develop new strategies and approaches for dealing with issues that can be implemented when Mars goes direct.

When Mars turned retrograde on October 1, 2005 I decided to get back in touch with my acupuncturist to help with some health issues. Several things prompted this. I had stopped seeing him for almost a year because of a money shortage but as Mars was approaching its retrograde in Taurus I rethought my issues surrounding money and decided my health was much more important. After all, this doctor always helped me tremendously. I had been overworking myself, burning the candle at both ends, and felt a bad cold coming on. Lastly, some welts and boils had appeared on my butt! I didn’t like the appearance and I wanted to have this taken care of.   Mars natally rules my 6th and 7th house and it was turning retrograde in my 7th. The interpretation is easy; going back to an old relationship involving a doctor in order to take care of my health. Aries on the cusp of the 6th house symbolizes healing the body through acupuncture. I reassessed my values as they pertained to my physical body. Was I going to let money block the more important value of my health? Mars retrograde got me in touch with truly what was of value to me on an inner level and helped me not worry so much about my material “stuff”.

As Astrologers we counsel our clients that relationships begun on Mars retrograde are fine so long as you don’t have sex. And if you do have sex there will be something about the relationship that won’t work out easily. More than likely a hot sexual encounter or affair begun on a Mars retrograde will fizzle out when it turns direct or if it does continue there will be some restriction or limitation placed on it. You may remain friends and feel emotionally close yet physically distant. Whatever the manifestation, it would not be a sexual relationship of ease. Things usually work out better on the retrograde if someone you know re-enters your life. So of course I had to test this theory out. I met two different men on the retrograde. The first I had been introduced to a year ago and at that time he barely gave me the time of day. All of a sudden on the Mars retrograde I met him at a local bar and he starts speaking to me as if he’s discovered a new friend. He didn’t even remember who I was from a year ago. My appearance had changed rather dramatically within the year and I wasn’t about to remind him of our previous meeting. Of course he would come back into my life on the retrograde as he is an archetype of a hot, sexy man. In the second instance, I met a guy for the first time and we had a very fateful first encounter and things have been progressing in a very interesting way. First time sexual encounters generally don’t bode as well on the retrograde as do encounters of people from the past.   It will be interesting to note how these relationships adjust when Mars turns direct.

In a third, far more intimate relationship of mine, resentments and feelings from the past came rushing to the surface. I was forced to deal with my emotions on an inner level and instead of getting angry, had to evaluate how I was going to confront issues. So before talking to this person directly I spent a month confronting myself with what I wanted in this relationship and how I could achieve that. Mars became more reflective. I broached some issues but not all of them. I am waiting to confront other more complicated matters when Mars turns direct. But the retrograde has been invaluable in helping me re-assess my values, desires and how to achieve them.

Natal Mars Direct by Progression

Let’s talk about my favorite subject and a very Martian woman: Joan Crawford! If you read my article from a couple of months ago Crawford was born with Mars retrograde in Libra in the 11th house and the handle of a bucket chart. That’s a scary Mars. But we’re talking about Joan Crawford after all, a pretty scary woman. A very masculine woman, a very Mars in Libra Retrograde kind of woman because so much of her life was about desperately wanting to be “liked” and going to any measure humanly possible to be seen as someone worthy of being liked. She was consumed with putting on appearances of elegance, refinement, beauty, glamour and proper behavior. One could accuse her, and many have, of putting on “airs” (Libra is an air sign). By progression her Mars in Libra went direct in September 1949. With Mars ruling her ascendant, Sun, Venus and 6th house we can expect major changes in her life. Something hidden should be coming out. The Mars in Libra became more like Mars in Aries and she had a harder time keeping the lid on her mask and persona. Some said her “true” colors are finally surfacing. That hard edge that was always percolating and simmering underneath was finally unleashed and we saw the woman in a more direct way. The nastiness became more overt.   Something very interesting happened to Joan Crawford’s screen persona at this time. Before 1950 her movie roles always had a hard edge but the characters, with a few exceptions, were always sympathetic, likable and, if morally a little vague, the screenwriters always led you to an understanding of her behavior. This all changed with two films released in 1950: “The Damned Don’t Cry” and “Harriet Craig”. Both films were in production at the end of 1949 and early 1950 exactly at the time her progressed natal Mars turned direct.   These films heralded the Joan Crawford that everyone remembers to this day: cold, hard, mean, unsympathetic, heartless, masculine, cruel and camp. In “The Damned Don’t Cry” she plays a woman from the wrong side of the tracks that claws her way to the top of the success ladder.   She has no morals whatsoever and is ruthless in her drive and ambition to get ahead at any cost.   In “Harriet Craig” she plays a cold heartless woman who cares more about her house and possessions than her husband or anyone else in her life. Her bold, calculating lies inevitably are her downfall. The woman is as cold and icy as a freezer and seemingly has no heart. The rest of her film career until her death used variations on the theme of this type of woman. From 1925 until 1950 Crawford played driven and ambitious characters but always with a soft, sympathetic edge with occasional glimpses of the monster she would later become. From 1950 to 1975 she played driven, ruthless monsters; Amazon women, frightening in their intensity with only occasional glimpses of the softer, more sympathetic woman that she had been in the past. And physically she became so much more masculine in this period as well. She also became more outwardly combative with younger actresses. Her fights were legendary with Janice Rule, Gloria Grahame, Mercedes McCambridge and Marilyn Monroe. The lid was off her Mars and she didn’t care as much anymore about being “nice”. It was a major turning point in her life and career, accurately reflected by this profound chart progression.

Even more bizarre is what was happening in Christina Crawford’s chart at the same time. Let’s talk about karma shall we?   Christina also has a bucket chart with Mars as the handle. Natally her 4th house Mars in Aquarius is stationary getting ready to turn retrograde by progression but this doesn’t happen until the spring of 1950 when she is 11 years old. Remember that Crawford’s progressed Mars changed direction in the fall of 1949. Within a matter of months they each had major life altering changes in the direction their lives would take. (Let’s throw in a little synastry while we’re at it: Christina’s Mars conjuncts Joan’s Moon/Saturn conjunction). Can anyone doubt the deep connection that these two women shared and had to play out? In February of 1950 Christina was enrolled in Chadwick, a private boarding school. Crawford wanted Christina out of the house because she was becoming too rebellious. Shortly thereafter Christina had a sexual awakening with a boy of 16. Needless to say Crawford became irate and the confrontations that would fuel the rest of their lives, culminating in the publication of “Mommie Dearest”, were initiated and intensified at that psychologically hot time. So while Crawford’s aggressiveness became more overt, Christina had to get more in touch with her inner warrior to fight the battles with the outer demon represented by her mother. The inner drive and reserve in Christina would be vast.   One last ironic twist, Crawford’s natal Mars resides in the 11th house of adopted children and Christina’s resides in the 4th house of the mother. Enough said.   I am intensely curious to see what happens in Christina’s life when Mars turns direct by progression in July of 2012. That will be a date to watch in this ongoing saga and you know I will be there to report on it for the Ingress!

“Divorced, beheaded, died…….divorced, beheaded, survived!” So goes a famous rhyme, recalling the order of Henry VIII’s six wives. It’s an easy way to remember the fate of each wife, even if you can’t recall who is who. The story is so famous, like a Hollywood movie from the golden age, rife with passion, melodrama, political intrigue, murder and sex, that it has held the imagination of the entire world for over five centuries! In thinking about what I wanted to write for an article about family relationship dynamics, it popped into my mind that coinciding with the retrograde of Venus in Leo, it might be fun to talk about these royal wives and explore the darker side of the love goddess. Here we have a perfect example of how to have fun with derived houses. What I’d like to do in this article is give my synopsis and interpretation of Henry’s chart, followed by a brief discussion of each of the six wives, their fate and how they fit into his life.
Lois Rodden’s Astro Databank gives Henry VIII’s chart its highest accuracy rating of AA as quoted from the BC (birth certificate) and BR (birth record). As a monarch, his birth would have been highly anticipated and recorded at its exact moment in time by, I imagine amongst others, the court astrologer. Therefore, we can be fairly confident of an accurate, practical and psychological depiction of Henry and each of his six wives.
Henry VIII, King of England. June 28, 1491, 8:45 am, Greenwich, England. Julian Calendar.
Let’s start with the trilogy of Sun/Moon/Ascendant and work our way from there.
Sun in Cancer in the 11th conjunct Juno. His identity as a Cancer is tied up with his country as well as with politics (11th house) and his wives and royal consorts (Juno conjuncts the Sun), including waging war with those wives. Juno is known to be wrathful, jealous and angry, so the archetype is actually a part of who he is (that raging temper) as well as how he experiences partnership. Adding to his immense personal frustration is the combative nature of the yin and yang battle of the Aries Moon in the 8th house square the Sun and Juno. He’s uncomfortable in his own body and he may see himself as a caretaker and nurturer, while he views his women (once the passion of the 8th house has worn off) as jealous, bitter, screaming, raging, manipulative warmongers that he eventually has to destroy and kill, which would be quite a literal interpretation of a warmongering Aries Moon in the 8th square the Sun. The Moon square the Sun from the 8th to the 11th means his private life comes out before the public and is instrumental in shaping his public and political image. It’s hard to keep a secret with that square, as the Moon rules the Cancer planets as well as the 11th house. Perhaps his wives wield an awful lot of influence behind the scenes. The 11th house Sun makes him rebellious, revolutionary and a leader of political movements as well as someone who would like to identify himself as a team player, though that might not be others’ perception. An opposition to Uranus adds to the political and social consciousness of the man, as well as to the struggle he has with his children and the constant love/hate relationship with them. He periodically spoils his daughters and then when they seem to disobey him, does a 180° turn and banishes them from the kingdom. This is a volatile and unpredictable king.
As a Cancer, he views himself as caretaker to his family, country and children, hence bearing the weight of upholding the family tradition. The 11th house nature reflects something about bringing his family legacy into the future through rebellion and revolution. He is responsible for breaking away from the Catholic Church, leading to the formation of the Church of England and the social reform that produced the Protestant Reformation in Great Britain.
We’ve all come to know this king as excessive, fat, loud, diseased and a larger-than-life, often rather grotesque figure. This is the Henry of middle and old age. When he was a young man, he was extremely handsome, tall, virile and an avid sportsman possessing an athletic and muscular body. His contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne. That’s not the way we’re used to seeing him portrayed, as so much of the drama in his life that fascinates the public surrounds his personal life and occurs when he is well into middle age. His Virgo rising gives him the “perfect” male physique, an ability to see things practically, a critical nature, but also intelligence and a consciousness of what his duty is. Virgo rising would be an analytical approach to life. In old age, the Virgo rising, along with the many inconjuncts, produce chronic health problems. Venus inconjunct Pluto: syphilis, although some historians dismiss that and say he suffered from diabetes. Saturn inconjunct the Ascendant: knee problems and gout. Jupiter inconjunct Uranus: mental problems which plagued him in later life. The placement of Mercury in Leo (which I perceive as being in Fall, though some astrologers might disagree) gifts him with his royal personage, prideful nature and athleticism. This is a Mercury of extremes in the royal sign of Leo, so when Henry feels that politicians, family, his subjects and the public are in accord with his point of view, he will rule with a kindly, generous and beneficent nature. Yet, when they disagree with his worldview—and with an exact opposition from Saturn, I’m sure this happens quite often—he will bring out the negative side of Leo and become petulant, childlike and loud, ruling with a sense of cruelty and willful pride. The Saturn opposes from the 5th house and rules the 5th house, so he will keenly feel opposition from his children. Interesting that both Uranus and Saturn reside in the 5th and his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, were responsible, respectively, for a) trying to overthrow his reforms by returning to the Catholic Church and b) upholding the revolution and thereby forming new traditions as set into motion by him. Saturn opposite Mercury would also be his bastard children, of which we know he had at least one son and probably others. The Saturn opposition also says that he doesn’t get the legitimate son to carry on his legacy that he so desperately desires. His one son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI, died at a young age before he was able to have a major influence.
Mercury trines the Moon; Henry was known for being a great seducer of women. I’m sure the trine made it very easy to woo with words and make many promises and charm those women with royal favors and dashing language. It would also indicate that he likes smart women and perhaps shares secrets with them behind closed doors. The opposition from Saturn says that, from his perspective, he feels blocked by everyone. The great thing about this Saturn is that it does rein him in from being a total despot and gives him consciousness about his thinking, because others will always ask him to question his motives and analyze his ability to take proper and judicious action. It tempers the excessive authority that is naturally inherent in a fire-sign Mercury. Although, on a bad day, others may make him feel stupid. At closer look, that Mercury is in a grand square with Saturn (work and reputation), Pluto (power) and Chiron (wounds and healing). This configuration would always provoke a feeling of being a caged animal, producing immense paranoia at its worst and a constant creative urge to solve problems at its best. When pressure gets to be too much, he would explode in a volcanic rage. This Mercury adds to his excessive appetites with food, sex and just about everything, as well as his late-in-life health problems, of which he had many (so does the south node at 29° Taurus, but more on that later). Chiron in Taurus is in the 9th, having to do with the Church and its religious values. There’s plenty more that can be said about this grand square with such powerful outer planets involved. Needless to say, the Chiron would be the need to bridge a gap between two worlds. The chart ruler’s involvement in this configuration forces Henry to be a key player in the transformation, break and eventual healing of a religious rift.
Mars rising in Virgo adds to his masculinity, musculature and sexiness, as well as his courage and ability to start wars and take action based on a strategic approach with acute mental capabilities and organizational skills. At its worst, he’s brash, abrupt, violent and bombastic. Mars being in the first, trining the MC, brings the Martian qualities before the public, granting him the personality and reputation as an imposing figure. Mars is in a grand trine with Uranus and the MC, forming a Kite with the nodal axis, so his efforts for social reform are eventually successful. Mars is part of an out-of-sign trine with Venus, therefore it’s easy for him to get in and out of relationships and he usually gets what he wants, at least in the beginning. Eventually he feels the square of Neptune to Mars, which extinguishes his passion and disappoints him in some way.
Jupiter opposing Neptune indicates a schism between his religious beliefs and philosophies and his spiritual principles and facts. It’s a very tight opposition in mutable signs and is one of the major indications of a religious/spiritual crisis of consciousness.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this radix is what is at the foundation of his legacy and reputation and what so many of us remember about this larger-than-life monarch. Look at that Venus and nodal axis!!!!! The South Node at 29° Taurus conjunct Venus at 0° Gemini says he’s obsessed with his women, as well as with his sexual and physical desires, appetites, pleasures and needs. 0° is about new beginnings, and 29° is about endings. He’s constantly ending relationships with his wives in order to start new ones in a never-ending pursuit of happiness and a male heir. Pisces on the 7th house cusp indicates a true romantic and someone who doesn’t always see partners clearly. That Neptune opposes Jupiter suggests an inevitable disillusionment and disappointment, after a promising beginning, and putting the partner upon a pedestal, from which they inevitably topple. This reputation for marriages and affairs (Venus) is what informs even the casual person’s knowledge of Henry VIII and his six wives. The Taurus/Scorpio axis is all about money, power, desire, passion, sex and pleasure, and the Gemini Venus is all those wives and his fickle wants. When he tires of wives, they are eliminated. He beheaded two; Taurus rules the neck! This nodal axis is uncontrollable passions, desires and power. That it is so angular forms the mythological basis of his reputation and overwhelming effect on transforming history.
And as if that weren’t enough, the Sabian Symbol for the degree of his rising sign is: A Harem!!!!!! I can’t make this stuff up, folks!
Now let’s take a look at his six wives using derived houses. The sign on the cusp of the 7th house, its ruler and any planets within the 7th will tell us what he’s looking for in a partner and most specifically his first wife. Using derived houses, we move up three houses to describe each successive wife so the 9th would be wife number two, the 11th wife number three and so on and so forth.
First Wife: House 7 – Catherine of Aragon. Married 1509–1533. DIVORCED. This was Henry’s first and longest marriage. Catherine was previously married to Henry’s older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, from November 14, 1501 until his death several months later on April 2, 1502. There was apparently no problem getting a dispensation from the Pope for Henry to marry his brother’s widow since the marriage had not been consummated. Catherine testified to this, and as a deeply devout and pious woman, her veracity was never questioned, especially since Henry often boasted in his youth that he had indeed found Catherine to be a virgin on their wedding night. This would come back to haunt him many years later when he was trying to have the marriage annulled on the grounds that he had married his brother’s wife and was therefore cursed with a childless marriage (meaning there was no male heir).
By all accounts, particularly Henry’s and Catherine’s own, this was a deeply romantic coupling forged from love as well as from political alliances. It was a very happy marriage that produced many children although only one, a daughter Mary, lived. Obviously Catherine was able to produce an heir but had the misfortune, over a lengthy marriage, to have none of her sons survive.
Pisces on the cusp of the 7th house indicates a first wife to whom he is devoted and cherishes. It would also describe Catherine as a deeply spiritual and devout woman. It’s a dream romance and an alliance with a foreigner (Neptune in Sagittarius) with whom he can start a family as well as help his native country, England (4th house). It would also bring Catherine some status since Henry’s 4th house is Catherine’s 10th. We must remember that Pisces has two rulers and Jupiter and Neptune oppose each other. The eventual split from Catherine will be the result of not having a male heir, which would bring a crisis of faith (Jupiter vs. Neptune) and an appeal to the Catholic Church for an annulment. When this was not granted, there was a philosophical, moral, religious and spiritual split from Rome, the repercussions being the formation of a new church and sides being chosen. Catherine would be caught in the middle of this moral dilemma of a split between Jupiter and Neptune. Will she remain loyal to her husband and his beliefs or will she stay true to the spiritual core of her upbringing? Henry sincerely loved Catherine, and she him, but her chart rulers are in opposition, and with Mars squaring both of them, this would indicate Henry (her partner) fighting her on every count when it comes to religion and spirituality. This first wife and marriage would cause the break from the Catholic Church and the beginnings of the Church of England. I see Catherine as the Neptune in Sagittarius, while Henry takes on the Jupiter in Gemini role of duality in religious matters. Catherine has God on her side, while Henry seeks to interpret the Bible and redefine the meaning of the law and religion (Jupiter in Gemini). Because Catherine’s chart rulers are in a T-square with Mars, the resolution of which is the 7th house, Catherine will staunchly stick to her guns and not waver from her moral high ground.
I do think Catherine was his true love, but unfortunately she’s caught in that T-square. He doesn’t kill her but instead divorces, banishes and forces her to live out her remaining years in seclusion. By all accounts, she was dearly loved by her English subjects and her death set off tremendous mourning among the public. Her daughter Mary would grow up to be Queen of England and try to counteract her father’s break from the Catholic Church by restoring it back to the one true religion of England. Henry’s 11th house is Catherine’s 5th house. The Sun opposes Uranus in these houses so Catherine’s firstborn and Henry’s firstborn, both Mary, are in opposition! That’s very interesting, because it forces Mary into a karmic split between her two parents.
Second Wife: House 9 – Anne Boleyn. Married 1533–1536. BEHEADED. Anne Boleyn was Henry’s mistress in the last days of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. That Chiron is in this house in Taurus is a strong indication that the wound Anne may suffer would be to her neck! As we all know, she was the first wife to be beheaded. Aries rules this house: the head! Mars is in the T-square with Neptune and Jupiter. Anne is put directly in the middle of the problem and moral dilemma and plays an instrumental role in the split from the Church. The ruler of the 9th is in the 1st, so Henry and Anne are very much alike. Both possess a fiery nature. That old adage that you grow to hate the one you love comes to mind. The disillusionment with Anne comes in the fact that he doesn’t know who to believe about her Martian behavior. Is she promiscuous and cheating on him with others or is she innocent of such wicked crimes? With the ruler of the 9th being Mars square Jupiter and Neptune, you don’t know who to believe. Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Mars becomes violent for poor Anne Boleyn and she winds up losing her head. She does leave Henry with another daughter who grows up to be Elizabeth I, one of the greatest monarchs in English history. You can interpret Elizabeth as his 7th house (second child), but another indication of Elizabeth’s character would be Henry’s 1st house (5th from the 9th—Boleyn’s first child). Elizabeth most likely had much in common with her father. She was a Virgo and known as the Virgin Queen and became a great leader (Mars in Virgo in the 1st). After Elizabeth’s birth, Anne had three miscarriages. Henry, disappointed that he did not have a male heir transferred his affections to Jane Seymour and had Anne investigated for high treason. By all accounts, most of the charges were trumped up, and she was tried by a jury, convicted of adultery, incest and witchcraft and then beheaded. As a result, she has retained her hold on the popular imagination. Anne has been called “the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had,” since she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare his independence from Rome. Mars is Anne’s ruler, and as the focal planet in that mutable T-square, it is sadly descriptive of her destiny.
Third Wife: House 11 – Jane Seymour. Married 1536–1537. DIED. Jane Seymour was not as highly educated as Catherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn. She was better at needlework and household management, had a meeker disposition and was more concerned with traditional wifely duties. That the Sun is in the 11th house indicates she bore Henry his one surviving male heir, Edward VI. That Uranus opposes the Sun implies that his life was cut short. Cancer on the cusp of this house describes Jane as wifely, womanly, motherly and able to bear children. Jane was highly praised for her gentle, peaceful nature, being referred to as “gentle a lady as ever I knew” by John Russell and being named as “the Pacific” by the Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys for her peacemaking efforts at court. Her motto as a queen was “Bound to obey and serve”. She was regarded as a meek, gentle, simple, and chaste woman, whose large family made her a suitable candidate to give birth to many children. The Moon, as ruler of the 11th, squares the Sun which resides in the 11th, indicating the early death of this wife. Jane died a week after giving birth to Edward VI. But she does produce a male heir, so perhaps the Sun and Moon in mutual reception, yet square one another, signifies that Henry receives a blessing upon this wife’s untimely death in the gift of their son, which ensures his lineage and legacy are passed on.
Jane put forth much effort to restore Henry’s first child, Princess Mary, to court and to the royal succession. Jane brought up the issue of Mary’s restoration both before and after she became Queen. While Jane was unable to restore Mary to the line of succession, she was able to reconcile her with Henry. A letter from Mary to Jane shows that Mary was grateful to Jane. Cancer on the cusp of the 11th shows her caring and motherly nature. Cancer is also a sign that respects the past, history and tradition. Her affection for Mary would come as no surprise. It also shows that she will always be remembered for being mother to the future king and only legitimate male heir.
Fourth Wife: House 1 – Anne of Cleves. Married January 1540–July 1540. DIVORCED. Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry and Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. She was German. The marriage was declared never consummated. Following the annulment of their marriage, Anne was given a generous settlement by the king and was thereafter referred to as the King’s Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Queen Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry’s wives.
Henry valued education and cultural sophistication in women, but Anne lacked these. She had received no formal education but was skilled in needlework and liked playing card games. She could read and write, but only in German. Nevertheless, Anne was considered gentle, virtuous and docile, qualities that recommended her as a suitable candidate for Henry, and a German alliance was considered good politically. Anne’s family was unaligned religiously, with her mother, the Duchess Maria, described as a strict Catholic. Germany’s ongoing dispute over Gelderland with Emperor Charles V made it a suitable ally for England’s King Henry VIII in the wake of the Truce of Nice. The match with Anne was urged on the king by his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell.
From historical records, Anne’s appearance was not pleasing to the king, though he married her anyway. The marriage could or would not be consummated because of Henry’s lack of desire for his wife and her inability to arouse him. Henry VIII’s physician stated that after the wedding night, Henry said he was not impotent because he experienced “duas pollutiones nocturnas in somno” (two nocturnal pollutions while in sleep; i.e., two wet dreams). Typical of male hierarchy at the time, the woman’s appearance is to blame for a lack of interest on the husband’s part. Far be it from Henry to admit to impotency of any kind. Virgo on the cusp of this house would describe a spinsterish, humble type of woman who lived more in the background and did not mind a sexless, pure, virgin marriage.
Anne is Henry’s 1st house, which indicates that she was probably like him on some level and perhaps asexual in nature, and that may have been the big turnoff for him. She’s also ruled by that Mercury, which is in that grand square configuration. Because she winds up being practical and readily consents to the annulment and to being considered his “Dear and Beloved Sister,” this would perfectly describe the Virgo rising of someone chaste to him, humble in nature, spinsterish, sexless and virgin-like. All attributes directly opposite to Henry, which supports the interpretation that when one house rules two people, we often see the polarity of the sign played out between them. She remains in a nonsexual, sibling relationship with the king. She’s part of the royal family, a good friend to him in a detached way, befitting someone described in Henry’s chart with Virgo rising ruled by Mercury. Because she’s practical in affairs of the heart and remains subservient to the king by following orders, Henry looks kindly upon her and spares her a deadly fate.
Fifth Wife: House 3 – Catherine Howard. Married 1540–1541. BEHEADED. Henry referred to Catherine Howard as his “rose without a thorn”. A phrase which suggests that he thought her pure, without guile and perfect, seeing her in a romantic light with blinders on. Spoken like a true man with Pisces on the cusp of the 7th house; the ability to raise someone up on a pedestal, and just when you become disillusioned with them—either by seeing them for who they really are or by just waking up to the fact that perhaps you’ve been blind all along—you begin criticizing and controlling them as a good Virgo rising would. And then when that doesn’t work, the Mercury in Leo in that grand square, along with the Sun square Moon, dictatorially screams out in a dramatic rage, “Off with her head!” And so there you have it: a reputation being formed based upon that South Node at an anorectic degree of Taurus conjunct Venus at 0° Gemini, all conjunct the MC.
Unfortunately, poor Catherine was beheaded after less than two years of marriage to Henry on the grounds of treason, for committing adultery while married to the king. Suffice it to say, Pluto resides in the 3rd house, and that’s a pretty apt symbol for her destiny. With Libra ruling this house, we can see why Henry would describe her as his “rose without a thorn” though that thorn is uncovered by the Pluto as the darker side of her nature. It would erupt from within, turning that Libra demeanor into its opposite of Aries and Scorpio. Venus is in fickle, curious, playful and tricky Gemini, which again would describe the two-faced nature of this woman, if not totally accurately, then at least through Henry’s eyes. Pluto would indicate this queens passionate sexual nature. If she wasn’t being satisfied by an aging, grotesque and impotent monarch, then she may alternatively participate in court intrigue to satisfy her lustful passions elsewhere. There could be some truth to the charges of adultery against her.
During the summer of 1541, a crisis began to loom over Catherine. People who had witnessed her indiscretions at Lambeth Palace began to contact her for favors in return for their silence, and many of them were appointed to her household. Her court was filled with many people who knew secrets and would use them against the young and naïve Catherine, ultimately contributing to her downfall. Pluto in Libra in the 3rd has a way of eventually uncovering the truth.
Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn were first cousins. Venus (ruler of the 3rd) is in Gemini, sign of cousins. Even more interesting when looking at derived houses, the 3rd (Catherine) is opposite the 9th (Anne Boleyn), placing them as mirror images of one another. Both were feisty, Anne in a direct Aries way and Catherine in a more indirect Libra way where the image may have more of an artifice. Both were accused of adultery, treason and beheaded. And both have powerful planets involved in that grand square: Anne has Chiron, and Catherine has Pluto! These were the only two who were beheaded, and the other planets involved in that grand square are Mercury, which is Henry’s chart ruler, and Saturn, which would be the leg of the square not covered by one of these three personalities. And that would be the end result of any conflict: Saturn in Aquarius, planet of endings in a sign having to do with castration.
Sixth Wife: House 5 – Catherine Paar. Married 1543–1547. SURVIVED. Catherine Paar was the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII. She outlived him by one year. She was the most-married English queen, with four husbands.
Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry’s three children and was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward. She was influential in Henry’s passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored both his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, to the line of succession to the throne.
The fact that Catherine and Henry’s children are represented by Henry’s 5th house would indicate a natural bond between them. Catherine exerts her influence politically to aid those children, and he listens to her. Uranus in this house would indicate the political allegiance to these children, as well as friendship, and forging a bond as an adoptive parent by using her status and position (Saturn) to help them. She is also highly Protestant and would support Henry and his regime in the Protestant Reformation. Saturn is the planet that would represent Catherine, and because she came to Henry in his old age and the latter part of her life, she perhaps incurred the positive side of Saturn in Aquarius in a fixed grand square, rather than the wrathful. Saturn is one of those planets that learns its lesson late in life, so Henry didn’t crucify her in any way but came to be a good friend of hers, valuing her wise counsel (within reason), especially when it came to matters of his children and the political and social structures. Uranus in Capricorn would be a great placement to topple long-held traditions.
She was his oldest wife, descriptive of the sign Capricorn ruling this house cusp. Though her ruler (Saturn) opposes Henry’s ruler (Mercury), because they came to each other late in life, the opposition of these two planets, that could cause so much trouble in youth, can have a far more beneficial outcome in old age. Reason, wise counsel, loyal friendship and a woman who is more an equal partner intellectually would be the rewards to reap.
It’s interesting to note that on account of Catherine’s Protestant sympathies, she provoked the enmity of powerful Catholic officials who sought to turn the king against her—a warrant for her arrest was drawn up in 1546. However, she and the king soon reconciled. Further indication that although the planet Saturn is in that nasty grand square, she benefitted from that Saturn in rulership and Henry’s advanced age. The interpretation being that one benefits from their Saturn placement later in life, provided you become conscious and learn your lessons.
She was a learned woman who published three books. Her book Prayers or Meditations became the first book published by an English queen under her own name (Uranus in the 5th). With Venus in Gemini trine Mars in Virgo, Henry does value intelligent women and enjoys lively debate with them, as long as they don’t challenge his authority (Mercury in that grand square but specifically opposing Saturn).
Another “first” for Catherine was that she was the first Queen of England also to be Queen of Ireland, (again, Uranus in the 5th).
Finally, she outlived three of her four husbands. Her last one outlived her. Catherine died only six days after giving birth to her only child. I guess Uranus and Saturn in this house says she’ll deal with much separation and have to learn to expect the unexpected through sudden endings.
As I finish writing this article, I’ve come to realize that the Sun has just entered Virgo, soon to arrive at a conjunction with Jupiter near 4° Virgo, only two degrees away from Henry VIII’s Ascendant! So the grandiosity, charisma, pomposity and godlike qualities of this larger-than-life king’s personality are being highlighted and examined. Venus retrograde and Mars direct, both in Leo, make a conjunction on September 1 at 15° Leo, a world axis degree. A royal sign and royal couplings, so what better time than now, to reignite the flame of interest in their romantic past. And to prove that your chart lives after death, a major British television series in 2015 has been Wolf Hall, in which the history of Henry VIII and his wives plays a prominent role. I love astrology!   

NOTE: Facts for this article were culled from The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George and Wikipedia.

​Joseph Addeo is a Level IV NCGR-PAA Certified Astrologer and serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Chapter. He can be reached via his website at www.josephaddeo.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/josephaddeoastrologer.

Charts Activated after Death: A Case Study of Charles Manson and Sharon Tate and the Release of Quentin Tarantino’s Movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino has a new film going into worldwide release on July 26, 2019 called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It had its official first press screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019, 4:30 p.m., Cannes, France. The time source for the Cannes chart is from Variety.com. 


Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells the story of faded television actor Rick Dalton, played by DiCaprio, and his stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Pitt, who strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the waning years of Hollywood’s Golden age in 1969 Los Angeles. The plot intersects with the Charles Manson cult. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate.   


As working astrologers we know that charts continue to live on beyond death. After death events are triggered by major transits, progressions and solar arcs as well as other techniques for divination. We have exact birth times for both Sharon Tate and Charles Manson, and since their lives are so inextricably tied together, I thought it would be interesting from an astrological point of view, to see what’s being activated in their charts, bringing them once again to the forefront of public consciousness. I’m using whole sign houses and both traditional and contemporary planetary rulerships. 
Sharon Tate: January 24, 1943, 5:47 p.m., Dallas, Texas. Source: Lois Rodden AstroData Bank, AA.
Charles Manson: November 12, 1934, 4:40 p.m., Cincinnati, Ohio. Source: Lois Rodden AstroData Bank, AA. 
Progressions let us know on a deeper level what is ready to be changed. In a person that is dead we could interpret this as what is shifting on a deeper collective level of the public’s perception of the person in question. Transits will time events and the progressions tell us how deeply those events will transform the person or their story. I’ll be using planetary placements for the Cannes premier date of May 21, 2019, although for a general discussion as this is, it won’t make any major difference if using July 26. 

Sharon Tate Progressions
Mars at 25 Aquarius 29 is in a 45’ approaching conjunction to the 8th house South Node. In a day chart Mars is the malefic contrary to sect.  So it’s said to be the most challenging planet in the chart.  The angry red planet is ready to dredge up this violent, gruesome, shocking murder from the past. Aquarius also has to do with groups, in this case a destructive cult. Mars rules the natal 10th so her reputation is tied up in this very malefic Martian act from the past. He also rules the 5th, the area of the chart having to do with actors. 

The progressed Sun is in exact sextile to natal Venus. Venus lives in the 8th house along with the natal Sun. This progression presents the opportunity to recreate her identity and star quality to the public and highlights who she is as a woman of beauty and talent. Her beauty and talent is still so identified with her untimely death. Venus rules the 4th, the past, and the 11th, groups and organizations. The Sun rules all those natal second house planets including Pluto (death and transformation), the North Node (her destiny) and Chiron (the wound that never heals, as well as well as the rape/murder scenario via a group of lascivious, cultish, deranged centaurs following a guru. Read your mythology of the centaurs as they relate to Bacchus, who in this case would be symbolized by Charles Manson). 
The progressed Sun also forms an applying square to the ascendant/descendant axis by 47’. This axis along with the MC/IC axis is a point of action and visibility, indicating it’s time for this story to come before the public once again. The famous relationships in her life, her marriage as well as her destroyer are being made eminent once again. There’s a re-creation of these infamous events surrounding her most fated relationships. 

The progressed MC trines progressed Mars, separating by 10’ and natal South Node, applying 35’. This emphasizes her reputation and karma from the past affiliated with the violent planet Mars.   

Progressed Mercury forms an applying trine to natal Mars by 13’, and separating trine to natal Chiron by 35’. The ease of the grand trine suggests it’s time for the story to be told again. Mercury is the planet of communication and it rules the 3rd and 12th houses. This would be telling the story once again in more poetic terms, in this case through film. The 12th house of Ms. Tate’s chart also connects the story to the collective unconscious. Mercury also rules those 12th house planets, Uranus and Saturn. This suggests a new twist of an old story that permeates not only the psyche of Sharon Tate but also the collective group energy as bound to the Saturnian material world. The Mercury progression says it’s time for the story to be reanimated and reinterpreted. She’s part of social-political movement.   

Lastly, the progressed Moon is traveling through Cancer, her rising sign.  She’s therefore ruled by the Moon. This progression is symbolic of a new beginning regarding her story, her past and her personality. Because she has a Virgo moon, this progression digs up and re-analyzes her story. When an important planet like the progressed Moon is in an angular sign and house, it has more power.  

Sharon Tate Transits
The tightest aspect that is in effect for an entire year is the 11th house transit of Uranus squaring the 8th house Sun/Mercury conjunction. It’s time for this shocking death to be unearthed once again. Uranus is strong, being in a house in which it feels at home, and ruling the Sun/Mercury conjunction. 
Transiting Saturn is angular being on the descendant all year, as well as opposing Jupiter. The angularity makes for action, and the 7th house is the major relationships in her life with Polanski, and of course Manson, which is a fated 12th house kind of thing. Natal Saturn sits in the house of hidden enemies by birth. Saturn also rules the 8th house of death and resurrection. 

Transiting Pluto and the South Node are also all over the descendant degree, adding to the excavation of this horror and the obsessions with the story, the past, and having it transformed into a new interpretation. History has forced her to be connected to two very important, powerful and destructive men, and it’s all being unearthed via the myths of Uranus, Saturn and Pluto. 

Transiting Neptune trines Jupiter and semi-squares Sun/Mercury all year; the story is being told and disseminated through the world of film. Transiting Saturn sesquiquadrates the natal Saturn/Uranus 12th house planets; this is another connection between her husband Roman Polanski, who is a 7th house open enemy (as all spouses are), and the 12th house hidden enemy as represented by Manson. 

The July 2 solar eclipse at 10 Cancer squares her MC from the first. Her story comes to the attention of the world. The eclipse affects her status, reputation and brings more recognition to her story. 
The solar eclipse on January 10, 2020 will be on her ascendant, so the release of the film on the July solar eclipse will connect to the January solar eclipse in some way. That’s around the time the Academy Award nominations are announced, so perhaps there will be a nomination for Margot Robbie, who portrays her in the film. 

Charles Manson Progressions
His Sun at 15 Aquarius is on the world axis, bringing his infamous identity back to the world stage. The progression is in the 10th and it rules the 4th. The South Node is ruled by the Sun, so it returns all that karma and obsession for stardom to the forefront. It’s interesting that though not in the exact same degree, Manson and Tate have the nodes in reversed signs. His progressed Aquarius Sun, though not in aspect, does resonate with her Aquarius 8th house stellium. 
His progressed ascendant has just entered Leo, bringing him back into the limelight and connecting his identity to the past (Leo rules the 4th house). It’s as if he’s screaming from the grave, “I’m a star, I’m a star, I’m a star!” His progressed South Node conjunct the progressed ascendant tremendously inflames this feeling. 

Progressed Mars trine natal Saturn. Both malefics rule angles, the 10th having to do with his reputation and legacy and the 7th having to do with his relationships. Mars rules his Scorpio stellium in the 7th bringing all those energies into play. Some 10th house authority, namely Quentin Tarantino, is bringing his violent past back to life. This progression was extremely tight while the film was being made. Saturn and Mars also rule houses 12 and 9. 
Progressed Venus sextile natal ascendant and semi-square natal MC, both applying by 47’. His chart ruler in aspect to his ascendant provides an opportunity to reexamine his personality and his relationships, while in aspect to the MC brings him back into prominence. I can’t emphasize enough how transits and progressions to the angles are among the most important for being visible and coming before the public. 

Progressed Mercury trine natal Mercury is an emphasis on communication and storytelling. 
Progressed Jupiter tightly squares natal Saturn. This could be summed up as an exploration and expansion of his legacy. Jupiter seeks meaning for something, and this story can always be served by further explanations into the philosophy and meaning of the times and Manson’s role in the turbulent mythology of the late ‘60s. They both are domiciled in angular houses in the natal chart.

Charles Manson Transits
His major transit is Uranus over the ascendant. This is the end of one way of life and the beginning of new way of life. Since he’s dead, and Uranus is coming out of the 12th, it’s presenting a new perspective on who he is. A detached viewpoint of what his contribution was to the collective unconscious and our interpretation of the radical changes that were initiated in the late 1960s. His is a personality that is inextricably linked to this time period, for better or worse. How does his unique, shocking and crazy personality get reinterpreted as part of history? Maybe enough time has passed to get a bird’s eye view and some detachment from those horrific crimes, and see them in a more intellectual historical context. In a very obvious way, he is being thrown and projected back on to the collective, and this may be a shocking new interpretation of who he is, and what he has done. He died on his Uranus return in the 12th house, and now there can be new observation without him making any personal statements. It’s up to us, via the film, to formulate and reassess his image. Time gives us distance and perspective. 

This transit also squares the lunar nodes and natal Moon, so it deeply connects the public to his image and his influence over the mass psyche and the collective karma. We project an awful lot of our dark image on to him, understandably so. This transit brings that all out into the open. All those 10th house Aquarius planets are brought into this transit through rulership, and it is extremely powerful. 

At the same time, transiting Pluto and Saturn conjunct his MC and sextile the Sun. The imagery here is astounding and fairly obvious. The holocaustic effects of his deeds from the past are ready to be re-evaluated. Saturn, Pluto and Uranus are all transiting the angles. Place any obvious imagery and words on to these transits and you’ll be right in the interpretation. 

Transiting Neptune trine the Sun/Venus conjunction and sextile the MC. Everything about this historical event is being easily told through the lens of cinema, the movies and poetic license to translate his story through a creative lens. 

This is anticipated to one of the biggest movies of the year, and personally, I’m looking forward to its opening. In closing, I’d like to suggest as research projects, to look at charts of deceased famous people and not-so-famous people of interest to you. Track their transits, progressions, solar arcs and any other preferred techniques. It’s a great tool for learning and can bring insight to interpretations in client consultations for the living. 

Joseph Addeo is a Level IV NCGR-PAA Certified Astrologer and serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Chapter. He can be reach via his website at www.josephaddeo.com or on Facebook at

Knowing when the Moon is void-of-course can help you plan your days better. Since the Moon rules the mood of the day and how things flow knowing when it is void can help you be more in sync with the available energy. During a void-of-course Moon things have a tendency not to flow so easily and often need to be redone. Literally the Moon isn’t connecting to other energies so nothing comes of projects that are initiated.   There is a distinctive quality to the void Moon: judgment is impaired, it’s difficult to make sound decisions, items bought in the store somehow don’t function properly, business meetings and important decisions don’t go the way expected. It’s not important for you to know how the void-of-course Moon is calculated; just know it occurs every couple of days sometimes for a few minutes, a few hours and on occasion for an entire day. When the Moon is void for an entire day it’s a good time to meditate, take a yoga class, go to the movies, do quiet things; be reflective. It is not a time for important decision making, spending lots of money or signing contracts. If the moon is only void for a couple of hours you can schedule around it. That’s the time to work on projects already initiated; edit and correct but don’t start anything new. For instance if you go food shopping on a void-of-course Moon the worst that can happen is you get home and you realize you left something at the store or the milk is sour or the delivery person forgot to pack an item. No big deal but imagine if you buy a car for 25 grand and something goes wrong. You get it. Use your judgment as to whether the activity of the day is important or routine, active or passive, mental or reflective.  The possibilities are endless but the point is you are less likely to be grounded and focused during these times but that’s not always a bad thing especially for those activities that are conducive to a void moon. For instance it’s a great time to call your mother because nothing will come of the conversation and you can definitely avoid an unpleasant confrontation!

Check out where the moon is on a daily basis and be in touch with the pulse of the day.

According to Richard Idemon, an astrologer whose brilliant lectures have been edited in two books entitled Through the Looking Glass and The Magic Thread which I highly recommend, and from where I gathered much of the information for this article, the Greeks have a definition of love correlated to the four fixed signs of the zodiac that is far more diverse and sophisticated than our modern Western approach.
Epithemia correlates to the sign Taurus and is about sheer horniness and satisfaction of the bodies’ needs, drives and desires. It is self-oriented.
Philia, associated with Leo is a fiery, romantic love stirred by another and enflames the creative spirit within in order to feel special and unique as an individual. It is love dependent on another person to make us feel good about ourselves and has to do with romance, courting, wooing and enflaming the creative spirit which leads to a sense of solar individuality. The other helps us strive to be our individual best. Philia sees the other as different from the self whereas epithemia is willing to objectify the other and does not view the other as a separate and distinct self.
Eros, or erotic love, associated with Scorpio occurs when two or more entities combine in such a way that they are totally transformed by the experience. This is the watery side of love. Typically we associate this erotic love with the sexual act but the strict sexual act devoid of feeling is a Taurus trait. With Scorpio we add the element of water which immediately imbues the relationship with pain, suffering, passion and merging two souls and psyches which is why, though often sexual in nature, Eros also involves relationships between therapist and patient, student and teacher. How often do we hear about a patient falling in love with their therapist or the student/teacher affair? This occurs when the Scorpio/Taurus polarity becomes out of whack because people confuse passion with sex. Archetypal Taurus is more concerned with the body and touch whereas Scorpio, its opposite sign, takes the body and combines it with feelings, emotions and the Soul. There is a strong desire to balance the Taurus/Scorpio polarity as there is with all opposite signs. The French have a great expression for the sexual act as represented by Scorpio called “Le Petit Mort” which means “The Little Death”. Eros involves pain and the merging of two separate egos, however momentary, into one.
Finally the love symbolized by Aquarius is called Agape which to the Greeks is defined as godlike and detached, where each partner allows the other freedom and independence and the right to come and go as they please with no strings attached. Remember in Greek mythology how the Gods were always partnering and having sex with mortals but there was an unattached sexuality about it since they never married or formed permanent relationships with a mortal. Aquarius is not a sexless sign but it brings what was learned from the other three forms of love and goes a step further by saying, “I love you enough to let you be who you are.” It is an awakening and shattering of ego involvement and probably the most difficult kind of love to understand in our society, so we desexualize it by making an adjustment to love something from afar. Aquarius says, “I love you for who you are even if it means you have to leave me; I allow you your freedom”. That’s a difficult concept for Western society, so we tend to put our “platonic” love into causes, charities, groups and associations.
The Greeks made no judgments upon the four different loves and there was an honored place in society for all to be expressed whereas we in modern times tend to judge some kinds of love as better than others. We expect one special person or soul mate to fulfill all four forms of love which is literally impossible and places a tremendous and unrealistic burden on people causing all sorts of emotional and physical stress leading to a vast array of problems. And we wonder why so many relationships and marriages fail.
I want to discuss further the Taurus/Scorpio – Epithemia/Eros axis. Richard Idemon defines Eros as “a force that brings two or more separate entities together in such a way that they are totally transformed.” Sex can absolutely be erotic and our Western culture is preoccupied with this in a rather unhealthy way because there is the endless search for erotic sex when often the sexual act can be just a fulfillment of the basic Taurean urge to be touched and getting ones physical needs met. I don’t mean to say all Taureans are selfish people but the purity of the sign is about self-gratification and if it involves another person, so be it, but it better feel good to me first and foremost.
Scorpio is about emotional security and the intimacy we feel when being in love with another person. It demands the merging of two souls which Taurus does not. Taurus is about mine and Scorpio is about sharing mine with yours and that includes the body, its fluids and the trust of emotionally letting go and bearing one’s soul and deepest feelings. Taurus is masturbatory while Scorpio implies sharing the sexual act with someone else through intercourse or the myriad ways one can share the body through the sexual act. Taurus is the safety of my ground and the earth beneath my feet and the pleasures of the Garden of Eden, and Scorpio is the death and transformation of all that through the urge to die and be reborn. I give up my ground to merge and share with another and must take a chance to die in the process and transform physically and emotionally through the merging process. Scorpio is about trust and intimacy. How much are we willing to compromise?
Anything erotic feels risky and dangerous because true eroticism involves hovering around the border of your basic ground which doesn’t feel quite safe. It’s the Taurus/Scorpio polarity of control and safety vs. losing control and taking a chance. Erotic relationship evokes deep feelings and intimacy but does not necessarily have to be sexual which is why a parent/child relationship or therapist/client relationship can be erotic. In Western culture we tend to sexualize eroticism. Keeping eroticism in a relationship means keeping it at a transformative level. Obviously one can’t do this 100 percent of the time but when something becomes dull and stagnant (Taurus), having the awareness and allowing the erotic transformative energy (Scorpio) to keep it alive and passionate produces growth. It’s about moving out of the Taurus world toward the Scorpio one by taking the risk. What scares most people from avoiding eroticism in any relationship is the possibility that the risk and transformative energy may lead to a separation rather than a continued merging. We’ve been conditioned to believe that relationships must last forever but in truth relationships have no set timeline and some people are meant to come into our lives for years, months or weeks depending on what it is we are meant to learn from them. All relationships eventually end because of physical death but most relationships end in our lifetime because of other factors. There are no guarantees and isn’t it better to let go with awareness and love rather than hang on till death do us part without any self awareness. Scorpio is about pain and honoring the process that with pain is growth and transformation.
Saturn in Scorpio asks us to face with hard work, effort, discipline and testing by trial and error all those issues discussed in the above paragraphs and at its highest to gain consciousness and grow past our fears, control, rigidity and limits to build something greater which makes us more complete, mature adults. With this effort through Scorpio we will be stung and sting others because Saturn works on how we structure our world on the material plane.
For instance, if you are a very promiscuous person whose experience of sex is all about one night stands and not getting intimate with another then Saturn in Scorpio will ask you to work harder at sexual intimacy. Slowly you may find little of the satisfaction once gained by casual sexual conquests and encounters and you’ll question your motivations and behaviors and yearn to build a stronger sense of intimacy with sexual partners. You may limit your partners and search for one or two that bring greater emotional satisfaction and deeper commitment where one must learn to trust.
Alternately, those people who have never trusted themselves within the intimacy of a personal and sexual relationship will be forced to deal with why they are limiting themselves to this wonderfully erotic human experience as Saturn transits Scorpio. What is it that you are truly afraid of in bonding with another person as an adult? Is the fear something that stems from childhood and the family as represented by the 4th house and Cancer in the chart? How do I carry the past over to my adult relationships as delineated by Scorpio and the 8th house? One comes face to face with intimacy and trust vis-a-vis too much sex or too little sex. They are the flip side of the same coin.
Both instances are a denial or block in intimacy and Saturn demands an acknowledgment and, if you are willing to do the work, helps one discover how to build better habit patterns. Saturn gets you in touch with trusting yourself and others but often through pain. It is scary in an erotic relationship to talk to your partner about what is bothering you and have a free flow of communication to express honestly what you feel, want and desire. Issues of anger and resentment are the natural landscape of this territory and it can be like walking through a battlefield strewn with land mines. But think of the rewards Saturn can bring in navigating, working on and eventually shining the light on this area of life. It is something many people are uncomfortable doing and then often only in the privacy of a therapeutic session and often not even there. An evolved erotic relationship allows for greater independence and variety.
Saturn in Scorpio may require you to pay the consequences for your sexual excesses. If you’re rampantly promiscuous and you refuse to change those sexual behaviors or at least modify them in some way then Saturn can have the nasty habit of teaching you a lesson that may be painful by perhaps contracting a venereal disease every time you have a casual sexual encounter. That would be one of the manifestations of taking more responsibility for sexual conduct or misconduct. I am not passing judgment on sexual promiscuity (I can hear countless friends of mine laughing at that remark even emanating from my mouth!) but merely using this as a very practical example. Likewise, the person who refuses to be intimate with others may encounter a sudden love affair where seething passion and intense jealousy overtake take them with an emotional intensity that is frighteningly irrational eliciting emotions such as sexual addiction or obsession, unbridled lust, jealousy and anger. Or they may feel the unbearable pain of years and years of not having opened themselves up to love forcing a personal process of what all that means. And to take it a step further that person may need to experience, relative to their own definition, a type of promiscuity that helps them experience losing control.
Saturn makes us conscious. In Scorpio it says, “Look I can’t promise that I’ll be with you till death do us part because my feelings may change but I can promise you honesty and an open communication of my feelings in the relationship”. That is very erotic and very sexy because it keeps things in the present moment. Really talking with honesty about emotions and feelings is risky and dangerous because one must bare ones soul and run the risk of confronting anger and resentments but with the ultimate goal of resolving them, or at least processing the feelings, understanding them and moving on.
In closing remember that as Saturn enters Scorpio on October 5 it will bring to our awareness how well we are integrating the four forms of love as defined above into our life. It demands that we pay specific attention from the Scorpio point of view. It’s the Scorpio, Eros, erotic side of our nature that will come under careful and cautious inspection. Observe any planets in the fixed signs for the next two years to see how your Scorpionic nature gets under their skin.