




Why do certain individuals thrive undeservedly while others get landed with an unfair lifetime of setbacks? Why do others overcome monumentally horrible problems to thrive?
Not much astrology here in terms of examples, more random and varied thoughts.
What astrologers need to keep in mind is that not everyone lives out the full potential of their charts. Gauquelin (I think) found the most successful were the ones who did. Gifts lie unused. Regrets fester about opportunities ducked. Is it about risk-taking? Being too timid, too tied to what is familiar? Sliding back into the South Node. A life not lived.
Life is unfair – a strong Jupiter gives luck even to those who did little earn it. A really difficult Saturn or Pluto can set up a mountain of difficulties which not everyone has the tenacity, self-discipline or determination to overcome. Trump and George W Bush (whose wreckage of Iraq/the Middle East has never brought any comeuppance) both have strongly aspected Jupiters. There may be less pressure on the Jupiterian ones to learn self-awareness and indeed learn from mistakes.
Carl Jung thought the mid-life crisis of 38 to 42 years old – tr Uranus opposition Uranus, tr Pluto square Pluto, tr Neptune square Neptune, was the critical turning point for most. Those who opened up to themselves, dug deeper for answers inside and – Uranus (= took a risk) – had a revitalised second half of life while those who buried their heads in the sand, start to stagnate and deteriorate towards old age prematurely. I am not sure that is all of the story but it may be part.
The Saturn Return at 29 is another staging post which offers a choice about getting real, growing up and taking responsibility for your life – which not everyone does.
Why not? The ‘old soul’ argument is tempting though I tend to shy away from what sound like elitist justifications. But it is true that some are – more curious? Need to know what life is about and where they fit in; and perhaps most significantly are willing to take risks and try the less familiar. While others don’t ask those questions and bumble along blind and deaf to anything other than doing what is expected of them.
Which brings up another thought. Social cohesion is dependent on (if I may show my Uranian contempt for normality) doing what others do, not rocking the boat, suppressing a chunk of personal identity to fit in. If there were too many rebels and non-conformists around it would threaten social stability.
In the natural world there needs to be a balance between structure and creativity, between establishing a strong foundation for a species/plant and when circumstances change for the ability to adapt (Darwin). The rebels and status-quo upsetters are the ones to spearhead necessary changes – but equally can be damaging during periods when when a society needs to settle down to consolidation in the new phase.
It may therefore be that people fall broadly into one or other category – and most will be of the security/stability takes-priority mindset even if it means burying a large chunk of their personal identity.
On that argument individuals not living out their full potential in terms of unique abilities may be a social imperative.
Those who do live out more of themselves may well be more successful because they are the ones who instigate change when it becomes necessary – or even just take the lead as part of the normal process of gradual evolution.
One story which always sticks in mind is John Addey, who was/is one of the leading lights in astrology. Born 15 June 1920 8.15 am Barnsley, England, he was an active sportsman at school until struck down by severe Ankylosing Spondylitis around the age of 20, which left him unable to walk without the aid of a stick for the rest of his life. During his initial enforced period of immobility he turned his life towards philosophy and astrology. Life handed him a major setback which he turned to a great advantage.
He was a Sun Venus in Gemini with a Gemini Moon square a Saturn opposition Uranus, so he would be a thinker and communicator and flexible. Around the time when he was struck down his Solar Arc Moon in a Mutable T square (square Saturn opposition Uranus) was conjunct his Sun for a game-changing phase in his life. And he took up the baton and ran with it, making the best of a difficult situation.
What strikes me as almost more relevant was tr Pluto then about to move across his Ascendant into his 1st house for almost fifteen years thereafter, which I think is one of the most useful transits – and not everyone gets it since Pluto takes 250 years to move round the zodiac. It deepens self-awareness and begins a search for self-knowledge which is invaluable. He also had his Solar Arc Mars conjunct his 4th house North Node in Scorpio – which was another hint to go deep and develop inner depths even if it meant abandoning what had once been a hope for a different life.
Another thought is to find a lifestyle that suits the chart which sounds self-evident but often is not. Being pushed into becoming an accountant or nurse or truck driver when your inclinations lie elsewhere is all too common. When tr Saturn moves across the Ascendant into the First quadrant for around 7 years is a time to take a step back and explore where the real potential is and how to develop it. In younger years, living out the parents’ ambitions is common. But the old psychology trope that apple seeds grow into apple trees and orange seeds grow into orange trees needs to be kept in mind. If the parents are overly dominating (or the culture) then an apple seed may never have a chance to grow in the direction for which it was designed.
Context is all – find a lifestyle that suits who you are. Sandy Gall is a prime example of how to utilise difficult chart aspects. He was a TV reporter and foreign correspondent who had several brushes with death in the Congo and then in Idi Amin’s Uganda, was later reported lost in Saudi Arabia, bombed in Afghanistan and was the first reporter into Kuwait with the Allied forces in the Gulf War of 1991. He has died aged 97 and an obituary said: ‘He survived on wit, charm, courage and no small amount of good luck.”
He was a Sun Libra opposition Uranus – so would have been hopeless in an assembly-line or even civil service job. More significantly his Sun was conjunct Mars square Pluto – he would be attracted to high-adrenaline, high-jeopardy situation and have courage. In a different lifestyle Mars square Pluto can be exceptionally problematic since it tends to attract disasters. He volunteered for them.
He also had Jupiter on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Mercury, giving him confidence, luck and I would imagine an insane amount of optimism about getting out alive.
If his chart had been born into run-of-the-mill circumstances and been stuck in a normal life, it would have created all manner of problems.
Know thyself and live accordingly. Carl Jung: “Freewill is the ability to choose that which I must do.”
Queen Elizabeth 11 is a prime example with an incredibly Fixed and overly conscientious chart. She settled into ploughing the same furrow (fixed) for her entire adult life – in the process living out who she was and holding the country together. Hers was a life of self-sacrifice but she was also living out her identity.
Actor Greg Wise, husband of Emma Thompson, also has extracted the best out of his Sun, Algol, North Node, Mars conjunction in Taurus, as he campaigns with Marie Curie Hospices for open discussions about end of life. His close friend drowned when he was in his 20s; he spent time with both of his parents in their final months and was the carer for is sister when she died of cancer. (See previous post in Search). That Taurus collection could have been truly difficult bringing him more first hand experience of death than most but he has embraced who he is and turned it to good use.
Will a chart say who has choices and who doesn’t? I am not sure. There is an ‘unknown’ which the chart won’t articulate which I sometimes refer to as an element of grace but that does not explain much.
Some individuals can turn difficulties into character-building strengths, others become destroyed by similar setbacks. Some lack self-awareness and I see this the older I get which is exceptionally sad, even tragic. Some never seem to learn from their mistakes and go regretfully or resentfully into that dark night without ever realising they had choices.
Chapter I
“I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in… it’s a habit… but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter V
I walk down another street.”
Portia Nelson