Charles Saatchi has three strands to his public persona – one is as a successful businessman in advertising; which allowed him to build up an extensive modern art collection of the controversial Damien Hirst/Tracy Emin style of paintings and sculptures. The third is a chequered relationship life with talented women. He’s had three marriages – for 20 years to Doris Lockhart, described as a sophisticated multi-lingual woman, and art and wine expert, who became a design journalist. Thence onto Kay Saatchi, a Conde Nast ad executive, who produced him a daughter and split after a decade. Nigella Lawson, the TV cook, was next which also parted company messily after a decade when he was filmed with his hands round her throat. In recent years he’s been with Trinny Woodall, a fashion expert and TV celebrity.
He was born 9 June 1943 in Baghdad to a Jewish Iraqi family who fled persecution to settle in London in 1947, so he was born into tough times which would leave their mark. He’s a Sun Saturn in Gemini with an innovative and ferociously determined Mars in Aries trine Venus Pluto in Leo, sextile Uranus. He can turn on the charm when it suits him but will push hard to get what he wants. His father, Nathan 24 December 1907, was an Iraqi businessman, who was also tough with his Pluto square a hard-edged Mars Saturn in Pisces.
All of the women he married or was with have tricky charts – the first had a stark Saturn trine Pluto trine Mars which doesn’t suggest a remotely easy father; the second had Mars opposition Pluto which would acclimatise her in childhood to being dominated. Nigella Lawson had a depressed mother who was according to her at times violent; and Trinny Woodward has a Sun Mars Saturn in Aquarius, reflecting her unhappiness at being abandoned in boarding school from six onwards. So one way and another they were all used to an over-heated and/or deprived domestic atmosphere.
Mars opposition Pluto is a repeating theme through the personal charts and relationship charts with Charles Saatchi – which isn’t an easy energy to handle. Indeed it is there between Nigella and her father Nigel Lawson, of whom she is fond though there are ameliorating aspects as well and an affectionate relationship chart.
It’s not there in the Trinny/Charles relationship but that is not an easy relationship chart with a constant-worry, workaholic, cool Sun Saturn opposition Neptune square a needs-space Uranus and trine Pluto.
It is an odd dynamic – being attracted to strong, though emotionally fragile women – and then insisting on having the upper hand. His Moon is late Leo or early Virgo, which doesn’t help to pin down his approach to lunar matters.
As a slight thought – he is immensely litigious so worth tread lightly before putting out strong opinions.
On a personal note I have never taken to him since a friend visited his house pre-Nigella days and saw foetus sculptures (I think) and others similar in his sitting room. Why would you want to live with that?
I’m curious about the relationship with his mother. Foetus sculptures? Attracted to talented, powerful women in whom he senses a vulnerability to exploit and therefore tear down? I’m thinking, this is a man trauma hit hard right from the womb and he blames women. Considering where he lived that’s not too much of a deduction. My guess, he blames his mother for not standing up against the violence that was happening, so he recreates a sick dare to the women he is abusing to stand up for themselves. And of course, because he’s exploiting that vulnerability, they won’t. So he gets to release his rage on the woman he wished had done it in the first place. Total arm chair psychology. Ok, so now I’m thinking, who was his mother? Now this part completely flummoxed me. I literally can’t find anything about her online!! I can’t even find the day she died! Just that she was born in 1910 in Baghdad and her name was Daisy Ezer. That’s it. I find that really, really weird in this day and age. It’s like she was erased. Of course I’ve only had 5 minutes to research, but still! That’s never stopped me before. Now I’m *really* dying to know! Is there any information you can pull from the charts about that? Thanks!! (Btw, absolutely love all your work. Thank you for all of the effort you go to!)
Is he an overbearing man who needs to dominate women? The foetus’s to me show disrespect for women and children.
The nodal connections are interesting. Saatchi’s NN in Leo is conjunct Nigella’s Uranus. His Neptune is conjunct her Virgo NN, and opposes Trinny’s Venus in Pisces. That Venus is also conjunct Nigella’s South Node. Saatchi’s South Node in Aquarius aligns with Trinny’s Sun and Mars in Aquarius too. Somehow they are linked together – I hesitate to say “fate”, but I’m not sure what kind of pattern this symbolises. I’m also wondering whether Black Moon Lilith plays any part in this, but have to go out now! Thanks Marjorie for an intriguing puzzle, these are all very creative and interesting characters who have all seen a lot of life’s less than sweet and perfect side.