John Byrne – wit, art and dark family secrets

Playwright and artist John Byrne, who wrote the BBC series Tutti Frutti, Your Cheatin’ Heart and plays including The Slab Boys, has died. He had a prolific career, writing comedy as well as painting and designing; and married actress Tilda Swinton whom he met while she was performing in one of his series.

  He was born 6 January 1940 8.10am Paisley, Scotland, into an Irish Catholic family, and only learned later in life that his biological father was his mother’s father. He insisted that his mother really did “love” her father, and regularly walked eight miles from the family home to see him. Later in life, she suffered from mental health problems and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The incest taboo is not lightly broken.

 He had a 1^st house Capricorn Sun trine a 4^th house Uranus in Taurus which in turn was trine Neptune – creative in a tangible way. Capricorn is known as the stander on the threshold, able to dip into the unconscious realm of imagination and ideas and turn them into reality. Which Charles Munger did in one way making money – and Byrne instead producing entertainment and art. He had an exuberantly enthusiastic Mars Jupiter in Aries in an inspirational Fire Grand Trine to a Sagittarius Moon trine an 8^th house Pluto.

  His Pluto in the 8^th hints at a dark ancestral past but his ever-cheerful Sagittarius Moon would keep him looking on the bright side. A Fire Grand Trine would give him self belief.  

  He was married to Tilda Swinton, mother of his twins, for a decade plus, but it did not last. She was born 5 November 1960 and had her Scorpio Sun, Neptune, Mercury congregated around his Midheaven so a good work connection; with her upbeat Jupiter conjunct his Ascendant lifting his image and giving him confidence. But her Mars in Cancer fell in his 7^th conjunct his Chiron with her Saturn in opposition which in turn was conjunct his Sun. A scratchy interface as each of their wounds, however buried, did not sit comfortably together. Her Uranus and Pluto also fell in his 8^th which would stir up some deeper issues for him and her Pluto was in a possessive square to his Moon. There were positive aspects to their togetherness but also over-optimism and a simmering, underlying power struggle from composite Mars square Pluto.