Agatha Christie’s Ordeal By Innocence, her 50th novel, has been dramatized by the BBC and is one of her more powerful. She draws on her own family experiences for her portrayal of the fictional Argyle family, an ill-assorted, incestuous household ‘like a buttoned-up, English version of a family in a Tennessee Williams play’ as one reviewer put it.
Christie is the best-selling writer of all time with 80 detective novels. Only the Bible has sold more than her four billion copies. No mean achievement for someone known as slow as a child, possibly dyslexic.
She was born 15 September 1890 4am Torquay, England and had an isolated childhood, home educated with her two elder siblings off at boarding school. Her mother was nervous and reclusive, partly a result of having been farmed out to an aunt as a child after her father was killed, leaving her with lifelong feelings of rejection. Christie’s eldest brother on whom Jacko in the novel is probably based, was wildly unpredictable and irresponsible and squandered away his fortune.
Agatha Christie was a Sun Virgo square Mars in Sagittarius, so hard-working and feisty. She also had a communicative Air Grand Trine of a Libra Moon trine a creative, slightly paranormal Neptune Pluto in Gemini in her 10th trine Jupiter in Aquarius. Pluto in the 10th makes for influence, Neptune is artistic and the combination of the pair can be larger than life as her output and achievements showed. Her 2nd house Mercury in Libra was widely trine Pluto Neptune and the North Node in Gemini. She was clearly designed for a money-making and ambitious life from unlikely beginnings.
What’s interesting in light of the new information about her family is that her 10th house (= mother) Neptune Pluto squares Saturn – which describes a neurotic, bleak, locked-in maternal influence. She was fond of her mother and protective – Moon trine Jupiter trine Neptune Pluto – but it left its mark. As well as laying the seeds of her future talent.
Venus in Scorpio is in her 3rd house of siblings square Jupiter, sextile Saturn and inconjunct Neptune Pluto – Venus Jupiter applied to her brother would make him a superficial charmer, emotionally detached, controlling and unreliable.
I have never heard of huber astrology.
I am the mother and I set limits for my children every day, otherwise they’d be up all night eating junk food. The way I thought of it was that Sun was father, Moon was mother, Saturn is parent. To me Saturn has to be a united front; Mummy says no, then Daddy says no and vice versa. Otherwise children aren’t stupid, they’ll soon start playing one off against the other.
Marjorie: I’ve always been a bit confused re the 10th and 4th houses as they pertain to parents. Some astrologers say the 10th house represents Mother while the 4th house is Father. Other astrologers say just the opposite. Re my chart, I have Jupiter in the 10th trine Venus (was most definitely blessed maternally) and I have Gemini in the 4th house, which one astrologer interpreted as a father who moved around a lot (true, my father was constantly being transferred in his job, which meant I was constantly changing schools.) And yet a couple of astrologers have insisted that my 10th house Jupiter trine Venus signifies an indulgent, supportive father (also true). Can you clear this up for once and for all?
Hi Morris thanks for the info. Huber astrology? I’ll have to take a look at that!
In the example that I gave natal Saturn in Virgo 1st squared the natal Moon in the 10th (also opposing Ceres / Chiron – Sag 4th) which may have accounted for childhood fears. In line with Huber? In adulthood the child (daughter) did become protective of the then sick and disabled mother.
Hi Shirley, use Huber astrology instead of Western astrology. In Huber astrology, the maternal influence is designated by Saturn, while the person whose natal chart you are looking at is represented by the Moon. In my own natal I have Moon, me, conjunct natal Saturn, my mother……and me and my mother were close as the Huber astrology shows.
It would have to be said I’d be hard pushed to align Saturn with mother. Saturn is a masculine energy to do with boundaries, limits, discipline.
On the example Shirley provided, it may have been the 12th house Pluto which produced the early fear. Usually when Sun or Moon aspects Jupiter, it’s easier to see the better side of the parent, than face the reality. Though that can be over ridden by stronger planets.
Moon Saturn usually brings a sense of guilt about mother’s unhappiness and a desire to do the right thing dutifully.
Hi Shirley, mother is the one who “sets bounaries, morals, etc” in the family, that is why in Huber astrology, Saturn represents the mother. The Moon in a person’s chart is not the mother, it is the owner of the chart and represents his emotions and himself. Please study more charts in your own personal file and you will see that, yes, Saturn represents the mother.
Morris, I respectfully beg to differ.
“Her 10th house (= mother) Neptune Pluto squares Saturn – which describes a neurotic, bleak, locked-in maternal influence. She was fond of her mother and protective – Moon trine Jupiter trine Neptune Pluto – but it left its mark. As well as laying the seeds of her future talent.”
In Huber astrology, the mother is represented by Saturn, and the child, in this case, Agatha, is shown by the Moon. So the Huber astrology also portrays a similar personality.
I love Agatha Christie 🙂
It’s interesting how many people in history were considered “slow” as a child, but went on to achieve greatness. I love her stories, when I can’t sleep I watch the Miss Marple series, Margaret Rutherford is beyond fantastic, what a great bedtime story.
I wonder if the oldest daughter, the seemingly repressed Mary, is based on Agatha?
@ Marjorie …. ”What’s interesting in light of the new information about her family is that her 10th house (= mother) Neptune Pluto squares Saturn – which describes a neurotic, bleak, locked-in maternal influence. She was fond of her mother and protective – Moon trine Jupiter trine Neptune Pluto – but it left its mark. As well as laying the seeds of her future talent.”
I’m still struggling to make sense of astrological aspects, for example I know someone who has a 10th house Moon in Gemini, sextile Pluto in Leo 12th, trine Jupiter / Venus in Aquarius 6th trine Neptune Libra 3rd who wasn’t too keen on her mother at all. Was actually terrified of her when she was young.