The versatile Alan Cumming has added yet another award from the recent Emmys to join his previous BAFTA Award, previous Emmy, Tonys and an Olivier. This recent accolade was for his hosting of the reality show Traitors, which is a tense psychological adventure competition where 22 strangers in a castle in the Scottish Highlands aim to complete a series of challenges as a team. Though within their ranks are three traitors secretly sabotaging their efforts.
His career has had an extraordinary range from light-hearted comedy and musicals to heavy drama and Shakespeare in theatre and on Broadway, with a string of well-received movies and television series where he is best known for The Good Wife. He also sings, writes drama and has published several books including two memoirs – Not My Father’s Son and Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life. A presenter, screenwriter, producer, director, cabaret performer, novelist and gay-rights campaigner.
He was born 27 January 1965 8.20 am Aberfeldy, Scotland, with a tyrannical and abusive father, head forester on a Scottish estate, who did not believe he or his brother were his sons. Though a DNA test in recent years proved they were. He said that his difficult childhood taught him how to act by “needing to suppress my own emotions and feelings around him [his father] when I was a little boy”.
What pulled him out of the damaging effects of a “feudal” childhood were firstly an upfront and boisterous Aquarius Sun is on his Ascendant giving him a bouncy, chatty image with his Sun in an optimistic and enthusiastic square to a communicative Jupiter in the 3rd house in money-magnet Taurus. He also has a look-on-the-bright-side Sagittarius Moon exactly on his Midheaven suiting him for a colourful and wide ranging public career.
He does have Uranus Pluto and Mars in Virgo all in his 8th house suggesting a challenging psychological inheritance from previous generations, controlling and angry. Luckily his Uranus Pluto sits in a practical, business-building Earth Grand Trine to Jupiter and to Venus Mercury in Capricorn in his 12th, formed into a Kite with Jupiter opposition Neptune – giving him talent, a practical approach to life and enough dreams from Jupiter Neptune to carry him away from his abusive childhood.
For all his outer success he has not had it easy emotionally with a hidden Venus and a Moon square Saturn, a legacy from his early home life where his mother was unable to give him what he needed since she was as trapped as her children were.
His creative 5th Harmonic is strong; and his victim 12th even more so. What is intriguing is his 13th Harmonic which is confident, enthusiastic, exuberant. That is the one which indicates “Upheaval, change and rebirth. Breaking with the orthodox. It requires adaptation to change to be successful.” Peter Sellers, the comedian had a strong 13th harmonic giving him an ability like Alan Cumming to inhabit a variety of dramatic characters with authenticity.
His 8th house Mars in late Virgo is catching this week’s Lunar Eclipse revving up his engine and putting him into overdrive which will continue on throughout 2025 with the following eclipses at similar degree. He may need to keep himself in check or he’ll overdo the running around.
Putting himself into overdrive or just winning himself an Emmy?
His Part of Fortune is at the Aries Point — think that’s an indicator for high visibility/public projection.
Here is Cumming’s 13th Harmonic chart.
https://ibb.co/6mxZ0pS
Hi Stephen. two indicators for changes.
1. Transit Pluto, changes, stationary direct is on his Asc.
2 Solar Arc Pluto-Uranus, ruler Asc, opposes is Jupiter, ruler his 10th of career.
The mutable signs are adaptable. Notice the large number of mutable Signs and planets
in Cumming’s 13th Harmonic chart below.
Another good example of adaptability is the Duke of Marlborough. He had 7 bodies
in Mutable signs, and has come down in history as an opportunist.
Venus rules adaptation in a biological sense, Venus is always ready to give ground
and even to alter its own nature to arrive at a mutual understanding. Notice
Venus and Uranus, variety, strong in Cummings 13H chart below.
Alan Cumming has just been appointed Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland. Does his chart indicate a change of direction or extra responsibilities?
For those of us who don’t get this version of “Traitor” (definitely one of the better reality gameshow formats, the season we had here was enjoyable, with a dry wit Adam Cumming look-alike host), Cumming was also a very prominent figure in a recent Max documentary “Chimp Crazy” by the “Tiger King” producer Eric Goode. He campaigned with PETA for a disclosure of the whereabouts of chimpanzee Tonka he worked with in the movie “Buddy”. This was a sad story, but I felt Cumming had truly cared for the chimpanzee, had studied the subject, and had a genuine regret for being part of the industry where essentially baby animals were exploited.
I think this side also fits with his chart – Sagittarius Moon connect with the animals, Aquarius Suns are always drawn to activism.