

What a difference a week makes. Former King Juan Carlos of Spain born six days after Anthony Hopkins (and more visibly Capricorn) has put out a memoir in France Reconciliation in an effort to retrieve his reputation after sexual and financial scandals sent him into exile. His son King Felipe is apparently unamused by the book.
Keen to promote his reputation as the man who saved Spanish democracy, taking over from the dictator Franco whom he refuses to criticise, he clearly regards his former lifestyle with a variety of mistresses and his acceptance of multi-million pound kickbacks as acceptable. He portrays himself as the victim of a witch hunt by government ministers and journalists and writes with nostalgia about previous generations of royals and nobles who could take gifts as big as they liked from whoever they liked. There was no need for accountability in those days.
After one scandal too many he abdicated in favour of his son Felipe in 2014, and had his €200,000 annual royal allowance stopped in 2020. Since then he has lived on a private island in Abu Dhabi.
One episode that does evoke sympathy is his accidental shooting of his brother Alfonso in 1956. He writes “We had no idea there was a bullet left in the chamber … He died in my father’s arms. It is still difficult for me to speak of it, and I think of it every day … I miss him; I wish I could have him by my side and talk with him. I lost a friend, a confidant. He left me with an immense emptiness. Without his death, my life would have been less dark, less unhappy.”
Juan Carlos was born January 5 1938 1.15am Rome, Italy, and has a far-travelled 9th house Capricorn Sun and Venus, with Mercury also in Capricorn in his 8th. He lacks Anthony Hopkin’s creative Water Grand Trine though does have the bleak Pluto in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces. There is an earthier feel to Juan Carlos’s chart with a Capricorn Midheaven, a Taurus Ascendant with his wayward 12th house Uranus in Taurus trine his Sun and two other Capricorn planets. Earth can be indulgent and acquisitive. His Jupiter in Aquarius in his 10th close to his Midheaven points to high status, luck plus a degree of arrogance and self-righteousness especially in opposition to his Pluto on his IC.
Neptune in his romantic 5th might be a pointer to his wandering eye. His 10th house Aquarius Moon, an indicator of a public career, is square his Ascendant. But that apart is not well integrated in his chart being only inconjunct Neptune and inconjunct Pluto, which added onto a 7th house North Node and Neptune in his 5th would point to difficulties with emotional commitment.
When Juan Carlos shot his brother on 29 March 1956 which must have been a critical moment in his life tr Neptune exactly square tr Uranus were both in exact hard aspect to his Pluto and his IC – causing extreme concern, confusion and great turbulence. His Solar Return for 1956 had Mars Saturn conjunct in his 3rd house of siblings square Pluto which is descriptive of the unthinkable event.
Anthony Hopkins has a more complex but also well-knitted-together chart with houses making all the difference in how the energies are focused.
Capricorn as half fish half goat – can go several ways. Capricorn businessmen take insights (from the unconscious) and turn them into hard cash and acquisitions. Earth likes tangible results.
Creative types take dreams and visions and make magic with them in artistic achievements. Maggie Smith, Dolly Parton, Denzel Washington
Over indulgences in the pleasures of the flesh can be Capricorn’s downfall – viz Elvis Presley.
Their saving grace when their Saturnine ruler kicks in is the ability to regard life as a mountain climb – start at the bottom and keep moving upwards.






























