
Karl Marx, described as one of the most influential figures in human history, both lauded and criticised, was born on 5 May 1818 2am in Trier, Germany into a middle class, non-religious, liberally inclined Jewish family. Marx’s political writings forced him into exile in London as a stateless person, where, in collaboration with Friederich Engels, he wrote The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. Their writings had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history.
He married and had seven children, only three of whom survived to adulthood. He himself was plagued by health problems – a liver ailment aggravated by overwork, bad diet and lack of sleep, inflammation of the eyes induced by too much work at night; and eruption of carbuncles or boils exacerbated by alcohol, tobacco, poor diet and failure to sleep.
He had a New Moon Taurus in his financial 2nd house, ironic given his perpetual shortage of money. His New Moon was in a confident and lucky trine to Jupiter in capitalist Capricorn, sextiling onto Saturn in Pisces. His Mars in excitable Cancer was in a frustrated and angry trine to Pluto, sextiling onto Venus in Taurus; and his Pluto was square a 10th house reforming, revolutionary Uranus and an idealistic Neptune. His Saturn was also in a can-be autocratic square to Uranus. His Saturn Pluto conjunction would give him a depressive streak and his Uranus Neptune is tinged with genius but also highly-strung.
It’s a powerful, talented chart but he didn’t have a happy or an easy temperament.
His leaving-a-legacy-for history 17th Harmonic is, not surprisingly, immensely strong with a Cardinal Grand Cross of Sun opposition Neptune square Saturn opposition Pluto, North Node; and Mars opposition Venus square Midheaven. His 22H is also marked which is usual for someone who made a global impact – with a ruthless Pluto Mars opposition Neptune square Venus Moon.
He wrote The Communist Manifesto with Engels in 1848, the year of ‘European Revolutions’ when Uranus and Pluto were together in Aries with Saturn catching up fast in late Pisces.
Friederich Engels was born 28 November 1820 9pm Barmen (Wuppertal) Germany, heir to a prosperous textile business, whose revolutionary tendencies disappointed his family. He was an unlikely communist sympathiser being ‘a great lover of the good life, passionate advocate of individuality, and enthusiastic believer in literature, culture, art and music.’
He had an extraordinarily Mutable chart with his Sun, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune spread out through Sagittarius with Jupiter North Node and Pluto in Pisces and a Virgo Moon. Four of his Sagittarius planets sitting in his fun-loving, sociable 5th house would make him a bon viveur. Jupiter in the 8th, blessed with money from previous generations.
Pluto in his 8th gave him the capacity for great influence – in square to Neptune with megalomaniac ambitions, square Uranus of a revolutionary nature; and in square to Mars a ruthless streak; square to Mercury dogmatic in arguments. Saturn in Aries in the 9th – self-righteous, strongly held opinions and beliefs.
There were good cross overs for joint ambitious projects with Marx’s New Moon in Taurus falling in his career 10th; and his Sagittarius planets falling in Marx’s 10th with the exception of his Sagittarius Sun which was conjunct Marx’s Midheaven from the philosophical 9th. It wouldn’t always be the easiest of relationships since his Mars was in a sparky conjunction to Marx’s Uranus but they would spark off each other.
The tr Uranus Pluto conjunction in Aries of the European Year of Revolutions in 1848 when he and Marx started to publish fell in his 10th house.
His creative and can-be-dominating 5th Harmonic was strongly marked with a hard-edged (and cruel) Mars Saturn – 5th harmonic types want to remake the world according to their writ. His leaving-a-legacy 17H was also heavily aspected, innovative and ruthless.
Although some scholars have attempted to exonerate them from blame for the state crimes of the communist regimes which followed, others have said the destructive consequences were implicit in their centralising theories.