Mike Johnson has been voted in as Speaker which represents a victory for the ideologically right-wing, Trump-aligned faction of the Republican Party and a loss for its moderates. Adam Schiff described him as “one of the very determined ideologues”. He was a key figure in efforts to legally contest the results of the 2020 presidential election, urging Mr Trump to “keep fighting” and “exhaust every available legal remedy”.
Born 30 January 1972, Shreveport, Louisiana, no birth time he was a former lawyer and talk radio host.
He is a Sun Aquarius conjunct North Node trine Pluto and Uranus in Libra with a Leo Moon. His Uranus is in an excitable, uncompromising opposition to Mars in Aries which in turn is in an adventurous trine to Jupiter in late Sagittarius. His Saturn in last degree Taurus opposes Neptune – both stubborn and neurotic. A Fire Air chart – hot air, excitable.
He’ll have a few lucky breaks ahead but also hopes dashed as tr Neptune squares his Jupiter through 2024 and a fairly discouraging slog in the run up to the election. Much worse in 2025 – not a cheerful soul.
His relationship chart with Joe Biden is not surprisingly at daggers drawn from the outset, labouring through this year and worse in 2024.
What is intriguing is his relationship chart with Trump – it has a superficially sugary composite Jupiter opposition Venus so sweetness and light on the surface. Running alongside there is underlying resentment in this case from a composite Mars Saturn conjunction. All of DT’s relationships, even with supposed allies have these aggravated crossovers. Not surprising given his temperament but odd they should support him. Johnson’s Saturn squares DT’s Mars in Leo so it won’t all be plain sailing.
There will be consternation between Johnson and Trump as tr Neptune squares the composite Mars late this November through December 2023 and running on through till late March 2024 as tr Neptune squares the Mars/Saturn midpoint and then the Saturn. It would be too much to hope that Johnson loses his idol to the maws of justice. But there us a decidedly undermining situation ongoing.
Johnson’s relationship chart with Matt Gaetz, instigator of the Speaker switch, is equally moving into disappointed territory from late this December, on and off through till early 2025 as tr Neptune is conjunct the composite Venus Sun.
An intrigue starting to unravel.
Add On: Johnson’s relationship chart with the USA is not encouraging with an evasive, uncommitted, prone-to-disappointment composite Sun opposition Neptune which is under pressure this November to late December; with irritation mounting late April/early May 2024 as tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Mars.
Equally his relationship chart with the Republican 1853 chart is hugely unsettled this year and next with tr Pluto opposition the composite Uranus; undermined late this November through December as tr Neptune squares the composite Jupiter taking the shine off; and trudging through discouragement in 2024.
The jungle drums are beating louder over the prospect of a global financial crisis and it is less to do with world crises like Ukraine and the Middle East and more to do with unsustainable levels of western government debt. Though wars could tip the balance and start the dominoes falling.
“We may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades”, says JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon, the world’s most powerful banker.
The figures are scary. America’s total debt stands at $33.6 trillion, triple the 2007 figure.
In the UK, the national debt, thanks to the financial crisis, an ageing population and the pandemic, has risen from less than £700 billion in 2007 to £2.5 trillion. The UK entered this century with debt at less than 30pc of GDP; now it has risen above 100pc. Interest payments are at their highest levels since the 1980s. The tax burden is at a post-war high, limiting the ability of the government to raise further revenue. Yet in just over 10 years’ time, it is estimated that the NHS will require an additional 800,000-900,000 staff to meet growing demand from an ageing population – and there is no plan to pay for all these workers, the tools they will need, or the buildings they will work in. The day-to-day budget of the NHS may need to increase by 70pc.
The US and much of the West is maxed out on spending and debt even before a potential clash with the prevailing autocracies. There is little understanding of the scale of the sacrifice and economic reorganisation that would be involved if additional spending on security was required to deter enemies and prevent further conflict.
Britain isn’t alone in this. The US is currently on an “unsustainable” fiscal pathway, according to its own Treasury department. The deputy chief economist of the World Bank concurred, describing the post-2010 run-up in debt as “the fastest, most broad based and largest” that the world has ever seen.
All of this pulls together a context to what has been covered in previous posts.
There are a few parallels with 2008 with the recent collapse of a few minor banks and Switzerland baling out Credit Suisse – see previous Banks at risk – will the impossible become inevitable? post March 17 March 2023. But it does not look astrologically similar to 2008 or 1929 or even 1987/1992. What are flagging up red alerts are a whole array of Central Bank charts.
The US Federal Reserve has tr Pluto opposition the Neptune at zero degrees Leo in 2023/24 which usually indicates devastation of sorts and paralysis running for two years after; followed by tr Neptune square the Saturn Pluto conjunction in 2025/26 which won’t be much better. The Bank of Russia has an equally blocked and scary tr Pluto square Mars at zero degrees Taurus in 2023/24. The European Central Bank has Neptune at 1 Aquarius catching the tr Pluto hard aspect in 2024/25. The Bank of China is nerve-stretched in 2022 and worse in 2024 to 2026 with tr Neptune and Solar Arc Neptune both in hard aspect to its overly confident Uranus opposition Mars Jupiter which will deflate confidence considerably. The European Central Bank has Neptune at 1 Aquarius catching the tr Pluto hard aspect in 2024/25. The Bank of Australia highlights 2024/25 as years of panic and uncertainty.
Even the Bank of Switzerland, 20 June 1907, looks mired in consternation and panic now on and off until January 2025 with tr Neptune square its Gemini Sun and conjunct its Saturn. Into 2025 there will be a totally road-blocked Solar Arc Pluto square Mars.
See post 10th September 2021: Pluto into Aquarius – shock waves through central banks.
Martial Arts legend Bruce Lee is remembered on the fiftieth anniversary of his death by a new coffee table book featuring his letters, poetry and family photos. Written by his daughter actress-turned-writer Shannon Lee, it highlights her father’s work ethic and what it means to be a martial artist, from his workout regime, to his attempts to keep his temper in check.
He died at the staggeringly young age of 33 from cerebral oedema; as did his son Brandon, killed in a film set accident aged 29, thirty years ago.
Bruce Lee was born 27 November 1940 7.12 am San Francisco, with an actor father and wealthy mother and grew up partly in Hong Kong. He was tempted both by a movie career and by martial arts as he opened various teaching schools. As his reputation grew he became a pop culture icon who bridged the gap between east and west. After his death he became a formative influence on many actors and sportsman, the kung fu craze, Marvel comics and even the breakdancing craze.
He had an upbeat Sagittarius Sun on his Ascendant trine a ramped up Pluto conjunct Chiron in the 8th/9th. He had a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in earthy Taurus in his performing 5th house opposition a stellium in Scorpio of Venus, Mars, Moon, Mercury and that squared onto Pluto. Stubborn to the nth degree with such a Fixed T Square involving a never-say-die Pluto square Mars. A focal point Pluto is unyielding, can be obsessive, secretive, rarely gives way. As with all strong Pluto it can also be ahead of its time and ultimately has the capacity to lead the way with new ideas and influence though only after a long struggle.
When he died on 20 July 1973 tr Neptune was conjunct his Ascendant and Sun and Solar Arc Venus; with his Solar Arc Neptune just into Scorpio aiming to undermine his Fixed T square for a decade plus thereafter. There was a suggestion at the time that his death might have been caused to an allergic reaction to a prescription medication but perhaps also to over-heating from excessive training. His incredibly Fixed Pluto Taurus Scorpio T Square would not know when to give up and he may just have pushed too far.
His leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17th harmonic was exceptionally marked with a Grand Cross of Saturn Pluto opposition Neptune square Mars opposition Mercury. Saturn Pluto = war. Mars square Neptune = showbusiness. Mercury = communication.
His son Brandon, 1 February 1965 5.48 am Oakland, California, had a 1st house New Moon in Aquarius square Jupiter in Taurus opposition a 10th house Neptune in Scorpio – like his father he had a Fixed T square and would be suited to a filmic career but not as rock solid. His Sun Moon were inconjunct Uranus Pluto which would create tension as he hopped between clashing attitudes setting up internal strain.
Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, 19 April 1969, has not escaped the family singularity with a dominating yod in her chart of a forced-to-be-self-reliant Sun Saturn conjunction in Aries on the apex of Jupiter (Pluto) sextile Neptune. Her Jupiter Pluto conjunction will give her confidence; and her Mars in Sagittarius trine her Venus in Aries an adventurous streak. But life will have demanded a great deal from her and will not have been easy with a deeply Saturnine yod. Nor indeed will the next two years be smooth sailing with tr Pluto finishing the square to her Sun Saturn this year; tr Neptune opposing her Jupiter and then tr Uranus opposing her Neptune by 2025. Her yod is being shaken at all ends pushing her onto a new trajectory in life.
In the midst of the despair about there ever being a solution to the century-long Israel-Palestinian hostility, there are two sage media voices talking sense.
William Hague in The Times says that sticking to the view that peace is inconceivable, as both sides do, will lead Hamas and its allies, ‘to draw the Israelis into a long war of attrition that turns more of the world into their sworn enemies.’ From the Israeli perspective the strategy will be to ‘wall off Gaza, to put it out of sight and mind, to create a no-man’s land so festooned with mines, traps, drones and patrols that even an insect would struggle to cross it.’
‘Military objectives do not remain secure without political progress. We all know what is likely to happen years down the line: a new, radicalised generation drawn to terror, with more advanced weapons, readying for another battle, creating another “do or die” moment for Israel.’
His appeal is for the West to keep out. ‘While outside powers have always complicated the Middle East, solving its problems is now beyond them.’
His view is that the Arab world, now in the midst of a seismic shift with Saudi Arabia at the helm, should take ownership of a solution.
No astrology pro tem but worth pondering.
The other is Gideon Rachman in the FT who makes the cogent point that the US attempted to defeat “terrorism” through conventional military means after 9/11, launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. ‘But more than 20 years after starting its war on terror, America is probably less powerful and respected around the world than it was in 2001. And its own society has been gravely wounded.’
‘A war on terror can also damage the society that wages it. More than 30,000 US troops died by suicide after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan: more than three times as many as died in battle. The anti-elite rage and the “American carnage” that led to the rise of Donald Trump in 2016 were closely connected to the social wreckage wrought by the wars America fought after 9/11. A war on terror unifies a country in the short term, but it can rip it apart over the longer term. That, too, is a lesson that a traumatised Israel needs to think about — before it is too late.’
The key astrological indicator of 9/11 always seemed to me to be and undermining tr Neptune exactly opposition the USA ‘leadership’ Leo North Node, denting American pride. There were other nodal flags in the immediate years following. 2002 saw SA Neptune square the North Node as well and the SA North Node was square the USA Mars. 2003 as the War on Iraq started SA Mars was conjunct the US South Node. The Solar Arc Uranus then moved to conjunct the US Mercury in 2003 and the US Pluto by 2066 – and 2006 was the year the USA Mars went retrograde to stay that way for the next 80 years, which was always deemed to be a pointer that USA’s influence would start to diminish. Rachman is probably right that it was a turning point in US history.
There is nothing similar on the Israel chart though their year started on the back of a Nodal Return conjunct Uranus and the Lunar Eclipse this week is square the 10th house Moon for a major upset, followed in coming years by tr Pluto square the Moon and tr Uranus ratcheting up the Israel Mars and on and on and on – see previous post 30 December 2022 and others in SEARCH.
As a spare thought, since World War 11 ended Britain’s super-power status, the nodes were activated in various ways. In 1939 when war was declared the UK Solar Arc North Node was opposition Pluto – an obscure point but might have been worth considering before leaping into a long war of attrition. Uncomfortably enough tr Uranus was at 21 degrees Taurus, as now, at that point. When the war ended in 1945 the transiting North Node in Cancer was just over the opposition to the UK Capricorn Sun with tr Neptune heading to square the Sun; and by 1947 the SA Neptune was conjunct the UK North Node. By the end 380,000 British soldiers had been killed and 70,000 civilians and the country effectively bankrupted. There is a stray argument that staying out of the war and allowing Hitler to implode might have saved a great deal of grief. But who knows? Except that the cost of even a righteous war is way too high.
Add ON: Further thought today in FT from John Sawers, former MI6 chief and UK Ambassador to the UN.
‘Israel must know that destroying Hamas is beyond its reach.’
‘The longer-term goal should be to stabilise Gaza and prevent the violence flaring into regional conflict.’
‘Through attacks like these, terrorist organisations want three things: to instil fear, to draw attention to their cause and to provoke overreaction. Terrorism alone doesn’t undermine an established state. Israel has every right to respond.’
‘Urban warfare is tough. Retaking Mosul from Isis — the only recent attempt to conduct such a campaign within the rules of war — took US-led forces nine months and cost thousands of civilian deaths. Israel doesn’t have that time: its military knows it will be up against demands for an early ceasefire.’
What comes after? Israel has no appetite to occupy Gaza again. Some international administration of Gaza is called for. The UN has done this before in Namibia, Cambodia, Bosnia and East Timor. Mistakes were made, but in each case an administration kept the country going and an international military force held the ring so a new government with local support could emerge.
Any such presence would have to be led by Arab countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia that would be acceptable to Israel and have standing with the people of Gaza.’
A far off possibility but a sliver of hope.
27 October 2023
Add On 2: ‘If we’re forbidden from looking history in the eye during this horrific war, we’re doomed to repeat it.’ Gaby Hinscliff.
“Is nobody to talk of history even now, in a conflict where both sides are shaped by memories handed down through generations: of persecution and exile, suffering and mourning, the Nakba (or Palestinian tragedy of displacement) and the Holocaust? These stories are too entwined to make sense of one without mentioning the other, and it should be possible to say so without being accused of making excuses for Hamas.”
The tragic life of opera singer Maria Callas, an unremitting tale of torment and suffering, is spotlighted in a new biopic with an eerily alike Angelina Jolie in the title role. The screenplay by Steven Knight, best known for Peaky Blinders, focuses on Callas’s final days, her heart broken by Aristotle Onassis, her voice gone and addicted to drugs which ultimately killed her at 53.
Maria Callas was born 2 December 1923 6am New York, a replacement child but unwanted as a girl after the death of a previous son. Her ferociously ambitious and destructive mother saw her as solely there to maintain her. She pimped out her older sister and attempted to sell Maria’s virginity during the war to soldiers after they returned to Greece.
Maria’s rise to fame in 1949 led to a decade of triumphs but strained her voice until audiences turned against her in the 1960s. Early on in her success she lost seven stone, had plastic surgery and capped her teeth to reinvent herself as a fashion icon. An early marriage fizzled out and she discovered too late he had squandered her money. Her career was turbulent with cancellations, rivalries, a public firing as her reputation as a prima donna obscured her talent.
She met Onassis in 1959, when she was in a career dip and stayed as his partner on and off for nine years as he bedded Princess Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy as well as being a client of Madame Claude’s Champs-Élysées brothel, before marrying Jackie.
Deeply unhappy, Callas tried to end her life, the first of many suicide attempts. Returning to Onassis at one point, she suffered through his violent beatings, in part fuelled by the drugs he took including testosterone. “It was a co-dependency that neither could break.”
After Onassis’s death in 1975, she retreated from public life and became addicted to the sedative Mandrax which she knew could be fatal, if mixed with alcohol. She died on September 16, 1977, aged 53.
What leaps out of her chart is a Mars Saturn conjunction in Libra suggesting a life blighted by early cruelty to which she clearly became addicted – both destructive and self-destructive – like a moth to a flame. And Pluto in her 8th suggesting a dramatic and potentially tragic life which gave her influence out in society and resourcefulness but one riddled by bitter entanglements.
Her saving grace was her Sun, Jupiter and Mercury in Sagittarius which would give her a streak of optimism otherwise she’d never have survived the constant put downs throughout her life. A 4th house Uranus would make it difficult to find a settled home life after the disruptions of her childhood.
Her 10th house Virgo Moon suited a public career.
Aristotle Onassis, 20 January 1906 10 am Smyma, Turkey, had a Sun Venus in Capricorn with a Sagittarius Moon. His Moon was conjunct her Jupiter and Sun giving her a semblance of reassurance; but his Sun squared her masochistic Saturn Mars. And even more significantly his Neptune was conjunct her 8th house Pluto and his Pluto was on the cusp of her 8th so he mesmerised, trapped and controlled her.
Their relationship chart was ruinous with a composite Pluto opposition Mercury, Saturn, Sun, Mars – egregiously damaging and harmful. Only slightly ameliorated by a composite Moon trine Jupiter.
Frankly it is a miracle she survived into her fifties. What a tempestuous, unhappy life.
Angelina Jolie will resonate to her angst given her own troubled childhood, with her Moon Mars square Saturn and opposition Pluto.
Just as a brief add on to be expanded when I find time to focus on the 8th house. Jackie Onassis, 28 July 1929 2.30pm Southampton, NY, horrified a public, shaken by JFK’s death and enamoured of her elegant image by marrying Ari Onassis. Oddly there are similarities with JFK – both he and Ari had Jupiter falling in her 7th house of marriage. Ari has Pluto conjunct her 8th house Venus and his Neptune also in her 8th. JFK had his Venus on the cusp of her 8th and his Pluto also in her 8th. She was attracted to unfaithful men. Perhaps like her father John Bouvier, 19 May 1891, whose Mars was conjunct her 8th house Venus and his Neptune Pluto in Gemini were in her 7th on the cusp of her 8th. The old tangled patterns repeat especially when the 8th house is involved.
Meryl Streep has joined the ranks of the stealth splitters announcing her four decade-long marriage to sculptor Don Gummer parted company six years ago.
This is only a fleeting astro-comment but what is intriguing is that both have strongly Uranian charts. She was born 22 June 1949 8.05am Summit, NJ, and is a Sun conjunct Uranus in Cancer with her Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct her Mars – so she would always be revved up, keen to pursue her own interests and career and stalwart about defending independence. Her Taurus Moon which gives her stability is in her career 10th.
At the moment she has her Progressed Moon moving through her 7th house and tr Pluto about to cross her Descendant as the split becomes final. Progressed Moon through the 7th is when lacks in close relationships become obvious so it can be a make or break time.
Don Gummer, 12 December 1946, no birth time, is a Sun Mars in Sagittarius opposition Uranus and has Saturn Pluto (Moon) in Leo with Jupiter Venus Mercury in Scorpio. Fire Water will make him creative, volatile, a live wire even with Saturn Pluto. She is Water, Air, Earth – polar opposites in type and temperament which can work, until it doesn’t.
Strongly Uranian matches can work well since each understands the other’s need for space. But they can drift apart ultimately since with too much space they lose the connection.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is not having the best week with sexist and chauvinist remarks from her partner TV host Andrea Giambruno, father of her seven year old daughter, propositioning a female colleague for a threesome, leading to a split. And her latest budget is being compared to the ill-fated Truss budget which nearly tanked the UK economy a year ago. She has put off painful retrenchment until 2026 which veteran economists warned would lead to trouble, and so it has. Italy has become the eurozone’s weakest link. Moody’s has already cut Italian debt to one notch above junk, with a negative outlook.
Her Term chart, 22 October 2022 9.30am, does have Mars in the financial 8th catching the tr Neptune square exactly now and repeating early in 2024 which usually coincides with outright panic and a sense of failure. Plus considerable pressure from tr Pluto square the Sun Venus and conjunct the Pluto until late this year. Her political fortunes may revive come late January 2024 with an upbeat push from tr Pluto sextile the Jupiter.
Though the Bank of Italy chart, 10 August 1893, has a discouraging Solar Arc Saturn opposition Sun now and a rattled, insecure tr Uranus square the Mars at 26 Leo from next July into 2025 (which Fixed degree is beginning to haunt me since it appears all over the place.)
Meloni, born 15 January 1977 6.30pm Rome, is an ambitious, hard-working 6th house Capricorn Sun trine a confident and lucky 10th house Jupiter in Taurus. She also has a do-or-die determined – and ruthless – Pluto square Mars in Capricorn; plus a can-be-autocratic Saturn in Leo on her Ascendant square Uranus. She also has two yods both tied into her 8th house Venus in Pisces – Saturn sextile Pluto inconjunct Venus and Venus sextile Mars inconjunct Saturn.
She’s definitely a lady who walks her own singular path in life though her romantic life will not have been uncomplicated with an 8th house Venus.
Tr Uranus conjunct her Jupiter will give her lucky career breaks right through until April 2024.
Andrea Giambruno, 7 May 1981, has Mars, Sun, Venus and Mercury spread out through earthy Taurus all falling in her 10th house – so joint ambitions will always have been a priority. But his Uranus is opposition his Venus for changeable affections and his Uranus is conjunct her 4th house Sagittarius Moon which won’t make him a steady influence at home. Their relationship chart has a spark of passion from a composite Venus opposition Pluto; luck and adventure from Sun, Jupiter, Uranus in trine but with major aggravations from composite Mars opposition Saturn.
Dismal election results for the Tories as they lost two seats to Labour, one of them a previously safe seat with a 42% majority in 2019. The results according to political scientist John Curtice represent one of the worst by-election nights that any government has had to endure. The Telegraph struggling to find a glimmer of light in a calamity suggested that the Farage’s right-wing populist Reform Party had cost the Tories a win.
In the event Keir Starmer was jubilant though facing words of caution from Peter Mandelson about getting over confident.
The Conservative Party chart, 9 May 1912, is moving through an exceptionally turbulent phase with both transiting Uranus and Solar Arc Uranus having rattled up their Sun two years back, now sitting on the Sun/Saturn midpoint before moving to form a jangled, disruptive conjunction to the Saturn by 2025. At the moment the recent Libra Solar Eclipse is square their Neptune Mars for a panicky moment, plus tr Neptune square their Pluto this year on and off until early 2025 undermining their influence and power. Plus this month’s Lunar Eclipse in Taurus giving them an emotional upset as it is conjunct the Venus and square Uranus.
Labour on the other hand, 12 February 1906, have a T Square of Sun Venus in Aquarius opposition North Node square Jupiter in Taurus which may well be picking up Jupiterian luck between now and 2025.
Keir Starmer’s Leadership chart, 4 April 2020 10.45 am, has this month’s Solar Eclipse square the Jupiter Pluto conjunction and the Lunar Eclipse conjunct the Uranus for a morale boost and change of fortunes. But the way ahead is not exactly a slam dunk of success with the SA Saturn square the Uranus due in 2024 which might suggest a division between the old guard and the progressive elements.
Starmer’s own chart has a deflating tr Saturn conjunct his Jupiter and opposition his Sun Pluto in 2024; with his SA Sun and SA Pluto conjunct his Neptune which will be a destiny-changing moment – and not necessarily of the positive variety towards the end of 2024 into 2025 – and a cataclysmic SA Mars conjunct his Pluto in late 2025. Which may be events in his personal life and not a reflection on his party’s fortunes.
Sunak’s Term chart, 25 October 2022, is on a run of failures now until mid February 2024 after which it will start to revive on confidence and drive.
His personal chart, 12 May 1980, mirrors the Tory Party’s with a Sun Mercury in Taurus opposition Uranus in Scorpio, all being rattled now into 2024 by tr Uranus.
ADD ON: Nigel Farage is having a surprise comeback with his ever-enthusiastic fans predicting victories ahead. He does have the lucky, confident tr Pluto square his Jupiter exactly now which finishes late this month not to return. He also has tr Jupiter moving through his career 10th from June 2024 for a year which is usually successful and that allied to tr Saturn moving above his Descendant from March 2024 will also see him on an upward trajectory career-wise for years to come.
Along the way of next year he also has majorly confusing, downbeat midpoints which suggest miscalculations, an argumentative and mishap strewn 2025 and a sense of panicky failure in 2026.
The Reform Party, 23 November 2018, is in tremendous flux this year and next with hopeful signs in 2026 as tr Uranus opposes the Jupiter, but it may just be a flash in the pan stroke of luck rather than a resounding success.
The leader, Richard Tice, 13 September 1964, is stuck this year and to a degree 2024 as well. His two bright spots are tr Uranus conjunct his Jupiter at 26 Taurus for a lucky break next July/August, and again into 2025; and 2027 when his Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct his Mars but that comes after a meltdown in 2026.
Rock Hudson, super-star matinee idol immortalised in Pillow Talk with co-star girl-next-door Doris Day, ultimately turned out in typical Hollywood style to have a private reality a million miles away from his public image. As indeed was the case with Doris Day (abusive/rip-off marriages). A new documentary about Hudson All That Heaven Allowed describes him as “a sexual gladiator”, famed for his reported carnal appetites in liaisons with rent boys though he never came out about his homosexuality which only emerged after his death from AIDs.
The key to his heterosexual dreamboat character, say several observers in the documentary is the flicker of insecurity that he brings to his performances. “I think him being gay was the secret ingredient that made it all work,” one says. “There’s nothing threatening about Rock Hudson for them. He’s your best friend, but you get to smooch him on camera. That’s why people were drawn to his sensitivity.”
He was born 17 November 1925 2.15 am Winneika, Illinois, with a fractured childhood, divorced parents and an unhappy relationship with a stepfather. His breakout role in acting in Magnificent Obsession in 1954 set him on a road to success, with romantic comedies marking the 1960s. The 1970s saw a slow decline into TV work – MacMillan and Wife and eventually Dynasty. In the early 1980s, after years of heavy drinking and smoking, he had a heart attack and quintuple heart bypass surgery.
He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 and after seeking treatment in France found all the airlines refused to fly him home because of his illness. He was forced to hire a private Air France 747 at a cost of $250,000. Despite his reticence about coming out, his death changed perceptions around Aids victims and forced the subject into the mainstream, as he became a focal point for the messaging of fundraisers round the world.
He did have a secretive, intense and controlling chart – all hidden behind a charming, light-hearted Libra Ascendant, an upbeat Sagittarius Moon and a sugary-sweet Venus Jupiter in Capricorn. His 10th house Pluto was in a Water Grand Trine to Saturn Sun in Scorpio trine Uranus in Pisces; with his Pluto in a super-confident and persuasive opposition to Jupiter and Venus. A Water Grand Trine is creative – and healing for others – and tends to live in its own bubble of reality. His Sun was also in a creative, filmic and evasive square to Neptune in his 11th giving him a an ethereal image out in society. His Neptune was further emphasized being on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Jupiter which would accentuate his escapist, detached-from-reality streak. And it amplified his Scorpio need for secrecy by adding an urge for privacy. His Mars in Scorpio in his 2nd would give him financial ambitions and being unaspected may have fed into his unrestrained, non-stop sexual appetites.
He died 2 October 1985 9am Los Angeles when tr Pluto in Scorpio was just over the conjunction to his Mars; tr Saturn was just over the conjunction to his Sun and tr Neptune was conjunct his IC.
Pluto moving into Scorpio in the early 1980s not only turned a spotlight on hidden homosexuality and the AIDs plague but also on child sexual abuse – so it altered society’s perceptions in a significant way.
ADD ON; Doris Day and he became firm friends after Pillow Talk until his death. On the surface they could not have been more different. She was Aries with a Gemini Moon with a Fire/Air chart and he was a heavyweight Scorpio with a Water, Earth, Fire chart. His Sagittarius Moon would help and her 8th house Venus which had a Scorpionic feel. Her Sun fell in his 7th for good partnership material and his Venus Jupiter in her 4th for a comforting feel. Her Saturn was conjunct his Ascendant so she may have brought ‘respectability’ to his image in prejudiced times. There is also an interesting tangle with Chiron. Her Sun was exactly conjunct Chiron falling in his 7th and his Chiron was conjunct her Venus in her 8th. They may have been each other’s port-in-a-storm – she from abusive husbands and he from a turbulent private life.
