Claus Von Bulow – a classical tragedy **

Claus Von Bulow has died, who was at the centre of one of the most sensational trials of the 20^th Century, convicted, acquitted and retried of the attempted murder of his wife, the mega-wealthy heiress Sunny. She fell into a coma in December 1980 and lived for nearly 30 years thereafter in a vegetative state. At the retrial when he was defended by Alan Dershowitz, many witnesses from the first trial were discredited and it was shown that insulin could not have remained on the syringe that was found in his bag – thereby leaving the suspicion he’d been framed and he was cleared though many people remained doubtful of his innocence. It was made into the movie Reversal of Fortune with Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close.

  Sunny Von Bulow, 1 Sept 1931 7am Manassa, Virginia, inherited $100 million from her father when she was four years old and appears to have been fragile mentally in adult life despite her nickname. She had a 12^th house Sun, Venus, Neptune, Mercury in Virgo so would be highly strung with an addictive streak and  a stronger reaction to drugs than most with Neptune in the 12^h. She also had a crisis-ridden Cardinal Grand Square of Saturn opposition Pluto square Uranus Moon in Aries opposition Mars, so her life would never have been settled nor felt safe emotionally or any other way. It may have been life in a gilded cage but it was very tough and she would have been prone to depression.    

  Claus Von Bulow, her second husband, August 1926  1.40pm Copenhagen, Denmark, was an expansive, vague, arrogant Sun Neptune in Leo opposition Jupiter. He’d be charming with Venus Pluto conjunct in Cancer – and with Venus, Pluto, Mercury, Sun, Neptune in the 9^th he was bright, intelligent, trained as a barrister (9^th house) and handled administrative affairs for Paul Getty before his marriage. His Sun Neptune opposition Jupiter squares onto an obsessively determined and stubborn Saturn in Scorpio on his Ascendant.

  His 10^th house Virgo Moon and Midheaven would make him attracted to Sunny. Though his Mars falling in her 8th would stir up deep seated anger in her. Both were Neptunian types – unrealistic, evasive.

  When she went into the coma Claus Von Bulow’s Solar Arc Mars was exactly square his natal 4^th house Uranus causing great domestic upset in a shocking way.  The years which followed were more difficult with his SA Uranus squaring his Neptune Jupiter opposition and SA Saturn opposing his natal Pluto so it would be a roller coaster of lows with huge worries (Uranus Neptune, Saturn Pluto) and some highs with relief (Uranus Jupiter).  

  Claus Von Bulow later signed away his rights to Sunny’s estate in order to reinstate their daughter Cosima into her grandmother’s will from which she’d been removed for supporting her father. Sunny’s two children from her first marriage stuck to their original story that she was deliberately put into a coma, which wasn’t self administered.