Duffy, the Welsh pop singer, has emerged from a decade of seclusion recently to talk of being drugged, taken abroad and raped in a four-week nightmare. After her escape she laid low for years, often contemplating suicide. Prior to her ordeal she had been a soaring star, outselling Adele and Amy Winehouse, collecting three Brit awards and a Grammy in the US. But even before she disappeared she was a ‘cautionary tale in the music business – a near text-book exercise in career self-destruction’ according to Neil McCormick of the Telegraph. She dumped the management and producers who had nurtured her success to handle her own career with an album which flopped.
She was born 23 June 1984 6.55am Bangor, Wales, and had a troubled childhood with her parents splitting when she was 10 and her stepfather being the target of a murder plot which saw her taken into police custody for safekeeping; and caused a rift with her mother and sisters when she ran away back to live with her father. She also binge drank through her teens.
She has an emotionally sensitive and charming Sun, Mercury Venus in Cancer opposition a musical, creative and unrealistic Neptune and Jupiter in ambitious Capricorn. Her 4th house is horrific with Pluto and a Mars Saturn conjunction in Scorpio which suggests a scary childhood with undertones (or overtones) of violence. Her Venus trines Mars Saturn, which is especially difficult emotionally being in intense and unforgiving Scorpio. Her Uranus in the performing 5th house, a typical placing for ‘rock’ stars also suggests an erratic romantic life. It opposes a Gemini North Node, which in itself is an indication of a free spirit with a streak of wilfulness, and a touch of a ‘bull in a china shop’ approach to life.
It’s not clear when she was assaulted but around 2011 which is when she effectively withdrew from public life her Solar Arc Mars Saturn were opposition her North Node; and tr Uranus in Aries was conjunct her Midheaven for a sharp change of direction in an upsetting square to her Sun, Mercury, Venus in Cancer, with tr Pluto in Capricorn being in a disruptive conjunction to her Solar Arc Uranus and having been in a pressured opposition to her Cancer planets including Sun in the previous two years. Her Solar Arc Node was conjunct her Sun. It was a very fated Nodal event in many ways.
Where she’s at now is tr Saturn aiming above her Descendant pushing her into a more visible phase in her career and life. Relationships won’t be easy through the next two years with Saturn Pluto moving through her 7th perhaps because she will carry a ‘rape victim’ identity. And she will find her home life and family relationships especially jolted and jangled with tr Uranus opposing her Saturn and Mars from April 2021 onwards for a year.
Grim beyond thought, but it followed on from a heavy heavy atmosphere in her childhood which would acclimatise her to dark personalities. Not that she remotely asked for it, but her danger antennae would have been blunted early on.
Marjorie, I remember seeing this girl, full of sadness recently in the news. What a private chart she has…so it is brave of her to tell her story. When I read it, it tweaked something, I looked at Edith Piaf’s chart and found something echoing…. just quickly but Neptune Pluto and Saturn were retrograde at both their births….and Jupiter and Uranus as well in Duffy’s chart! Her 12th house Sun often means secluded relationships, with her prominent Moon shielding that. Possibly she was involved with someone behind the scenes, and he took over. The common link they have, to me, is the Mercury/Jupiter aspects. I have an amazing book by an American astrologer (from many years ago) T. Patrick. Davis – called Sexual Assaults: Pre-Identifying Those Vulnerable – which has been hugely referred to when doing charts.
Of course everyone (well, me, then…) would automatically expect strong Pluto, Scorpio Mars etc – he analyses every single aspect to all planets but the most shocking thing to him was that there was almost 100% accuracy with a Mercury/Jupiter link. Duffy has Sun/Merc/Venus opposite Jupiter, Piaf Sun/Mercury square Jupiter. Davis deduced that it gave a casual, humorous or trusting mind where the victims (of both sexes) never felt they were in any danger. I don’t know if the book is available still, well worth chasing up.
In February 2012 Saturn retrograded exactly conjunct Duffy’s Pluto, so that is possibly very significant, timing wise. I do wonder if she has seen a good astrologer as her progressed Mercury sextiles the Midheaven now and benasp the 12th planets, but I salute her survival with the uncommon sensitivity and hard surroundings found in this chart. Good luck to a brave lady.