Ian McKellen – an iconic thespian

Ian McKellen is getting rave reviews for his latest film The Critic, out this week. With a sixty year career spanning the heights in Shakespeare on stage to blockbuster success as Lord Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit he has a career to envy. A recent fall off stage has put paid to his appearance on the boards for another year as he recovers from what could have been an exceptionally nasty accident.

 Born 25 May 1939 9.30pm Burnley, England, he has a tough chart, a testament to his first six years living in war time Britain, but he also had a supportive family, especially his sister, who helped develop his interest in the theatre from an early age. His mother died when he was 12 and his father when he was 25. In recent years he has done much good campaigning for LGBT rights.

  He has a talented Half Grand Sextile from a formidably determined Mars in Aquarius opposition Pluto, sextiling onto a Gemini Sun and Jupiter in Aries – his ability to communicate, sometimes forcefully, comes across in his chart.  He also has a yod from Mars sextile Jupiter (in his 3^rd house of siblings) inconjunct a 9^th house Moon.  A Moon as apex on a yod has a tendency to emotional disorganization early on, and a reluctance about allowing vulnerabilities to be seen. With maturity such a Moon will, if properly handled, prompt him to be nurturing for others.

His Venus in Taurus in his performing 5^th house opposes an intense Scorpio Node squaring onto his Mars – so he may at times be overly assertive. Though his Saturn squaring his  Pluto opposition Mars will clamp down on his spontaneity to a degree as the hardship and fear of his early days has left him with a defensive shell.

 Tr Pluto conjunct his Mars and opposing his Pluto this year may well have contributed to his accident earlier this year.