Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall, a world-leading expert on chimpanzees, has died aged 91. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio said that she “inspired millions to care, to act, and to hope”, and called her a “a true hero for the planet”. Biologist Stephen Jay Gould said her discoveries “revolutionised science” and Roger Fouts, a psychologist who studies the chimp’s linguistic abilities said, “her work is almost comparable with Einstein’s.”
Born 3 April 1934 11.30pm London, England, she was given a toy chimpanzee as a two year old and later said, “I cannot remember a time when I did not want to go to Africa to study animals.”
After leaving school with no scientific training, she was offered a holiday at a friend’s home in Kenya from whence she went in search of Louis Leakey, the paleontologist who was trying to prove his controversial, now accepted,, theory that man originated in Africa, and not Europe or Asia. He thought a study of the great apes would yield important insights into the behaviour of early man which set her off on her life’s journey of living amongst chimpanzees living on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Her career spanned more than 60 years and was pivotal in proving the similarities in primate and human behaviour. More recently she switched to become an advocate for the natural world.
She was married twice, the first time to a wildlife photographer, the second to a member of the Tanzanian government and head of their national parks.
Her chart reflects a lucky, successful though not easy temperament and life. She had a pro-active (and argumentative) Sun Mars in Aries in her domestic 4th house with Mars and a 5th house Uranus in Aries opposition a 10th house fortunate-career Jupiter squaring an 8th house Pluto. Restless by nature and a go-getter, lacking fear, with an attraction for adventure and an unorthodox emotional life (Uranus in 5th) she was keen to explore below the surface with an 8th house Pluto which also ultimately brought her increasing influence. Pluto on the point of a Cardinal T square can be ahead of its time in insights and meet with resistance though ultimately will be proved right. She also had Saturn Venus in scientific Aquarius in her communication 3rd house as well as a crusading Aquarius North Node.
Her kindly, spiritual, visionary Neptune in the 9th in Virgo opposed her Mercury widely square her adventurous and nurturing Sagittarius Moon on her Ascendant.
Relocating her chart to Tanzania put her Moon in the 10th suiting her for a public career; her scientific Saturn Venus in Aquarius moved to her 1st establishing her image and identity; Neptune was in the influential 8th and Pluto in her 6th house of animals.
She had a marked global-personality 22nd Harmonic; a creative 5H; humanitarian 9H and an enduring 11H.
In an interview aired on Canadian French-language television, she said that she always wanted to be the real Tarzan’s Jane becaue the comic book Jane was pathetic. She felt, with typical Britiish wit, that she deserved it more.
I have Neptune in the 10th on the point of a cardinal T-square and Pluto in the 8th. She inspires me greatly.
A true Aries….ever the pioneer.
Thank you very much for this post, Marjorie.
I refrained from requesting one as there was already a post on her.
The astrological detail I wanted to see was the chart relocated to Tanzania, which you have addressed here. Thank you for that.
I loved the story she told about herself, that as a child she ‘disappeared’ for some hours and her mother reported her missing, to the police. She was subsequently found in the family’s hen house; where she had been sitting patiently all that time, waiting to see how eggs were made! That ability at stillness served her well in her illustrious career.
At death, her Profected Annual Ascendant falls in her 8th House, conjunct natal Pluto.