Leonard Cohen – one of the greats

The legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has died aged 82. He was known as a dark visionary who became a cultural icon through the 60s and 70s and his career extended on. Although born Jewish, he became a Zen buddhist, retreating into silence for several years in the 1990s. On re-entering the world, he found his manager had embezzled his retirement fund, so he went on an extraordinary five year world tour. He never married but had a rolling succession of intense relationships, which resulted in two children.

Born 21 September 1934 6.45am Montreal, Canada into a well-to-do family, he credited his mother, a Russian émigré, with encouraging his poetic and musical aspirations and described how she would, as she went through her day, sing Yiddish and Russian folk songs she had learned as a child. He described her as romantic, beautiful, sensitive, and emotional, given to bouts of both joyfulness and melancholy. His father died when he was 9, and he initially became a poet and writer, turning to music when that failed to make him a living.

He had a Virgo Sun on his Ascendant and his chart was dominated by an Air Grand Trine of Jupiter in Libra trine Saturn in Aquarius trine a Gemini Midheaven – so he was designed to be a communicator. He also had an emotional Pisces Moon opposition a 12^th house Venus Neptune in Virgo – a testament to his sensitive mother. His Jupiter opposed an 8^th house Uranus squaring onto Pluto in Cancer – so influential, but in many ways a man ahead of his time.  It’s not an easy chart for emotional relationships with a controlling/ scared of being controlled focal point Pluto; an erratic 8th house Uranus; and a wants-to-merge, though uncommitted Venus Moon Neptune.

His musical and artistic Neptune in the hidden creative 12^th was well integrated into his chart being conjunct his Venus and his confident Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and square his rebellious Uranus/Pluto. Not surprisingly his chart is replete with creative quintiles and septiles, though with a melancholy streak running through them. His 17H – leaving-a-legacy-for-history was also strongly aspected.