Mohammed Al Fayed – the very nearly man

Mohammed Al Fayed has died who almost became father-in-law to Princess Diana. Starting from lowly beginnings in Alexandria, Egypt he rose through unscrupulous tactics and persistence to amass a fortune, own Harrods and take on the trapping of a ‘classic English aristocrat’. He lived in fashionable houses, had helicopters, private planes, a Rolls-Royce. He sponsored the Royal Windsor Horse Show in order to be seen sitting next to the Queen. One obituary said of him he was “A foul-mouthed, misogynistic street bully when he wanted to be, he was also capable of extraordinary generosity, especially to children.”

  He cultivated Princess Diana after her divorce, invited her onto his yacht where his playboy son Dodi, fell into a relationship with her. It was hardly the love of her life but she might have tied the knot if only to get access to the luxury life that Papa Al Fayed was offering. After she and Dodi died being driven by a drunk driver in his employ he turned paranoid and accused Prince Philip of being behind an assassination plot.  

  Mohammed Al Fayed was an Aquarius Sun with an over-hopeful/scandal-prone Jupiter Chiron trine Neptune trine Saturn in late Sagittarius; with a hard-edged, short-fused Mars in Gemini opposition Saturn and an evasive Mercury opposition Neptune. His North Node was in Taurus which he lived out in lifelong wrangles over money; as well as his constant womanizing.

  His Sun was conjunct Diana’s 2nd house Jupiter so he would appeal to her extravagant tendencies and his Jupiter in Taurus fell in her 4th as he offered her the possibility of an indulgent and extravagant home. At that point she must have felt rootless and homeless. His controlling Pluto fell in her 8th so he would be manipulating her covertly.

 Dodi Al Fayed, 15 April 1955, was a Sun Mercury in Aries  opposition Neptune with a stubborn Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto.  His Sun also fell in Diana’s 4th – like his father giving her a sense of the possibility of a settled home life. Though his Neptune in her 10th square her Saturn would ultimately have proved a disaster as would his Mars in Gemini square her Mars Pluto in Virgo.

  What is curious is that Mohammed Al Fayed had similar traits to Prince Philip. Philip was a Sun Mars in Gemini square Saturn in Virgo with Venus in Taurus; where Mohammed had Mars in Gemini opposition Saturn and Jupiter in Taurus. Both had troubled childhoods and difficult beginnings though in different spheres.

 The Royals ever did have a leaning towards obscenely wealthy, often unsavoury types and remarkably bad judgement.  He did very nearly become step-grandpa to the heir to the throne and tried to bribe politicians to do his will.

  His Pluto was conjunct the UK 10th house Cancer Moon which refers to the ruling classes and he certainly made an attempt to wield influence way beyond his worth. In one way you have to admire his chutzpah while despairing of the establishment’s willingness to be bought.

11 thoughts on “Mohammed Al Fayed – the very nearly man

  1. Tom Bower has written a piece in The Times which I was surprised to see published so soon after his death. Says that Fayed offered many people money and bribes, told lies about his background etc, etc. That he bought the yacht deliberately to impress Diana. That on the night of the death, only he and the driver planned/knew they would be going through that underpass and therefore his conspiracy theories were a complete fabrication and he knew it – yet stuck to them.

  2. Dodi’s Pluto conjunct her NN, his Mars square her Pluto-Mars conjunction, Nemesis indeed. Unless otherwise proven, he killed her by imprudence. If nothing else, at least astrology taught me to keep away from people whose Mars squares my Pluto no matter how alluring and good-looking and tempting they are.

  3. Hi. My understanding was that Dodi was engaged to Kelly Fisher while he was spending time with Diana and then Kelly sued him in the US. I had also heard that he and Diana were close friends only and that Diana was trying to make Dr. Hasnat Khan jealous. And lastly, that Mohammed helped to create the facade of their “relationship.” Allegedly, Diana stated that Hasnat had been the love of her life. I hope that Diana can rest in peace. Harry has tarnished her reputation, IMO.

  4. I never met him but in my previous career I spoke with him by phone many times and did meet with people who worked for him. Maybe they were toeing the party line but all of them were lovely people and spoke of his kindness and generosity. He was always extremely pleasant in those limited interactions I had with him and once sent me some perfume and a silk Harrods scarf.

    • Hi SMS – I did meet him. He was walking through his store, and he came over and spoke to me and was very courteous and pleasant. Thanked me for shopping at Harrods, even though I was only browsing. He then went on his way.

  5. Never seen Dodi Fayed’s chart before but almost everything about that synastry looks a disaster given what we now about Diana and her emotional neediness / mental health. If she didn’t get enough pampering or sympathy from the Royals then not sure what she would have expected to get from his Cap moon square Aries Sun/Mercury. And his Pluto exactly opposite her Aqua moon and conjunct her Leo Uranus – she would have felt controlled once the honeymoon was over.

    As for Fayed with his Virgo moon/neptune conjunction – no wonder he couldn’t get over the death of Dodi and resorted to conspiracy theories. Quite possibly transiting Pluto in Sag square his moon when it occurred.

    Noting he died on Aug 30th, the day before the 26th anniversary of the car crash which happened early hours of 31st. I wonder if there was some astro synchronicity going on there.

  6. He was hilarious wasn’t he? He was every part a psychopath and narcissist as the British upper classes and had the ‘gaul’ as a ‘darkie’ to try to join them! What What!?! So funny. It was so amusing him trying to get photographed with the queen the 80s in the papers and her obvious annoyance. He was both a caricature of the British upper classes and also their nemesis. Fayad and The British – Two utter fiends of humanity together…What What!?! Funny bloke!

    • Mohammed’s second and “final” wife and mother of four younger children Heini is a Finn. They had a huge villa in Espoo and have spent considerable amount of time there over the years, very secluded mostly. I think she, born February 24th 1955 and thus a Pisces Sun and possibly Moon, was a mitigating influence on him and very likely driver behind later charitable efforts.

      I think out of the children Jasmine has been spotted “about the town” here quite a bit.

  7. His brother – Ali – in the 1970s was apparently the wealthier of the two; with major interests in construction and other companies. He spent much of his time commuting between the South of France (possibly Monaco) and a large estate in Surrey; where one of the gardeners was employed with the main task of growing herbs that would garnish most dishes made with lamb. Ali was rarely without a beautiful young woman by his side! But Mohammed was the brother who eventually developed the high profile.

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