Oliver Cromwell, a keynote figure in the English civil war, whose rise to prominence led to the execution of Charles 1 and his own subsequent and short-lived semi-kingship, is the subject of a new biography about the years of his rise to power. Two things are astrologically intriguing about him. One is his conversion to radical Puritanism in his late 30s which pulled him out of obscurity and the other is his extraordinarily emphasised Jupiter.
He was a divisive figure described variously as a regicidal dictator, a class revolutionary by Leon Trotsky and a hero of liberty by Thomas Carlyle. Atrocities in his name meted out to Catholics in Ireland have been characterised as genocidal.
Biographer Ronald Hutton describes him as sly, vindictive, glory-guzzling and ruthless. He manipulated the press, lied to the House of Commons and destroyed allies with relish. Luck was also with him at the right times.
He was born 25 April 1599 JC 3am (maybe) Huntingdon, England (ADB) and has a Taurus Sun Mercury as befits a Calvinist zealot trine a Virgo Moon, sextile Jupiter in Cancer (on this birth time) in the putting-on-a-confident-performance 5th. Jupiter is also spotlighted being on the focal point also of a military/cruel Mars in Aries opposition Saturn. And last but not least he had a revolutionary Uranus Pluto in Aries trine a religious Neptune.
During his thirties he suffered a loss of status and perhaps a breakdown, which was when he turned to the intense form of Protestantism that assured him that he was God’s instrument in this life and would be saved in the next. His religiosity was extreme even by the standards of his age and Hutton describes him as “a Puritan jihadi”.
That was when tr Uranus was opposing his Pluto and then Uranus, turning his life upside down, fuelling his ambitions and his revolutionary fervour. His Solar Arc Jupiter (pulling with it the full force of his Sun, Mercury Moon mini-Grand Trine and Mars Saturn T Square) was conjunct his natal Neptune giving his religious beliefs a turbo-charge blast of energy and determination.
When war came as he entered his forties he rose rapidly up the military ladder, glorified his own achievements at the expense of brother officers and told “blatant untruths” to discredit parliament’s aristocratic military commanders. His godliness co-existed with slippery less saintly traits, ruthless self-promotion being one of them – Jupiter’s grandiosity coming into its own. Jupiter’s Olympian confidence would also fuel his belief in himself as an agent of divine judgment put on earth to depose the monarch and after some soul-searching almost but not quite step into his shoes.
When he finally took over as Lord Protector in 1653 his Solar Arc Neptune was square his overblown Jupiter inflating his ambitions to greater heights. Though as ever with Neptune Jupiter disappointment follows and the ego balloon deflates. Tr Saturn was also conjunct his Neptune inducing untypical uncertainty and perhaps a prescience of what was to come. He lasted five years as ruler before his death, was followed by his weak son and the monarchy was restored with Charles 11 on the throne by 1660.
Intriguing that both Cromwell’s Neptune and his Jupiter were lived out in all their duality – self-appointed saint and sinner all rolled into one.
Thinking about Cromwell’s Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Aries. Charles I has the conjunction at the very end of Aries/beginning of Taurus. Both men have Saturn in Libra, in the case of Charles I it opposes his Uranus, the tension between tradition and revolution playing a significant role in his fate. In the case of Cromwell the opposition T-Squares onto Jupiter, promising victory and success. In the U.K. we currently have the Uranus/Pluto in Virgo generation in power, many of whom have Saturn in Pisces in opposition and this generation have played a vital role in bringing about Brexit – Farage is a good example, having Sun/Mars and Jupiter in Aries with the Uranus/Pluto in Virgo conjunct his Ascendant opposition Saturn in early Pisces. Johnson too has the same aspect which T-Squares onto his Mars in Gemini. In many ways, Brexit has divided the nation in a way reminiscent of the English Civil War, which I think is interesting – Uranus/Pluto and Saturn playing out in a similar, divisive way.
So intriguing to see Oliver Cromwell’s natal chart Marjorie. And VF, yes this Uranus/Pluto in Virgo group seem to be pivotal in some kind of “revolution” too.
What I’ve noticed is that the UK 1066 chart has Saturn at 16 Virgo, trine Mercury at 16 Capricorn. The 1965 conjunction of Uranus and Pluto was exactly conjunct that Saturn, while Saturn in Pisces opposed it in 1966. Uranus/Pluto in Virgo, plus the UK Saturn in Virgo and Capricorn Mercury makes a Grand trine with Oliver Cromwell’s own Mercury at 16 Taurus. Where we also have Boris Johnson’s Jupiter in Taurus opposing Neptune in Scorpio. Cromwell’s Moon’s Nodes make a fixed t-square with BJ’s Jupiter/Neptune too.
Another curiousity is the 1066 Uranus at 28 Sagittarius, trining Cromwell’s Uranus at 28 Aries. At 28 Gemini there’s BJ’s own Sun and Venus. And Henry 8th’s religious revolutionary Neptune is 25 Sagittarius, in a t-square with Mars and Jupiter.
There are more patterns like this between Cromwell, 1066, and Henry 8th – and probably Johnson too. Aggressive attitudes towards Ireland are another thread that links the Anglo-Normans, Cromwell, Henry 8th and Johnson. Patterns of history…..
“Another curiousity is the 1066 Uranus at 28 Sagittarius, trining Cromwell’s Uranus at 28 Aries. At 28 Gemini there’s BJ’s own Sun and Venus.”
Yes and Nigel Farage’s Moon is also conjunct the 1066’s Uranus in Sagittarius and his anaretic Venus at 29 of Taurus not only echos Cromwell’s own Venus at 29 degree of Taurus but also trines and sextiles the 1066’s anaretic Moon and Venus. His chart is not unlike that of Cromwell which is interesting, both have Sun/Mars in Aries, both have Venus and Mercury in Taurus and both men have Uranus/Pluto in the first house and conjunct the ascendant respectively. I’d say that astrologically, Farage is much more of a significant figure regarding Brexit than is Johnson. Also, I think Farage genuinely believes that the U.K.will benefit from splitting with the EU, whereas Johnson tends to simply jump on any passing bandwagon that he thinks will make him popular.
Speaking of Uranus/Pluto conjunctions and their link to change/upheaval/revolution – after seeing Linda’s comment about Richard III and Henry VII I looked up their natal charts and discovered that both men were born when Uranus/Pluto was conjunct in Leo. This prompted me to think about the role these men played as the Middle Ages drew to a close and the European Renaissance was just about to flower. So Uranus/Pluto seem to come together at the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.
It seems like the Cancer Jupiter is forced to link together a chart of two ‘halves’.
One ‘half’ are the Aries-Leo-Libra planets
The others are the Taurus-Virgo planets.
Otherwise you have to go with quincunx/semi-sextile aspects which, of course, are difficult.
Add to that no planets in Sag-Pisces or 9th-12th houses (if ToB accurate) means he was never doing anything for the good of society; just his own ideas. Everything placed below the horizon apart from Saturn in Libra. Really quite a terrible choice for a leader but something in the zeitgest of the time must have allowed his rise to occur.
Pluto just into Gemini as he came out of obscurity. Uranus just into Capricorn when he became top dog for a few years.
Pluto into Gemini … I guess that explains your line about “He manipulated the press, lied to the House of Commons and destroyed allies with relish” !!!
(Thanks for this post, Marjorie. Really like seeing these subjects that I’d probably never come across otherwise)
My parents knew one of the custodians of Cromwell’s head (which is buried at Sidney Sussex college, Cambridge – Cromwell was an alumnus), which had an odd and macabre history behind it. For many years, following Charles II’s disinterment of Cromwell’s body and posthumous execution, along with other dead regicides, it was placed on a spike above Westminster Hall until it was blown down in a storm sometime later in the century, eventually handed down and sold through various owners until it was bequeathed to Sidney Sussex and interned in a secret location there on the 25th March 1960. Naturally there are questions about its authenticity. But when I see that Cromwell has Mars and Pluto/Uranus in the first house in Aries (ruler of the head), it seemed rather apt!
Very interesting. I’m reminded of something I read by Idries Shah — religious conversions tend to occur as a result of trauma. The experience of being overwhelmed loosens up the ties that bind and can lead to a new religion. Certainly sounds like this happened to Cromwell and activated his Jupiter in particular. That Aries Mars opposite Saturn was also just sitting there waiting to wake up and raise holy hell.