The Virgo Solar Eclipse which occurred three days after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, repeats this September 1st at the same degree, though in a different Saros Series.
I would confess I don’t understand Saros Series but am happy to accept Bernadette Brady’s expertise which indicated the 18 North Saros Series of 1997 had Mercury conjunct Pluto; and Uranus on the Mars/Saturn midpoint (presumably from its first occurrence in 1060 AD). That suggests ‘a high stress level, and illness or accidents, a great deal of physical concern’. (The Eagle and the Lark).
This year’s 9 degree Virgo Solar Eclipse is in the 19 North series which is less stressful, though concerned with seeing an old situation as it is, coming down to earth with a bump to face reality.
Nudged on by an email after Muhammad Ali’s death, it seemed worthwhile revisiting Diana, another tragic figure, lauded for her humanitarian efforts despite her flaws, and the extraordinary outburst at grief when she died.
Born 1 July 1961 7.45pm Sandringham, England, she had a sociable and empathic 7th house Cancer Sun and Mercury trine Neptune; with her healing-the-sick (and neurotic) Saturn/Neptune midpoint exactly conjunct her Sagittarius Ascendant. Her dreamy, helpful, watery Sun Mercury trine Neptune, sextiled onto a midpoint of Pluto (conjunct Mars) in Virgo. This would give her influence, a liking for control, a capacity for being ahead of her time but also a harder edge and attract her to charities involved in darker and riskier causes like AIDs and landmines. As well as giving her the stomach to observe heart operations.
Her Uranus was in her 9th conjunct her destined-to-be-a-leader North Node in Leo, along with Mars Pluto – so global communication and influence would be her dream.
She had an indulgent side from her sexy, indulgent Venus in the 5th trine Saturn, so she’d always be trying to make up for the affection not forthcoming in her lonely childhood. Her Venus was also on the point of a Fixed T Square to Moon opposition Uranus so she’d always be unsettled in her love life, constantly on the move.
Her Sun was conjunct the UK 1801 midheaven so she was an important figure for the country, constantly tilting at authority with her Uranus conjunct the UK 11th house Saturn; and her Moon in the UK’s romantic 5th.
The outpouring of grief after her death put the country practically into a national psychosis, which puzzled and alarmed me at the time. Looking at the UK chart what leaps out is that Diana’s Sun was conjunct the UK Neptune/Pluto midpoint. At her death tr Pluto was opposition the UK Solar Arc Neptune which was in turn square the UK Pluto. Neptune Pluto has a range of meanings but amongst them are certainly a tendency to madness, obsession, confusion – as well as scandal and a tendency to blow an ideal up to stratospheric proportions, hence its connection to megalomania. So all of that was triggered when she died.
There was also a tr Saturn square the UK 10th house Cancer Moon which has the more mundane and painful effect of mourning through loss. The 10th house Moon is associated with the ruling classes.
Her Harmonics are interesting with a strong 7th, which can be spiritual and creative but can also be mentally unstable.
A very strong 8th Harmonic – “A fated number. “Karmic debt”. Soul wounds, bad luck or loss may follow this number, which also gives an abundance of strength and stubbornness in the face of difficulties. The road to success is often bumpy and hard, and if it comes easy, or at all, it will not necessarily bring happiness.”
A potent 9th Harmonic which is both a do-gooder and indulgent.’ Also notable were her self- destructive 10H; a healing/victim 12H; and actress 15H.
Strongest of them all was her superstar 22H – “So called Master Number, which means that it is a difficult number to live up to. The positive aspects of number 22 is powerful imagination and/or strong leadership. The negative aspects are despotism or immorality. From a different position, 22 warns against lack of discernment, of being overconfident, relying on the wrong persons, and being deceived.”
A complicated woman with a good deal of light and just as much of shade. She was thrust into a situation where she could help millions of people but couldn’t quite escape from her tragic flaws and perhaps the weight of the world’s expectations. Neptune can be a hard taskmaster when it creates an illusion.
‘a good deal of light and just as much of shade’ (and more light than most other people in the public eye, not to mention human warmth and wit and courage).
Tara, You’re right about the reaction to her death being amplified by the rolling media. I watched on television the first people leave flowers at Buckingham Palace and as others saw that they also turned up so it started a snowballing avalanche. Tr Uranus had just moved into Aquarius – which is very television-oriented. You get a kind of howl round effect as you do at rock concerts when the sound bounces back from the auditorium and is picked up by the microphones and sent back out, ad infinitum. It turns into a kind of whirling and escalating centrifuge. The medium really did become the message.
Thank you, a very good analysis. Interesting that she was a little bit like Ali in that there isn’t much fire other than the ascendant and an outer planet, yet of all the royals she was known for her warmth and humour. Angelina Jolie who you featured recently is rather the opposite of them, having enough fire but no fixed.
I think people were deeply shocked when Diana died so suddenly, but the scenes we saw afterwards were stoked I think by a new media landscape in the UK. There had been a big rise in both the internet and cable/satellite tv with rolling 24 hour news coverage, which had never been a big thing in the UK before, although it had been around in the US and other countries for a while. Things were already in a pretty hyped up state after the very recent Labour landslide election victory. Looking back now it was one of those defining moments of the Pluto in Sag years