“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Dylan Thomas.
At 89 actress Sheila Hancock has earned the right to strutt her stuff and toss around her opinions on life, love and politics. Her latest memoir Old Rage was intended as an inspirational guide to growing old for those who aren’t Joan Collins but she rampages off down divergent paths as the whim takes her.
She was born 22 February 1933 on the Isle of Wight into a working class family, a surprising background for a later Royal Shakespeare Company classical actress, and migrated from there into television over a long and prolific career. She has been married to two actors, who both died of oesophageal cancer. Her second husband the talented John Thaw best known for The Sweeney, Morse and Kavanaugh QC was an intense relationship which they took a break at one point since they both felt smothered but came back together again.
She’s a Sun Pisces opposition Neptune in Virgo, good for a film and creative career, though by all rights it should have made her dreamy and vague. It is her Mars and Jupiter in Virgo opposition Mercury in Pisces which will fire up her tendency to straight speaking. That plus a rock-the-boat Uranus square Pluto. She has two Yods in her chart – one onto Venus and the other onto Jupiter which will give her the potential for making a major contribution to culture.
John Thaw to whom she was married for 29 years was born 3 January 1942 in Manchester and was a Sun Capricorn with an Earth Grand Trine of Mercury in Capricorn trine Saturn Uranus in Taurus trine Neptune in Virgo – a heavy weight personality, renowned for his grumpiness, a heavy drinker and smoker.
Their relationship would not be all plain sailing with his Mars in Aries in a firecracker conjunction to her Uranus. The over possessiveness which both admitted to came from his Cancer Moon conjunct her Pluto and his Pluto opposition her Aquarius Moon. Their relationship chart had a needs-space composite Sun square Uranus; an irritable and one -sided Mars square Saturn, hinting that one had to bite their tongue more than the other; and a successful-together Pluto Jupiter
Their wedding chart of 24 December 1973 was also an indication of a close but not easy connection with a New Moon opposition Saturn square Pluto; with the New Moon trine Mars and Mars opposition Uranus. It was probably as well that both had busy and constantly changing acting careers to soak up the grittier side of their chemistry.
She is on a third Saturn Return this year so reflecting deeply on life and what comes next.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Mark Twain
“Age is not important unless you’re a cheese.” Helen Hayes
With a Saturn/Moon conjunction in Aquarius, she would become known to the wider public later in life and make more money, as it is in the eighth house. I remember her in the Rag Trade Drama in the 1960’s. She has grown into her beauty. One of Saturn/Moon’s bonuses.
Thanks Marjorie. Sheila Hancock is a very charismatic actor, and quite under rated I think.
I was interested to see two charts you’ve posted here today with natal Saturn in Aquarius – Anthony Albanese and Sheila Hancock – two kinds of Saturn return, with added Uranian shake ups! Also, two Pisces individuals from ‘ordinary’ backgrounds, with both having those Pisces/Virgo oppositions and tensions natally. Both have been through Neptune’s foggy swamps in the fairly recent past, and both have now emerged to show what’s been brewing just after their Jupiter in Pisces transits.