Another ruthless Mars Pluto father who left a conflicted family behind was Charles Harrelson, a professional contract killer. His three sons were abandoned when young and while two are clear about who he was, the third, actor Woody Harrelson, has always held out the hope that his father, who died in prison, was falsely convicted for killing a federal judge.
A new true crime investigation — a ten-part Spotify podcast, Son Of A Hitman – examines Charles Harrelson’s claims, including ones he had CIA links and was involved in the assassination of JFK.
He was born 23 July 1938, when there was a close conjunction of a formidably unpleasant Sun, Mars, Pluto. (3 days after the tragic Nathalie Wood.) His Saturn in Aries was on the focal point of a Yod inconjunct Neptune sextile North Node. Not a man to cross, for sure. There was more planetary activity on his chart when JFK was assassinated than when the judge was gunned down – not that makes for proof, but intriguing.
Woody Harrelson, 23 July 1961, known initially as Woody the barman in Cheers. evolving to serious roles in Indecent Proposal, Natural Born Killers and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, shares his father’s birthday. Woody’s zero degree Sun Leo is opposition an overly optimistic Jupiter in Aquarius square Neptune – giving him an idealistic but not always realistic outlook. His Sun also opposes his Saturn in Capricorn so he would feel rejected by his father’s departure when he was seven. Jupiter in a chart often makes it difficult to see that parent (Sun Jupiter for father, Moon Jupiter for mother) without rose-coloured glasses. Much is forgiven or glossed over.
Their relationship chart had an affectionate composite Sun Venus Mercury conjunction; and a composite Jupiter opposition Pluto and Mars – which clearly operated to put a shine on the relationship with Jupiter’s super-optimistic tendencies obscuring the darker side.
Woody once said: ‘My father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people I’ve ever known . . . I look at him as someone who could be a friend more than someone who was a father.’
His two brothers are in no doubt that their father was who he was reputed to be – a man who beat up women, smuggled and used drugs, cheated at high-stakes poker and would ‘kill anyone for $500’.
Brett Harrelson, also an actor, 4 June 1963, is a Sun Gemini inconjunct Neptune and sextile Jupiter with the powder-keg Mars, Uranus Pluto in Virgo. So he carries his father’s dark streak though is able to see clearly who he was so is more likely to get hold of the more positive end of it. His relationship chart with his father had little Jupiter to smooth round rough edges – with a differing agendas composite Sun Uranus and a scary, dominating composite Mars Pluto.
Brett’s relationship chart with his brother Woody although expansive with a Sun trine Jupiter, also has a power-struggling Jupiter opposition Mars Pluto.
The sins of the father do get visited down the generations, not in the same form necessarily, but those who can’t face the past honestly run the risk of carrying on the ancestral damage rather than breaking the chain.
Beyond synastry and composite, I think Woody’s likely Sadgittarius Moon is a big factor in how he feels about his father. Sadgittarius Moons are often forgiving to the point of developing alternative narratives on people closest to them and situations they experienced.
I’ve had this happen in my own life, with otherwise “sane” people I know. The most stunning example is a friend who got stabbed by their significant other during a drunken brawl when they were in their late teens. They went to court for this, and the partner got a suspended conviction. Our group met them a couple of years later, and some people spent significant time trying to convince this friend the relationship was bad. I told people that this friend will only see light by falling for someone else – there’s a significant Sadgittarius/Pisces interaction on their chart. Almost 10 years later, the pair is still together. I don’t interact with the friend on daily bases anymore, or see them socially much, since we are at different age groups and points in our lives, but they are still close to other people I know, and these people still never “hang around” with the partner.
But I think this “false optimism” about people is even harder to break with family than in love relationships. Famous example would be Donald Trump and how he continues to see his reportedly emotionally and sometimes physically abusive father in such a different light than others. And now, Woody Harrelston.
That’s interesting. Thanks for that. The two Moon Sagittarius I know well do precisely that and it is irritating – a blank denial of what’s staring them in the face emotionally and which everyone else can see is damaging. And they get hostile when challenged about it.
Oddly enough I had a quick look and Sally Challen, who killed her coercive husband and was let out of prison recently as a domestic abuse victim, also has Moon Sagittarius. She put up with him for decades despite it being blindingly obvious he was no good for her.
Hah, just thought of another. That is astonishing. I’d never have put it down to their Moon sign. But this one even more than the other two I first thought of is staggeringly obtuse about a nasty, control-freak and crooked parent. None of the rest of the family think the same way.
Yes, interesting observation. My own experience with Sagittarian Moons is that they are not good judges of character, a sweeping generalisation I know. This is probably one of several ways that more Virgoan or Scorpionic types can sometimes find Sag Moons’ naive trust somewhat foolish – Virgoans tend to be more observant of tiny, give-away details and Scorpios don’t really trust anyone unless there is enough evidence to prove otherwise.