Michael Jackson and the Astrology of Time

by Isabelle Ghaneh

Astrology is based on timing. The question of time is at the core of its existence. When something occurs, an inauguration, a start of a company, a move-in date for a new home, or the birth of a child, there is a specific time at which this event takes place. The astrology for that person, place or thing evolves from the time of that event. It is its signature. In a child's birth, the natal chart is born along with that child's first breath. An event chart is a chart set up for the time of an event; for its beginning or birth. It is in effect the birth chart for that undertaking or enterprise. As such, it can be progressed, have a solar return, and transits may be applied as time goes on.

Michael Jackson's (August 29, 1958; 11:43 pm; Gary, IN - chart left) Neverland Ranch, Santa Barbara, California (chart right), was raided by a team of investigators armed with a search warrant and an arrest warrant at approximately 8:30 am on November 18, 2003. Looking at the event chart that was born at the time of the raid, a very interesting pattern is immediately apparent. The first thing that hits my eye is Pluto at 18 degrees of Sagittarius directly on the ascendant. Next I notice that Venus is conjunct both of them at 19 degrees of Sagittarius.

Pluto on the ascendant of a chart is power personified. Pluto is the mythological ruler of the underworld, the keeper of dark secrets. In astrology Pluto is in charge of atomic power. Symbolically as the natural ruler of Scorpio, Pluto is the phoenix bird rising from the ashes of his own self destruction. Pluto placed directly on an angle of the chart i.e, the first, fourth, seventh or tenth houses, is a force to be reckoned with. Coupled with Venus, the planet of love, lust and desire, the emotions can be so intense they reach the breaking point.

I look further along and I see the Moon is at the top on the chart in the ninth house at 14 degrees of Virgo. It is conjunct Jupiter and opposite Mars at 15 degrees of Pisces in the third house. I then decide to compare Michael's birth chart to the event chart I have just done for the time of the raid. This is called synastry and it involves the comparison of two, or possibly more charts with each other, to see how the energies blend together and the impact they have on one another.

In Michael Jackson's birth chart I see that his Moon is at 17 degrees of Pisces. In the chart comparison, Michael's Moon is conjunct Mars and opposite to the Moon in tightly orbed aspects. These aspects tell a story in itself. With a Mars/Moon/Jupiter interaction at cross purposes to itself, the qualities apparent are anger, rage and aggression, along with an overwhelming sense of emotional distress. The signs involved in this aspect, Pisces and Virgo, further emphasize the heightened emotions felt by the native of the chart in question. Pisces stands for watery, diffused emotion while Virgo can be very obsessive in its' thinking and actions. Could this mean that Michael Jackson's feelings and thought processes are something he cannot really get a handle on, since he is so bound to his obsessions, even if he doesn't want to be?

One last thing pops out at me in studying these two charts. Saturn, the universal karma teacher and dues payer, is at 19 degrees of Sagittarius in Michael's birth chart. That is directly conjunct the event chart's ascendant with its Pluto/Venus conjunction. Saturn is where we are limited in expression, unable to show our feelings freely, and as such it is the planet of repression. Repressing one's feelings and instincts, especially if they are of a nature we are ashamed of, is not going to make them go away. It will only cause them to erupt again and again. The more we stuff them down, the more they pop up. Facing them, and getting the help needed in dealing with them, including therapy if it is called for, is the only way to deal with the issue.

In astrology, as in life, the aspects, planets and signs all tell a story, and it is a very old story, one that is based on the human condition. That is why the words still ring true and can be counted on to tell the tale, 4000 years after the first Magi in the middle east began to decipher their codes.

Click on titles to see articles

Front Page ***Saddam Captured by Deborah Houlding***The Butler, the Princess and the Book by Isabelle Ghaneh***Funding Sought for Astrological Film by Adel Ather***The Beagle has Landed by Chris Mitchell ***Data Section by David Fisher***Faculty Events 2004 - by Peta High***Predestination and Free Will - April 2004 by Nick Kollestrom***Michael Jackson and the Astrology of Time by Isabelle Ghaneh***Submissions to Transit***AA Website