He was weird and wonderful – a unique hybrid of showman and alien. When David Bowie passed, just two days after his January 8 birthday, I ran to look up his chart. What made him so quirky and brilliant? And there it was: Leo Moon (the flashy performer) exactly opposed his Aquarius Ascendant (the outsider). His showy Leo instincts demanded to be seen and heard, but his changeable Aquarius persona ensured that he’d keep everybody guessing. Bowie also had a shy, brainy Sun-Mercury Capricorn in the hidden 12th house. No wonder he liked to disappear into characters like Ziggy Stardust, his version of a doomed rock star that helped put him on the map.
In wild-and-free 1969, after adopting the name of a fighting knife, 22-year-old Bowie sliced straight through pop culture and made his mark. His single, Space Oddity (inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey) became the BBC’s theme song for its coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. By 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust made Bowie a superstar. Whether as The Man Who Fell to Earth, the Elephant Man, or Jareth the Goblin King, he was always way outside the norm. I particularly liked him as ahead-of-his-time inventor Nikola Tesla in The Prestige.
Released on his birthday, Bowie’s last album, Blackstar, threw him into the spotlight once again. He’d been battling cancer for 18 months and must have known his time was near. Lazarus, his macabre swan song (the video features him writhing in bed, swathed in bandages) captured him a Top 40 slot for the first time in 28 years.
Amazingly, all this attention has been happening just prior to tomorrow’s Leo Full Moon. Exact on Bowie’s 3 degree moon, it lights up the opposition to his Aquarius Ascendant. Here’s how the talented performer once expressed this polarity: “For me as an artist it wasn’t just about expressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute in some way to the culture I was living in.” Mission accomplished.
At this Full Moon (Jan. 23, 5:46 p.m. PST), consider: Are you contributing your unique talents to the culture you live in? If not, the time is at hand. On Jan. 25, mover-and-shaker Mercury turns direct, and the Year of the Monkey swings in to liven things up at the Aquarius New Moon on Feb. 8. We’re gearing up for a lot of fresh movement – so polish up your special gifts and show us what you’ve got!
Dear Simone, Happy New Year to you! Thank you for this wonderful profile/synthesis of Davie Bowie’s essence, persona and contributions to many cultures and cultural forms! I deeply appreciate your pithy, upbeat astroalchemical forecast. Blessings and joy, Elizabeth
Dear Elizabeth, I am so happy that you enjoyed it! I since found out that Bowie was also a major contributor to causes he believed in – true to his Aquarius rising! Many blessings back to you…Simone