Chart of Mystery Man #1  26 January 1955  1:05 AM  Amsterdam, Netherlands

What grabs your eye right away? That often ends up being something key to understanding the chart, and here it’s no exception; if you’re like me, Neptune in the 12th only one minute from the Ascendant is what caught your attention. This suggests to me a Neptunian quality to this individual’s essence, one that hooks the personality to the Collective, almost in tandem–this man was meant to express something ideal or creative through his individuality that is right in line with a statement of the Collective spirit–and this suggests a timeliness to the expression, where the individual is instrumental in bringing something ‘of the moment’ into being. Neptune is opposed Sedna, though, and that suggests that, though the individual takes to his Neptunian role like a duck to water, he’s really unaware of the true extent of his ability! Neptune rules his 5th, suggesting his role is both creative and a labor of love.

The 2nd, seat of his assets. is ruled by Pluto, which sits in the 10th of career–this suggests both the ability to be known specifically for one’s talent, and to make a lot of money at it (Pluto can be connected to serious money wherever we find it). Pluto is conjunct Zeus–in someone with fewer positive attributes, this could read as ‘naked ambition’, but in this man it manifested in career focus that took him to the top. The 2nd also holds Pallas, Venus, and Ceres–again, money, wisdom (perhaps in the guise of a smart woman at his side), and access to nature, this latter a connection that can give someone a ‘primal’ edge, and so make them very appealing.

The article also noted Chiron as indicating abilities, and his is at 29 Capricorn 51, conjunct the Sun in the 3rd, opposed the Jupiter/ Uranus conjunction of the 9th and quincunx 10th House Zeus; Chiron in Cappy suggests a practical or ‘applied’ bent to the talents, with conjunction to the Sun making it integral to identity (indeed, the 29 degree placement says Chiron expression is a must, and so lends some urgency and feeling to what might’ve otherwise been a too-cool Aquarian Sun). Tucked near the IC, though, Chiron/ Sun says he doesn’t need the spotlight–bringing the talent forward is really about communicating who he is. Jupiter/ Uranus conveys luck in a lightning-strike kind of way–Jupiter rules the 3rd, Uranus rules the 4th, reiterating the communication/ identity focus, and ruler of both these, the Moon, sits in the 4th in Aquarius, conjunct Mercury–again, deepest Self and communication as a focus, and with the 3rd/ 4th so much involved, we might expect that family, specifically the father or a sibling, has something to do with this–and they do.

The unconscious influences are creative (Neptune in 12th), influenced by the Self-worth picture and the assets/ talents (12th ruler Venus in the 2nd), with a need to communicate at a ‘higher order’ level, and/ or the need to be original, surprising, and inventive. Partnership is a big part of this (Libra on the 12th) Of all the Neptunian Arts, music might be the one we would call ‘highest level’, with its correspondence to mathematics, and if you guessed music is this man’s field, you are correct. He is capable of putting the brakes on, and of Self-discipline when need be (Saturn in the 1st, which has a lot of contacts to other energies).

What about his audience–what do they want from him? The 7th says energy, drive, ‘manly’ performance, while the 10th says that power and desire are visible to all, as is his essence, with the Sun ruling the 10th–people see him, and approve his efforts toward ambition fulfillment, fame and fortune. Nice if you can get it, right?

After a period of big and relatively long-lasting success, this man’s band went through some difficulties and some decline–and once they’d retreated somewhat from their more prominent status this man suffered cancer of the tongue–are we surprised, considering the emphasis on Merc and communication, the conjunction of Mercury with the Moon, and Pluto’s opposition to these? No, we’re not; illness in a part of the body representative of something critical to life expression is not uncommon with a sensitive individual when the road gets rough–and we can’t overlook the influence of the father here, as when this musician early on complained of extreme pre-performance nerves (a perfect expression of an anxious Aquarian Sun) the father (remember the family/ 3rd/ 4th emphasis) told him to just have a drink to calm his nerves–thus precipitating a serious substance abuse habit, again, not surprising with Neptune right there in everything he does. And there’s more family involvement, as this man formed his band with his brother.

Commenter Dunyazade got the power in his field part very right, along with the way his Art got this man into (substance abuse) trouble, and Aphelionex was right top to bottom–impressive!–kudos to both of you! And Donna Davidson didn’t waste time; she went straight to the answer, correctly naming this the chart of Eddie Van Halen.

Will discuss the 2nd chart tomorrow. Many thanks to those who participated! And don’t miss the subscription specials, listed below–

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