i wanted to write an astrology blog about the recent happenings with charlie sheen. i don’t watch tv or read the news- so my main form of news is word of mouth or Facebook (lol). i saw the headline about charlie sheen and HIV and knew a little about his history with addiction (drugs, sex, porn and more) so i read more to see what was going on.
i have to say his story is the epitome of saturn square neptune- he could be the poster child for what NOT to do (his past) and what one can do going forward in life by dealing with one’s past, healing and moving forward in life.
if you don’t know about his story google it. in short he has HIV and is saying he found out in may 2011 (when transiting saturn entered his 6th house of health and well being and his progressed jupiter stationed direct exact on may 17 2011- which may even be the exact date he found out!). according to him he just went public about it because he has shared this with a few people close to him who have been holding it over him and have been forcing him to pay them millions of dollars to keep quiet. he says he has told everyone he has been with since he found out that he has it. of course women are popping up saying otherwise- which makes the whole situation quite nebulous and difficult to discern who is telling the truth and what is a lie (very saturn square neptune!).
as an astrologer whenever a story about a celeb catches my eye i always find their chart and study it. i love seeing astrology in action- and have many times wanted to write about celebs but i have this whole thing that comes up about looking at someone’s chart without their permission. of course i know these people are choosing to be in the public and by signing up for fame you kind of have to agree to give up some of your privacy- yet i still i rarely write about celebs. and yet i have been feeling called to talk about some of the things i see in celeb/public figure’s chart- yet i am very clear that i want to focus on SPIRITUAL AWAKENING, WHOLENESS and HEALING. i am not interested in writing pop articles on people’s personal lives that if they read them would do them no good. so i am going into this pretending charlie will read this blog with a focus on how i could help him as a client navigate the minefield ahead (and boy does he have some intense transits a-coming).
so first of all we need to look at his natal chart to understand the seed potential of what he came in with and then look at where he is at today to see what choices he made along the path when it comes to choosing the Higher or lower expression of aspects in his natal chart (we ALL have Higher Selves and it is up to us and our free will choice if we are going embody that aspect of Self in our 3d physical experience).
charlie’s chart shows a couple things that stand out big time (i am using astro.com chart data- 9/3/65, 10:48pm, new york, NY). for one he has strong neptune in the chart- and neptune rules addiction, drugs, deception and denial. when one has strong neptune they are really sensitive and wide open- and if they don’t have the proper tools to deal with that sensitivity they will turn to substances and other forms of addiction to numb the self out. carl jung said that addicts are simply looking for Spirit- but they don’t realize it and so they turn to spirits (alcohol or drugs). this can definitely be the case for charlie. he has some strong spiritual signatures that when used for the Highest Good can express as deep compassion, mysticism, altruism and being of service. yet these same aspects when misused or repressed (because sensitivity and kindness is very often NOT seen as a good thing in men in our patriarchal western culture) they have a very different manifestation.
in his chart mercury squares his neptune and mars cojoins his neptune- so both his speech/communication and his actions/will/drive (and masculine expression) can go the lower route if he does not have a grounded spiritual practice upon which his foundation sits. mercury/neptune can be super deceptive, in denial, a compulsive or pathological liar and can even lie to the self so well they believe their own lies to be Truth. the Highest expression of this aspect plays out via compassionate, intuitive, sensitive communication. it’s great for creativity, inspiration and for acting no doubt.
mars/neptune is a rough aspect for a man. the Highest expression is the spiritual warrior and the one who puts his ideals into action. yet the shadow side of this expression is that neptune dissolves and weakness the will and this aspect is common in men that are sex/drug/alcohol addicts. the lower expression of mars/neptune is slippery, deceptive and delusional and is often seen in the charts of players, liars, addicts and men with deep pathology (of course when expressed consciously this shows up a lot in charts of spiritual teachers and healers!).
his sun in virgo is conjunct uranus and pluto (so he is a child of the uranus/pluto cycle that got seeded in the 60’s) and they are all opposite saturn and chiron, the wounded Healer. this is a HEAVY aspect configuration to have going on with one’s sun. the sun is your sense of self and identity and the outer planets, when not expressed and worked with consciously, have a tendency to take you down. with the intense sun configuration and mars/neptune- the first two planets we look at for masculine energy in the chart have lots of stuff going on with them. this points to his relationship with his father- who i know nothing about (and have not googled him) but i think it’s safe to say his relationship with him was rough and navigating that as a young child actually helped form his personal identity which in some ways is a reaction to the pain he felt back then and his means of trying to disconnect himself from feeling it all (which to a young child would have felt like the annihilation of self).
his moon is in optimistic sagittarius and is opposite his jupiter in gemini- which can show mom as super generous, funny and likely loving but also maybe overly permissive and only wanting to see the good in life, so not really addressing or dealing with the shadow. his ceres is in pisces as well- which tends to wear rose colored glasses and even play the victim- making his relationship to the feminine ideal but not necessarily real and grounded (and his venus is in libra to boot). this can speak to what kind of women he is drawn to- the deer in headlights, trusting, naive and innocent. he likely has a madonna/whore complex which is probably what drew him to porn stars and prostitutes because he could not integrate Love and sex in the same relationship in functional ways.
so now we look at the transits that have led to this confession. as i said- in may 2011 transiting saturn had just entered his 6th house of health and well being (and was going back and forth over the 6th house cusp all year in 2011), which is when he found out he had this disease. in 2006 pluto entered his 8th house of death, sexuality and the shadow- so i wonder if that is when he contracted it? i have no idea how long someone can have HIV without knowing it- so that may be too far back, but i did notice the transit and it popped out to me (NOTE: i googled about this after i wrote this article and you can have HIV for up to 10 years without knowing and before symptoms arise. the only way to truly know if you have HIV during this time is to get regular blood testing). because he was known for having sex with prostitutes and porn stars and doing lots of drugs- he no doubt had lots of opportunities to get this disease as well as GIVE IT to others (which comes with a lot of karma).
from 2011 to 2014 transiting saturn went over all his 6th house planets- venus in 2011, mars in 2012-2013 and neptune in 2013 to 2014. saturn in the 6th can bring karmic consequences to health/well being situations. likely he was being idealistic and in denial about the symptoms he had leading up to the discovery of this virus and only finally went in when things got really bad (he said he was having horrible headaches and he thought he had a brain tumor- which is what prompted him to go see the doctor).
as of this year many things have been converging to form the perfect storm for him to make this disclosure. first of all saturn moved into his 7th house of relationship and opposed his ascendant all year in 2015- and that transit brings major lessons and karmic consequences to deal with in relationships of all kinds. if you have been doing your work and staying in integrity saturn in the 7th is nothing to worry about- but if you have been cutting corners, lying, deceiving, hiding things- then saturn will out you. saturn rules his 9th house of Higher Self as well- so this is a call to step up and mature on a Soul level. his announcement implicates him but also implicates any woman who has had sex with him in the last 4 1/2 years. there are many women coming out about this right now (google for more info) and some are horrified and obviously shaken up (interestingly his interview with matt lauer on tuesday coincided with the sun/mercury conjunction in scorpio- which can be about shadow/hidden information coming to Light).
charlie is also going through his chiron return this year which is a very intense transit but also potentially deeply healing and awakening (it all depends on how we work with this transit). chiron return brings us back to the original source of the wound and in the last 2 years chiron has been triggering his sun/saturn/uranus/pluto/chiron opposition (chiron opposed his sun 2013-2014, cojoined his saturn 2014- early 2015, opposed his uranus/pluto 2014-early 2015, with chiron return going on this year and into spring of 2016). so he has been in a strong chiron frequency for the last 2 years- bringing up ALL his old wounds and pain from childhood around his identity and his relationship with his father. deep wounds and pain around being loved, being accepted, being understood and being good enough have likely surfaced and if he does not have a good therapist or healer to walk him through this- it can be a harrowing experience. this is a rough go of a transit- and honestly anyone going through it would have a hard time. yet we all have choice in how we deal with things. some people check out, do drugs, have lots of sex and try to avoid their pain (which will keep on coming back until one fully deals with it). others choose a Higher Path. i have a client who has this exact same configuration and she has been in therapy for a couple of years doing deep inner work and wading through her pain and wounds so she can fully feel, move through and heal what she is holding onto from her past. she is actually in quite an amazing place right now because of all the work she has done on herself!
the big configuration that is happening NOW that makes all of this make sense is the saturn/neptune square. charlie has had transiting neptune squaring his nodes all year long- forcing him to access if he is living his life honestly or if there is any delusion, deception or unTruth that he is living within. his north node is in gemini and his south node is in sagittarius- and both signs are in the pursuit of Truth and information and learning. yet mercury rules his north node and it’s square neptune- which can make the pursuit or expression of Truth a bit slippery. and with jupiter ruling his south node- his desire to see the glass as half full and see himself as the good guy dominates, which can cause someone to purposely ignore/deny/avoid looking at one’s own shadow.
saturn is heading to cojoin his karmic south node which is all about stepping up and taking responsibility for one’s own karma. saturn aligns with his mean south node on 12/12/15 and his true south node 12/14- so middle of december can be rough. both saturn and neptune trigger his sun opposite saturn in 2016 and 2017- which is a call for him to wake up, take personal responsibility, align with his integrity and face the consequences of his past actions WITHOUT playing the victim or martyr.
he commented to matt lauer that he hopes his coming out about this can help someone out there who is also living in fear of having HIV. i certainly hope so as well. but my advice to him would be to not run into being a hero/savior/martyr so fast- as he will be spiritually by passing his own shadow and the ONLY way he is going to heal and awaken to the next level is if he does this deeper, inner shadow work (and i recommend reading all books by robert masters- particularly ’to be a man’, ‘spiritual by passing’, ‘emotional intimacy’ and ‘knowing your shadow’ and ‘the anatomy and evolution of anger’- http://robertmasters.com). it’s wonderful to do this to help others- but make sure you are doing this for yourself so that you can help yourself. right now you need to focus all your altruism, compassion and fierce Love on you and the path you are navigating at the moment.
in charlie’s progressed chart his sun JUST moved into scorpio about 8 months ago- shifting his evolving sense of self into the depths and the shadows with deep potential for massive transformation (where his sun will be for the next 30 years). in addition he is in his last 4 1/2 months of his progressed dark moon- a very deep time where endings and karmic completion are the focus (and his progressed new moon will be in the first degree of scorpio to boot!). not everyone chooses to use scorpio energy/dark moon progressions for evolution, transformation and regeneration though. to do this one has to rise above their egoic desires and knee jerk reactions and impulsive responses to things. to rise like the phoenix (a scorpio symbol) one has to have previously been through the fire- and that is where he is right now. the fire can turn his base-metal self into gold or the fire can consume him. it’s up to him to choose which path to tread.
his coming transits don’t look easy or breezy- so he needs to have a solid spiritual practice and an amazing therapist to guide him (i recommend a depth psychologist or jungian analyst). my advice to him would be this: stop all substances including alcohol. start green juicing, clean up your diet, eat organic and little or no meat, start taking herbs (see an herbalist for which ones are best for you), learn to meditate, get involved with a support group (AA or something else), get an amazing therapist and find a spiritual tradition that speaks to you and get regularly involved with it. this massive life change you are being asked to make will require that you purify your life- in true virgo sun fashion. this means getting rid of substances, energies, people, attitudes, karmic patterns and experiences that are not high vibe and that pull you down. get a couple of friends that can reality check you and call you on your shit as well. those friends are worth their weight in gold.
his upcoming transits can be hard on his health if he does not take care of himself. neptune opposite the sun and saturn square it can be very difficult for one’s vitality, immunity and strength. in addition in 2017 transiting pluto will square his venus- ruler of his house of health AND located in his house of health. this could bring another health crisis, it could even bring death if he chooses to walk the wrong path. yet the Highest expression of pluto is a massive transformation in his health and well being, in his relationship with women and the feminine, and also in his spirituality. venus rules his intercepted 12th house- so pluto with venus can awaken him to a deeper awareness of Who He Really Is which will make it very clear who he is not and who he never wants to be again.
the guiding principle for charlie in the years to come must be integrity, honesty and telling the Truth at any cost. you have come out to share this with the world. please do not omit certain things and cover up things that might make you look worse with lies. this costs you and the Soul would rather die than live out of integrity (which is likely part of why your Soul choose the experience you are having to begin with- it’s an opportunity to wake up). you have the potential in your natal chart to rise up and be an example for others. it is up to you to choose that path right now.
sending many blessings to you as you navigate your journey….
~divine harmony
PLEASE NOTE:
i am adding a few details as i have explored the charts further and as i find new info i will also list it here below for those who have already read the article and just want to see the new info
1) i noticed in charlie’s progressed chart that on may 17 2011 his progressed jupiter, ruler of his karmic south node and descendant (house of relationship) stationed retrograde. jupiter opposes his moon and is part of his larger than life/excess indulgence personality. jupiter stationed retrograde during the month he apparently found out out his HIV status- and it’s even likely that he found on the exact day of the station (this often happens with direct and retrograde stations in the progressed chart)
2) i look at both his parents charts. his father is a sun and moon in leo (new moon) conjunct mars in leo- his mother is a cancer with mars and jupiter conjunct in leo as well. he has two very strong leo/mars parents- and in his chart his sun (ruler of leo) and mars are under duress by outer planet conjunctions and oppositions. i am not making any conjecture about this but am noticing that where his chart has trouble is what both of his parents have a lot of (particularly his father).
3) i started to google articles about charlie and found that people think he is a narcissist and even a sociopath. in my experience you cannot tell the latter from a natal chart definitively. yes there are potential signatures but there is always the Higher expression those signatures can take and the lower expression. for all charts i look at- you HAVE to take into account consciousness and free will choice. the same chart can be lived two different people with different levels of consciousness and can be taken to very different extremes. that is why i always prefer to do chart readings with the person in front of me or on the phone. a chart reading is a conversation. with celebs you can see a bunch of stuff going on for them because they are in the public eye but there are always things going on behind the scenes that you will never know about. if i were doing a consult with charlie i would get very deep into his childhood and what went on there and i would also ask him about his dreams to see what kind of imagery he was consistently seeing as a kid and also later as an adult to assess what kinds of Unconscious things he was dealing with that connect into his chart. this would help me understand the hidden him more- and would help me help him (if he wanted any help).