Whitney Houston – dead at 48

Very sad news indeed. Another Diva has left us well before her time.

[Click on the image for a larger view of Whitney Houston's chart - click outside the image to close]

Whitney Houston’s birth details are:
9 August 1963, Newark,
New Jersey +4hrs

Both her Ascendant (self) and Midheaven (career) are ruled by Jupiter, the greater benefic. At the same time, Jupiter (greatness) aspects the Midheaven indicating career success. Jupiter also sits at the bendings of the Moon’s nodes. Kevin Burk, in The Complete Node Book (2003), says: “…. a planet that is ‘at the bending’ must be given careful consideration, because that planet, and the issues associated with it, will tend to take center stage repeatedly in the individual’s life.” This is further enhanced by the luminaries, ie. the Sun (in Leo – in rulership) and Moon, in aspect to the Midheaven. She is destined to both shine (Sun) and be in the public eye (Moon). Note that this fiery Jupiter in Aries is stationary so it’s influence is intensified, and, accompanied by the Moon, emotions are exaggerated. While success came easily she couldn’t accept it – it proved too overwhelming for her.

Jupiter specifically sits at the south bending of the nodes showing difficulty with self expression and the internalisation of events in her life. Like the South Node, this placement invites her to sacrifice something, to give it away freely. How does one internalise a fiery Jupiter or express it freely? Perhaps not very well on both counts. She was certainly known for her cantankerous, diva-like behaviour, which is supported by Jupiter trine the Sun conjunct Venus in drama-queen Leo.

The line in one of her best known songs – “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all” – proved to be so true for her. Yet a lack of self-love was clearly shown in her chart. She has Chiron in the first house conjunct Neptune – self love was something that eluded her. Mars in Libra (detriment) rules the 2nd house of self-esteem describing someone who put her partner before herself, as well as being prone to self-destructive behaviour. And her Moon (needs) is ruled by that badly-behaved Mars. The Sun, while powerful in the sign of Leo, is situated in and rules the house of illness. Therefore Sun-Venus is prone to heartache, so her health and confidence were strongly affected by her relationships. Her tempestuous marriage to Bobby Brown would have taken its toll.

Pisces rising finds the world a harsh place. Injustice and suffering upsets their sensitve natures, and they have a tendency to martyr themselves. Chiron in her first house may have taken this more personally than even she realised, and in contact with Neptune the energies surrounding her were freely absorbed. No one would enjoy being in this position. Did she know what to do about it? Perhaps to put a ‘cap’ on it she turned to drugs, an instant fix. Alcohol is effective at creating a barrier to block out psychic energy. It also builds esteem, albeit false bravado or ‘dutch-courage’. The trouble is, the block also dissolves our ‘normal’ self-set boundaries alerting us to danger. Drugs and alcohol and water do not mix well …

There were few indicators that such an event was likely to occur. However, when planets transit the 8th house there is always a possibility of a meeting or close encounter with the grim reaper. On the 12th, the Moon ingressed into Scorpio (endings) whilst in Whitney’s 8th house (death). Concurrently, she is in a Sun firdaria, sub period Moon. Natal Sun is in the house of health and the Moon is in the house of self. The danger to her health was clearly there at the time she climbed into the bath.

Rest in peace Whitney.

PS. Where did her extraordinary and powerful voice come from?
1. Angular Mercury 2. in rulership in Virgo 3. conjunct Pluto. Her voice was technically perfect but she suffered for her talent – this conjunction was opposed by Chiron (the primal and incurable wound).

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