Astro-analysis of George Michael's death (& life) - a "stellar overdrive"!

George Michael - "Exposurephotos"

Superstar Yorgos Panayiotou (George Michael's true greek-cypriot name) left the earthy dimensions on the very Christmas day - ironically, as his "Last Christmas" super hit was torrentially playing and airing all over the planet - and vanished into the ethereal (that he so much longed to artistically reach)!


His was an unexpected, untimed death that shocked the masses. So the average astrologer would normally search for some clamorous transits and progressions that "caused" Michael's death: say a transiting Pluto or the ruler of the Eighth House aspecting his "Lights", his progressed Moon located in his Eighth House or something in that line. But surprisingly s/he will find none of these! Regarding his transits and progressions, there is no major "death causing"configuration in George Michael's chart on the day of his death! That seems to be a major incongruence...So, is astrology wrong after all? No it's not! Our divine art is just outsmarting us once more!

Let's start from the beginning. In my opinion, the most important planet in George Michael's chart is his Moon! Being a Cancer, his Moon is playing a very important role in his horoscope (the Moon is ruling the sign of Cancer). But his Ascendant is Cancer once more and this makes his Moon even more important, as it is now becoming the ruler of his entire horoscope! That's why he had such an easiness to communicate with the masses, to touch the souls of the people with his songs, to carry them away into a "sea of emotions". You may see Michael's natal chart below:

His chart attests to the fact that he was a very sensitive person, both because he had a "watery" Cancer Sun and because his Sun simultaneously fell in the "uber sensitive" 12th House of his chart (not to mention that his  Mercury and his Venus were falling in that 12th House too)! Most probably, he was often feeling that he "did not belong", that he was a somehow secluded, misunderstood and essentially unloved individual. His otherwise aristocratic, artistic and well placed Moon (in Leo, in his 2nd House) was not helping him in that sense, because it is receiving a hard opposition aspect from the - often depressive - Saturn (as a matter of fact, he was diagnosed with depression!) Now we better understand why he was so often resorting to drugs, as he was seeking to cope with the pain and sorrow he was feeling inside. 

Let me show you now an oddity that occurred in Michael's chart the day he died. As we can see above, his pivotal natal Moon is located at the 20th degree of Leo (actually, it is the 21st degree but never mind that). Let's put now in the scene his so called "tri-wheel" (his progressions and transits) for the moment of his demise:

The very inner chart represents George's natal chart. The chart in the middle represents his progressions for the moment of his death and the outer chart the transits for that very moment. Just look for a couple of minutes at this "tri-wheel", sweep it over if you can with your eyes. If you are a good observer you will notice that there are six more progressed/transiting planets located at the 20th degree of their respective signs!

1. Progressed Mercury at the 20th degree of Virgo
2. Transiting Jupiter at the 20th degree of Libra
3. Transiting Saturn at the 20th degree of Sagittarius
4. Transiting Venus at the 20th degree of Aquarius
5. Transiting Uranus at the 20th degree of Aries  
6. Progressed Venus at the 20th degree of Leo - perfectly conjuncting his Moon!

Now, that's quite a rarity! Six (progressed or transiting) planets located at the very same 20th degree (and we are not counting here the progressed planets Jupiter and Saturn, falling short of the 20th degree by just mere minutes of arc - nor the transiting Moon that might very well be close to the 20th degree Scorpio) definitely constitute a planetary "over-tuning"! And what is the focus of this "over-tuning" in Michael's chart? His natal Moon at the 20th degree of Leo of course! So, on the Christmas day of 2016 too much planetary energies were focused upon the superstar's vital Moon! Too much excitement for him, to say the least...

But there is more to it. On that fatal day Michael's progressed Venus was perfectly conjuncting his Moon (in a partile aspect)! This seems to be a very sweet, docile conjunction (maybe he died in some quiet and serene manner). But in reality Venus is not that "docile" in the superstar's chart. You see, Venus is the ruler of the zodiacal sign of Taurus. But in George's chart the sign of Taurus is what we call "intercepted" (it is entirely comprised in the 11th House, with no House cusp crossing it). This denotes a deep rooted blockage and possibly an inherent inability of some kind! Scorpio is also intercepted, representing some sexual - intimacy blockage. According to Joanne Wickenberg (who developed the theory) the outlet for such blockages is provided by the so called "duplicated" signs (Leo and Aquarius in Michael's case, meaning that his outlets were creativity in general, the extravaganzas, the unconventional and unorthodox). 

What I am saying here is that in Michael's chart both Venus and Pluto are rulers of "intercepted signs" and as such might have some unusual attributes. This means that the partile conjunction of his progressed Venus to his natal Moon should not be interpreted just in the usual way but under some new, insightful perspective as well.

Of course, if one over-scrutinizes Michael's "death tri-wheel" s/he will eventually find (there are many "all finding" astrologers) several "death configurations" in it (i.e. transiting Mars and North Node aspecting his deadly Uranus - Pluto duet - with Uranus being the ruler of his Eighth House. Progressed Saturn in the Eighth, transiting Uranus over his natal Jupiter or transiting Neptune opposing his natal Pluto or any near eclipse over his vital points). Well, these configurations might have their own merit but they are not giving us the full picture. Because ultimately the astrological study of George Michael's death grows to a study of the "over-tuning" of the planetary energies (regardless of the quality of the aspects they are forming) and to the study of the rather neglected theory of the so called "intercepted" and "duplicated" signs. The "all finding" astrologers might learn something out of it!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis

All relative data from astro.com