Prince (1958 – 2016)

The world is reeling from yet another high profile celebrity death, and Prince not even reaching his 60s.

The Birthchart

His was a high energy chart, with Sun in Gemini (mental energy; he could play an indeterminate number of musical instruments), Ascendant in Scorpio (emotional drive) and Mars at 0 degrees Aries (primal physical energy). Mercury was sextile Mars, lending extra vigour to his mind and mental expression.

His Moon was trine exactly Neptune, conferring an exquisite emotional sensitivity.  The Moon was also opposite Pluto, giving a dark side to his emotions too.

With Pluto as his Ascendant ruler, the Midheaven exactly conjunct Pluto in his 10th House of Career carries an extraordinary amount of weight and emphasis in his chart.  He was deliberately enigmatic, and not so much in a Neptunian way, but in the sense of the Pluto journey, plumbing the depths of the psyche, on a journey that was sometimes dark.  Pluto in that position also points to the theme of reinvention and rebirth on his life path.  The Pluto/Midheaven conjunction (his Persona) is at the very end of Leo, signifying a dramatic completion of a creative cycle: an ultimate performer.

Terryn Hall, writing in the Observer this morning, says: “he was always looming in the back of my  musical memory as something dark and unknowable….his music exposed me to a masculine sensuality that allowed a space for vulnerability, ambiguity and fluidity.”

Early Days

He was born in Minneapolis, and established his home and studio there (Paisley Park, Chanhassen) in later life. Both his parents were involved with music, but especially his father John Lewis Nelson, whose birth date we have.  It reveals a very strong bond between father and son, with 5 exact trines between their planets.  His father is quoted as saying: “”I named my son Prince because I wanted him to do everything I wanted to do”.

The Moon is conjunct the I.C. in his 4th House, showing the importance of his family roots.  His parents separated when he was 10, and he lived with each alternately.

Much has been made of his androgyny, which is one of the qualities of Gemini (the other sign associated with androgyny, but even more so, is Aquarius).  His attitude to love relationships was bound to be complicated, with Venus exactly square Uranus (the ruler of Aquarius) and opposite Neptune.

Jupiter sextile exactly Saturn was a useful aspect in order to balance his many activities, and enable him to make quick decisions which were true for him.  Saturn trine Pluto in addition gave him great strength, and enabled him to wrestle control over his career (Saturn trine Midheaven).

His karmic mission, as depicted by Jupiter/North Node/Neptune conjunct in the private 12th House, is both spiritual and religious in nature.  Pluto sextile exactly North Node magnified the power of this, and contributed to his status as an icon.

Career

He released his first album on 7th April 1978, when he was 20.  Jupiter was exactly contacting his potent Midheaven/Pluto/North Node patter: it was sextile exactly his natal Pluto and Midheaven, and trine exactly his natal North Node.  He had found his career and his karmic mission, at the same time, with Jupiter boosting success.

In 1982 he looked to the Millennium for inspiration and came up with the album 1999:

“{Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you
I only want you to have some fun}

I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin’, could’ve sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple, there were people runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ to run from the destruction, you know I didn’t even care

Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s nineteen ninety-nine”

Apparently, the song was about nuclear proliferation.

In 1984, he produced the record “Purple Rain”, possibly his most powerful song of all.  The colour was henceforth to be associated with him.  Perhaps he picked up the baton from Jimi Hendrix, who sang “Purple Haze”, and Prince’s guitar playing has often been compared to the work and technique of Hendrix.  Purple is one of the colours associated with Scorpio, Pluto and death and transformation.

The lyrics echo those of 1999, but the emotional power of the song and melody is deeper:

“I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

I only want to see you bathing in the purple rain”

Regeneration

Partly as an effort to free himself from the slavery of his record company, he changed his name in 1993 to the symbol, which represented his sexual balancing and fusion.  His Progressed Sun a the time was at the end of the 8th House square natal Jupiter in the 12th House of Privacy.

In a 1997 interview by Susie Boone, only today released by the Observer, he reveals some of his process:

“The reason I changed my name was because I heard a voice telling me to. Was it god’s voice? Who knows. It may have been some higher self, maybe god, or maybe someone within me. It was a very frightening time. I was thinking, if I accept this voice, what will it mean? But slowly, gradually, I started to get the answers. And the answer was, this is who I should be.”

 “I know my life changed from that point. That’s why I am now happy. It was at that time, when I changed my name, that I started to understand how to master happiness”

The Astrology of the time shows Pluto opposing his Saturn, forcing transformation, but Jupiter sextile his natal Chiron and Saturn trine his natal Chiron, urging him towards a healing wholeness.

Religion

In 2001, inspired by a friend, he officially became a Jehovah’s Witness.  In his natal chart, he has Uranus in his 9th House of religion, which often brings about religious conversion for people who have this placing.  He referred to the event however as a “realization.”

In the 1997 interview, he talks a little about his religious feelings:

” ‘That time has been the most traumatic of my life’ prince acknowledges, ‘but contrary to what has been said about me, I feel very positive. I believe God has a plan. Everything that happens, there’s a reason for it’ “.

His natal Jupiter/North Node/Neptune triple conjunction in 12th House speaks of uniting and reconciling religion and spirituality.  Jupiter was trine this triple conjunction in that year.

Energy and Creativity

The 5th House speaks of Creativity and Children.  He has Mars there, in Aries, which shows the energy of his Creativity.  It also hints at the sexual nature of some of his lyrics, though he said: “People hear the sex in my songs much more than I ever write it”.  He has a link with Jimi Hendrix’ energy, in that Jimi’s Mars was exactly conjunct Prince’s Ascendant in Scorpio.

Mars in his 5th House also represents the one boy child he had, who sadly died very young from Pfeiffer’s syndrome.  Boone asked Prince about this and Prince said “there are so many ways to look at things. And I would never use the words ‘they’re gone’. They will always come back, you see.”

Promotion of Other Singers

Prince wrote many beautiful songs for other artists, for example “Manic Monday” for the Bangles, and “Nothing Compares to You” recorded by Sinead O’Connor.  “Kiss” was very profitably recorded by Tom Jones.  He also promoted Mica Paris and Sheila E, among others.  A Scottish lass named Sheena Easton recorded his song “Sugar Walls” (criticized for its explicit lyrics) and duetted with him on “U Got the Look”.  With positive and powerful links between their charts, she achieved great success and made her home in the U.S.

 Death

 Found slumped in a lift at Paisley Park, his death is still a mystery, pending a post mortem.  He had been suffering from a ‘flu-like illness.  Mars was trine natal Uranus absolutely exact to the minute;  Saturn was opposite his natal Sun, and Uranus from 6th House of Health opposed his natal Jupiter in 12th House. In addition,  Pluto was sextile his natal Ascendant on the 3rd House cusp.

 From another planet?

It has been suggested that he may have derived his inspiration from another planet, or even came from another planet.  His Sun is aligned with the Fixed Star Rigel in the constellation of Orion, but I feel more importantly his Midheaven/Pluto exact conjunction is aligned with Regulus in the constellation of Leo.  Regulus means “Little King” and was associated with royalty in the ancient world.

” ‘A strong spirit transcends rules,’ Prince once said, – and nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder or more creative.”

~ Barack Obama