Ronnie Spector (1943 – 2022)

“Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humour and a smile on her face.  She was filled with love and gratitude. Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.”

~ The Spector Family

Lead singer of the Ronettes, Ronnie Spector, died this week, on 12th January.  Her ex-husband Phil Spector, who wrote many of their hit records, died on 16th January last year.  He helped showcase her talent, and then married her, kept her imprisoned, and stopped her from performing.  She eventually escaped and lived her own life.

Birth Chart

With the Sun in Leo, she was always going to be the lead singer, even when she started out amongst her family.  Her sister (Estelle) and cousin (Nedra) came to form the Ronettes with her.  Her Sun/North Node  squared Mars, in her chart, giving her Warrior energy – she certainly seemed a brave soul, with attitude.  With the Sun closely conjunct the karmic North Node in Performing Leo, her life path tended to be very fated.  She had several aspects to her Moon, but their exactitude is not known, as there is no birth time for her.  However, she was close to her mother (the Moon), and it was her mother who helped her to escape barefoot from Spector’s “prison”.  Her Mercury exactly square Uranus was not afraid of controversy, and Mercury’s conjunction with Chiron lent itself to problem-solving.  Part of her sparkle was her close Venus-Mars trine, which expressed great sensuality.  At the same time, Saturn squared her Venus, and she encountered disappointments in her love relationships: in a BBC interview she expressed no regrets about her career, but a dry irony when talking about her relationships.  Jupiter was exactly sextile her natal Uranus, so she had an eye for an opportunity, and made the most of life.  Jupiter closely conjunct Pluto contributed great personal power.  Indeed, she had a very well-aspected Jupiter, which was part of her success.

Life and Career

Ronnie was born Veronica Bennett in Manhattan, of mixed heritage: African American, Cherokee, and Irish.

I wrote about Ronnie in my blog about Phil Spector a year ago:

“In the early 1960s, he worked with the Ronettes, and was responsible for their big romantic hits.  The Ronettes consisted of two sisters and a cousin, who wore distinctive beehive hairdos and well defined eyeliner (interestingly, Amy Winehouse, a fan of Phil Spector, adopted the beehive).  Their honeyed-toned hits included Be My Baby, Baby I Love You, (The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up and (my own personal favourite) Walking in the Rain.

The lead singer of the Ronettes, Veronica Bennett, or Ronnie Spector as she came to be called, married Phil Spector in 1968. She became a captive in her own home, and eventually escaped barefoot with the help of her mother in 1972.  Her synastry with Phil Spector shows: Her Sun on his I.C. (for a time, he made her his emotional foundation), her Saturn square his natal Mars (an abrasive contact), Saturns exactly sextile (some conducive working together) and his Jupiter opposite her Neptune (triggering his delusional side).”

Phil Spector

The two married on 14th April 1968, and lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills, which is when Phil’s controlling behaviour became more intense.  At the time, Saturn was trine Ronnie’s Sun/North Node (being controlled in a karmic situation), Pluto transited her natal Venus (a sinister turn in a relationship); for him, Chiron was on his Jupiter (bringing out the megalomania of his natal Jupiter trine Pluto), and Uranus transited his natal Neptune in Virgo in his 4th House, ratcheting up his obsessiveness.

After she escaped, Ronnie tried to rebuild her career, and fought in the courts for years for her share of royalties.  Later she found lasting happiness marrying her manager Jonathan Greenfield in 1982, and they had two sons.

Brian Wilson

The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were close to Ronnie when their careers were building.  And notably, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys greatly admired Phil Spector at the outset of his career.  Apparently, he nearly crashed his car when he first heard “Be My Baby”.  He later declared it “the greatest record ever produced. No one will ever top that one.” He attempted to write a version from the male point of view: the result was Don’t Worry Baby, a hauntingly beautiful song, with a similar structure.  He intended it to be sung by Ronnie, whom he also admired.  However, Phil did not allow that to happen, because he had not written it.  Ronnie sings it on one of the excerpts in the programme “Ronnie Spector at the BBC”, which is still available on I Player.  I watched it, and sang along (and cried!) this week.  The Beach Boys subsequently recorded it themselves, and Brian declared it “Probably the best record we’ve done”.  Brian Wilson and Ronnie Spector remained lifelong friends.  Their synastry included her Mars exactly conjunct his Venus (Love and Music).

His tribute to her this week was among the most beautiful:

I just heard the news about Ronnie Spector and I don’t know what to say. I loved her voice so much and she was a very special person and a dear friend. This just breaks my heart. Ronnie’s music and spirit will live forever. Love & Mercy, Brian”

Zendaya

Apparently, there is a biopic in production, based on Ronnie’s 1990 autobiography “Be My Baby: How I survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness”.  The singer Zendaya has been chosen to play Ronnie.  As Zendaya’s Neptune is exactly trine Ronnie’s Neptune,  it could be a sensitive portrayal.

Showing my age, they don’t make songs like that any more…! And no one sang them quite like Ronnie Spector.

“Every song is a little piece of my life. I’m just a girl from the ghetto who wanted to sing.”

~ Ronnie Spector, 2007

Aspects

 Three men (Mars) seemingly caught out (square) lying (Neptune) and rule-breaking last week had to face the music under the Mars-Neptune square.  This morning, Novak Djokovic was deported back from Australia to Serbia.  Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign for partying when everyone else was religiously self-isolating under his government’s rules last year.  And Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles by the Queen, so that he can defend his sexual abuse case as a private citizen.

Moving on to this week, we have a profound conjunction between the Sun and Pluto at 26 degrees Capricorn today.  There may be more drama to be played out today.  Certainly Novak Djokovic has had a dramatic outcome to this week’s struggles, and says he will consider his position before commenting.  He represents his country, but also the anti-vaccine community.  Today could be a profound wake-up call, both personally and collectively.  Practicing meditation and calming techniques would be a good way to proceed on the day as the deeper issues of life come up for assessment.  Any creativity will have depth to it, and you won’t be able to skim the surface of things. But you will emerge the richer for it.

In the late evening of tomorrow (Monday 17th), there is a Full Moon in Cancer.  The mood may build throughout the day, until we register the emotional tension of this opposition with the Sun Capricorn, which takes place at 27 degrees Cancer, a high tide of emotion.  Tears may flow in private or public, as this is one of the most emotional of the Full Moons in the astrological year.  In your personal life, you may be torn between personal and professional loyalties.

Tuesday (18th) may bring good news, as Uranus is Stationary, prior to turning Direct.  it is a good time to do all  you can to alleviate any collective, tribal, or social difficulties which you can see.  Closer to home, you may see what could be done in the family setting, or in the community.   Intuition will flow better, and future vision come into view.  However, the trickster element of Uranus may still be in evidence.

The True North Node moves from Gemini to Taurus on Wednesday (19th), as it moves backwards.  This brings the karmic emphasis from the mental plane to a more material emphasis.  It is interesting that Boris Johnson’s communication karma is now coming home to roost.  So the next 18 months will be about getting the right alignment karmically in relation to economy and material values.  The Sun is also trine the North Node on that day, highlighting that for us.

The Sun enters Aquarius on Thursday (20th), bolstering the Aquarian and Uranian energy, like a new broom sweeping clean.  We become more aware of the needs of the collective, and more inclined to act on behalf of the underdog.  We are open to more futuristic avenues of expression.

On Friday (21st) the Sun is aligned with a major Fixed Star Altair, the Alpha star in the constellation of Aquila (the Eagle).  Bernadette Brady lists the qualities of courage and success under this star.  Fashion designer Paco Rabanne has distant past life recall of coming from a crystal planet orbiting Altair.   “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld equates it with overcoming obstacles:

“This essence can be used for encouragement when a difficult task looms or when the life pattern seems beset with insurmountable obstacles.  This is governing very clearly the understanding associated with these basic principles of resistance, potential and flow.  More strength arises, as well as more courage and more ways to confront that resistance, providing a greater ability to transform any challenging situation… …This may relate to deeper understanding of your own patterns or a difficult family situation that has been repeated over and over”.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – deep experiences
  • Tomorrow – emotional high tide
  • Tuesday – clearer intuition
  • Thursday – new broom sweeping clean
  • Friday – overcoming obstacles