Paul O’Grady (1955 – 2023)

“…funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise”

~ Lorraine Kelly

The nation had many reasons to love Paul O’Grady: from those who loved to be entertained, to dog lovers, to the LGBTQI community.  He died at the age of 67 this week, unexpectedly, but peacefully.

Birth Chart

Paul O’Grady had the Sun in Gemini conjunct Mercury, which accounts for his tremendous versatility: he was a “Jack of all trades” in early working life, with a huge variety of jobs to make ends meet before he hit the big time as an entertainer.  Sun/Mercury in this sign also accounted for his quick wit.  There was also a multidimensional side to Paul: there was more depth to him than at first glance, with the Sun/Mercury conjunction being  trine his Neptune and sextile his Pluto.  He will have been a performer in past lives, with the Sun conjunct his South Node. His North Node was at the Galactic Centre, which is a powerful position for his karmic mission.  His caring side (he worked in several “social work” scenarios before he was famous) came from his Ascendant in Cancer, which was exactly conjunct Uranus (the Activist Archetype, always sticking up for the underdog).  His Moon in Aries ensured he was always straight talking on an emotional level.  His ruling planets Moon and Mercury were square to each other, and coupled with the Gemini emphasis, meant that he had a strong alter ego needing to be expressed, i.e. Lily Savage.  But with the Moon exactly sextile Venus, there was great gentleness and affinity with women, and that was very much expressed in the care work, the observation of female family members, and his work with dogs.  The Moon closely trine Jupiter kept him positive and emotionally buoyant.  Jupiter joined Uranus on the Ascendant, and gave him the Entrepreneur Archetype, which helped his success (trining his Midheaven or Careerpoint), and defined an effervescent personality.  He had Venus exactly sextile Jupiter, a very sociable sextile, with a love of humanity.  Even so, it was often said, that he loved animals more than humans.

Early Life and Career

Neptune was exactly square his Ascendant, on his 4th House cusp, suggesting a secure, cloistered, childhood, which he described thus:

“When I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories. Our family was loving and full of affection. I never knew what divorce was until I moved to London. I was an indulged child and completely protected from anything bad.”

Paul was born near Birkenhead, to an Irish family, the youngest of three.  He left school at 16, and worked at various jobs (including the civil service), before getting involved in Liverpool’s gay scene, at a time when homosexuality was still illegal.  He attended meetings of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality.  While still uncertain of his sexual identity, he fathered a daughter Sharon, who was born on 16th May 1974.  She has her Mars conjunct his, in their synastry.  Among his jobs, he worked in that period in a care home for disabled and abused children. He also lived in London part of the time, and worked for Camden Council as a live in carer for the elderly, and for dysfunctional families.  All the while, he practised the art of performance in working men’s clubs.

Lily Savage

The birth of his alter ego, drag act, Lily Savage, took place on the afternoon of 7th October 1978, inspired by his Aunt Chrissie, and Marylin Monroe.  Virtually the only precedent at the time for his type of act, was Danny La Rue.  His transits at the time included Mars exactly trine his natal Mars (an expression of his sexuality), Jupiter  opposite his natal Chiron in 7th House (his alter ego) and Uranus on his natal Saturn, (a daring act).  Lily Savage herself, in her own chart, had Sun/Pluto in Libra, with Mars/Uranus in Scorpio, two highly charged conjunctions.  When his career progressed, around 2004, he hung up his drag act, around the time of his Chiron Return in 7th House – Lily had achieved the healing for him he had needed, for his life.

He presented various television shows, including Blankety Blank and Blind Date, before landing his own Paul O’Grady show, which ran for several years in different forms.  The show which he was most known for in this decade, was “For the Love of Dogs”, in which he was instrumental in re-homing numerous pooches from Battersea Dogs Home, a role he took on around the time of his Second Saturn Return.  Such was the response of the British affection for Paul and for dogs, that in the few days after his death, Battersea Dogs Home has been overwhelmed with donations.

Death

In the first decade of this century, Paul suffered a couple of heart attacks.  But his death was unexpected.  His partner Andre Portasio described it as peaceful – Paul had six Neptune transits at the time.  Paul had only a couple of days beforehand appeared on stage in the musical “Annie” as Miss Hannigan, enjoying the part with great zest.

“I think I could lie there on my death bed and say, ‘Well, I’ve had a good time and filled a book. I’ve done everything I wanted to do’.”

~ Paul O’Grady, 2017

Aspects

Today promises to be most dynamic, with a sextile between Mars and the North Node.  This is a positive expression of Warrior karma.  You may be able to get your message across directly and actively, in speaking your truth or setting an example.  Lines may be drawn (Mars has a short fuse at times, and is not suited to long-drawn out debate).

Tomorrow (Monday 3rd) sees Mercury enter Taurus, and the quality of the mental energy may become steadier and calmer than the fieriness of the last two weeks or so when Mercury has been in Aries.  This placing is better for negotiation, which is something much needed at the moment in this climate of strikes.  Practical ideas will be the order of the day.  Mercury will stay a while in Taurus, as at some point it will turn retrograde, but enters Gemini on 11th June, so this could be a productive time mentally.

Tea-time tomorrow could be stressful mentally, however, as Mercury makes a square to Pluto.  We have a great deal of travel disruption in the U.K., with Easter holiday traffic stuck in queues at Dover.  It is a square which requires you, among other things, to rise above negative thinking, or to get to the root of it.

Some of Monday’s issues may be cleared by Wednesday (5th), with a more user-friendly sextile from Saturn to Mercury.  This practical, studious, and ideal for planning.   This favours exacting mental work and documentation.  Progress can be made, including possibly for health related checks.

If you experience emotional tension on Wednesday evening, this could be due to the advent of the Full Moon at 16 degrees Libra in the early hours of Thursday (6th).  The Libra Full Moon entails a balance between the needs of two people in partnership, and hopefully works towards harmony.  This is the most equable of the 12 Full Moons of the year.

Friday (7th) has a most pleasant sextile, between Venus and Neptune.  It’s a delightful aspect – a beautiful expression of spirituality and the Arts.  New artistic avenues can flourish, ingenious ways for people to share art, music and performance can ensure the Arts are kept alive.

Finally, another sextile on Saturday (8th) this time between Mercury and Mars.  Physical and mental energies can co-ordinate.  If you are cycling a great deal to keep fit, you may find the wind behind your sails.  You may be able to cycle just that bit faster or longer, and your fitbit may register record stats.  You may also find shortcuts to your usual way of doing things.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – dynamic
  • Tomorrow – calm; then stressful
  • Wednesday – practical progress
  • Thursday – emotional high tide
  • Friday – delightful
  • Saturday – in sync
Date: Apr 2nd, 2023 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Obituary