Barry Humphries (1934 – 2023)

“Both Gifted and a Gift”

~ Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister

Barry Humphries, otherwise known as his alter ego Dame Edna Everage, died yesterday at the age of 89, peacefully after complications from hip surgery. Adopted in the U.K. from his native Australia, he became a national treasure here.  We seem to have lost a few national treasures in recent months.

Birth Chart

We are fortunate to have a birthtime for Humphries, and though his Sun in Aquarius sextile Uranus liked to shock, there was a more genteel side, shown by his Piscean Ascendant.  We didn’t tend to see  the genteel side in his various alter egos, but accounts of his friendships in his private life reveal a more courteous side in that context.  Both Esther Rantzen and Joan Bakewell have said they will miss his friendship greatly. That he found fame abroad may be down to his trine between the Sun and Jupiter (foreign lands).  He had the Sun, Saturn/North Node and Venus in his 12th House, indicating the existence and expression of  shadow alter egos.  The Sun square his Midheaven may give rise to the description of Dame Edna as an “egomaniac”.  The Moon trine his Midheaven may give rise to the prominence of the female persona in shaping his career, and Venus sextile both the Moon and Midheaven meant he was comfortable with the female mode of expression.

Mercury conjunct Mars in his chart shows his scathing, acerbic, and cutting wit; while he allowed Edna’s speech (described as “acid-tongued” and “vituperative”), to go even more extreme.  Last week’s blog subject, Mary Quant also had Mercury conjunct Mars, and I wrote of her: “She had a quick and incisive mind, from a conjunction of Mercury and Mars,” and described her cutting material…Where Barry Humphries upped the ante for shock value, was in his Uranus sextile the Sun in Aquarius, plus a close square between Uranus and Pluto.  Mercury opposing Neptune meant that he enjoyed pulling the wool over people’s eyes, and the position of Neptune opposite his Ascendant showed the love of glamour and the deceptiveness in the way he related to the public.

Mars rising in Pisces in his chart is complicated by an opposition from Neptune.  On the one hand, it gives expression to his “priapic” alter ego Les Patterson, but on the other hand Neptune and Pisces soften the warrior.  He wrote in an interview only last month in the Observer: “I’ve always thought of myself as quite cowardly.  The sound of a cricket bat hitting a ball causes me to duck.”  His Jupiter also presents contradictions.  On the one hand Jupiter trine Saturn indicates balanced judgement, while his Jupiter closely opposite Uranus describes the Chancer Archetype.  Possibly even more significantly, he had Jupiter exactly square Pluto (in a T-square with Uranus), which brought power issues (which maybe he used his alter ego to play out).  And finally, Jupiter trine his North Node (karmic mission) may have ensured success.

Life and Career

Barry Humphries was born in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.  He had a happy childhood, and he enjoyed dressing up.  He became more rebellious in his teens, earning his parents’ disapproval at his “artistic” turn.  He continued dressing up, and created characters for himself, discovering their entertainment value.  It was in 1955 that he introduced Edna Everage to the world.

He moved to London in 1959, at the age of 25, when his progressed Sun was trine Pluto (a time of major transformation), and performed in the West End.  He became friends with Spike Milligan and John Betjeman.

Dame Edna

Barry based Edna on his own mother.  The name Edna was “after an adored nanny, a symbol of my father Eric’s growing prosperity as a builder.  One day, she wasn’t there any more.  Had there been a quarrel?  Had she walked out?  I was told nothing.  But then I’d never even been told her surname.  I was only six or seven at the time – and I minded.”

According to an article in the Observer by Vanessa Thorpe the character was “satirising the stereotypical [Australian] lack of taste that British “pommies” enjoy looking down on.”

In the 1970s the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam conferred “Dame” status on Edna.  In the 1980s, Edna had her own television show in the U.K., entitled “The Dame Edna Everage Experience”.

It was during that period, that as newsletter editor on the committee of the North Watford Residents’ Association in the late 1980s, I had occasion to see him/her live.  One of our committee members worked at London Weekend television and organized a coach trip!

Barry recalled that after Damehood, Edna glammed up: “I put her in a box after a while.  And then later, when I took her out again, she seemed to have become a bit brighter.  She started to wear diamante glasses and her hair was an implausible mauve colour.”

So we folk of North Watford got to see the full glamour package!

Marriage and Personal Life

He was married four times, and had four children altogether.  His widow Natasha Spender is the daughter of the poet Stephen Spender, and they lived in West Hampstead.  Humphries has been a lover of poetry, art and books, his collection of the latter numbering 25,000.

He suffered with alcoholism, which affected his first two marriages, but he declared last month: “I haven’t touched a drop for 50 years.”  He tried to help Peter Cook with the problem.

Paul O’Grady

It was only three weeks ago that I was writing about Paul O’Grady’s passing.  There are some parallels between them, in that they both had famous female alter egos with whom they made their name.  Other parallels include both having the feminizing sextile between the Moon (both in Aries) and Venus, and both describing indulged childhoods.

But with regard to gender issues, they differed.  According to the BBC Newsdesk, in recent years, Humphries had been criticized for describing transgenderism a “fashion”.  Paul O’Grady had drawn a line between them, explaining that Humphries was “never called a drag act because he’s a heterosexual male. But I’m called one because I’m a gay man. It’s homophobic and it’s wrong as there is nothing remotely sexual about what I do. I dress up as a woman for financial purposes, nothing else.”

His Passing 

The transits for Barry Humphries’ passing were: Jupiter  on his natal Uranus in Aries in his 2nd House (unexpectedness),  Saturn exactly on his Ascendant in Pisces (letting go) and the North Node sextile his Ascendant from the 3rd/2nd House cusp (the completion of a karmic cycle).

Joan Bakewell said yesterday “A world in which I don’t have the friendship of Barry Humphries is really painful. Because he was so resilient and energetic and loving and direct… that’s a great absence in my life now”.

“A true great who inspired me immeasurably.  It was a delight to call him my friend.”

~ Rob Brydon

Aspects

There are four sextiles this week,  providing a generally harmonious atmosphere.

The first sextile is Retrograde Mercury sextile Mars in the early hours of tomorrow morning. This may bring about brisk action, hopefully not wakefulness and insomnia or trips to the loo.  Dreams may be very stimulating.  You may receive ideas to implement into your day.  Your mental reactions may be heightened, and this can lead to enhanced productivity.

The second aspect tomorrow is a conjunction between the Sun and the North Node, and this could bring a show of power by someone in your circle.  However, this show of power is firmly subject to the laws of karma. It could also heighten creativity if you are unattached to the power play of others.

We have two more sextiles on Tuesday (25th), the first of which is a practical and serious minded contact between the Sun and Saturn, late morning.  Duties and commitments are to the fore.  It makes for a good day with regard to laying foundations and establishing rules.  Creativity is firmed up, and decision making may be easier.

Next up is Venus sextile Chiron, which would be suitable for healing through the Arts, such as songwriting.  There’s a hint that relationships can be rescued, too.  It is a good day to engage with creativity which involves and brings about healing.

The fly in the ointment this week is a square between Mars and Chiron on Thursday (27th).  You might feel a bit discumbobulated.  There is a sense of “Well some things are working, but why can’t everything work together?”  It will take some adjustment to obtain complete harmony, both within yourself, in relation to others, and in physical and practical projects.  At the same time, health and safety factors will be important.

Last but not least this week is the fourth sextile, occurring on Saturday (29th), between Mars and Uranus, which promises dynamism for the day.  Engineering especially benefits from this aspect, but that also includes social engineering.  Electricity and Astrology are other areas which can be stimulated by this combination.  Cars, mechanics, mechanical goods and household appliances may receive a boost or a renewal.

The week in bullet points:

  • Tomorrow – brisk action; a show of power
  • Tuesday – good commitment; art with healing
  • Thursday – the square peg in the round hole
  • Saturday – dynamism
Date: Apr 23rd, 2023 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Obituary