Sinead O’Connor

Sinead O’Connor (1966 – 2023)

“I think God saves everybody whether they want to be saved or not. So when we die, we’re all going home … I don’t think God judges anybody. He loves everybody equally.”

~  Sinead O’Connor

Singer, songwriter and activist Sinead O’Connor departed this world last week.  As a rebel, she attracted diverse opinions.  But everyone agreed that her voice on her rendition of Prince’s song was incomparable.

Birth Chart

Her Sun was in Sagittarius, and loosely conjunct Venus, giving rise to The Voice, and songwriting talent.  The Sun was loosely square to Saturn, not an easy path in life.  Sagittarius is all about truth telling and religious and spiritual seeking, and she more than fulfilled that, always insisting on being authentic, and trying out various religious paths. She was in fact a double Sagittarian, having her Ascendant also in that sign.  Emotional wounds are shown in the chart through Venus exactly square Saturn (relationship struggles) and Chiron.  She tried marriage four times.  The close conjunction of Chiron and Saturn, shows some considerable level of wounding, and sits in her 4th House (home background).  Like George Alagiah (see my later blog today) she had the Sun square Pluto, and was always living on the edge.  Her Moon was in musical Libra, exactly sextile the Galactic Centre, which may have given her emotions extra power.  There was an extraordinary contrast in her personality (and singing) between the softly spoken (Moon sextile Venus) and the firebrand (which came from the mid-1960s anarchic conjunction of Uranus and Pluto).  She had a double opposition of Chiron/Saturn to Uranus/Pluto, which with her Venus formed a Mutable T-Square.  But Mercury conjunct Neptune (the channeller’s conjunction) steadies her double opposition to some extent, and adds intelligence.  In the documentary “Nothing Compares” last night, she talked about channelling, and said it was just channelling her own self.  To my mind, she seemed to channel St. Joan of Arc!  Her Mercury in Scorpio tongue could be excoriating, when criticizing an institution, or person that did not live up to her vision of what the world or humankind needed to be.  In countless personal testimonies, the adjective “kind” is frequently used about her.  She had a very complex chart, and other attributes are Mercury closely sextile Uranus (telepathy) and Mercury trine Chiron (problem-solving).  Mars was closely sextile Jupiter – apart from having Sun and Ascendant in Fire, Mars sextile Jupiter gives her energies full expression of her Fire.  Jupiter closely trine the Ascendant, 8th House side, in Leo, also emphasizes Fire, as Jupiter is her Sun and Ascendant ruler. The position of Mars sextile her Ascendant gives rise to The Warrior Archetype, operating from her 10th House of Career and Reputation.  Mars was conjunct the MC – so The Warrior was part of her Career, and her Persona in the World.  She was described by musician Jah Wobble as “a Celtic Female Warrior”. Uranus (The Activist) is also in that sphere of her chart.  Saturn closely opposite Uranus, emphasizes tension between the old and the new, much of what her struggles were about, e.g. the reform of the institution of the Papacy.  She had Saturn exactly trine Neptune, spirituality made manifest somehow.

Life and Career

Sinead was born third of five siblings in a nursing home in Dublin.  Her parents split up when she was eight years old, and she at first lived with her mother, who abused her.  She left her mother to live with her father when she was 13.  She began shoplifting, and was sent to a Magdalene asylum run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity.  There were disturbing experiences, but someone there introduced her to the guitar and encouraged her to sing, which was crucial to her development.  She began to sing with the band In Tua Nua, and thus entered her path to the music industry.  The next band she joined, Ton Ton Macoute, led to her being signed to Ensign Records, and managed by Fachtna O Ceallaigh..

Her mother died in a car accident when she was 18.  The transits for that time show that Mars and Pluto were prominent influences: Mars was trine Sinead’s Ascendant, and transiting her natal I.C. (the foundations of her life), Neptune was square her natal Mars, and Pluto square her natal Jupiter.

She released her first album (the Lion and the Cobra) in 1987, with hit single “Mandinka” and “Troy”.  Her second album (I do not Want what I haven’t Got)  took her into a different league, and was ranked second best album of the year by the New Musical Express.  By then she was committed to the shaved head, a symbol of the fact that she would not be repressed.  The shaved head is also reminiscent of spirituality in some religions, on the grounds of taking a person closer to God.  She was in a strong relationship at the time, with John Reynolds, who has made a career as a music producer.  Their son Jake was born in that year.

Nothing Compares 2 U

Her life was about to change, radically.  Prince had written the song “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which he was fairly lukewarm about, and he produced a recording of it by The Family.  Sinead produced an iconic version of it on her second album.  The synastry between Sinead and Prince reveals why she was able to bring something special to it, but also reveals the clashing of personalities which later became evident:

Their Suns exactly opposite, he was not happy with his own rendition of the song and the Family’s rendition did not do well.  She provided the complementary qualities, her Sagittarian Sun to his Gemini Sun.

Her Jupiter trined his Mercury, a similar effect: she rounded out his mental skill in writing the song.

Their Marses were closely opposite, being another complement to each other.  Her Mars being in tuneful Libra, his in raunchy Aries.  This also describes their later “war”.

Her Venus on his Saturn, he brought a structure for her Voice.  She brought a softness.

Their Saturns were exactly square (just one of the incredible connections, they had).  They had different ways of structuring their experiences.  She brought something completely new to the song.

After he died, she revealed that they had clashed wildly when she had visited him.  In the making of the documentary “Nothing Compares”, which was made as recently as 2022, the estate of Prince refused permission to include the video for the song.  The visual impact of her exquisite features, set against a dark background and her shaven head, with the tears she shed, always come to mind when the song is played.  The song was released on 8th January 1990, a day when the Sun was exactly opposite Pluto, an aspect which has all the drama and ability to move people.  Jupiter was square her natal Libran Midheaven – her career took off, but her life was about to spin out of control.  For Prince, Pluto was transiting his Ascendant – emphasizing the huge Plutonic nature and impact of the song.

Activism

Sinead spoke out authentically on matters of religion, child abuse, mental health, mysogyny, abortion, feminism, sexuality, racism and politics, among other subjects.  She appeared to have no filter, and no regrets.

Her life took on a downward slide when she appeared on Saturday Night Live in the United States on 3rd October 1992.  She performed the song “War” by Bob Marley, and at its conclusion tore up a photograph of the Pope, as a protest about the cover up of abuse in the Catholic church.  This resulted in a huge backlash against her, especially from the Catholic population in the U.S.  In a later appearance on a birthday tribute to Bob Dylan, she was introduced as a courageous woman of integrity by Kris Kristofferson, but she was booed by the audience.  She then retreated from the music business for about ten years.

At the time of her shocking gesture, transiting Uranus was exactly trine her North Node in Virgo:  Her karmic mission was fuelled by rebellion.  Pluto was exactly sextile her natal Pluto, an act of self-empowerment.  And Pluto was trine her natal Chiron, a cathartic, freeing and healing act for her, too.  But sadly the cost was great.

Religion

In 1999, Sinead was ordained as a priest in the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, and in 2018 she converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat, while retaining her birth name for her music career.  A fellow musician who converted to Islam, Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens) tweeted in tribute:

“Sad to hear of the passing of sister Shuhada Sadaqat, also known as Sinéad O’Connor.  She was a tender soul, may God, Most Merciful, grant her everlasting peace.”

Sinead herself described her conversion as “the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian’s journey”.

Family

Sinead had four children: Jake, Brigidine Roisin, Shane and Yeshua.  She also had a grandson, from Jake Reynolds.

Her third husband Donal Lunny was awarded custody of their son Shane, and in 2022 Shane went missing while under psychiatric care and was later found to have committed suicide.  Sinead was unable to get over this latest blow in her life.  Among her transits at the time were Neptune on her natal Chiron in 4th, and Pluto square her natal Moon, both referring to a family wound.

Legacy

She had been in the middle of making a promising new album with David Holmes entitled “No Veteran Dies Alone”  Holmes said, about this album:

“I felt deep down in my heart that there was so much she had still yet to achieve…She had the perfect voice to heal and help people get through very difficult times…She’s got one of the purest voices we will ever hear in our lifetime.” [from Guardian article on 29/7/23 by Daniel Dylan Wray]

The cause of her death is as yet unknown, but declared not to be suspicious.  Rest in Peace, Sinead.  You helped a lot of people in the world to come out of oppression.