O.J. Simpson (1947 – 2024)

“They were a dramatic, fractious, mutually obsessed couple before they married, after they married, after they divorced in 1992, and after they reconciled.”

~ Sheila Weller

American football star, actor, murder suspect O.J. Simpson died this week, from prostate cancer, at the age of 76.  Although he was unanimously acquitted by a jury in 1995 after a lengthy and highly publicised trial (“the trial of the century”), for the murder of Nicole Brown, in many minds he was guilty.

Birth Chart

A Cancerian, his was a highly emotional chart, with half his planets (5) in the Water element, and he had 0 planets in the Earth element, which means he may have been regarded as ungrounded.  He rose to spectacular fame in American football (“one of the  greatest running backs of all time”) and blossomed in the acting profession (notably in “Roots” and the “Naked Gun” franchise), that he almost seems to have had a split personality when you consider the infamous shadow side of his character and destiny.  His North Node/Mars conjunction in Gemini displayed the Warrior Archetype.  Incidentally, as I describe his chart, if you have any of these characteristics in your chart, don’t think I am describing you!  His own soul and his own will are responsible for the outcome of what he “chose” to do with his life and astrological blueprint.

He had the Sun closely trine Jupiter, and for more than half of his life he was lucky… (a loaded word!).  Jupiter was closely conjunct the I.C. – he will have perceived himself as lucky, in a deeply rooted sense, from early in life.  The Moon in his chart was in Pisces, again making him extra emotional.  We do have a birth time for him, and can say that his Moon was square Venus: sometimes showing a problem with women, between the women in his life, or his own female side.  Emotions could be unstable, with the Moon square Uranus, too.  His Ascendant in Leo gave shape to his career arenas of sportsmanship and acting. Venus loosely conjunct Uranus, provided excitement in personal life, personal magnetism and charisma (possibly one factor in his acquittal).  But Venus square Neptune pointed to deception and obsession in connection with women.  Mars sextile Saturn gave him the capability of constructive and deliberate action, while Jupiter square Pluto produced power struggles, not least in his private life.  Saturn conjunct Pluto may have provided a melancholic, or macabre side – again, there are many people I know who have this conjunction and do not exhibit this in its shadow form. Pluto square Midheaven can describe the dramatic turn in reputation in his lifetime.

Life and Career

Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco; his mother was an administrator at a psychiatric ward, and his father was a cook and a bank employee.  His parents separated when he was four or five, and the children were raised by their mother.  He grew up in San Francisco in a low-income neighbourhood.  He joined a street gang, and was detained in a youth guidance centre.  At this point he was described as a “really awful person” by a teenage friend who later became his first wife.  This shadow side was redeemed, and lifted out of that pathway, by sport.  He met a baseball star, Willie Mays, who helped him reform.  When attending Galileo High School, he began to play for their football team, and graduated in 1965.  By this time he had been hotly pursued by various universities for his talent as a running back, and chose the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.  With Mercury exactly trine the Moon, and trine Jupiter, he had a good brain from an astrological point of view, although his high school grades were mediocre.  His attention was more on sport.

He was picked in the NFL to play for the Buffalo Bills, but struggled to shine until a changeover in coach to Lou Saban, who allowed him to take a more standout role more suited to his talent.  He began to break records in the sport by 1973, but in the meantime he started to look at taking up roles in the acting profession.  In 1994 he appeared in the film “The Towering Inferno”.

He retired from the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, and gave himself over to acting in film and television.  In 1977 he starred in the television miniseries “Roots” [incidentally one of my all time favourite productions].  The “Naked Gun” franchise, which began in 1988, saw him star in a slapstick comedic role with Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley.

Nicole Brown

O.J. was first married to Marguerite Whitley, a friend from schooldays, but he met Nicole Brown in 1977 while she was working as a waitress in a nightclub, and was smitten with her while already married to Marguerite.

The synastry between O.J. and Nicole has all the hallmarks of karma and obsession:

His Neptune was on her Moon, inidicating possible obsession; his Pluto on her Uranus will have evoked extremely strong feelings; her Pluto sextile his Venus indicate a depth of relationship, and her Pluto closely square his Nodal Axis, a karmic triggering.  From the outset, O.J. was never able to get these emotions out of his system.

O.J. and Marguerite were divorced in 1979, and Nicole married Simpson on 2nd February 1985.  Her transits for the wedding are much more ominous than those of her husband.  He was blessed with Mars sextile his natal  North Node, and another sextile between transiting Neptune and his natal Chiron.

For Nicole, she was pinned down by three difficult transits from Saturn: Saturn opposing her Sun, transiting her Jupiter by conjunction and squaring her natal Chiron – from the outset that might feel like a trap.  She also had to contend with Pluto on her Neptune, one of the most psychologically complex transits.

The marriage lasted seven years, and produced two children.  But the police visited their home numerous times due to claims of domestic violence from O.J.  At the end of 1989, on New Year’s Eve, Nicole phoned the police frightened that he was going to kill her.  They arrived to find her hiding behind a bush, injured.  Her transits included Uranus (shock) on her Saturn (vulnerability).  His transits are revealing in terms of showing that his temper could be triggered:  Mars was trine his Saturn, Pluto trine his Sun (both transiting planets capable of triggering violence) and Pluto on his natal Jupiter (dramatic and exaggerated energies).  It was claimed that at the time he said “if he ever caught her with anyone he would kill her.”

Nicole felt strong enough to file for divorce on 25th February 1992, with Jupiter trine her natal Mercury, and sextile her Venus;  Pluto trined her natal Mars (a self-empowerment); but with Saturn opposite her Uranus (a personal earthquake).  O.J. may have sensed his time in the marriage was up by then, as he had had an affair.  Neptune was sextile his Jupiter, and trine his Midheaven, but Saturn was opposite his Pluto (hard to take) and Uranus opposed his Sun (an estrangement).  Clearly, though, he was still deeply jealous about her having any other partners.

The Murder 

So to the murder itself, which took place on the night of 12th June 1994.  It was a double murder, involving Nicole’s then partner Ron Goldman, who she had only met six weeks earlier.  Like O.J, he was a Cancerian.  Nicole herself had Venus and Mars in that sign, which may have attracted her.

What would a court astrologer have made of the planetary positions on that night?  Nicole’s transits showed Pluto in close opposition to her Sun (a perilous transit), Uranus opposite her natal Mars (quite a violent transit too) and Jupiter square her natal Uranus (taken by surprise).  But regarding O.J. Simpson’s mood that night and triggering factors: Mars was transiting his natal Sun  (inflaming his temper), Mars was trine his natal Jupiter (exaggerating his energies), Jupiter squared his natal Pluto (his power exaggerated) and Pluto trined his natal Moon (dark thoughts towards a woman).  Astrologically, the guilt would be very believable.

A filmed car chase ensued by the police on 17th June 1994.  Again, the transits were very descriptive: Mars closely sextile his natal Sun (in a hurry); Uranus was opposite his natal Mercury, very symbolic of such a car journey; Chiron was square his natal Mars (harrassed in a hurry) and Mars was opposite his natal Jupiter (more haste).

His long televised trial found the nation spellbound, if not the world.  The jury members were drawn from the black community, and the defence rested to a great extent on the racial card.  The acquittal, when it came on 3rd October 1995, was still a shock to many.  His astrological planetary allies at the time were Mars on his natal Jupiter, exact to the day (freedom) and Uranus sextile his natal Moon in Pisces in 8th House (another, more emotional, component of freedom).  A civil suit found him guilty three years later, and incurred a fine of $33.5 million.  He was not able to pay, and got involved in a robbery in 2007 which led to a conviction on 4th October 2008.  With Saturn sextile his natal Sun, he was facing some of his karma.  He was imprisoned and not released until 2021.

The Kardashians

Matriarch of the Kardashian clan, Kris Jenner, was a friend of Nicole Brown, and her ex-husband Robert Kardashian was part of the dream team who helped to acquit O.J. Simpson.  Though by that time, she was married to Bruce Jenner, their lives seemed to be intertwined.

I wrote in 2017, when Bruce Jenner had transitioned as Caitlyn Jenner and written a book about the process:

“Enter Kris Kardashian, wife number three, an extremely strong character, previously married to the attorney Robert Kardashian, and bringing four children to the marriage.  Theirs was an acrimonious divorce, and Robert’s Saturn was conjunct Kris’ South Node (difficult past karma).  Kris Kardashian, matriarch of the Kardashian empire, has an amazing exact conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto in Leo in 10th House conjunct her Midheaven (Careerpoint).  It is no wonder she carved out such a successful long running television slot.

Her previous husband Robert Kardashian was a friend of O.J. Simpson, and successfully represented him at the murder trial.  Bruce had known O.J. from the sports circuit, and tended to try and avoid him (“I have tried to erase O.J. from my mind”) but they socialized with him and his wife Nicole.  This has the hallmark of a karmic relationship, or part of a soul group situation.”

The trial was traumatic at the time for Kris, and Caitlyn Jenner pronounced (quoted on the front page of one of the tabloids this week) “Good Riddance” at the news of O.J’s demise.

O.J. Simpson’s death this week may have been a merciful release for him (Jupiter was on his Midheaven (freedom), and he took his secrets, such as they might be, to the grave. His family were gathered together: two children from his first marriage, and two from his marriage to Nicole, visited him, and he died surrounded by family.  He had three grandchildren.

Aspects

After last week’s intense festival of conjunctions, we start with three more conjunctions this week.

Tomorrow (Monday 15th) we have a conjunction of Mercury with Chiron at 19 degrees Aries, which can produce minor healing crises, but can also pave the way for problem-solving.   One area which is especially suited to this conjunction in Aries is finance and economy.  Chancellor Jeremy Hunt may have an important announcement, or there may be a major development concerning banks.  We met this conjunction in March, but because Mercury is Retrograde, we are re-meeting it now.

Wednesday (17th) brings us a conjunction of Venus with the North Node at 15 degrees Aries, which is helpful for expressing love in verbal or written form.  You may feel a situation is lost, then someone may remind you of the power of love in the context of karma and destiny.

Friday (19th) is a day to get things done, and requires a timetable, there is so much going on:

8.59 a.m. Mercury conjunct Venus at 17 degs Aries – This may soften some of the effects of Mercury Retrograde, and bring some happy socializing, with great conversations. It is good for cafe culture, is ideal for artistic or literary endeavours, or negotiations.  Your communications will have an artistic flair, so it’s a good time to get creative.

14.00 Hrs. The Sun goes into Taurus – Look for guidance about how you can support efforts at combating climate change, for instance.  It is a good day for gardening, and planting seeds.  Taurus is a sign which fosters a whole host of talents: cooking (seasonal vegetables), expressing art and music, and creative management of money (keep following Martin Lewis).  So the coming month is a favourable climate for learning to breathe and blossom in whatever talent you wish to nurture within your repertoire.

15.28 Hrs. Mars sextile Jupiter – A straightforward combination  of energy and enthusiasm, so a good way to employ excess feeling in an absorbing leisure activity of your choice.  You’ll be able to find that extra drive, for what you are wanting to achieve, or go that extra mile.

23.56 Hrs. Mars sextile Uranus – This promises dynamism for the day and the end of the week.  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.  This aspect can refresh your energies, if you have been feeling jaded.  It is helpful for both beginning new tasks, or completing long term projects. The power of surprise may be constructive today, too.

The week in bullet points:

  • Tomorrow – healing issues highlighted
  • Wednesday – karmic relationships
  • Friday – getting things done: cafe culture; earth activities; energy allied with enthusiasm; surprise and engineering
Date: Apr 14th, 2024 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · News · Obituary · Sport