Terence Stamp (1938 – 2025)

“Master of the brooding silence”

~ The Guardian

Heart throb actor Terence Stamp die this week, aged 87.  He was part of a trend towards cockney actors in the 1960s, and was seen in the Swinging Sixties fashionably coupled to actress Julie Christie, and then to model Jean Shrimpton – the beautiful people.

Birth Chart

Sun in Cancer (with Chiron, Midheaven, Pluto and Mars) is a weight of femininity, but it is part of an exact triple conjunction (rare) with Mars and Pluto, the ultimate in masculinity.  He was close to his mum who brought him up with his grandmother and aunts (an emphasis on the sign of Cancer), but could play the most villainous of roles, especially in the second act of his career (Mars-Pluto).  Small wonder, then, that he played one of the first trans cinema roles.

This exact triple conjunction can be seen both in cinematic roles, such as in the psychological horror film “The Collector” (1965), and as the archvillain General Zod in “Superman” (1978 and 1980), but is also reflected in his accolade of being voted one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time (1995).

The Sun trine the North Node points to the acting profession as his karmic mission.  But his Moon is also powerfully aspected, and indicates a powerful imagination: Moon conjunct Uranus in 8th House, Moon trine Neptune (sensitivity plus imagination), Neptune in 12th House, and Moon conjunct the South Node (strong connection with his mother in past lives).  It is likely that he was able to play the allotted roles through a strong use of his imagination.

His Venus was unaspected, but in Virgo, pointing to specialized, discerning and refined tastes – he brought out two cookbooks, and a range of food and drink products, for wheat and dairy intolerance.  He was also intolerant to meat, cow’s milk and sugar.

The physique comes largely from the Ascendant, in this case Libra, the sign of Beauty, conferring the perfectly chiselled features, but also showing the deep-set eyes from the Sun exactly conjunct Pluto.  Pluto exactly conjunct Mars gave him a powerhouse of energy.

With having his birth time, we can see Jupiter in Pisces in 5th House of Acting bringing success in that sphere; Saturn in Aries in 7th House bringing relationship disappointments; and Neptune in the 12th House: “As a boy I always believed I could make myself invisible”.

Life and Career

Terence was the eldest of five children, born in Stepney.  His father was a mostly absent sailor (represented in Terence’s chart by the Water Sun in Cancer).  It is said that his mother took him to see the film “Beau Geste” starring Gary Cooper, at the age of three: an event which inspired him at a tender age.  As he was born in 1938, the Blitz featured heavily in his childhood.  The family moved around the London area, and he was educated at Plaistow County Grammar School.  On leaving school, he worked in advertising, and while he entertained following the acting profession, his father disapproved.  He then won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

His big break came as the title role in an adventure film “Billy Budd” in 1962.  Peter Ustinov cast him as much as anything for his good looks, apparently, as he was relatively short on experience.  For this role, he earned a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for the Academy Award and a BAFTA.

Michael Caine

Terence had formed an alliance and deep friendship with the also budding and cockney actor, Michael Caine.  They had met in a tour of a play “The Long the Short and the Tall”, and subsequently moved in together, in Wimpole Street, London.  That their lives were karmically entwined is shown in their synastry: Caine’s Sun sextile Stamp’s Moon and South Node; and Caine’s Venus trine Stamp’s Midheaven.  According to an article in the Guardian by Andrew Pulver, Stamp later described Caine as his guru.

Julie Christie and Jean Shrimpton

Terence Stamp was in high demand in the film world during the 1960s.  Among other roles, he played in “Far From the Madding Crowd” in 1967: “the swaggering sword-brandishing Sergeant Troy” (Andrew Pulver).  That was his iconic look as a young man.  Like a true Plutonian, he was to undergo subsequent transformations.

As a key player in the Swinging Sixties social scene, he was paired with beauties Julie Christie, an Aries, and supermodel Jean Shrimpton, a Scorpio.  Together with Shrimpton, he was one of the most-photographed couples of the time.   Stamp and Shrimpton were together for three years: their Venuses were sextile, Shrimpton’s Sun was trine Stamp’s Midheaven, and her South Node was on his Jupiter in the 5th House.

Roles he didn’t play, intriguingly…

How certain film roles could have looked very different!

In 1966, Terence was in line for the title role in the film “Alfie”.  He turned it down, to play in the film “Modesty Blaise”, but recommended his pal Michael Caine for the part.

Caine later told us: “I still wake up sweating in the night as I see Terence agreeing to accept my advice to take the role in”.   [Caine’s Sun sextile Stamp’s Moon and South Node, seen at work, here].

Also in 1966, Stamp was replaced in the lead role of Michelangelo Antonioni’s film “Blow Up” by David Hemmings.

In 1983, Terence was approached to play James Bond when Sean Connery left the role.  In the end, George Lazenby took over as Bond.

A Quiet Decade

At the end of the 1960s, everything changed for Stamp.  Work dried up, and he has commented:

”It was a mystery to me.  I was in my prime.  When the 1960s ended, I just ended with it.”

This state of affairs may have coincided astrologically with his Saturn Return, and his Progressed Sun going into Virgo.

Of his break-up with Jean Shrimpton, he stated:

“That’s what turned me inwards”.

He is reported to have subsequently spent time in India at the ashram(s) of Krishnamurti and/or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

A Career Renewed

In 1978, Stamp took on a completely different role, one which would introduce him to a whole new audience.  During his hiatus, he took time to look into himself, who he was, and what he needed to portray, now aged 40.  This is the age of the Uranus Opposition cycle, which often involves a complete turnaround.  He fully embraced his Mars-Pluto exact combination.

The new role was that of the archvillain General Zod, in the superhero franchise of Superman I and II (1978, 1980).  His portrayal of General Zod was named in the list of the “Top 50 Greatest Villains of All Time” in 2007. So very good at it, he was.  He carved a new niche for himself and a new fan base.  And his career revived generally, with a string of new films.

In 1994, in the fourth decade of his acting career, he undertook a new twist in his career, that of one of the first trans roles in film, in the Australian comedy “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”.  He played a trans performer flanked by two drag queens, taking a road trip across the Australian outback.  For this he earned a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination.

More filmwork followed, including a guest appearance in the television series of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” in 2020, and culminating in his last film in 2021, entitled “Last Night in Soho”.

2002 Marriage

Having avoided marriage until the age of 64, he married on New Year’s Eve 2002.  The bride was Elizabeth O’Rourke, someone he had known since the mid-1990s.  What astrological transits could have induced him to do so at this time of his life?

Saturn was sextile his Mercury in Leo in 11th, a commitment; Jupiter was trine his natal Saturn in 7th House, a sense of commitment also.  Natally, Saturn’s only aspect was a square to Midheaven, so the Saturn (commitment) principle was not strong in him.  Jupiter at the time was square to his natal Uranus in Taurus in the 8th House – he was willing to take a leap of faith; and Mars was sextile his natal Neptune in Virgo in 12th House, a sense of inner passion and awakened mystery.

The marriage lasted less than six years, as Elizabeth divorced him on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour” in April 2008.

Death

This week Uranus was square his natal Jupiter in the 5th House, a shift; and the South Node was conjunct natal Neptune in 12th House, a resting place.  Whether you regard him as the handsome lead, or the chilling villain, he is undeniably unforgettable.

“Terence was kind, funny, and endlessly fascinating. I loved … reminiscing about his films, going back to his debut in Billy Budd. Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back”.

~ Edgar Wright

“Stamp remained a brilliantly mesmerizingly unknowable presence.  He was the seductive dark prince of British cinema; an actor who carried an air of elegant mystery”

~ Xan Brooks

Aspects

Today’s aspect of Uranus square to the Sun may make you aware of possible loopholes through which the element of the unexpected can enter.  Disruption can occur, but unexpected twists and turns may give you new ideas for future reference.

Tomorrow (Bank Holiday Monday, 25th) we have an ingress: Venus entering Leo.  This enables you to make hay – they are at least predicting barbecue weather.  There is an opportunity to get out and about and enjoy the fruits of summer (which hasn’t finished with us yet!).  You can afford to be bold in seeking entertainment, and also polish up your performance skills.  Let your hair down while you can.

A timetable for Tuesday 26th:

00.56 a.m. – Venus trines Saturn

This may bring encouragement, of people coming together with more commitment and loyalty, in this period of social destructiveness. As I type, we have a weekend of anti-immigrant versus anti-racist groups kept apart by policing: a headache for the current government, and an opportunity to stir the pot by opposition parties. Venus can provide a softening role to a hard line stance.  It is conciliatory, which may be just what is needed.  Relationships may need serious resolving, and this aspect can help, whether on a personal level, or between nations (for any bidders for the Nobel Peace Prize).

Occurring as it does not long after midnight, it may steal some peaceful wisdom into your night’s dreams.

20.58 Hrs  – Venus sextiles Uranus

There may be a social sparkle somewhere in your evening, even if only on social media.  It’s a good day, for the most part, for socializing and meeting new people.  Meetings are significant with the combination of Venus and Uranus, and sometimes they can be strange and spooky with an air of serendipity.

22.19 Hrs. – Venus trines Neptune

By late evening, Venus trines Neptune, which is a beautiful aspect from a social point of view, enabling spiritual links with people.  Artistically or musically, you can achieve inspirational heights.  If you’re not burning the midnight oil, maybe you are set for sweet dreams.

I’d say Wednesday (27th) is the most difficult day of the week, with a challenging opposition between Venus and Pluto.  It’s a dramatic note, especially in terms of relationships, and possibly in relation to money and the Arts.  This can symbolize brinkmanship in relationships, such as between Trump and Putin.  In negotiations, people may be using negative tactics such as project fear, or threats of no deal. If your struggles are in the realms of art or music, you may have to go back to the drawing board on a creative project, or fundamentally change the values behind what you are creating, taking them to a higher level or a deeper level psychologically.

Finally, on Friday (29th), we get to the most important aspect of the week, Uranus sextile Neptune, an aspect involving two big hitters.  This is a rare an unusual aspect, and I can’t speak highly enough about it.  In my New Year Review, I wrote: “A major reorganization in order to incorporate more complexity and a deeper understanding.”  Uranus is coming from Gemini and Neptune is coming from Aries, both at 1 degree of their signs, a truly reforming zeal.  This aspect is laying down terms for the future, whichever way you are looking at it, and from the personal to the universal.  In interpretating what this means for you in your life (and take into account the Houses it falls in, if you know), I would like to make immortal the words of my favourite Astrologer Alan Oken (who has now passed):

“Intuition flows or works well with Illumination.  On an individual level the result would give the ability to properly handle higher levels of consciousness and a profound interest in the occult and mystic.  On a mass level it contributes to a generalized expansion of consciousness and an awakening to new uses of heretofore untapped energy sources.”

Take what you can and weave it into your current reality, and vision of the future.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – the element of the unexpected
  • Tomorrow – make hay while the Sun shines
  • Tuesday – commitment and loyalty; social sparkle; inspiration
  • Wednesday – a dramatic note
  • Friday – balancing major complexities
Date: Aug 24th, 2025 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Film · Obituary