Aspects for the week beginning 28 September 2025

Michel Odent (1930 – 2025)

“One could almost say that the root of all anguish is an unconscious memory of birth and its terrors”

~ Frederick Leboyer

We heard this week that Michel Odent died this week, at the age of  95.  Very much of niche interest (but very much of interest to me), Michel Odent was one of the leading lights of the natural birthing movement at the time I was having my children (late 70s, early 80s).  I wrote a blog on 25^th June 2017 when Frederick Leboyer died, about these “Childbirth Educators” and innovators, which included Arthur Janov, Thomas Verny, Ina May Gaskin, Leonard Orr and Sheila Kitzinger.  If the subject interests you, you may want to revisit it.

Interestingly, at the time, I did not even have a birth date for Michel Odent.  So I wrote:

“Michel Odent (born  1930)

Obstetrician Michel Odent is seen as a disciple of Leboyer, and we do not have a birth date for him, only a year.  1930 was the year Pluto was discovered, and it was then found in the sign of Cancer.  This reminds us that one of main significances of Pluto in Cancer is the reform and deeper understanding of birth practices.  He was born one year after Sheila Kitzinger.  Michel Odent was labelled in the Lancet as “one of the last real general surgeons”.

He was interested in the birth environment, and has been associated with the rise in popularity of the water birth, although he did not see it as a requisite, but as an alleviating factor for pain to some extent.  Nowadays, water births are readily available to women.  He was enthusiastic about breastfeeding immediately after birth.

His book “Birth Reborn” was published in 1984, ten years after Leboyer’s main work.”

Birth Chart

Michel Odent’s birthday was 7^th July, Sun in Cancer being a fitting sign for an obstetrician.  That date is also aligned with the Fixed Star Sirius.  The Sun exactly square Uranus in his chart marks him out as an Innovator, and a breaker of moulds.  He could therefore be controversial, such as in his statement that anxious fathers could stay out of the birthing room.  His Sun conjunct Pluto links him profoundly with the life cycle of birth, death and rebirth.  And the Sun sextile Chiron suggests the Healer Archetype.  He had Mercury conjunct Jupiter, which is a positive mental energy.  His Jupiter was sextile his Neptune, which indicates a balanced relationship between religion and spirituality.  And Uranus square Pluto marks him out as a fierce advocate for Change.

Life and Career

Odent was born in Bresles, France, and studied at the Sorbonne, training as a surgeon.  After this, he did two years of military service in Algieria.  He practised at Pithiviers Hospital for 23 years.  He was particularly interested in the environment of the birth process.  Consequently, he instituted birthing rooms, birthing pools and singing sessions.

Daniela Drandic (International Confederation of Midwives):

“In the 1970s birth was institutionalized and medicalized.  Michel Odent reminded us that physiological processes during pregnancy and birth should be respected.”

He retired in 1985, moved to London, and dedicated himself to research, developing ideas around home births.  He researched the correlations between the natal “primal period” and the subsequent health conditions of mothers and babies.

He was a prolific writer, beginning with the books “Birth Reborn” (1984) and “Primal Health” (1986).

He was concerned about lower back pain in women giving birth, which was one of the reasons for the concentration on water births.  I am not sure what he would have made of Donald Trump’s urging pregnant women to put up with pain and forgo paracetamol.  Of related interest, he posited that some autism could be linked with some artificial inductions and caesarians (an idea met with scepticism), so that’s another possible conversation he could have had with Donald.

But on a serious note, I was a tremendous fan of his work, and all of those mentioned at the top of the page, back in the day…

Death

At his death, Jupiter was transiting his natal Sun in Cancer, often a sign of release for the elderly.  In addition, and very much worthy of note, the North Node was exactly trine his natal Pluto in Cancer: he had completed the most profound missions of his life.

“One could almost say that the root of all anguish is an unconscious memory of birth and its terrors”

~ Frederick Leboyer

“Unconscious birth memories bar the way as a closed portal on the path back to bliss”

~ Fredric Lehrman

Aspects

It’s a long time since we had a One-Aspect-Week!  But this one, coming on Wednesday, the First day of October, is Mercury square Jupiter.

You can work on this one of two ways: use it as a general guide to the week, or forget about it the other days, and just focus on it on Wednesday.  The actual time of the square is 20.59 Hours.  You may even see it as a starting theme for the month of October.

This aspect will stimulate us mentally, almost to the point of too much information!  There may be travel involved or planned.  It would be a good day to be out in nature, taking a good stroll, and picking up information.  Mercury square Jupiter is a refreshing aspect, if not a little over-stretching to manage, so you may find yourself travelling a little bit further than your comfort zone.

The outcome of this mindstretching square may be within your control, through your response.  Certainly you can exercise choice …You may have far to travel, or a lot to learn, but may enjoy the ride nevertheless.

Interestingly, the week beginning 10^th March 2013 also had one Aspect, and it was the same aspect, Mercury square Jupiter.  I decided to link it to the Explorer Archetype:

“Explorer Archetype

The Explorer Archetype relates to our aspect this week of Mercury square Jupiter (It’s a close relative but distinct from the Pioneer Archetype, which combines Mars and Jupiter).  Jupiter square Mercury relates to physical and mental travel, but being square it can lead to overstretching.  The square can propel into other dimensions, for both Mercury square Jupiter, and its related Mars square Jupiter, but usually only if we are travelling spiritually.  For instance, if you are travelling in regression say, to a lifetime on another star system you might suddenly turn left in a corner of the Universe and find yourself on a distant home star destination.

Ranulph Fiennes, who just recently gave up an expedition to the Antarctic, has the natally robust sextile of Mars and Jupiter (the Pioneer Archetype) but was defeated by transiting Jupiter squaring his natal Mercury, frostbite putting an end to this ambition, overstretching himself being part of the problem.

Marco Polo, the Explorer, combined the two Archetypes successfully: Jupiter trine Mars with Mercury at the midpoint sextile both planets.  Christopher Columbus, another prominent Explorer, also had Jupiter-Mercury in a favourable sextile.

Adventurous minds and visionaries also come under Mercury square Jupiter, and some can be very successful in this field of human endeavour. Mercury-Jupiter of itself does not predispose to higher consciousness necessarily, but does lead to the sharing and exchanging of information, and does favour communication and publicity.

For channelling and interdimensional work there does need to be a significant presence of Neptune or Uranus with Mercury.  However, Mercury and Jupiter in combination do cover a lot of global ground.”

I then wrote a little about three pioneers who had this square natally, Alice Bailey, David Spangler, and Derren Brown, again if you wish to revisit this subject.

So, have a good Mercury square Jupiter week, folks!

The week in bullet point:

• Wednesday – stretching mind and body