Reading about the late David Bowie this past week, I was struck by the story of his romance with supermodel Iman Abdulmajid. Reportedly he fell in love with her immediately, knowing right away that he wanted her to be his wife. I wondered: how would this be shown in his directed charts? Fortunately we have his birth chart, so let’s take a look!
I don't know that these testimonies show ‘love at first sight’, per se, but they do show that love was on the agenda for Mr Bowie in a major way when he met his future wife.
When looking for evidence of love and marriage we can expect, among many possibilities, some involvement of Lord 1 and Lord 7, along with any of the major male/female pairings. These include Sun-Venus and Sun-Moon, along with their corresponding Arabic Parts: Fortuna ('super-Moon'), Spirit (aka Abundance, 'super-Sun'), and Love ('super-Venus'). Love’s counterpart, Necessity ('super-Mercury'), may show up as well. Necessity signifies the one choice that rules out all other possibilities moving forward.
First, a few brief notes about his Mr Bowie’s birth chart (Chart 1, below). The Moon (3.49 Leo) is in tight conjunction with the Dsc (3.06 Leo), so whenever the Asc-Dsc axis is activated the Moon will be, too. Bowie’s Sun (17.14 Capricorn), which is also Lord 7, opposes Spirit (16.31 Cancer), with the natal nodes conjunct these two by antiscion (North Node with Spirit, South Node with the Sun). Again, when one side is activated, the other will be also.
At a glance there are two natal testimonies suggesting that Mr Bowie was hard-wired to have a significant other in his life. Lord 1 and the Moon fall just inside the 7th house, showing major interest in the Other; and Lord 1 (Saturn) and Lord 7 (the Sun) are in major mutual reception.
Progressions to January 1, 1990
Bowie and Iman met at a dinner party sometime in October, 1990, so our first stop is the progressions for that year. Here are the major personal points progressed to Jan 1:
Prog Asc 1.27 Taurus
Prog MC 12.58 Capricorn
Prog Sun 0.52 Pisces
Prog Moon 22.29 Aquarius
Prog Fortuna 23.35 Aries
Prog Spirit 10.20 Taurus
Sometime in the year prior the prog Asc changed signs from Aries (ruled by Mars) to Taurus (ruled by Venus). Likewise, the prog Sun has just moved out of Aquarius, its detriment, into Pisces, where it exalts Venus. Moving out of detriment is a major upturn for the Sun, and now 'Venus stuff' is taking center stage.
Solar Return - Jan 7, 1990 (Chart 2, below)
The Solar Return MC (10.47 Taurus) picks up natal Fortuna (19.41 Leo) by antiscion, putting the latter in a major spotlight. Fortuna is one significator of ‘Me’, and it signifies what we long for.
SR Lord 7, Saturn (16.24 Capricorn), applies to conjunct the Sun (‘Me’) here. This may sound wrong, but remember that the Sun, as the Sun, in a solar return chart does not move; therefore, Saturn is moving towards it.
SR Venus (4.34 Aquarius Rx) applies to conjunct the natal Asc (3.06 Aquarius), bringing love stuff and/or the Significant Other to ‘Me’.
Lunar Return - Sep 15, 1990 (Chart 3, below)
There are two lunar returns covering the month of October, 1990. We don’t know the date Bowie and Iman met, but the testimonies for this first lunar return in October show strongly suggest that Boy is about to meet Girl.
The LR Asc (19.36 Leo) is closely conjunct natal Fortuna (19.41 Leo), putting the latter--here again--in a major spotlight.
Natal Arc Love (16.29 Cancer) falls directly onto natal Spirit (16.31 Cancer) and therefore opposes the natal Sun. If I had to identify a single testimony to signify the sparks of love that fly when Bowie meets Iman, this would be it!
Natal Arc Spirit (3.04 Aquarius) picks up the natal Asc (03.06 Aquarius). The nodes are about three degrees away at 6 Aquarius (NN) and 6 Leo (SN), the latter also conjunct natal Lord 1, Saturn, putting all of this into a bright spotlight.
Natal Arc Fortuna (6.14 Pisces) falls onto natal Necessity (6.16 Pisces) in this chart. Necessity is relevant because when we choose to love one particular person, we rule out all other potential mates.
Up Next
In the next post I’ll briefly discuss the testimonies for Bowie’s marriage to Iman in 1992. Interestingly, they had two ceremonies that year, the first in April and the second in June, consecrating the marriage. We’ll look at both events.
To read a little about the Bowie-Iman love story:
http://www.etonline.com/news/179862_david_bowie_and_iman_romance_timeline/
https://davidbowienews.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/david-bowie-iman-married-for-20-years/
http://www.eonline.com/news/730322/inside-david-bowie-and-iman-s-enduring-love-story
KEY FOR ABBREVIATIONS
Asc = Ascendant (1st house cusp)
Dsc = Descendant (7th house cusp)
LR = lunar return
MC = Midheaven (10th house cusp)
Prog = progressed
SR = solar return
PHOTO CREDITS
Above: Piano Piano, "David Bowie - The Best of David Bowie" (Flickr: CC).
Below: David Shankbone, "Iman at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival" (Flickr: CC); Adam Bielawski,"Bowie during the Heathen Tour in Chicago, August 2002" (Wikipedia: CC); David Shankbone, "A woman places flowers outside Bowie's apartment in New York on Lafayette Street the day after his death was announced" (Wikipedia: CC).
