At the moment I am pursuing my day job (I’m an actor, actually mostly at night. For more see my actor blog at mcphillamy.com). I’m in a play called INK on Broadway. INK tells the story of Rupert Murdoch’s activities in London in the late 1960’s. Briefly; he purchased a failing broadsheet newspaper and turned it into the most popular tabloid in history. I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the astrology.
Here is a link to Rupert Murdoch’s natal chart. Below are the astrological footnotes with a keyword italicized and emboldened:
The chart indicates a person whose personal presentation is formal, traditional and responsible. Behind this formality lurks a visionary. This is someone with a vision which while original and unexpected in its manifestation, verges on the mythic, and it is a vision which will most probably change frequently in its details and locations. He has very good placements for finance. He has an unusual amount of power and charisma when it comes to relationships — not only in his intimate, personal ones, but also in business dealings, and certainly in situations of commercial challenge. Relationships are likely to be transformative, i.e. no-one is unchanged after close contact with him, and the chart indicates someone capable of a depth of feeling, caring and nurture in his dealings with other people, but also large potential for passive-aggressive manipulation, utter ruthlessness, deep suspicion, sudden withdrawals.
Rupert Murdoch is a born communicator. Mercury, Planet of communication, also ruling information exchange of all kinds, as well as trade, commerce and trickery, was in Pisces when he was born and conjunct his Sun. It is a noted feature that Mercury in Pisces, a mutable water sign — tends to have a fluid, movable, adaptable attitude to facts. There can be a shape-shifting relationship to truth.
Almost all of the other planets in the solar system connect very directly in geometric relationship with this Mercury/Sun conjunction at the base of Rupert Murdoch’s chart, giving him multiple and complex, sophisticated avenues of expression as the changing energies of the constantly moving planets in turn, activate, energize, enhance and stimulate his Mercury.
From an astrological point of view it is not a surprise to know that Rupert Murdoch inherited a media conglomerate from his father. It’s likely that his father’s death would have been especially significant and powerfully affecting to him, not only because of his inheritance, but because the moment of his father’s passing would have connected him in a very powerful way with his own sense of destiny.
On the day of publication of Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper, the 19th November 1969 (see link below), no fewer than five progressed planets straddling the signs of Aries (self-expression) and Taurus (tangible results) are present in his 5th house of creativity. At the same time, the 4th quadrant of his chart (the world at large) is stacked with seven planets by transit. Notably Pluto ruling disclosure and taboo, sits in the middle of Rupert’s 10th House of career. The transiting Sun and Mercury (communication) are conjunct with Neptune (glamour, illusion, story-telling) and Pluto aspects the Sun closely, as does Rupert’s natal Mars (drive, energy, anger), all of which connects with Rupert’s aforementioned communication destiny.
To say it without the astrological gobbledygook: the time was especially ripe for a taboo-breaking development in media, and Rupert was the man for the job.
This is the man who gave the world opinio-tainment calling it “news”.
And the world ate it up.
- Responsible: Capricorn rising, Saturn in dignity in the 1st
- Visionary: Sun in Pisces
- Mythic: Uranus conjunct north node in Aries (a promethean hero’s journey)
- Locations: Neptune in Virgo in the 9th
- Finance: Venus in the 2nd, Mars in the 8th
- Relationships/challenge/withdrawals: Jupiter conjunct Pulto in the 7th, widely conjunct Mars in the 8th, all in Cancer
- Truth: Mercury in Pisces
- Stimulate: The Mercury/Sun conjunction sextiles Saturn and Chiron, squares the Moon, squares Jupiter, trines the Pluto/Mars conjunction and is widely opposite Neptune.
- Destiny: At his father’s death, the Sun by transit was conjunct Rupert’s south node, and transiting Mars conjunct his Moon.
