The Death of Whitney Houston

I was never a fan of Whitney Houston.  I did not dislike her; I just was not a fan.

However, I took notice of her.  We somehow seemed to be karmicly linked in an inverted pattern: when her life was getting better mine seemed to get worse and vice versa.  In recent years, she seemed locked in a downward death spiral.  In contrast, my life has been rising and improving on many levels.  2011 was a “banner year” for me; I was not quite surprised when I learned that she died today (technically yesterday, but I have not been to sleep yet).

The entire thing felt very astrological, and I had not posted in a long time.  I will not have a window to post again until March or April.  So, here is my lone post until I can return.

I note the following ideas which are well documented in the media:  (1) she had a significant alcohol / drug problem; (2) she had repeatedly attempted recovery; and (3) we do not (yet) know the cause of death.  I draw the following conclusions: (1) she really wanted to be clean & sober but seemed unable to maintain that condition and (2) we do not (yet) know her cause of death.  What I am really saying is that, although some may infer drugs, she might have been perfectly clean.

This last idea is not so far-fetched.  I have a clear memory of the day that I heard that Waylon Jennings died.  I heard it in the early morning, and I think that he died the night or afternoon before.  We learned that he had been clean & sober for 10 years, but that diabetes had led to his death.  I learned subsequently that this type of death is common among people in recovery: the booze & drugs causes so much damage that diabetes, liver failure, and similar disorders cause a death at an early age.  That is a heartbreak.  And, maybe that is what happened to Whitney.  We’ll find out soon, and I’ll likely edit this post with updates.

Now to the Astrology.

I cast a chart for the moment that I heard of her death.  My consistent methodology is to allow the software determine this.  That is, I operate on the idea that my idea or realization is not fully manifest until I open a chart of the current date and time.

For my initial analysis, I used this chart as a proxy for time of death.  Generally, this chart differs from the death chart mainly (1) by Ascendant and (2) by Lunar position.  (Different parts of the country, also, but that is mainly manifest in construction of the Ascendant.)  So, just to do a quick analysis, I checked for birth charts from several sources.  I settled on http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Houston,_Whitney  That chart looks like this:

The Aries and Leo planets, including Sun and Moon, tell us who she was.  She was vibrant and sparkling.  But, the Pisces ascendant gave her both the ability to touch people’s hearts AND the alcohol and drug problems.  For her, those were inseparable.  However, the vast majority of us could not see this inner pain and turmoil, even when she documented it in her movie “The Bodyguard.”

I like the list of aspects provided here:  http://www.strangehouse.com/option,com_horoscope/year,2012/month,02/day,11/user_id,whitneyhouston

That list shows several things: (1) for her, the phrase “she is now at peace” is very true; if I heard that she “passed in her sleep” then I would not be surprised and (2) some kind of strong emotional issue either came to a head or had come to a head (Moon OPP Moon; transiting Mars square natal Pluto).

I note that she had experienced her fourth Jupiter return.  Much discussion has been made of people being carried away by Saturn, but Jupiter can do this as well.  Arguably, the life lessons she taught and learned were Jovian in nature: she lived a larger than life personna as dramatized in “The Bodyguard.”  That movie illustrated some of the pitfalls of being a “larger than life” personna.  After her death, and at the time I received the news, transiting Moon opposed natal Jupiter.

For a more in depth analysis, see this analysis by Jude:  http://judecowell.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/whitney-houstons-sad-passing-w-an-astro-note-about-fights-while-married/

A bi-wheel might be helpful.  The inner wheel is the birth chart, and the outer is when I received the announcement:

We see from the Bi-Wheel that she also had a 12th house stellium of transiting planets.  (These planets were in natal 12th house, the house of self-undoing.)

I know that a fair number of you want the actual death chart.  She was pronounced at 3:55 PM PST, but reports say Paramedics found her unresponsive and performed CPR for 20 minutes.  Actual time of death could have been earlier.  Oddly, an argument could be made for a slightly later time of death (the culmination of opposition of transiting Moon to natal Moon).  I note that the same four transiting planets that formed a stellium in her natal chart are in the 8th house (Death House) in this chart.

And, I have this to say: Jupiter is saying that she had completed her mission here.  But Chiron disagrees.  Chiron says that if she had stayed with us long enough for Chiron to return, she might have finally found that special healing she was looking for.  And, in doing so, she had additional lessons to offer all of us, even a self-described non-fan like me. (Click to enlarge)