I’ve just read that fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent has died at the age of 71. Here’s the AP story, via Yahoo!: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_yves_saint_laurent
It’s fitting that my headline calls the designer a “king” since he was a regal Leo. Looking quickly at his chart, a couple of things jump out at me: YSL died as Jupiter was transiting his Moon in Capricorn, which opposed his natal Mars/Pluto conjunction in Cancer. Astrologers know that when people die, it usually looks as if they are going on a long journey. If I were reading Saint Laurent’s chart, I probably would have predicted that he was moving into a big new home.
It’s the charts of the people who loved the deceased individual that typically have transits indicating sorrow or separation, usually involving Saturn and/or Neptune.
Interesting that the man who made it socially acceptable for women to wear pantsuits had the Moon, which rules women, in Capricorn, the sign of the boss. Perhaps his mother wore the pants in the family from a psychological point of view.
Saint Laurent’s Leo Sun was conjunct Juno, the asteroid that rules fashion and the arts. His Sun was also quite close to Mercury and Venus in Leo, which may have explained why he was much beloved (Venus) by the media (Mercury). Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 10th house of fame and recognition trined his Leo lineup of planets, expanding his presence in the world.
Although he is remembered for his sophisticated pantsuits, YSL’s Jupiter in Sag trining his Mercury, acted as a cultural messenger, bringing various ethnic and historic influences into modern-day department stores. For instance, in the late 1970s, his collections featured styles inspired by the Ballet Russes (1976), Morocco (1977), and Gypsies (1978), according to this history of fashion Web site: http://www.designerhistory.com/historyofashion/saint.html
YSL’s flair for the theatrical helped make the fall and spring designer shows in Paris, New York, Rome, and London what they are today — spectacles where the rich, famous, and beautiful jockey for the best seats along the runway.
Here’s YSL’s chart, courtesy of Astrotheme, which has a time of birth of 7:45 p.m. in Oran, Algeria, on Aug. 1, 1936: http://www.astrotheme.fr/en/portraits/2LC8ctBGwK4w.htm
Astrotheme uses biographies from the Wiki, which says YSL suffered a nervous breakdown in 1962, following hazing by fellow soldiers while serving a required stint in the French military. Today, this kind of harassment would be called gay-bashing.
I don’t have time to look this up right now, but if memory serves me correctly there was a big Aquarius lineup in February, 1962, which some people believe foreshadowed the death of JFK, but that’s another story. Here’s what Eric Francis at PlanetWaves has to say about that historic Aquarian moment: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/373155372.html
This Aquarius lineup was most likely on YSL’s Ascendant, because the Astrotheme/Wiki bio says he underwent shock therapy, though this also could have been brought about by a transit of Uranus in Leo to his Sun or Descendant.
Shortly after his nervous breakdown, YSL launched his fashion business with the financial backing of Pierre Berge. It was Berge, his former lover and longtime partner, who announced YSL’s death on June 1. Perhaps it was Saint Laurent’s steady Moon in Capricorn that led to such a lasting collaboration with a money guy. There’s no question that Berge’s financial acumen helped propel the designer to the top of the fashion world.
Like many Juno-ruled “industries,” fashion is a combination of art and commerce. You can’t have one without the other, as Frank Sinatra once sang about love and marriage. The house of Dior, which YSL took over at the age of 21, was fortunate to have had both.
So the next time you see Hillary Clinton wearing a pantsuit, even if it’s to announce her exit from the U.S. Presidential race, know that it wouldn’t have happened without Yves Saint Laurent.
Astrology Mundo 