When I first heard the news of Sinead’s death, I was shocked, immobilized for more than a moment. My daughter and I had bonded over her music in the 90’s, my rebellious teenager captivated by the shorn hair, the Doc Marten’s and I by the beauty of her lyrics, so much pain disguised by a catchy beat. In the weeks following her death, my mind kept coming back to Sinead; caught off guard by how much her death impacted me. I decided to look at her natal chart in order to get to the heart of her, perhaps understand her a little better. To me, this interpretation demonstrates that one’s strengths are also our weaknesses, and no small part of our life journey is reconciling the two. May Sinead rest, in peace at last.
1st glance - Signature, Hemispheric Balance, Lunar Phase and Pattern
Pisces -9th house
Sinead is a compassionate person with deep spiritual beliefs. The Pisces individual often sees themselves as a martyr to their cause and may willingly sacrifice themselves for what they perceive to be the greater good.
3rd Quadrant
Sinead often breaks the mold and forges ahead creating her own path. She incorporates tenets from many different belief systems to create her own unique philosophy. With most of the planets above the horizon, Sinead lives her life in the public eye; she is an open book.
3rd Quarter Moon
Sinead’s beliefs and her strong ideals may lead to difficult relationships as she may feel the need to impose those beliefs upon others.She is a pioneer, and she often seems out of step with her peers. She is future focussed, and intent on the causes she embraces. Fortunately, she is able to use charm and to lighten the mood and further her cause.
Locomotive Pattern
With Jupiter as the 1st planet in the locomotive pattern and also the chart ruler, Sinead has a vision and a plan for her life. This is compounded by Saturn being at the other end of the locomotive pushing the train with great determination and strength. Sinead is drawn to the issues of her generation and identifies strongly with these causes. She has the strength and courage of her convictions but she may not always have the tact and diplomacy that will rally others to her cause. Under duress, she may be impatient and speak too harshly, alienating those whom she’s trying to enlist.
Sun Moon Ascendant Blend
The Sun in the 1st House shares the stage with the Ascendant, Jupiter. This could indicate the indomitable spirit Sinead has shown throughout her life; she adheres to her beliefs, unusual as they are. Jupiter can often indicate poor timing and in Sinead’s case I believe she is simply ahead of her time. The Sun is conjunct Venus, indicating that she knows exactly who she is and she is comfortable within herself. The conjunction to Venus is indicative of her beauty, which draws too much attention to her physical being, and hinders her voice. She is well aware of that and often strives to detract from her physical beauty to ensure that her message is heard.
Her Moon is also sextile Venus, so she does know how to use her beauty to her advantage when needed. Moon in Libra is the peacemaker, and in Sinead’s case, could be the iron hand in the velvet glove. Her humanitarian instincts are highly developed and she understands that diplomacy and dialogue are the appropriate tools for change.
With Jupiter in the 9th as chart ruler, Sinead is searching for a soul purpose; she has deep spiritual beliefs. The 9th house, with Uranus, Pluto and Mars, as well as the chart ruler and covering 3 signs from Leo to Libra indicate just how important that spiritual search is. The natural rulers of the Sun (her identity), Mercury (her voice) and Venus (her passion) are all reflected here. The ties to the 1st and 9th house show how strongly she identifies with her beliefs.
With her Sun, Venus and Ascendant in Sagittarius in the 1st house Sinead’s inner strength may be a surprise, as the 1st impression she makes may be quite subdued. This is also in part by her Moon in Libra in the 11th, ruled by Venus in the 1st. Although she is undoubtably a beautiful woman, she is not physically imposing. Her strength and determination are masked by a pleasant demeanour, and she can shock people when they realize just how strong she is.
Standouts
The Oppositions
Mars and Pallas opposition
The Mars Pallas opposition conjunct the parental axis indicates just how long she has been struggling against “the system”, any system in fact. This aspect is also indicative of the difficult home life Sinead experienced. Her father left the family home when she was quite young and her relationship with her mother was an abusive one. Personally, this aspect indicates a strong drive to fight for what is right. Sinead may identify strongly with the causes she gets involved in and may take any criticism of these causes very personally because of her own past. With Mars conjunct the MC she is also ambitious and will push to make these causes public as she leads the charge to draw attention to her cause.
The Chiron/Uranus opposition
The 40 year Chiron Uranus opposition that occurred from 1950 until 1990 spanned 3 generations and 7 signs during the conjunction . During 1966 until 1968, Uranus was in Virgo and Chiron in Pisces. This phase of the opposition dealt with social injustice and it was the mission of those born at this time to strive to balance the inequalities in society and end unfair relationships. Those born in this time period often worked alone, and struggled to be heard. The 3/9 dynamic in Sinead’s chart echoes this struggle as the 3rd house often represents what we know, and how we strive to express that knowledge on a wider world stage.
The Conjunctions
Sinead has several key conjunctions in her natal chart, in fact, all planets are involved in some type of conjunction, either to another planet, or in the case of the Moon and Jupiter to an asteroid. Even the angles and the North Node, depending on the orbs you use (the Asc in particular) have conjunctions. This could be indicative of Sinead’s confidence and adherence to her path.
Mercury Neptune
As the 12th house is often referred to as a hidden house, planets located there often have trouble either expressing themselves or being understood correctly. With Neptune conjunct Mercury, perception may cloud reality at times, and may hinder credibility. Neptune is highly intuitive, and is the natural ruler of the 12th house, so Sinead may use her creative talents as a poet and songwriter to express what she senses.
Sun Venus
This conjunction often ensures an attractiveness, and an allure that draws people to you. In Sinead’s case she is undeniably beautiful and socially she first appears quite demure and soft spoken. She is also quite aware of the effect she has on people and will use this quality of attractiveness to get what she wants. The Sun is the ego after all, and Venus is what she wants, so she can be quite ruthless in her ambitions. She does not take a back seat in her relationships, which can come as a surprise to her partners who are misled by her size and appearance.
Chiron Saturn
A key phrase for this conjunction may well be that pain is awareness. Personal suffering and pain may trigger an understanding and compassion of similar pain in others. Pain suffered in the physical body can lead to a heightened spiritual awareness as well, after all the Christian mysteries are built on suffering for one’s beliefs. On a less psychological plane, there may be issues surrounding Sinead’s father; she was abandoned by him at an early age, and subconsciously she is trying to engage or replace him in some way, by having relationships with older or emotionally unavailable men.
Pluto Uranus
The Pluto Uranus conjunction in the 1960’s ushered in a shift in consciousness that echoed around the world. Young people were rebelling against the status quo and those born at this time were brought up in an era of change. Those with this conjunction in their chart also have an opposition to Chiron, although Chiron was not discovered until the 1970’s. Changes that Sinead’s generation were raised to initiate are lasting, their influence left permanent marks on the fabric of our society.
The Asteroid Conjunctions
Moon Vesta
Both the Moon and Vesta have nurturing aspects to their nature and when combined Vesta can add a sense of a spiritual mission to this nurturing. Caring for others needs, and sacrificing one’s own needs can create a spiritual connection. In Sinead’s chart in the 10th and 11th houses, this compassion and caring occurs in a global arena. Sinead may feel she has mission to bring harmony to a troubled world, by living a life of service.
Jupiter Juno
Juno is often associated with a partner and conjunct Jupiter there may be a sense of optimism in relationships, a tendency to overlook warning signs. In Leo in the 9th, there may a long a distance relationship. Jupiter is trining Saturn which brings up the possibility of relationships with older people, who can become father figures although Sinead’s nature will lead her to rebel against perceived control.
Configurations
The T-Squares
Because of the conjunctions these T-Squares could be interpreted as one, but for clarity I have decided to read them separately. The do involve the same houses, both apexes in the 1st house, the oppositions in the 3/9, highlighting again how personal experience is exposed to the wider world, often leaving Sinead open to criticism and how deeply that must affect her.
Venus, Saturn, Pluto
Sinead may have been shy and introverted as a young child and deeply connected to her father, or a strong father figure. With Pluto in the 9th house she is invested in discovering her own truth. She is a passionate driven person in that regard and she may find her physical appearance stops people from taking her seriously.
The Sun, Uranus, Chiron
Chiron in the 3rd house can often indicate that Sinead’s words although heard, are heard incorrectly, and lead her into trouble with authority figures. Uranus in the 9th allows her to create her own philosophies and beliefs that she can hold onto.
Sinead may have not fit in to any peer group as a child so by redefining societal rules she decides who fits in and who doesn’t. This is common in children with difficulty in their lives at an early age.
Summary
Sinead, from a very early age, stood out from her peers. She had a voice and would not be silenced, despite childhood trauma. These experiences hardened her resolve to stand up for herself and others.
Despite this rebellious streak that landed her in so much trouble with authority, Sinead carried a deep yearning to be more than what she was, a desire to transcend, to become a more spiritual being. It is a testament to her difficult childhood that she found being placed in a Catholic Girl’s Home liberating. The priests encouraged her music, and gave her first guitar.
After a successful musical career, she joined a faction of the church that allowed girls to be ordained and became a priest herself. During her life she explored many religions: Buddhism, Christianity and in her final years converted to Islam.
Sinead suffered from mental illnesses throughout her life, as did her youngest child. His suicide, a year before her own death, triggered a downward spiral from which she could not escape.
Emily Layng: emilylayng@gmail.com
Photo by Thesupermat / CC BY
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