Paris Male Interpretation

Zip Dobyns

The male born in Paris in 1944 was Coluche, a famous comic. I would never have guessed his vocation, though he does have a loaded fifth house for the potential of working in the entertainment field. But the heavy emphasis in the chart on earth and water are certainly not usually associated with humor. I was reminded that I had read that many of the top comics had Capricorn Suns, and that they tended to be depressed. Their work as professional humorists was, in a sense, an attempt to combat their own sense of the heaviness of life.

Coluche does have the fire of Venus (his Ascendant ruler) in the optimistic and verbally fluent sign of Sagittarius in a trine to Pluto in Leo and a trioctile to the Antivertex in Aries. But the latter two are in water houses, which tends to dampen the fire spontaneity and confidence. Also, putting the Ascendant ruler into the seventh house shows the danger of projecting one’s personal power into the hands of other people. We can react to that feeling of “my power is subject to other people” by trying to please people so they will like us or protect us. Or we can try to keep the power and dominate others in order to feel safe. Or we can retreat from being emotionally close and vulnerable. The positive alternatives include sharing the power by compromise and teamwork, having a place for healthy competition (sports, games, business), and helping people.

Coluche did several of the preceding options. He won people’s admiration with the humor, in addition to being financially very successful. The entertainment world is highly competitive, and he reached the top in his own country. He also started a program to feed people who needed help. Unfortunately, part of his competition involved the government, and they are not on the same level as ordinary citizens so challenging them can be risky. Part of Coluche’s humor involved putting down the authorities and they went after him through the weapon of taxes. He had to sell his extensive collection of cars and motorcycles to satisfy taxes, and was under considerable financial pressure in his last few years. His end came on June 19, 1986 when he had been drinking with friends, refused to give the right of way to a large truck, and was killed in the collision. He also refused to wear a helmet.

The earth-water emphasis which indicates a concern for security was certainly present in the life of Coluche. He lacked even a high school education, only learning how to read and having to go to work early. He was a collector (a typical earth-water response) and even bought his own island. Earth and water mixtures can hold on to possessions for a sense of security or they can nurture the world. Coluche did both. The “obsessive-compulsive” flavor of the Virgo-Scorpio-Capricorn combination came out in Coluche’s devotion to his work. The close conjunction of Vesta and Jupiter in Virgo shows the potential for idealizing work, making it an absolute value. Its fifth house placement connects the highly valued work to the personal ego, so self-esteem depends on success in the work. The potential for artistic talents is suggested by the Neptune-Venus sextile.

But the fire still comes through, partly in the strong fifth house and supported by the rising Uranus which opposes Venus. Along with fire, Uranus indicates the willingness to take chances, to try new things, often without traditional training or experience. Another of the keys to Coluche’s headstrong rashness is the Sun-Mercury-Mars conjunction in Scorpio which trines Saturn and is trioctile the Pisces Moon. Conjunctions of fire planets (Mars and Sun) show strong fire even when they are in a water sign and an earth house. I do not know whether Coluche ever married or had children, but he entertained many people and helped them to laugh despite their (and his) frustrations. We have to assume that at the unconscious level, he was tired of the frustrations and running away when he slammed his motorcycle into a truck.

We can see the test of faith in the P Moon conjunct P Neptune in Coluche’s chart progressed to his date of death. I have seen this pattern repeatedly in the charts of suicides where there is over-sensitivity and despair that is basically a lack of faith. In individuals with a strong positive faith, such periods can bring mystical experiences or great artistic inspiration. P Vesta was also conjunct Neptune, repeating the importance of faith in a Higher Power that can give one hope enough to go on living. Chiron, which I also associate with faith, was on Ceres, again tying faith to work. Its quincunx to natal East Point repeats the possibility of a challenge involving faith.

The importance of progressed angles is shown clearly in the chart. P Antivertex is crossing the natal Ascendant, indicating a change in personal actions and interaction with close associates. P East Point is conjunct natal Uranus, pointing to the urge to defy limits. P Ascendant conjunct Saturn shows the acute awareness of limits which Coluche faced in the form of authorities and finances. P Mercury had been squaring Neptune and opposing Juno but at the time of death, its only common aspect was the semisextile to Venus. Since Mercury and Venus are both rulers of the signs in the first house, a relatively harmonious aspect between them would suggest some hope that personal action could somehow improve the situation. However, P Mars, always a key to personal identity in action, was square the P MC, supporting the sense of conflict between personal power and the limits of personal power. Ascendant conjunct Saturn carries the same meaning as Mars conjunct Saturn while Mars square MC carries the same meaning as Mars square Saturn, so the conflict with authorities is a repeated message in the chart. The same message comes a third time from P Venus conjunct the MC since Venus rules the Ascendant so that it is a surrogate Mars while the MC is a surrogate Saturn.

Other long term aspects could be mentioned which support the power struggle in Coluche’s life. P Pluto held a square to natal Mercury-Mars for his whole life as well as a trioctile to the natal Moon. P Jupiter opposed Moon from the house of the King to the house of the Rebel (5-11) with octiles to Pluto on one side and Mercury-Mars on the other side. Coluche was a fighter to the end, but the truck, like the authorities, was bigger.

Copyright © 1989 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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