The 27 Club

By Mari Garcia

The 27 Club is a notional list of musicians, artists or actors who died at age twenty seven, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents. Originally, the deaths of several twenty-seven-year-old musicians, namely Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and James Morrison from The Doors between 1969 and 1971 led to popular supposition that deaths are more common at this age.

As Astrologers what would we make of this ‘27’ period?

Artists who died at the young age of 27
 F.l.t.r.: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Kobain, Amy Winehouse.
 Source: Graffiti in Tel-Aviv, Jonathan Kis-Lev, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Saturn Cycle

Firstly, at the age of 27, we have the closing stages of the first Saturn cycle with Saturn in its Balsamic phase, bringing to a close the period in a person’s life where they have spent learning, absorbing and applying values, skills and ethics and morals to their lives. But just as in any Balsamic phase, there is also the questioning and the insecurity of what is to come and the resignation for what has been.

Saturn Phases

In the graphic on the right, we see that the Balsamic phase is the point of the disappearing of light and with this visibility is occluded. This phase comes into being at the end of the 25th year and so by age 27, the light of the cycle is at its minimum and with the Saturn cycle, we have a time where life purpose and direction can become clouded and unclear. A time when ambitions or goals undergo changes and as a result the person is forced to reconsider life plans in a new light. At the very least, this is probably a time of the greatest vulnerability, where the structures which have supported the individual are tested to the extreme. Over the course of this period, up to the point of the Return, the battle for clarity is probably at its height.

Profections

The next point to consider is that if we apply the technique of Profections, which consists of moving the Ascendant one sign a year and in a Whole Sign chart we have a house ‘topic’ for each year.

Profections

In the case of the 27th year, the Ascendant profects or moves forward to the 4th house, bringing to prominence 4th house issues of home, family, security and the foundations of a life. The 4th is also the lowest point of the chart, the nadir; some of its other significations refer to buried treasured, things found below the surface, that which is hidden from view or sits away from the light.

We could say that it is also the point in a chart which is the deepest, darkest place, another testimony to a time where light and clarity are at a premium. It is therefore important to realise that the combination of the Saturn cycle and the profected 4th house will literally be a ‘dark time’ for the person. Without strong foundations and a source of ‘light’ either through partners, other people or future projects, the doubts, fears or insecurities can literally form a tsunami especially if all the life is centered only on one facet be it career, family, education, relationships, etc.

Mythology

The third point is that in mythology, one of the images of Saturn is the god Janus, after whom the modern month of January is named. Janus has two faces: one looking into the past, the other gazing into the future.

As Saturn goes through the final degrees of its cycle, the individual gets a chance to look back at what their life is based on and to see what possibilities the future may hold. At the 27 year point the individual may be forced both by circumstance and personal experience to start evaluating what has been achieved to date and how it measures up to their individual goals and dreams. It is at this point, when the perception of a gap between expectation and reality becomes obvious, that difficulties arise.

The 27 Club therefore can be defined as the time when the doubts and insecurities creep in that then build up to the Saturn Return when the individual is presented with the need and/or opportunity to make a commitment to their life or to re-evaluate the basis of that life and make the necessary changes.

Janus

One of the biggest challenges at this time is Saturn as the representation of reality: it is often a time of a dawning realization or an increasing fear that the investment of money, time, and energy into a particular direction, is no longer either viable, enjoyable or productive or simply no longer meets expectations.

This then becomes a time of doubt and fear with the person often taking one of two options: either continuing to pursue the selected path because they feel they have too much to lose; or cutting their (perceived) losses and exploring other possibilities which will then be the seeds of the next cycle. It is a time where darkness may seem pervasive and the individual must rely on their resilience to see things through. If, and when, that resilience is lacking, then the person may succumb to dark thoughts, dark times and dark experiences.

The Nodal Axis

The final point is that at approximately 28 years the transiting Node will conjunct the natal South Node. The Node is the channel to self-actualisation described by the house axis. The nature of the journey is determined by the planetary combination of the planets ruling the Nodal signs.

Nodal cycle

The Nodal cycle itself moving through a chart is a process of absorption, assimilation and application of experience over a period of 18.6 years with crisis points every 4.5 years as the transiting Node squares or opposes the natal Node. In terms of the soli-lunar factors, it is crucial to understand the cycle as it describes the basic direction of the flow of life.

According to Francesca Rochberg (1), Babylonian astrologers made a distinction of these four positions. They were considered to have significance as they demarcated the sky into quarters and the expression of the Moon or a planet placed in any of these areas had a different flavour according to the quarter in which it was found. These four positions also describe the Nodal cycle by latitude that is the movement above and below the ecliptic.

At the critical 27-28 year mark of an individual’s life, the transiting Node will come to a conjunction of the natal South Node. Here we have the point of elimination, Page 18 The 27 Club where dismemberment of what was begins, and the energy is one of elimination in order to make room for, and to sow the seeds for the next cycle.

Judging the '27' Period

When looking at a chart is the astrologer able to pinpoint what these difficulties will be and how the person can best deal with them? The following points can be used as a springboard for judgement:

• The Position of Saturn in the Chart: If the chart is a daytime chart, Saturn will be better behaved and better placed to do what it does best – develop good boundaries, establish and work within structures and shoulder responsibility. In a night time chart, this will be more of a challenge. Saturn in a nocturnal or night time chart is the ‘out of sect’ malefic; that is, its nature is better suited to be in the light of a daytime chart, it is less cold, rigorous and more flexible. In a night time chart, Saturn’s coldness is emphasised and, therefore, its malefic nature which causes obstacles and limitations is heightened. The individual may find that dealing with authority, establishing credibility or even working within structures imposed by others is limiting, inhibiting or difficult, especially before the first Saturn Return.
• Essential Dignity of Saturn: In rulership or exaltation the quality of what Saturn produces will be better than when Saturn is in the sign of its detriment or fall. It is important, however, to take in all the testimonies before making a judgement. A planet with dignity will work to produce the better side of its nature. In detriment or fall, its expression may not in itself be difficult but the person may find that Saturnian activities or expectations, especially if they are defined by others and not themselves, are detrimental to them.
• Accidental Dignity of Saturn: Dignity is conferred through the accident of time and place hence house placement (angular, succedent, cadent), motion (direct or retrograde), position (combust or cazimi), aspects to planets (easy or difficult). All of these heighten or diminish the essential expression of Saturn, or any planet for that matter.
• Lord of the 4th: It’s placement and condition will add to the texture and experience especially if it aspects either Saturn or the angles.
• Planets in the 4th: As the place where Saturn originally had its joy, and where in the Thema Mundi, it is in its exaltation (2), planets here will also add certain elements to the story according to the nature of the planets themselves as well as any aspects they may make to Saturn.

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain, 20 February 1967; 7.38 pm; Aberdeen Washington, Geocentric, Tropical, Whole Signs, True Node
Source: Astrodatabank

Kurt Cobain (3), a member of the infamous 27 Club has Saturn in Pisces in the 7th house. It is in a daytime chart and Saturn therefore is in a good position, and also it sits in an angular house. In Pisces, Saturn is in neutral condition by essential dignity but its dispositor, Jupiter (which rules Sagittarius) is in Cancer, the sign of its exaltation, albeit retrograde. Saturn is conjunct Venus and in opposition, Uranus.

Overall, Saturn is in reasonable condition, and should be expected to deliver on its agenda of structure, resilience and commitment. Its major handicap is the opposition to Uranus, which will tend to undermine, challenge and oppose Saturn’s stable influence. Planets in the 7th house often tend to be projected out and so there will have been a tendency to experience Saturn as what others (family, authority, father) expected of him and the reaction would have been to buck the yoke, with Uranus sitting on the Ascendant.

Cobain’s 4th house is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, which is retrograde in Cancer, the sign of its exaltation, in the 11th house, dispositing natal Saturn. There are no planets in the 4th house.

In Cobain’s 27th year, Saturn was transiting his 6th house and formed the Balsamic phase of its cycle at 13 Aquarius, squaring the Nodal axis. Although Cobain suffered from bad health and used drugs, his death was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. It was said he could not cope with the pressures of fame and public image.

Both Saturn and Jupiter are in reasonable condition but it is interesting to note that they are both also involved in a grand trine in water with Neptune. This adds a sense 20 February 1967; 7.20 pm; PST +8.00; Aberdeen Washington Geocentric, Tropical, Whole Signs, True Node Page 19 The 27 Club of confusion, and the trine’s nature would describe an easy descent into either excess or renunciation with little or no brakes or boundaries. The Balsamic phase brings on a crisis as Saturn squares the Nodal axis emphasising a sense of limitation and control; either he had to assert himself to overcome it or be limited or crushed by it.

Princess Margaret

Princess Margaret, 21 August 1930, 9.22pm, Glamis, Scotland Geocentric, Tropical, Whole Signs, True Node
Source: Astrodatabank

Sister to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret (4) is best remembered for her stylish looks and for being the modern face of British royalty after World War II. Princess Margaret had Saturn in rulership in Capricorn, retrograde in the 10th house conjunct the MC. In a strong position and with essential dignity, Saturn plays an important role as it rules both the 10th and 11th houses. However, the chart is a nocturnal chart and so Saturn is the out of sect malefic. Staurn’s preference is to be in a diurnal birth and here it is ‘out of sorts’ suggesting that Margaret’s experience of Saturn will have been limiting, controlling, oppressive and restrictive. Saturn also forms an opposition to the exalted Jupiter in Cancer in the 4th house; this will have mitigated some of Saturn’s hardness but there will have been a see-saw effect between oppression and indulgence. Indeed, her father George VI described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy (5).

Margaret’s 4th house is ruled by the Moon, which is also in the 4th conjunct Pluto. Margaret’s Saturn entered its Balsamic phase at 20 Scorpio in 1955, in Margaret’s 8th house, with its echoes of death and crisis. Saturn had three hits in its Balsamic Phase in February, March and October. At the third hit, and after much public and political commentary, on the 31st October 1955, Margaret renounced Peter Townsend, the man she loved in a public statement:

I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend. I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. But mindful of the Church’s teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others. I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend. (6)

Saturn’s Balsamic phase was true to its meanings of endings and letting go of anything that compromised tradition, honour and authority. Margaret’s loaded 4th house with the Moon as ruler, in rulership and conjunct Pluto, as well as the exalted Jupiter meant that in spite of her personal feelings for Townsend, Margaret chose to put duty and family above these.

Finally, the transiting Node conjuncted her South Node at 25 Libra in her natal 7th house in August 1958. It was then that she met Anthony Armstrong-Jones whom she married in May 1960, less than six months after the final hit of her first Saturn Return (7).

The 27 Club of famous musicians and other personalities perhaps shows the extreme expression of this period and we can only generalise that they fell to the vicissitudes of this time. Everyone does go through the 27 Time and most will survive this period however there is always a price to pay as Saturn expects and exacts its dues with no qualms.

Endnotes:
(1) 1. Rochberg, Francesca. The Heavenly Writing, Cambridge 2004, pp. 140- 142
(2) The Thema Mundi is the mythical horoscope for the birth of the world known and it was used as a visual teaching device in Hellenistic astrology; it shows the rationale for sign rulership, exaltations, aspects, and certain significations of the signs. Cancer is the first sign and Libra is the fourth, the exaltation of Saturn. It is said that this is one of the rationales for certain associations of the Fourth house with Saturn, father and foundations.
(3) Kurt Cobain birth data sourced at https://www.astro.com/astrodatabank/Cobain,_Kurt
(4) Campion, N. Born to Reign. Chapmans, 1993. page 186
(5) Botham, Noel. Margaret: The Last Real Princess. London: Blake Publishing Ltd, 2002. p.9
(6) Warwick, Christopher. Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts. London: Carlton Publishing Group, 2002. P. 205
(7) Dates of Margaret’s Saturn Return: 4 March 1959, 31 May 1959, 28 November 1959.

First published in: FAA Journal, March 2019.

Author:
Mari Garcia is a consulting astrologer who has been involved with astrology since 1990. She has lectured widely both in Australia and the USA and has published articles in Australia and overseas and writes for several local and national publications. She runs a consulting practice in Adelaide and is co-principal of ASTRO MUNDI, which offers a four year course in astrology, a Traditional Astrology course as well as special interest workshops and Master Classes. Mari can be contacted via email mgarcia550@bigpond.com or website www.astromundi.com.

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