Alcoholism and Mel Gibson

Most astrology books attribute Alcholism (and all drug addiction) to Neptune and the 12th house in a general sense. So, one would think that being an actor, as well, (also Neptune—illusion, escapism, etc.) that Mel Gibson would have a very strong Neptune. Well, in a way he does, but there are other things much stronger.

My teacher, Gina Ceaglio, once gave us a lecture in class about addiction in charts, and one of the most important points she made was that addictive personalities were not “weak,” as you would think a strong Neptune would be, but rather, the extreme opposite: willful, controlling and self-centered, the antithesis of Neptunian characteristics.

“After all,” she said (to paraphrase), “what can be more controlling than to leave the people around you, who depend on you, not knowing what you’ll do next and living their lives all around your addiction? The addict is the center of attention and essentially controlling the whole group.” This is definitely borne out in Gibson’s chart.

Born on January 3, 1956 at 4:45 pm in Peekskill, NY, he has family-oriented Cancer rising. Moon is in Libra in the first minute of the sign (zero degree of a cardinal sign is very powerful) and, of course, Sun in Capricorn in the sixth house just under the descendant. The most powerful configuration in the chart involves four planets: Pluto at 28:20 Leo conjunct Jupiter out-of-sign at 1:03 Virgo in the second house both square Mars at 23.20 Scorpio which conjuncts Saturn at 29:10 of the same sign in the fifth. These are primarily fixed signs (except Jupiter) in fixed houses. That is a tough configuration. People who have preceded me in this profession have written that a fixed square like this indicates that the soul has entrenched himself (or herself) in a very hard-to-budge habit pattern of behavior for many lifetimes regarding what the planets represent. Mars-Pluto: intense anger, and in Leo-Scorpio (the most dramatic), can be rage. Jupiter-Pluto combinations can be outrage regarding justice, and with Saturn in the midst, frustration at being blocked or stymied in getting the rage out or getting justice. Saturn rules the seventh house, so marriages can be the source of much frustration. Another source is having the Moon in Libra, a position denoting that he is not naturally a confrontational person. The Moon rules his chart and is in the fourth house, as well, so family, tradition and security of the home are of paramount importance. He would try to keep the peace for that reason, but if frustrations built too much, which is easy for him if he’s losing control, he’d need an outlet. Enter Neptune.

Neptune is at the apex of a T-square with Mercury and Uranus. Taken by itself this is an active imagination, maybe too much so, coupled with a very independent mind that is somewhat brilliant. Neptune rules the Pisces MC, great for an actor, and is in the fourth house in the Koch system. It is said that Mercury square Neptune is a “slippery” mind that can be very creative in rationalizing most anything. It’s the signature of a person who can bend the truth easily or be in denial about things that are obvious to other people. And, it can be one of the signatures of alcoholism. Not everyone who has this is an alcoholic; it takes a combination of factors, but Mr. Gibson has this.

I could write a long, long article about these two configurations above, but this gives you an idea of what he is dealing with in his own nature. Just remember, though, that we make ourselves who we are by choices we make over many lifetimes, and events in our lives are supposed to be our teachers. For that reason, if anyone has events that reveal his or her darker side, we would expect that the indications in the chart of that darker side would be triggered at that time. That is exactly what is happening to Mr. Gibson.

It’s obvious that his Moon is being triggered by the current Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter and Uranus T-square. The Moon in a very early degree of any sign has meaning of its own. Lynn Koiner has written about this, and she says that an early degree Moon is someone learning to harness emotional energy and instincts. Emotion could too easily take over the personality. There is certainly a lesson about this going on!

Also, and more importantly, the fixed four-planet square, mentioned a few paragraphs above, is being triggered by the progressed ascendant. The ascendant/descendant axis is the relationship-marriage axis, and when it contacts anything in the chart, the owner of the chart has his or her attention drawn to that issue. If you look at the chart above, the secondary progressions are in the second ring. Note in the second house that the progressed ascendant is currently between progressed Jupiter and Pluto. It had been conjunct Jupiter about sixteen months ago when he was happy with a new girlfriend. About four months ago, it hit the midpoint between them, and that was probably when the relationship began to unravel. Incidentally, it was square the fifth house natal Mars about three years ago after the separation from his wife and the racist rant of his arrest. Lots of anger at that time! The progressed ascendant still has to go over both the progressed and natal Plutos plus square the natal Saturn, which is probably when his divorce will be final. In about five years, it will conjoin Jupiter. I believe that will be a health issue since Jupiter rules his sixth house and the ascendant is also the physical body.

Meanwhile, in addition to the progressed ascendant triggering his dark side, transiting Neptune is also involved. It is opposing natal Pluto right now, has been square his natal Mars and is about the square natal Saturn. Even solar arc Neptune in involved since it has been square the MC, exact a little over a year ago, and with it Mercury was recently conjoining the MC—just over two months ago at the same time the progressed Moon was opposing it. Therefore, since Uranus is part of this T-square, it has been opposing the MC, but that was two years ago. He has really been in a state of confusion and instability!!

But that is not all. Secondary progressed Mars is at the midpoint between natal Saturn and Mercury, all 29 degrees. Mars will be exactly there in less than two months, but it is so close, he can feel it now. The Combination of Stellar Influences says of this, “Incompatibility, unrest, the desire to quarrel. The tendency to treat others badly, separations caused by disputes and arguments, the tendency to bring about a separation by force, a change through force of circumstances.”

A lot more could be said about his early life, even past lives, but blogs cannot be books. I’ll have to save this excellent example for a book about forecasting. In short, this is a pivotal point in Mr. Gibson’s life. It would be so helpful if an astrologer could explain to him what the lesson plan is. After all, healing can’t begin until we have some idea about the source of our pain and how we bring it on ourselves.