L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope

Let’s look at L. Ron Hubbard‘s horoscope. My prompt for writing this post is a disturbing book.

It’s a biography of Scientology, the ‘religion’ founded by Hubbard.  The book is Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.

It’s a compelling read, and expertly crafted by Pulitzer winner Lawrence Wright.

Hubbard’s early career was as a prolific sci-fi and adventure pulp-fiction writer.

Going Clear says Hubbard could write fiction at an astonishing rate. He could easily ‘picture’ a complete story in his imagination. It was then just a matter of trascribing his vision.

Hubbard experienced a life-changing ‘out of body’ experience in January 1938. It occurred during a dental anaesthetic.

And it led to Hubbard’s relentless quest to understand and address the human condition from a metaphysical perspective.

More on the astrology of that event shortly.

He became a household name in the early 1950s, following the publication of his self-help bestseller, Dianetics. He wrote the book 30 days, in one draft.

Dianetics eventually led to Hubbard founding Scientology. Which is officially a religion. Although detractors descibe it as a dangerous cult.

Scientology attracts passionate followers, including Hollywood elite, such as Tom Cruise. Yet it also receives condemnation, for allegedly ‘brain washing’ followers, human rights violations, and other inappropriate activity.

Wright’s biography portrays Hubbard as a colourful yet complex individual.

He could be entertaining, funny and captivating. Yet quick-tempered, restless, blunt.

He was a natural storyteller who spun fantastical yarns to a captive audience.  Hubbard had ‘grand plans’ and a vast and vivid imagination. He could be charismatic, persuasive, bullying and harsh.

The book describes many who idolise Hubbard. And others with contempt and scorn for the man.

And still others who respect his teachings, but believe Scientology under its current leader David Miscavige has strayed from what Hubbard intended.

Astrodatabank.com says Hubbard was born March 13th, 1911, at 2:01am in Tilden, Nebraska. This data is rated ‘A.’ This is considered reasonably reliable.

Here’s a few central features in his horoscope.

 

Feature 1: grand trine in water

L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope features a ‘grand trine’ planetary pattern. This is shown collectively by the green, blue and purple arrows, above.

A grand trine is rare. Not many horoscopes have this pattern.

It is defined as three or more planets that sit 120° apart (plus or minus a few degrees) from each other. Lines drawn between grand trine planets form a triangle. As shown above.

A grand trine broadly denotes a talent, gift or ability. And it can be further defined and understood in a specific horoscope.

Firstly, by seeing which planets are involved. These will give a sense of the planetary energies that are involved and interconnected.

Secondly, by noting the ‘element’ the grand trine planets are located in (i.e. fire, water, air, or earth).

Hubbard’s grand trine planets are in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). So his grand trine has an underlying emotional (water) context or theme.

Thirdly, it is sometimes useful to note the ‘houses’ grand trine planets occupy. And finally, what houses the grand trine planets rule.

The trine aspect (about 120°) is one of the ‘soft aspects’.  Soft aspect energies are more ‘on call’ and dormant compared to ‘hard aspects’.

The planetary energies involved in a grand trine have the potential to cooperate with each other. They can be, well, good friends!

Good friends that the person has ‘on call’ at short notice.

Grand trine planets: Mercury, Jupiter and Venus

Mercury is trine his Jupiter (green arrows). Mercury is also trine Hubbard’s Neptune (blue arrows). And Jupiter is trine to Neptune (purple arrows).

Outer, slower planets influence inner faster-moving ones. So it is Jupiter and Neptune that influence or dominate Mercury in this grand trine. And slow moving Neptune will also imbue Jupiter with Neptunian qualities.

Neptune confers sensitivity, high ideals, imagination and fantasy to Mercury.

Jupiter contributes further to this. It gifts exaggeration, grandeur, optimism and expansiveness to Mercury.

Mercury is the planet of thinking and communication.

What does all this mean?

It means Hubbard is someone whose thinking and communicating have an emotional underpinning (Mercury in Pisces, a water sign).

And that this Mercury is enriched by two additional qualities. First, Jupiter’s intense (Jupiter in Scorpio) sense of grandeur, and all that Jupiter stuff.

Second, Mercury also has Neptunian characteristics: otherworldliness, fantasy and sensitivity.

This is therefore the horoscope of a someone whose communication (writing, spoken, etc – all Mercury) is emotional (water). And based on a vivid imagination (Neptune) and exaggeration and a larger-than-life enthusiasm (Jupiter).

Hubbard’s Mercury is in his 3rd house. The house of communication, news, stories. This house indicates ‘how’ his Mercury will express, as each house is an area of one’s life.

Feature 2: Venus in the 4th house, square Neptune

Venus (red oval, above) is incredibly influential and significant in L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope.

There are several reasons for this.

One is because Venus is in an angular (‘loud’) house, very close to the house cusp (or house border). The closer to the cusp of an angular house, the stronger the effect.

Another is that Venus forms a square aspect (about 90°) to his Neptune (red arrows).

As I mentioned earlier, Neptune brings idealism, otherworldiness, etc. These qualities are passed from Neptune to Venus by this aspect. Venus is generally about love, desire, taste, values.

Being a ‘hard aspect’ (a square) means this energy is always on, always active. From birth. It is not ‘on call’, like soft aspects. Instead, it is simply always ‘on’, always active.

Like a faucet of gushing water.

Hubbard’s Venus is in fiery Aries, indicating assertiveness in Venus matters. And this fiery side will have a Neptunian imaginative component.

Together, this could express as idealising his partner, or love itself. Or actively pursuing (Mars) what he loves, values or wants.

And pursuing what he imagines (Neptune) he loves, values or wants.

More context is given when when look at what house Venus rules in L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope.

Venus rules Hubbard’s Libra 10th house. This is the house of career (blue arrow) and honour. What was once collectively called our ‘magistery’.

And Venus is located his 4th house of family and foundation.

So this loud, assertive yet sensitive Neptune-ish Venus will play-out via his career (Venus, ruler of 10th).

A career that has something to with a ‘family’, foundation or tribe (4th house).

Feature 3: Sun square Pluto, Mars conjunct Uranus

Hubbard’s Pisces Sun is square to Pluto (red arrows).

Pluto here is angular (loud) in the 7th house. Which is the house of relationships, and other people in general. In traditional astrology, it is also the house of ‘open enemies’, visible adversaries.

The Sun is identity and self. Pluto brings ‘always on’ (hard aspect) power, drive and energy to Hubbard’s Sun.

One interpretation here is that powerful other people (Pluto in the 7th house) boost Hubbard’s sense of self, his ego (Sun).

And/or he will have ‘powerful relationships’, on all sorts of levels. Ones directly connected with his personal identity (Sun).

Will he see other people objectively? Maybe not.

Because Mercury is the ruler of his Gemini 7th house. And Mercury is part of the grand trine, which includes Neptune and Jupiter.

What he writes (Mercury in 3rd house) about others (ruler of 7th) may have exaggerated and idealistic flavours taken from the grand trine.

Mars is conjunct Uranus (green oval). This indicates a tendency towards impulsive (Uranus) actions (Mars).

This conjunction is in Hubbard’s 2nd house of self-esteem, resources and money. So these will fluctuate, more than average.

This conjunction is also restless (Uranus) energy (Mars) and changeable actions – doing this, doing that. Change at short notice.

Mars is ruler of Aries. And Hubbard’s Venus is in Aries. This brings additional restlessness.

Feature 4: Sagittarius Ascendant, Jupiter conjunct South Node

The Ascendant in L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope is in Sagittarius (red arrow, above).

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is conjunct the South Node (blue oval).

Jupiter likes ‘more.’ ‘A little is good, more is better!’ That kind of thing. It’s energy is like a car accelerator pedal (Saturn being the brakes).

Strongly Jupiter people can be likeable, funny, enthusiastic. And exaggerated, overly optimistic.

Jupiter conjunct South Node gives Hubbard an instinctual (South Node) Jupiter expression. It comes naturally to him, he’s done it before.

But in everyone’s horoscope, the South Node is what we should grow out of, and aim for what the North Node represents.

In Hubbard’s case, his North node is in Taurus, in the 5th house. This means creative self-expression, in a tangible (Taurus is an earth sign) way.

Since Jupiter is the planet associated with his Ascendant, these Jupiter qualities are what most people will notice most about Hubbard.

The Ascendant is what we publically display, our face to the world.

Life event: out of body experience, 1938

On January 1st, 1938, Hubbard had a general anaesthetic (nitrous oxide) during a dental procedure.

While unconscious, he experienced a life-changing out of body experience.

Author Lawrence Wright (p29) says, “In these brief hallucinatory moments, Hubbard believed that the secrets of existence were accidetally revealed to him.”

Below is Hubbard’s horoscope (inner), with Solar Arc Directions (SADs, middle circle) and transits (outer) for that day.

This chart or diagram type is called a 90° dial, or wheel. It re-arranges the way planets and points are displayed, so that hard aspects display as conjunctions.

This makes things visually clearer.

SAD Ascendant (blue oval) is square Hubbard’s Venus.

His Ascendant is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. And his Jupiter in his horoscope is trine dreamy Neptune.

The Ascendant and 1st house are symbolic of our body, our personality. And our physical environment.

Hubbard’s Venus is square Neptune in his horoscope.

Transiting Neptune is square his Sun (red oval). This indicates a time of sensitivity, a breaking down of barriers.

And Neptune is the planet most associated with anaesthesia.

Combined, these aspects by SAD and transit indicate a time of increased sensitivity (Neptune) and poweful activation of one of the most prominent planets in his horoscope.

Which is Venus, because it is angular in his 4th house.

Life event: writing of Dianetics

Hubbard started writing Dianetics on January 12th, 1950 (Wright, p60). It was finished a month later and published in May that year.

Here’s Hubbard’s horoscope (inner) with SADs and transits for January 12th, 1950.

Like 1938, above, Neptune is back in action!

Transiting Neptune squares his Venus (purple oval). This reinforces and amplifies the Venus-Neptune aspect already in his horoscope.

Whereas in 1938 Neptune squared the planet that’s angular in his horoscope, the Sun.

SAD Sun also squares his Mars (green oval). This is likely about the drive (Mars) and focus to write the book.

L. Ron Hubbard’s horoscope: summary

This post is much longer than I originally intended.

However, I hope it gives a clear picture of a larger-than-life and very imaginative man.

He had a ‘gift’ (grand trine). A gift of tapping into the imaginal realm and effortlessly writing and (grandly) expressing what he saw and experienced there.

In an emotional (grand trine in water) and intuitive way.

And elaborating a detailed ideology from it, that was the foundation of his later career.

He was a powerful identity (Sun-Pluto) with an instinctual sense of imaginative exaggeration and charisma (Jupiter-Neptune).

And he could talk and write about all of this in a colourful and captivating way (Mercury in grand trine). Yet he was restless (Mars-Uranus) and changeable.

His potential for power is visible in two things: first, in prominent Venus in Aries square Neptune, with Venus ruling his 10th house of career.

And furthermore Pluto square his Sun, with Pluto angular in the 7th.

All in all a fascinating, unique and very controversial figure.