Parkinson's Disease

[Jim Eshelman]

I don't want to spent a LOT of time on this, but a look at Michael J. Fox's chart has me curious about the astrology of Parkinson's Disease. PD is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system caused by a dopamine insufficiency. It shows especially through motor control but can progress to affect any part of the CNS, including causing dementia.

For a central nervous system disease, I would have expect more overt Mercury involvement for Fox. There's really nothing unless you count a partile TRINE from Neptune. His large disability is evident from Moon in close hard aspect to Saturn and Neptune and PERHAPS Venus' involvement in the same aspects has something to teach us. He has a partile Mars-Uranus conjunction within 2° of Descendant - perhaps muscle spasticity? - though foreground aspects aren't usually where we see major medical matters.

Who else can we find? It turns out that there are a lot of celebrities with PD for whom we have well-timed birth charts.

[Jim Eshelman]

People listed include Muhammad Ali, Alan Alda, Robin WIlliams (Lewy Body Dementia), Neil Diamond, Jesse Jackson, George H.W. Bush (vascular Parkinson's), Linda Ronstadt, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul II.

MUHAMMAD ALI. Capricorn Moon, Aries Mars. Moon-Mercury (foreground). Cadent (mixed) Mars-Pluto, mixed Saturn-Uranus. Foreground Venus-Saturn. - I note another Aries affliction example, a suspicious hard Mars-Pluto, a Moon-sign prone to hardship, and wonder about the neurological implications of Moon-Mercury. (Or of Saturn-Uranus.)

ALAN ALDA. Pisces Moon, Aquarius Mars. Background Mars-Saturn (0°47'), Jupiter-Neptune; middleground Sun-Mercury. Cause not clear, though that Mars-Saturn draws my attention. Unclear what might be saying "dopamine" or "central nervous system" issues. (Aquarius Mars relevance?)

ROBIN WILLIAMS (Lewy Body Dementia). (Some LBD is a form of Parkinson's. I don't know for sure that Williams' was, but a national Parkinson's awareness site lists him.) Aquarius Moon, Gemini Mars. Moon-Venus. Background Sun-Neptune, Mars-Jupiter-Uranus, Jupiter-Neptune; foreground Mercury-Pluto. (Mars-Uranus like Fox, Jupiter-Neptune like Alda and Fox. Sun-Neptune is eye-catching.)

NEIL DIAMOND. Sagittarius Moon, Scorpio Mars. Middleground Sun-Jupiter, Sun-Pluto, Jupiter-Saturn. (Sun-Pluto like Fox.) Not a clear case to me, but still gathering data.

REV. JESSE JACKSON. Aries Moon, Pisces Mars. Moon-Pluto. Background Sun-Mars-Jupiter; middleground Venus-Saturn-Uranus. (Another Venus-Saturn? And another strongly involved Mars? Definitely another Aries Moon.)

PRES. GEORGE H.W. BUSH (vascular Parkinson's). Virgo Moon, Aquarius Mars. Moon-Venus (0°29'), Moon-Pluto. Mixed Sun-Uranus, foreground Jupiter-Uranus.

LINDA RONSTADT. Capricorn Moon, Leo Mars. Moon-Pluto (0°48'), Moon-Mercury. Middleground Sun-Saturn, Mercury-Pluto; foreground Uranus-Neptune. (Several things we've seen before but nothing that gives me a clear profile.)

OZZY OSBOURNE. (Vague "in the morning" birth time.) Sagittarius Moon and Mars. Mercury-Saturn, Mars-Jupiter, and more, but none of it is clear without a good birthtime.

REV. BILLY GRAHAM. Sagittarius Moon and Mars. Moon-Mars. Background Saturn-Uranus; mixed Mercury-Saturn, Venus-Neptune; middleground Sun-Venus-Jupiter.

POPE JOHN PAUL II. Taurus Moon, Virgo Mars. Moon sq Saturn-Uranus (conj Sun mundo). Middleground Mercury-Venus; foreground Jupiter-Neptune. Not clear to me.


There is a strange predominance of Venus: Fox (Moon-Venus conj, sq Saturn), Ali (Venus setting, sq Saturn), Alda (Venus rising), Williams (Moon-Venus op), Diamond (Venus Nadir), Jackson (no Venus emphasis, but another Venus-Saturn), Bush (Moon-Venus), Ronstadt (none), Graham (Sun-Venus conj), Pope JP2 (none, but double Taurus).

[Jim Eshelman]

I have no conclusions, but wanted to gather data rather than talk blindly about it.

[Jim Eshelman]

I might be an idiot for missing something obvious here. The central nervous system involvement might be Uranus instead of Mercury. BTW, as I was going through, my eyes kept catching on Aries and Aquarius luminaries which, while not predominant, might be part of a larger pattern. Just using the notes above, here is how the Uranus theory (perhaps in combination with Mars themes) plays out:

MUHAMMAD ALI. Capricorn Moon, Aries Mars. Cadent (mixed) Mars-Pluto, mixed Saturn-Uranus.

ALAN ALDA. Pisces Moon, Aquarius Mars. Background Mars-Saturn (0°47'). Though there is no Uranus per se, the partile background Mars-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius is eye-catching.

ROBIN WILLIAMS (Lewy Body Dementia). Aquarius Moon, Gemini Mars. Background Sun-Neptune, Mars-Jupiter-Uranus, etc. Focus on the background Mars-Uranus aspect, the frailty of Sun-Neptune, and Moon and Mars signs that fuel the pattern.

NEIL DIAMOND. Nothing that furthers this theory, but this chart was always puzzling to me for Parkinson's.

REV. JESSE JACKSON. Aries Moon, Pisces Mars. Moon-Pluto. Background Sun-Mars-Jupiter; middleground Venus-Saturn-Uranus. Aries Moon again. The Uranus aspect that might support this theory is middleground. We have Aries Moon again, Moon-Pluto for an extraordinary condition and perhaps immune system compromise, background Sun-Mars pushes energy hard, and Saturn-Uranus would contribute though I wish it were less angular.

PRES. GEORGE H.W. BUSH (vascular Parkinson's). Virgo Moon, Aquarius Mars. Moon-Venus (0°29'), Moon-Pluto. Mixed Sun-Uranus. Pretty good fit for the theory (Aquarius Mars, high-impact Moon-Pluto, and Sun-Uranus which I wish were less angular).

LINDA RONSTADT. Moon-Pluto (0°48'), Moon-Mercury. Middleground Sun-Saturn, Mercury-Pluto. Not a good fit for the Uranus theory, though broader indications of health-impacting things more generally.

REV. BILLY GRAHAM. Moon-Mars. Background Saturn-Uranus. Good fit.

POPE JOHN PAUL II. Moon sq Saturn-Uranus. Moon activating Saturn-Uranus. This one had been puzzling but is now reasonably clear.


My current working notes them boil down to: This seems a Uranus affliction, perhaps with Pluto contribution and usually with a strong Mars (muscles? the way energy pumps?) factor. It can share some of the characteristics of autoimmune diseases (with which PD has genetic overlap) but not much - things like Moon-Pluto and Sun-Neptune are consistent. Aries and Aquarius Moon or Mars were really common but acting more like "one more piece of the puzzle" rather than as "this sign connects to this disease." If we tentatively take Aries placement and Pluto aspects interchangeably, there is a lot of agreement across the charts. The afflicted Uranus is a significant presence and may be the distinguishing mark. Then there is the strange frequency of Venus on angles or aspecting Moon.

In this mix of planets, I think we have the seeds of central nervous system dysfunction, muscle impact, dopamine production or pathways compromised, plus the broader life-impact stuff.