The skin

[Jim Eshelman]

Astrological "rulership" of the skin is unclear in historic literature and not obvious from anything we currently know.

In theory, the skin's functions sound a lot like Saturn! The skin's basic purpose is to define, contain, and bound the body. More than anything else, it is a protective barrier. It even serves as part of the excretory system, helping eliminate toxins.

And yet, when I look at examples and occasions of skin disorders, I haven't seen Saturn particularly involved other than on occasions where dryness is the symptom.

We have also previously discussed Cancer as corresponding to the skin, a crustacean's shell being technically skin and functionally does much that our skin does.

I've dug out a few celebrities with timed births who have suffered skin cancers and other severe skin disorders. I'll add some notes below on what I note - to kick this off.

[Jim Eshelman]

ANDERSON COOPER (small skin cancers, unusual skin). Pisces Moon, Virgo Mars. Background Uranus-Pluto; foreground Moon-Venus. (Foreground Moon, Mars, Venus [barely Saturn]. Background Uranus, Pluto especially.)

BRAD PITT (severe acne in adolescence). Moon & Mars in Sagittarius. Background Saturn-Neptune; middleground Moon-Venus, Sun-Jupiter, Mars-Jupiter. (Foreground Sun, Uranus; widely foreground Pluto; background Saturn & Neptune.)

CAMERON DIAZ (severe acne, psoriasis, rosacea). Aries Moon, Leo Mars. Background Sun-Mars; middleground Moon-Mercury; Jupiter-Pluto with Jupiter background. (Venus exactly rising, Uranus and Pluto moderately foreground. Saturn deeply background, Jupiter somewhat.)

CLINT EASTWOOD (melanoma). Cancer Moon, Aries Mars. Background Moon-Mars, Uranus-Pluto; slightly background Venus-Saturn; foreground Mercury-Neptune. (Foreground Mercury, Neptune.)

CYBILL SHEPHERD (melanoma). Pisces Moon, Virgo Mars. Background Jupiter-Pluto, middleground Mercury-Venus. (Foreground Moon, Uranus, barely Saturn. Sun in immediate background.)

DIANE KEATON (basal cell carcinoma [twice]). Capricorn Moon, Cancer Mars. Background Venus-Neptune, Mars-Jupiter. (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and other planets background. Nothing foreground.)

EWAN McGREGOR (skin cancer). Taurus Moon, Sagittarius Mars. Non-foreground Venus-Neptune; mostly foreground Sun-Mars-Uranus. (Sun & Uranus foreground; Moon and Pluto broadly background.)

LEANN RIMES (severe psioriasis). Aquarius Moon, Scorpio Mars. Middleground Sun-Mercury, Jupiter-Pluto;' foreground Venus-Neptune; mixed Moon-Uranus. (Widely foreground Moon, Venus, Neptune; background Uranus, Mars.)

MELANIE GRIFFITH (skin cancer). Capricorn Moon, Leo Mars. Background Mars-Pluto, Mercury-Pluto, Venus-Pluto [the most background]. (Foreground Neptune; widely foreground Sun. Background Venus, Pluto, others.)

MICHAEL JACKSON (vitiligo). Aquarius Moon, Aries Mars. Mundane Moon-Sun-Saturn T-square exactly an angles. Middleground Mercury-Venus-Uranus. (Mercury & Pluto widely foreground; nothing deeply background but Mars somewhat background.) - Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder (my next topic of discussion) where the immune system kills pigment sells and the skin loses color. I might credit Venus trine Saturn for secondary psychological effects.

MORGAN FREEMAN (dermatosis papulosa nigra). Aquarius Moon, Mars Scorpio. Middleground Mercury-Mars, Venus-Jupiter-Pluto. (Foreground Saturn, barely foreground Venus, deeply background Moon.) - (DPN creates firm dark-to-black ridge-growths mostly on face and neck.)

RENEE ZELLWEGER (rosacea). Cancer Moon, Scorpio Mars (Mo-Ma precisely trine). (Foreground Mars, barely Pluto. Moon in immediate background, Sun fairly background.) No close hard aspects at all; but stretching to Class 2 gives Moon-Mercury nonangular, Mercury-Neptune middleground (Mars-Pluto foreground).

[Jim Eshelman]

Scanning these dozen examples for even casually observable similarities, I don't see much. It may be that these diseases (though all of the skin) all have different profiles, being different diseases. It may be that the skin has no specific astrological correlation of its own, though different parts of the body and different types of skin functions dictate how the medical condition shows up. There is also the problem that cancer (most of these examples) remains as complex and ultimately inscrutable in astrology as to doctors.

I'll go back through these and just "think aloud" on what seems behind each person's listed disease. At the moment, I don't expect many commonalities.

ANDERSON COOPER (small skin cancers, unusual skin). Cooper's cancers were small and don't seem to have caused much commotion. There may not be a significant disease profile natally. What I find most interesting is that he has such unusual skin that people have wondered if he is albino (he's not), yet with his foreground Moon-Venus he is judged not strange but unusually attractive. (I'm almost ready to say that his Pisces Moon matches that his skin has transparent or translucent qualities of many fish.) I don't think he's a good medical example.

BRAD PITT (severe acne in adolescence). Pitt's chart is such a great example of manifest success, including triple Sagittarius and both luminaries with benefics middleground. He is decades past his skin afflictions but still has scars from it. The only clear medical aspect is the background Saturn-Neptune, which isn't linked historically to this kind of problem (but may have shown psychological states arising at the time). Probably not a deep concern to him.

CAMERON DIAZ (severe acne, psoriasis, rosacea). It's clearly not her background, uninvolved Saturn. She says it was inflammatory foods causing hormone surges. Her chart is quite fiery and the one strong background aspect is the inflammatory Sun conjunct Mars that probably is the cause. - Curiously, she is one of several people on the list with Jupiter-Pluto aspects, which may just be their fame and wealth: It doesn't have any obvious connection to the disease unless "social stigma" is the point. (Ah, and it does have to do with the impact of food assimilation, which she linked specifically to this issue.)

CLINT EASTWOOD (melanoma). Cancer Moon and Aries Mars were common enough that they may turn out to have something to do with this. What is more obvious to me in his chart, though, is that the background Moon-Mars is inflammatory and damaging, Uranus-Pluto (if relevant at all) means unusual things, and the slightly background Venus-Saturn is often tied to disfigurement or cosmetic embarrassment. - Not the same as anyone else so far, but each thing interesting on its own.

CYBILL SHEPHERD (melanoma). Though it's the only case, I wondered if her deeply background Sun means she has to stay away from the sun! (She covers herself head to foot when she goes out to shield from sun exposure.) Another background Jupiter-Pluto example, though it may relate to her success and wealth. Mercury-Venus is a curious aspect I have to think about (may be connected to imbalances of various kinds).

DIANE KEATON (basal cell carcinoma [twice]). Family history of the disease and has had it several times. Another person who shades herself when she goes out, with signature ultrawide-brimmed hats etc. Moon and Mars show the Cancer-Capricorn emphasis I suspected. Not the super-background Sun of Shepherd. Venus-Neptune background would usually implicate a hormonal matter, but may simply mean the psychological impact of cosmetic issues. Mars-Jupiter isn't obvious for this.

EWAN McGREGOR (skin cancer). I didn't find clue to whether this was a big deal for him: maybe not, or maybe well hidden. The only non-foreground hard aspect is Venus-Neptune, which we have seen before, and may be connected to psychological cosmetic concerns.

LEANN RIMES (severe psioriasis). Apparently quite severe and intrusive on her performing. We'll see a few Aquarius Moon and Scorpio Mars examples but I don't know if it supports a connection. Another background Jupiter-Pluto case and then Sun-Mercury (which seems relevant only if it's triggered by nerves).

MELANIE GRIFFITH (skin cancer). Capricorn Moon is interesting. Again we have the clearest indication being cosmetic, with Venus conjunct Pluto being the most acutely background (and also related to hormonal shifts). Part of the same cluster are Mars-Pluto and Mercury-Pluto conjunctions, which could reasonably feed the matter, e.g., cell inflammation and other cell damage plus accelerated catabolic processes (Mars-Pluto) and unusual nervous system behavior (Mercury-Pluto). Most interestingly, the things that are obvious aren't necessarily what we see elsewhere unless it's just "afflicted Venus."

MICHAEL JACKSON (vitiligo). Aquarius Moon (I'll come back to that), Aries Mars (we've seen it before). Michael, who had nothing deeply background, had a mundane Moon-Sun-Saturn T-square on exactly his angles that seems linked to his entire life-cycle of pressure, demands, and difficulties amidst his great effort and success. For someone so gigantically successful, he lived one of the hardest, least rewarded, even tragic lives (plus the negative impact of his parents), which this T-square easily shows. Health stuff may have been a subset of this, perhaps as a genetic factor (known for vitiligo).

MORGAN FREEMAN (dermatosis papulosa nigra). Aquarius Moon like Michael. I wanted to mention that, aside from any specific medical connection, here we have two Black performers that stand out as looking highly unusual in a way approaching weird. Michael practically made this a trademark, while Freeman's appearance is unmistakable and unique - if they weren't famous and even beloved, they would be thought strange, which is pure Aquarius Moon on its own.

DPN isn't that rare. Mars in Scorpio relates part of where it appears (face and neck), but I doubt that's a real factor. Moon is deeply background - not sure what that means since there are no aspects active to offset it. The middleground Venus-Jupiter-Pluto is very interesting since we see the Jupiter-Pluto again and the Venus-Pluto cosmetic factor.

RENEE ZELLWEGER (rosacea). Cancer Moon shows again. In her case, I wonder that the Cancer Moon and Scorpio Mars being in very precise trine might not be an inflammatory issue (which rosacea is, with reddened skin etc.) - since she has no close hard aspects at all (this is mostly a soft aspect chart with a foreground Mars).

[Jim Eshelman]

My current conclusions from the above are, first, that there is no consistent pattern through all of these that speaks "skin disease" per se, suggesting they are all unique, separate diseases not bound together by the idea of "skin"; second, if there is a single most common link, it probably is Venus, the whole being taken as the [seeming to me] mostly psychological "cosmetic issues" angle, not a physiological angle; third, that Jupiter-Pluto seemed really common but may have been an artifact of choosing successful celebrities; and, fourth, that there seemed some other recurrent patterns that should be quantified.

Therefore, I'm going to break the main stuff down and see what sticks out.

SIGNS
Taurus - Moon (Ewan McGregor)
Cancer - Moon (Clint Eastwood, Renee Zellweger), Mars (Diane Keaton)
Leo - Mars (Cameron Diaz, Melanie Griffith)
Virgo - Mars (Anderson Cooper, Cybill Shepherd)
Scorpio - Mars (LeAnn Rimes, Morgan Freeman, Renee Zellweger)
Sagittarius - Moon (Brad Pitt), Mars (Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor)
Capricorn - Moon (Diane Keaton, Melanie Griffith)
Aquarius - Moon (LeAnn Rimes, Michael Jackson, Morgan Freeman)
Pisces - Moon (Anderson Cooper, Cybill Shepherd)
Aries - Moon (Cameron Diaz), Mars (Clint Eastwood, Michael Jackson)

In this small sample, I didn't expect standout excesses, and didn't find them. Perhaps the three Aquarius Moons and three Scorpio Marses (both of which have the same two people making up most of their list) are most obvious. Aries and Scorpio have multiple placements and - most interesting to me - Libra has none and Taurus has only one. In fact, Gemini and Libra are the only two not represented, and Taurus the only example with one. I'm not sure this tells us anything: Perhaps that signs aren't common for known blemishes and skin damage. For polarities, Cancer-Capricorn and Leo-Aquarius both had five instances (but four would be average). I think there isn't a sign factor unless "not Venus' signs" is a pattern; and I don't know if that is a real factor of "less skin disease" or an under-reporting matter because they don't like to disclose blemishes.

ASPECTS (foreground aspects in parentheses)
Mo-Su: (Michael Jackson)
Mo-Me: Cameron Diaz, Renee Zellwegger
Mo-Ve: Brad Pitt (Anderson Cooper)
Mo-Ma: Clint Eastwood
Mo-Sa: (Michael Jackson)
Mo-Ur: LeAnn Rimes
Su-Me: LeAnn Rimes
Su-Ma: Cameron Diaz (Ewan McGregor)
Su-Ju: Brad Pitt
Su-Sa: (Michael Jackson)
Su-Ur: (Ewan McGregor)
Me-Ve: Cybill Shepherd, Michael Jackson
Me-Ma: Morgan Freeman
Me-Ur: Michael Jackson
Me-Ne: Renee Zellwegger (Clint Eastwood)
Me-Pl: Melanie Griffith
Ve-Ju: Morgan Freeman
Ve-Sa: Clint Eastwood
Ve-Ur: Michael Jackson
Ve-Ne: Diane Keaton, Ewan McGregor (LeAnn Rimes)
Ve-Pl: Melanie Griffith, Morgan Freeman
Ma-Ju: Brad Pitt, Diane Keaton
Ma-Ur: (Ewan McGregor)
Ma-Pl: Melanie Griffith (Renee Zellwegger)
Ju-Pl: Cameron Diaz, Cybill Shepherd, LeAnn Rimes, Morgan Freeman
Sa-Ne: Brad Pitt
Ur-Pl: Anderson Cooper, Clint Eastwood

These are more interesting. As mentioned previously, I'm going to assume for now that the Jupiter-Pluto frequency is a consequence of their wealth and celebrity, not skin disease. After that, what I notice most is that Venus aspects are a key (it mostly doesn't matter what, as long as it's non-foreground, but we especially see are Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto plus the curious Mercury-Venus). This may be the pattern. Otherwise, we see several indications of inflammation or flaring up that might be a contributor, but no specific "this is the aspect that does it" example of that - it's more general.

I also note that for skin problems the psychological meaning of the aspects seems to matter more. It may be hard to find a specifically physiological marker, since the psychological impact of these specific afflictions may be a bigger deal in many cases.

To objectify the sense of Venus' greater involvement, I'm going to do something a little different, and just count the number of Class 1 aspects to each planet, regardless of what the other planet is (distinguishing foreground in parentheses again so it is easier to filter them out). I'll give Zellwegger's Class 2 aspects full points since they're her strongest. I'll put Jupiter-Pluto in square brackets so it doesn't overwhelm (since I think it's a non-factor individually).

Mo: 5 (3)
Su: 3 (4)
Me: 9 (1)
Ve: 10 (2)
Ma: 7 (2)
Ju: 4 [4]
Sa: 2 (2)
Ur: 5 (2)
Ne: 4 (2)
Pl: 7 [4]

Venus is indeed the most active (unless you credit Pluto all its aspects to Jupiter), but barely beats out Mercury - which is an interesting surprise. Listing foreground only (with Ju-Pl still segregated) gives:

10 -Venus
9 - Mercury
7 - Mars, Pluto
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5 - Moon, Uranus
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4 - Jupiter, Neptune
3 - Sun
2 - Saturn

This puts a LOT into perspective! Saturn and Sun are the least involved: Skin disease is CLEARLY not a Saturn function and, though many of these cases were caused by over-exposure to sunlight, Sun is not a factor. The clear top of the heap is Venus - making skin diseases (with ALL the skin functions) primarily a cosmetic factor. Of uncertain meaning is that Mercury (the nervous system) is nearly as active. Everything else is average with only Mars and Pluto (inflammation and the cancer cases?) being the only other somewhat heavily involved planets.

Adding the foreground aspects for a different looks gives a similar (but not identical) breakdown:

12 - Venus
10 - Mercury
9 - Mars
8 - Moon
-------------------------------------
7 - Sun Uranus Neptune Pluto
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4 - Jupiter Saturn