Live in London, 2012 © Andrew Gough
My friend, Star Peimbert, is an amazing astrologer and occasionally she assists me with my research, such as when she provided invaluable insight into the astrological charts of Stalin and Lenin for my article, Russian Mysticism and the Secret of Stalin’s Skyscrapers. So, I have come to respect and rely on her expertise.
From time to time we Skype and in one recent conversation Star, who has studied my astral chart, spoke of events in my life in the context of a 27-year cycle, which commences at birth and provides a dramatic impact around the age of 27-28, and again around the age of 54-56. She continued telling me of her insights, but I had stopped listening.
“Excuse me, but did you just say a 27-28-year cycle?” I was asking her to rewind. “Have you heard of the 27 Club?” I continued. “The what?” she replied.
“You know – the phenomenon whereby many famous artists, usually rock stars, commit suicide (or overdose) at or around the age of 27. Nobody knows why. To be honest, I’ve always assumed it was coincidence.”
“I’ve never heard of that,” she added quizzically.
“Yeah, it’s quite famous. Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and, most recently Amy Winehouse, all died from an overdose or similar cause at or near the age of 27. There is a long list of others. The thing is, I had just been thinking about the 27 Club, because the downbeat diva singer, Lana Del Rey, recently proclaimed in an interview that she wished she was ‘already dead’ – and she’s around that age.”
“Interesting… What would you like me to do?” Star asked, helpful as always to entertain my flights of fancy.
“Tell me more about the 27-year cycle, and if Lana will be next,” I replied, hoping that I was wrong, as I am a fan, having seen her in concert and enjoying the new album, Ultraviolence (her second), quite a lot.
“Ok. Send me her birth details and let me collect my thoughts, and then I’ll come back to you.” “Great. Thank you. That’s a deal,” I said with gratitude. And so I waited.
A couple of weeks passed and I decided to ping her on Facebook: “Star, hi, what’s up? Any news on Lana and the 27 Club?”
“Yes,” she said. “Skype me and I’ll tell you all about it.”
We spoke for ages, and what she shared was fascinating. She pointed out that she was able to find a ‘correlation’, but not a ‘causation’, to the tragic end of life that befell many artists around the age of 27. However, she added that this phenomenon was not limited to the entertainment industry, but that it merely had more visibility here.
Star shared that she had studied six musicians and one actor in detail: Jim Morrison (whose girlfriend, Pamela Coursen, also died at 27), Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Alan Wilson, Brian Jones, Amy Winehouse and Brandon Lee. All were famous and all had died, suddenly, by the age of 27.
Star shared that there are two cycles: the first involves the Moon and its Lunation Cycle, in this case the first Progressed Lunar Return. Their Progressed Moon, as she put it, was in exact conjunction (the same place) to their natal Moon, and less than 10° past the exact aspect. The first full cycle, she shared, takes place around the age of 27-28.
She then discussed the second cycle, which involves the first of Saturn’s Returns. She noted that Saturn was transiting at less than 30° before the exact conjunction to its natal place (Saturn Return) and that this cycle – the period when Saturn ‘returns’ by transit (regular planetary movement) to the same position as it was at birth takes about 27½ to 29½ years to complete, depending on the individual and on retrograde movements. Together, Star emphasised, these two cycle phases produce a tremendous emotional confrontation in the 27th year of life.
So, there was a pattern after all; and Star may have cracked the code. Now, perhaps for the first time, the propensity for someone of a particular set of life experiences to die young, as Star called it, ‘by a choice made at the soul level’, that is, not a conscious decision, but rather by ‘dissolving’ out of this existence and into another, at or around the age of 27, could be identified, and thus possibly pre-empted.
Star added that most of the 27 Club had reached a ‘pinnacle of existence’ at a very young age, and were public figures who (for the most part) experienced difficult childhoods and were required to mature too quickly. Fame and success came early, and rather than being ready to enter the next level, one of deeper emotional development and experience, they were seeking to escape what they perceived as the harsh realities of life. In the process most resorted to alcohol, psychedelics and extreme experiences of altered states as a way to ‘subconsciously return back to the Source’, as Star had put it.
Maybe consciously, or even unconsciously, Star added, these artists had already transcended to a higher expression of self, and were ‘dissolving’ into the ‘collective self’ on their way back to the source (via death).
I was fascinated, but had to know. “What about Lana?” I asked, pensively.
“She’ll be fine,” Star said. “I checked her chart. Not only has she just turned 28, but her Progressed Lunar Return has passed more than 9° already and her Saturn Return will still take more than 18° to conjunct her natal Saturn in her chart. So she doesn’t belong to the 27 Club. Rest easy. She’s not going to kill herself.”
“Excellent news!” I’m sure even Lana would be thrilled to hear that, I mused.
For further details on Star’s theory, you may contact her on Facebook: Star Peimbert; Skype: nydstar; and by email: nydunicorn@hotmail.com
3 Comments
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I was a beginning student of astrology, teaching myself from various books and I don’t know when I first read about the Saturn return but since I disliked most things Saturnian (Capricorns, things ruled by Capricorn, patience, hindrances) I wanted to know how to avoid all that bad stuff that could come with the return. (typical Aries..)
But what I read was useful and the more I read, the more I thought good could come out of it.
It was explained that as Saturn transited each of the 11 signs before returning to its birth place, the person would learn what Saturn might teach them of the lessons of that sign. When the new cycle started, it was a time to assimilate what had been learned before: “putting all the pieces together”. And yes, it was a difficult time. Another approach is that (not astrological) of hindusim where one is a child and student and then must graduate and take one’s place in the world, to support one’s self and become a householder. With the second Saturn return, one should prepare for putting the life of the householder aside and devote oneself to spiritual matters.
I married slightly before and went back to school to learn a trade. What you learn under a Saturn return you hold on to..the knowledge and skills are yours for keeps. I watched and waited for the end of the return and things brightened considerably. And then my husband who was over a year younger, went into his return. And as all this was going on I observed others of my age to see how it affected their lives and what they made of themselves.
Saturn return can be the time when some people stop growing. They revert to the times when they were the happiest and they don’t budge. You’ve seen them…stuck in the past, the cars, the music (I’m thinking in terms of the US where so many people have their own cars), the hair styles…like that.
By the time the second return came around I was divorced (another astrological cycle hits in the mid-40s) and knew it would be different but the same: things to learn, more things to be responsible for, but when done, a renewed appreciation for life. I finished my by starting to go to France (I learned the language in high school and loved the country) and fell in love with the south of France…you know the area, the Aude and Ariege. I arrived in Perpignan around midnight, the beginning of the first day of Spring and I was driving the peage to Castelnaudry and I saw rising over the Pyrenees, a full moon. It marked a strong change and I felt it immediately. I continued on to the house (built in part from stones from the city walls) in Mirepoix that I had rented.
Saturn taketh away and Saturn giveth. And ruling stone, Saturn gave me the stones of the various chateaux. I went there not concerned with the Cathars (although I knew a little of them) but came away knowing much more and not from books, although I read the good French authorities (esp Anne Brenon, etc).
And when I know someone who is approaching a Saturn return I do talk with them about it…usually people who have already learned about the Mercury retrograde problems…
the thing I love about astrology is that it’s not personal…when something good happens, appreciate it and pass it along. When something not-so happens, you’re not the target.
I had an astrologer I followed in LA and then she was no mare, and a fellow who had a great column in the Guardian and then they laid him off..but a lot of people followed him and he sends out a monthly forecast which is good. I’ll include the link which you can delete if you want, this is just for your info and broader knowledge.
http://www.neilspencer.co.uk/
I’m very glad your friend is doing work with Saturn returns. A grounding in what is going on can make a real difference in how the rest of one’s life goes.
And yes, I’ve come to appreciate Capricorns and the work they do (esp since it means I don’t have to do it).
and in case no one else warns you, Mercury is going retrograde in early October for about 21 days…back up all your computer files, double check all travel plans, don’t buy anything new that you haven’t been planning on purchasing for some time, don’t sign contracts, have a spare set of keys available, make a conscious effort to know where your mobile is at all times and plan on delays.
It happens three times a year..and as with Saturn, it’s not personal. -
Author
Gabriele, hi. Thank you for sharing your very personal and informative experience. And thank you for the heads up on Mercury in retrograde, early this October. Grrrr. I will be wary.
Cheers,
Andrew
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