Sean Connery and Ian Fleming: 1930 vs 1908

An Astro-Tribute to Sean Connery and Ian Fleming

by Jude Cowell

One glance at the natal horoscope of 007 actor Sean Connery reveals his four natal planets in Mercury-ruled Virgo if we include the outer planet of glamour, illusion, photography and celluloid, Neptune. The others are Sun, Moon, and Mercury, a Virgo trio of personal planets. This indicates that his essence is Mercurial Virgo, he emotes as a Virgo, and his thought processes are Virgoan.

Born August 25, 1930 at 6:05 pm GDT Edinburgh, Scotland, Baby Sean was delivered just as karmic Saturn @5Cap26 Rx arose (ASC 6Cap06) over Edinburgh and a Sun-Neptune Conjunction was active. This suggests that Connery's eventual film career readily involved this solar aspect enveloping him in the glamour, even mystery, that such a public career can bring.

His Sun-Neptune Conjunction also suggests that sensitivity, proneness to seduction, and entanglements in scandal are potentials within his adult personality along with audiences projecting their dreams of seduction onto his image.

Yet born with serious Saturn strong in its own sign of Capricorn, Sean Connery's often serious demeanor may be partially attributed to his Saturn-ASC conjunction (self-will, egotism, difficult childhood conditions, early maturity) but also to the abundance of fact-based energies of Virgo, the critic.

Here's an interesting video you may wish to check out: Sean Connery: Close Up beginning with a clip from Dr. No (1962), the first of the James Bond series of films. And here's Sean years later being queried in a 60 Minutes interview.

Meanwhile, the Wikipedia page of literary character, James Bond tells us all about it including author Ian Fleming's inspiration for the Bond character based in large part on his early love of Bulldog Drummond stories about a World War One veteran's dangerous exploits. So with a Geminian writer's versatility, Ian Fleming managed to transform the plotlines into stories for modern day readers, and the Hollywood film industry did the rest.

Aspect Grid: Ian vs Sean - Sean vs Ian!

Now from all that I've read about Bond author Fleming and Bond actor Connery, their work relationship was troubled, even contentious, and this is born out by the Synastry Grid, above, showing the natal aspects between them. You see an abundance of squares (frustration, friction, blockages, lack of understanding), oppositions (outright disagreements, external challenges, tug-of-war) circled in blue. A few brief indications are penned on for you as are the closest applying aspect to each fellow's natal Sun (adult personality). Of course, their difficulties are symbolized by generational clashes between Fleming born in 1908 and Connery born 22 years later in 1930.

Because on a societal level, 1908 was a year of a delusional Uranus-Neptune opposition when ideals were lost or reversed with unpredictable outcomes, while 1930 brought the world a Saturn-Pluto opposition of hardship, economic destruction, and a struggle between larger forces (ex: fascism vs democracy). The personalities of each man would have been unconsciously affected by the planetary energies of their times, as is the case for us all.

And yet their collaboration did go forward and there are a few positive contacts shown in the above grid which suggest a creative work relationship (sextiles and trines) but with few long-lasting indications; where we find conjunctions (ex: Venus-Pluto), intensity in their relationship is obvious along with contentious Mercury-Mars, and a Mars-conjunct-Mars contact (but in different signs, Gemini and Cancer).

Saturn: Planet of Work and Authority--with Testy Mars

Perhaps the most influential planet between them is Saturn (via Fleming's Aquarius ASC and Connery's Capricorn ASC, both ruled by old man Saturn, planet of authority) followed closely by the frustrating influence of the Mars-Saturn combination. Their Saturns square one another, a signal of conflicting values particularly in relation to work ethic and who's-in-charge issues. Plus, their Saturnian square brings along the natal aspects of both men's Mars-Saturn aspects: Fleming's a Mars-Saturn square, Connery's a Mars-Saturn opposition. Therefore, with one Saturn blocking the other, their personal Mars-Saturn aspects may have been activated or triggered by their relationship difficulties at work, via their conflicting values. In fact, a tendency toward harsh criticism is also suggested, due to inflexible viewpoints and a measure of resentment, most likely coming from Fleming's side, he being older.

Our Option: Shaken or Stirred!

Yet despite it all, successful films were made via their creative collaboration, films that are still watched by audiences to this day, so perhaps we can close this astro-tribute by saying that Geminian writer Ian Fleming's Aquarian-Uranian nature invented novel ideas and modernized plots which were then scripted and poured into the Saturnian form of a handsome Scottish actor named Sean Connery!

For the curious reader, here are biographical details for Ian Fleming and Sean Connery, may both men R.I.P.