A Love Supreme

It's a little intimidating to read John Coltrane's chart, he's so far beyond what I can understand. So I'm going to try to keep it simple and just mention a couple of simple things I see in his chart. Many think his greatest album was "A Love Supreme" so that fits my quest for True Love. I once went to a Sunday service at his Church where the regulars played music and sang for literally hours. My friend left early explaining that he had hit his "Acoustical Limit." When you look at Coltrane's chart you can see there's something that goes beyond most people's limits, or knowledge, for that matter.

John Coltrane
b. Sept. 23, 1926 5:00 pm Hamlet, NC

Sun 1 Libra; ASC 3 Pisces; Moon 30 Aries; MC 14 Sagittarius

Before anything else one just has to look at that Aries Point Sun in Libra. Coltrane was born just after a Full Moon while the Moon was on the last degree of Aries. His Sun is in Libra in his 7th House. That's an individual with a strong drive to live in relation to others, great aspect for a musician who plays with others. The Aries Moon throws the completely opposite vibe into the pot, of course, which shows a lot of emotional churning in relationships in order to express the Individual self. The person may just get married about 10 times before the age of 30 or if the rest of the chart shows an inclination for taking it out there beyond the human realms the person may look for balance in those ways. Coltrane did that through music, drugs, religion, intense practice, disciplined search for God who he thought was the same for all people (Sagittarius MC). Neptune opposing Coltrane's ascendant elevates these themes to the Pisces realms.

Behind this Libra/Aries relationship axis there is a struggle and drive shown by a Grand Square between Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune-Mars. Coltrane has a beautiful Jupiter in Aquarius in his 12th House which is opposing Neptune in Leo in H6. This shows the spirituality and far reaching Love for Humanity. But these planets are squared in a Grand Square aspect by an opposition of Saturn in Scorpio to Mars in Taurus. Saturn and Mars' need to find form for the Jupiter-Uranus, experimentation/boundlessness struggles with reality. The stress between these two very different energies may have been why Coltrane died so young at Age 40 of Liver Cancer. Jupiter (Liver) is in the 12th House of chronic health problems, couldn't recover from the earlier Heroin addition as easily as some others because stressed by the squares from Saturn and Mars. It's also opposing the ruler of his 12th house. (Since I love his Ballades the most, I find it fascinating that Saturn and Mars, which is in Taurus, are both related to slowness.)

Pluto was also conjunct Coltrane's North Node in Cancer in H5. That shows a creative/destructive urge, a drive to transform.

It's interesting to look at Coltrane's transits from the perspective of when he kicked his Heroin addiction. The time I have for this is "Early 1957." At that point Coltrane's progressed Sun was passing into Scorpio. Progressed Sun changing signs usually shows a big transition, the transition from Libra to Scorpio is often constructive because it releases a person from having to constantly be so aware of others and to gain personal power and control. It's interesting that transiting Neptune, Planet of Addiction was passing over his progressed Sun at the same time, though. I wouldn't think this would be the time that he'd quit drugs. Making matters even more difficult, transiting Pluto was passing over natal Neptune striking off that Grand Square. That's the dread Neptune-Pluto conjunction. And hitting the Grand Square, that's Noel Tyl's "Ego Wipe-Out" x 4. Makes sense for hitting bottom I suppose. The Wikipedia article says that he escaped into his practicing and actually started practicing on Violin and Harp as well as Saxophone. Jupiter, planet of excess, was hitting Coltrane's Sun which could show an "overdoing". Maybe a lucky partner came into his life who helped him find the Balance he was looking for. I'm not sure when he met his wife, Alice, but I do know she played harp. All these planets showing addiction, compulsion and excess were balanced out by multiple strong Saturn aspects, Saturn is the planet of discipline: t. Saturn c. MC; t. NN c. n. Saturn. Solar Return Saturn c. ASC square Pluto-Mercury.

When Coltrane cut the "Love Supreme" album in Dec. 1964, Pluto and Uranus were conjunct his natal Venus in Virgo in his 7th house. Saturn was conjunct his Ascendant.