Tragic Modern Love

I know I said that I wouldn't look at any more Artists' charts during my search for the secret to True Love but this story was too Romantic and Sad to pass up. Let's face it, Love between Lawyers, Accountants, and Brick Layers just never seems to make the Headlines. True Love is fueled by Romance and Imagination. And Artists never have health insurance so it's kind of convenient when they don't live into old age anyway.

Theresa Duncan was 40 years old when she overdosed on July 10, 2007 in New York City. A week later her lover, Jeremy Blake, walked into the Atlantic Ocean and drowned. He was 35. They had been together for 12 years and never spent a night apart. They were successful computer artists in the New York and Los Angeles Art Worlds. Their story is here: "Conspiracy of Two" by David Amsden: http://nymag.com/news/features/36091/.

Theresa Duncan
b. Oct. 26, 1966 Lapeer, Michigan

Sun 3 Scorpio; Moon Pisces or Aries; NN 17 Taurus

Jeremy Blake
b. Oct. 4, 1971 Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Sun 11 Libra; Moon Aries; NN 13 Aquarius

The couple originally met in 1994 in Washington, DC but began dating in the Fall of 1995. This was Theresa's Saturn Return (in Pisces) and Jeremy's Jupiter Return (in Sagittarius). By coincidence they ended their lives on Jeremy's next Jupiter Return; which was a Return for their relationship. Jupiter in it's own sign of Sagittarius.

This couple's charts are both out of Balance by element. And they seem to have filled in for their lacks through each other. That is often an indicator for attraction. Either Like attracts Like or Opposites Attract. At any rate, Teresa's chart was mostly Water and Earth and Jeremy's was mostly Air and Fire. Without a Birth Time I can't say how their Moons were placed or aspected, of course. Maybe they both had Aries Moons. Teresa is described as very firey and strong willed which suggests the Aries Moon. If her Moon was in Pisces, it could have been conjunct Chiron, SaturnRx, and Lilith. That's quite an emotional load and it's easy to see why she would have gravitated to Jeremy for balance as he had a big stellium in Libra, which is an Air Sign. Jeremy may also have had a conjunction of Moon and Chiron in Aries opposing his Libra stellium. The noontime chart shows middle Aries placement so it was definitely in Aries. Couples with same Moon Signs often get along, it's good to have a matching subconscious with your partner, especially during arguments. Aries Moons can be a bit argumentative so it's good when they are both emotionally on the same plain this way.

What really stands out is what seems to be the negative Plutonian nature that their relationship had descended into. Apparently they thought they were being spied on by the Government and the Scientologists. Well, that's actually not paranoia in this day and age....

So right off the bat it makes sense that Teresa was a Scorpio, Pluto's sign, they live on deep levels and suspect all motives. Her Sun was conjunct Venus in Libra over the cusp showing her incredible social skills (and probably also love of perfume). Jeremy's Sun had progressed into Scorpio and his entire Stellium had arced into Scorpio, so he was under strong Plutonian influence as well.

It seems that the Paranoia began when the couple moved to L.A. in 1999 just as Teresa was going through her Pluto square (and Bush was coming into office). This is a big deal because Teresa was born during the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo at the time that it was opposing Saturn in Pisces. So the Pluto square was very heavy for this generation. (It is interesting that Bush has been able to get away with his shenanigan's while these folks were peaking as adults). She also had Mars in Virgo at earlier degrees, so Pluto would have squared that right before hitting her natal Opposition. And her Mars was unaspected in her chart which means that it has to absorb all the energy of a big transit. This explains her very firey personality.

In the story linked above it's really incredible to read about how the paranoia seems to have shifted from Teresa to Jeremy in sync with their Pluto Squares. Jeremy was in the middle of his Pluto square when the couple died. His natal Pluto was on the last degree of Virgo. This is the Libra AP which explains the publicity that surrounds this couple. Their Double Suicide has become an Urban Myth for Modern Lovers. Jeremy had four planets in Libra (Mercury, Sun, Uranus and Venus) and would have been faced with transiting Pluto squaring them all very slowly over the next few years.

In addition, Jeremy had an opposition of Saturn RX at 7 Gemini to a conjunction of Neptune and Jupiter in early Sagittarius. These two planets working together can be great signatures for artists who can apply the practical business/marketing skills to their artistic talents. But it can also bring depression and loss, maybe fueling the paranoia about Government (Saturn = Government and Neptune = Institutions). (The Saturn-Pluto opposition, a big sign of Government conspiracy and Terror happened in the same signs, although in later degrees.)

Jeremy's birth opposition was echoed in last year's Saturn-Neptune opposition which occurred right on Jeremy's natal Nodes so I know it would have been a stressor, especially as he had n.Mars conjunct his NN (c. t.Saturn). And stressing things out even more, his Progressed Sun was in Scorpio squaring the natal Nodes-Mars aspect and transiting Saturn-Neptune opposition.

I suspect that Neptune is also related to paranoia. According to Rex Bills it rules Conspiracies. The couple's composite chart has a conjunction of Mars with Neptune. Teresa had Mercury conjunct Neptune in Scorpio which can give a vivid imagination but would be very vulnerable to Mental Illness. Emphasis of Libra in Jeremy's chart shows that he could lose himself to his Partner.


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This is an irrelevant add-on. I've read that Jeremy's Father died when he was 17. In 1988, Jeremy would have been going through his Jupiter opposition which means that Jupiter was conjunct natal Saturn and opposing n.Neptune-Jupiter. Also, there was a conjunction of Saturn-Uranus in Sagittarius pretty much on the degree where Pluto at the time of his Father's death was when Jeremy died.