Did you know that today, April 16, 2015, marks the 72nd anniversary of Dr. Albert Hoffman’s accidental discovery of the powerful hallucinogen LSD?
In celebration of this pivotal day in the history of human consciousness, I’ve done a brief analysis of Dr. Hoffman’s astrology chart.
(Birth data is January 10th, 1906 at 3:00pm in Baden, Switzerland, used equal house system, data presumed to be accurate)
Albert was born in the cold of winter while Sol was in Capricorn and Luna - hidden in the daylight but proud in the first degree of Leo- had just passed the glory of her fullness.
Late Gemini rose on the eastern horizon at the precise moment of Albert’s birth; at this point in the night sky shines Betelguese, one of the brightest stars in the Orion constellation.
Betelguese rising portends everlasting fame. Other themes associated with this star include positive aspects of the archetypal masculine: clarity, action, intellect, fatherhood and transformation. Dr. Hoffman's scientific acumen and dedication to expanding the human connection to spirit are a powerful expression of these qualities.
A quick interaction with Dr. Hoffman would leave you intrigued and somewhatconfused. Upon first glance he would appear bright, social, and witty but Neptune and Pluto straddling his rising sign indicates a layered persona.
His eyes were windows into worlds afar and his true nature was elusive. Albert’s demeanour was at once changeable and intensely focused and he was certainly enigmatic long before his accidental breakthrough.
Luna in Leo gave Albert a warm, generous, and kingly nature, and in combination with principled Sol in Capricorn, he was deeply moral, industrious, and sought to shine truth. Feeling special and recognized for his talents and work was important to Albert and he likely battled with the leonine polarity of insecurity and vanity.
Mercury rules Dr. Hoffman’s chart and paired up with Uranus in Sagittarius, the quicksilver planet reveals an incredible curiosity along with the drive to liberate the minds of others. Neptune in opposition to the 7th house grouping of Mercury, Uranus, Sol, and Venus illustrates Albert's natural-world orientation to spirituality (which existed long before his discovery), his discontent with the substance being used for pleasure and entertainment (Neptune corrupting Venus), and the deadly alcoholism of one of his sons.
His ability to liberate the minds of humans was great but he could not control the outcomes, even with his powerful Mars-Pluto square (willpower!) and ambitious, authoritative nature (Saturn on the Midheaven).
Interestingly, Hoffman’s chart reveals a potent configuration known in Hebrew as a yod, or finger of God. This triangular pattern is said to denote a special destiny or purpose in the life. At the base of the yod, the energies of Saturn (commitment, endurance) mix with Uranus and Mercury (liberating the mind), flowing up to Leo Luna for expression.
Astrologer Demetra George says of those born under the full moon: “in the same way that the flower has to be pollinated in order to bear fruit, the soul at the full moon phase must open itself to receive someone or something from outside itself into itself in order to fertilize the cycle and bear the fruit.”
Albert Hoffman’s just-past full moon in his 2nd house illustrates the above bolded insight so beautifully: he carried inside of him the seed of illumination and opened up to receive a revolutionary discovery that forever shifted humanity's course.