On the Passing of a Legend--Meat Loaf in Profections and Returns

The rock legend Meat Loaf passed away on January 20, 2022, reportedly due to COVID, but official reports are now saying that the cause of death has not been formally announced. It is remarkable how clear his passing is in the profection, solar return, and monthly return. Moreover distribution of the SR and MR Ascendents each conjoin planets associated with the prospect of illness this year suggested in the profections and returns, both solar and monthly. Finally, while my profection lunations technique in its current form does not predict the time of Meat Loaf’s passing, this case does suggest that Ben Dykes’s suggestion for the expansion of the technique to include all four angles to the profected sign as significant periods in the year might be warranted. Let’s go to the charts and look at the details.

Third-place Profection

Meat Loaf was 74 when he died, in a 3rd place Aries profection ruled by Mars in a day chart–so this could be a difficult year for Meat Loaf. Mars is in fall in Cancer, in the 6th place of illness. Its closest aspect is the trine to Jupiter in the 10th place of profession/reputation. This would seem to suggest some kind of public honor. In combination with the Mars rulership of the 3rd, this could be a professional communications project, and indeed, last year Meat Loaf became the executive producer of a reality TV show based on his Grammy-winning song “I’d Do Anything for Love. Presumably, this year was spent developing that show. The profected Lot of Fortune advances to the 8th place of death and joint finances–perhaps a promising development for a new executive producer. Its lord, Mercury, is in the 9th, perhaps a statement of working through legal arrangements in this deal. However, it is squared by Mars in fall in the 6th of illness as its closest aspect.

Solar Return

This themes of both professional growth and possible illness/hospitalization are evident from the solar return, as well. The SR ASC is Capricorn, his natal 12th place of loss and hospitalization. The lord of the SR ASC is also the natal ASC–Saturn–and it is located in the SR 2nd place of finances, perhaps another allusion to his emerging work as executive producer. Its closest aspect is the trine to Mars, the Lord of the Year, in detriment in the 10th, again a suggestion of financial activity involving a professional initiative–perhaps one encountering some challenges, judging from detriment. At the same time, Saturn Rx is in Aquarius, the sign of the natal ASC, bringing his physical health into the equation. Saturn is lord of the natal and SR ASC, and the fact that it is Rx suggests difficulties or reversals with his physical health this year. The sign of the profected natal ASC, Aries, is in the SR 4th of endings, and Mars is under the rays of the Sun, the lord of the 8th of death. Looking to the SR Lot of Fortune, it is in the Virgo–the natal sign of the 8th place of joint finances and death. Its lord, Mercury, is in the SR 10th, reiterating the importance of professional developments–perhaps in communications (Mercury). Mercury’s closest aspect is the trine to Jupiter Rx, the lord of the SR 3rd of communication–again, with Mercury in the SR 10th, a possible indicator of the new TV show he would be producing. Jupiter is Rx here in the 2nd place. Jupiter Rx is also the lord of the SR 12th of loss and hospitalization–though the trine would not immediately suggest a problem here.

Monthly Return

Turning to the monthly return, we find Mars, the LOY and lord of the MR 12th place of loss and hospitalization in the MR ASC. The MR ASC is Sagittarius, the sign of the SR 12th, and of the natal 11th of friends and associations. So this month could involve loss and/or hospitalization associated in some way with friends and associations? (If Meat Loaf died from COVID, as originally reported, is it possible he contracted it from friends/associates? The lord of the MR ASC is Jupiter, and it is in Aquarius, the sign of the natal ASC. This may be reaching a bit, but it’s closest aspect is the out-of-sign square from Mars, the LOY and lord of the MR 12th place of loss and hospitalization. The Sun conjoins the MR ASC, and is advancing and angular. It rules the 9th, suggesting that travel or other 9th place issues may be key to this month. Might Meat Loaf have been contracted his illness on a trip? We don’t know this. Might he have been working through the legal arrangements of his new TV show this month? Again, not clear. What is clear, is that the Sun is the lord of the SR 8th place of death.

Distributions

Knowing that illness and possible death are themes that are clear from the profection and solar return, and that they emerge as well in the monthly return chart, we might want to look closely at when the distributed SR and MR Ascendents conjoin the planets representing these considerations in the three charts. Aspects to the Lord of the Year would be worth exploring as well. Looking at the distributed SR ASC, we find that it was in Gemini at the time of his death, so not in an angle from Aries. However, just eight days before his death, the distributed ASC trined Mars, the LOY, suggesting a key period was being activated. The very next day, on January 13, the distributed ASC conjoined the SR Moon. This was the last aspect of the distributed SR ASC prior to his death, so by the practice of distributions it was still in force at the time of his death. Moreover, conjunctions seem to be moments of particular impact in the distributions technique, especially with the SR and MR charts. In this case, the Moon is lord of the natal 6th place of illness, and is located in the SR 6th place. So if you were concerned about the prospect of illness during the year, you might well have thought that this conjunction would be a particularly dangerous time for the native. If Meat Loaf died on January 20 of an illness, it seems likely that he contracted it in the previous week–close to the conjunction with the SR Moon, and just after the ASC trined Mars, the Lord of the Year.

Turning to the MR ASC, if you distribute it at the normal rate of 59’ 08”, at the time he died it was in Sagittarius, again not a sign angular from Aries, the sign of the year. In this instance, though, at 335d 29m it conjoins Mars, the Lord of the Year. This was roughly speaking the morning of January 22 by my calculations. Recall that Mars in the ASC of this monthly chart, as lord of the MR 12th place of loss and hospitalization, already suggested the prospect of difficulty with health issues this month. Looking back at the last conjunction it made, it was to the Moon on what I calculate as January 14-15. The Moon rules the MR 8th place of death, as well as the natal 6th of illness, as noted above, and again, is located in the SR 6th. It is clearly a planet connected with illness for him, especially this year.. If, indeed, he did die from COVID on January 20, as originally rumored, then it does seem like January 14-15 could be when he was infected. This, of course, is speculative.

Profection Lunations Technique

Obviously, as Meat Loaf was in an Aries profection this year, the lunations technique as I have suggested it, namely involving the lunations of the profected sign and its opposing sign, did not predict the time of his passing. However, it is perhaps noteworthy that he did die immediately after the two-week period defined by the Capricorn New Moon on January 2 and the Cancer Full Moon on January 17. So his infection and much of his illness happened during this period, which is within the angles of the profected sign. Ben Dykes has suggested that the next step in exploring the lunations technique is to explore whether all four angles to the profected sign, and not just the sign itself and its opposite, might be hot spots of important events that move along the story of the year defined in the profections. This may be an example of that expansion of the technique.