Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; circa 1753, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Jean-Jacques Rousseau b. June 28, 1712 w/ a Moon-Neptune Conjunction
by Jude Cowell
Perhaps you've read The Guardian's excellent 2006 article on Jean-Jacques Rousseau which contains an overview of the Geneva-born novelist-philosopher's life and times including Rousseau's friends-turned-enemies relationship with David Hume (1711-1776) whom Rousseau came to believe was at the center of a dangerous plot against him.
Persecution - or a Persecution Complex?
Long considered to be paranoid, Rousseau's natal Moon-Neptune Conjunction in the early degrees of Libra (sign of relationships and Art) could certainly have inclined him toward such beliefs, including paranoia, delusions, fantasies, and hallucinations (which he apparently suffered from). Born under the wispy influences of a Moon-Neptune Conjunction suggests one who feels that the freedom to explore any avenue of self-expression is a natural right (so restraints would have been resented), but the pair's illusory vibrations can also indicate being "persecuted by existing moral codes." Not simply feeling that way - but actually being that way. Perhaps we can agree that freely expressing oneself in ways that challenge the moral or ethical standards of society can be dangerous in most any age.
Now it's true that Rousseau had both musical and literary talents, and we also know that creative Moon-Neptune folk can be visionaries - great for the writing of novels and operas - but they can also be prone to escapism (A. Oken). As a refugee and exile over several years, escapism certainly seems to have been a major feature of his life, as he attempted to escape persecution. An example involves the controversy and condemnation of his radical tract The Social Contract which he opened with, "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains,". Plus, his writings threatened the French Catholic Church for he advocated for denying the clergy a role in the education of young people in his treatise, Emile, or On Education. From the vantage point of hindsight, such denial seems a great idea to me, but of course, I'm a Protestant in America. My suspicion is that since Rousseau's books were burned and an arrest warrant issued, he would naturally feel persecuted - because he was. In danger? I would say so, although you may disagree.
Rousseau's Death July 2, 1778 "around 11:30 am" with hot-natured Mars @2Cancer Angular and conjunct his 'Death Eclipse' = rash actions and/or violence; Eclipse in Cancer = emotional extremes
Of course, another avenue that his enemies might have pursued involved Rousseau's love life. His natal Mercury conjoined asteroid Eros, and curiously enough, both his final Solar Return of 1778 and his final Mercury Return (his Ascendant and Midheaven ruler) show that in 1778, transit Eros opposed his natal Mercury, and in fact, he was born with a Mercury-Eros Conjunction. (This conjunction can possibly indicate a tendency to go after underaged amours, but I know of no evidence of this; besides, what was the age of consent in Europe in 1778?) His novel Julie, or The New Heloise was written in the form of letters between two lovers (his natal Venus-Mars = Mercury: thinking and writing about love and sexual unions).
And so it seems significant to me that his final months in 1778 (until July 2nd) were influenced by an Eros-opposite-natal-Eros transit, and besides "the piercing" by Eros with his arrows of love, the asteroid can also represent the life force - and an opposition is an external challenge. Yet this may only reveal that he was persecuted for his writings and ideas, with Mercury being the planet of writers, communications, and thought processes, and/or that the death of his life force, from whatever cause, is indicated.
Yet notably, Rousseau's final Solar Return of June 28, 1778 shows a YOD pattern of crisis and turning point between Mars-North-Node and Mars-ASC = Pluto Rx @1AQ11 (with planet of death Pluto, though as-yet undiscovered, opposing SR Venus @1Leo42). These pictures suggest violent, intense relationships, jealousy, envy, a potential for taking revenge, and/or possible drug use. Reading the YOD planets as midpoint pictures we have potentials for quarrels, anger, passion, and/or violent separations (N. Tyl; R. Ebertin). Obviously, an apoplexic stroke could have been the result.
Well, dear reader, there's my astro-portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, may he R.I.P.
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