Analysis of Serge Gainsbourg's astrological chart

The Stormy Childhood of a Resolute Aries

Serge Gainsbourg has a natal chart full of contradictions. The life and the thoughts of the great artist, unfortunately deceased, perfectly reflect his natal chart, in which Fire and Water, two elements having nothing in common, are emphasized. Energy and passion on one side, and sensitivity and imagination on the other. An interesting blend for creativity and arts in general.

The first element that we shall discuss below is the Sun in Aries, a sign in which Jupiter and Uranus are also posited. The whole triplicity is active in the natal chart, since the Ascendant and Saturn are in Sagittarius, and Neptune is at the end of Leo.

Several nice trines link these planet, even though the orb does not really form the pattern of an exact Grand Trine.

Regarding Water, the Ascendant is in Pisces, the sign in which Mercury and Venus have barely risen, and Pluto is in Cancer. It must be noted that even though Air and Earth are a minority, there is no deficiency in the chart, which provides a good balance.

This Fire-Water combination describes a personality influenced by emotions, and prone to all possible excesses and exaggerations. The world is considered through the prism of subjectivity.

Born in Paris within a family of Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants of Russian origins, Serge Ginzburg (he changed his name afterwards) was blessed to have a father who encouraged him to learn to play the piano and painting. He gave his first concerts when he was still a child. He thus showed that he was precocious, a quality that people born with the Sun in Aries often have.

However, in the forties', the rise of anti-Semitism stopped this budding impulse. Artistic activities were forbidden to his community, and he was compelled to wear a yellow star. With the self-deprecation characterizing him, later on, he joked that it was "a sheriff star" on an Aries, slightly boastful style. The clan experienced difficult days, forced to hide under false papers to survive.

At the Liberation, the family returned to Paris, where Gainsbourg gradually gained his independence. Until the age of 30, he achieved nothing remarkable. He earned a living doing odd jobs, discovered the pleasures of alcohol, and started to feel a certain frustration because his true value was not acknowledged. This is normal, because when the Sun is in conjunction with Jupiter and Uranus in Aries and in the 1st House, one does not feel like accepting limitations.

The Brake of Saturn in a Difficult Position

Unfortunately for Gainsbourg, the astrologer does not take long to find the source of his problems. They mainly come from Saturn, the planet of restriction, who is very emblematic of his battles. Posited in Sagittarius in the 9th House, the planet gives Gainsbourg an inspired side as well as very high ambitions too.

Indeed, owing to the very exact square to Venus and Mercury, on the Ascendant in Pisces, Saturn systematically hinders any attempt to rise durably and serenely.

He has been dragging huge complexes of which he made fun by claiming that he was The Cabbage Head Man, the title of one of his most famous albums. Gainsbourg was convinced that he was unable to achieve anything because he was ugly, which is not true according to his numerous conquests. Actually, he found his style of beauty as he matured. Nevertheless, he suffered from this certainty, and feared to be rejected without realizing that he was only projecting his feelings.

Another frustration haunted him. He believed that he was not an artist in the full sense of the term. "I love great music. As far as I am concerned, I play small music only. Bland music. A minor art. Therefore, I borrow", he declared. In 1986, he participated in a TV show in which Guy Béart was his opponent. He did not hesitate to repeat that singing is a minor art, unlike architecture, painting, classical music, literature, and poetry, which required an initiation.

In those days, as a good Aries ruled by Saturn, he often chose a head-to-head confrontation. He renamed himself "Gainsbarre" and enjoyed to blow hot (Aries' Fire element) and cold (Pisces' Water, and Saturn).

A Career Supported by Venus Highlighted on the Ascendant in Pisces.

It is impossible to mention Gainsbourg without elaborating on Venus, his main dominant planet. In Pisces and on the Ascendant (already in the 12th House, technically speaking), Venus confirms his huge potential, whatever Gainsbourg was thinking.

Actually, he proved it as he explored many musical styles. After his first steps as a classical pianist, he composed for the yé-yés, and won the Eurovision contest with a song created for France Gall, Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Wax Doll, Bran Doll). The seventies were more in the rock 'n' roll style. Lastly, he was not afraid to make several detours to explore reggae music.

In addition, he was the author of film soundtracks and other productions as a poet, a director, a painter. Painting was a passion which never abandoned him.

We also notice a strong correlation between the position of Venus and Gainsbourg's artistic and romantic encounters.

Before he had love affairs with the most beautiful women of his time like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, he married firstly Lize Levitzky.

She was an aristocrat working as a fashion model, as a painter, and as a psychoanalyst. She was able to understand him, and she inspired him the song Elisa. Later on, he composed for many French comedians such as Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Deneuve, and Vanessa Paradis.

His romantic life in general was marked by both hidden ardent passions and a bohemian way of life which were very typical of his ambivalent Venus in Pisces.

The Moon in Virgo of a Shy but Paradoxically Provocative Man

It must be remembered that Gainsbourg was very timid and claimed to be extremely reticent about his private life. The Moon is in Virgo and in the 6th House, in opposition with the Mercury-Venus tandem, as well as with the Ascendant. In this configuration, the Moon indicates that there is a constant back-and-forth movement between the need for order, the obsession with appearances, and the will to display one's bad habits.

We all know his look, which has gone down in history, perfectly white Repetto shoes, black glasses, a three-day stubble, and a cigarette between his lips. On stage or on TV sets, he has not always been able to control himself.

Even Birkin, most likely his dearest partner in love, grew weary of his eccentricities. She left him. Once alone, he brooded on his heartache and withdrew into himself.

Luckily for him, the sextile with Pluto, and perhaps that of Mars with Saturn (resistance to ordeals) enabled him to get back on his feet, supported by a powerful survival instinct. As an aside, let us note that the mythical house with black walls located at 5 bis rue de Verneuil in Paris, in which he lived until the end, falls under the responsibility of a Plutonian Moon.

The place, turned into a museum thanks to his daughter Charlotte, enables us to check the relevance of Gainsbourg's cult phrase that "when the disorder is inside, order must reign outside".

A Hypersensitive Personage Arousing Kind Feelings

To conclude, it is obvious that, even over thirty years after his death, the creative poet and musician remains a legendary figure, forever associated with the best of what French song has to offer.

The immensely talented artist still retains high popularity ratings, and accumulates numerous followers on social networks. The Ascendant in Pisces allows him to deeply move the heart of a large audience. Everyone is aware that Gainsbourg will never go out of fashion.

Serge Gainsbourg

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Author: Claude TRUONG-NGOC
Credits: Own work
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Monday, April 2, 1928

Paris 4e (France)

12°13' Aries

8°56' Virgo

22°13' Pisces

26°42' Sagittarius

DominantDom. Signs

DominantDom. Planets

DominantDom. Houses

DominantDom. Elements

Earth Dragon

Birth Path

5' 10½" (1m79) tall

180,478

Biography of Serge Gainsbourg (excerpt)

Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 (birth time source: Didier Geslain) – March 2, 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, author, filmmaker and actor. Regarded as the most important figure in French pop whilst alive, he was renowned for often provocative and scandalous releases which caused uproar in France, dividing its public opinion, as well as his diverse artistic output, which ranged...

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Birth certificate or birth record

Didier Geslain

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^* A planet less than 1° from the next House cusp is considered to be posited in the said House. 2° when the AS and the MC are involved