Watching Logan’s Run with Michael York as Logan, Roscoe Lee Browne as the mechanical frozen box, and Peter Ustinov as the old man, I remembered that Ustinov was a secular humanist. He had been a patron of the British Humanist Association and served on their advisory council. That should be no surprised with his Saturn in the third house at 18 Virgo 57, because here the crystallizing mechanism of the god of the harvest, refines all thought and discourses. Here instead of faith, we get cold analytical thinking — everything is put to the test ala the doubting Thomas syndrome, of “show me the holes,” though in reality even that is questioned.
So I wondered, does his astrological chart support this? If one is looking at the temperament type, then the answer is no, for Marc Edmund Jones said Splashes were the “humanist type” defined by a Grand Trine of some type and no conjunctions (the less the better; the max is 2). Jones did not count any mathematical points (Ascendant, part of Fortune or Midheaven), nor the Moon’s Nodes. Using just the 12 planetary spheres, we find that Ustinov has no Grand Trine lurking within but a very amicable see-saw — half above and half below. From the type perspective, his chart and his philosophy do not mesh. Perhaps I began to think there was something else we should look towards?
Ustinov’s grandfather was a Russian officer in the tsar’s army who was exiled because of his religious beliefs. “It is for that reason,” Ustinov later said, “that I am addressing you today in English.”
Peter Ustinov addressing a UNICEF gathering.
But alas that quote is problematic, because if Jupiter is in the third house at 09 Virgo 31, part of Ustinov’s charm was being a suave liar. That too is not surprisingly, Raymond Burr claimed he had a childhood in China as part of his oeuvre, W.C. Fields who left his fortune to homeless boys in Philadelphia often said “I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.” and Children should neither be seen or heard from – ever again, stunned everyone with his epitaph “I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” It is rather ironic for Ustinov with his incredulous, that the very field he chose, was all about tricking the audience into believing you are the character on stage as he recounts when meeting American Roman Catholic priest they each said, “I never thought I would be shaking the hand of Nero.”
Conjunction are awareness
His ascendant at 22 Cancer, HS “poet writing secret thoughts” works well for a man who wrote several books, including for watery Cancer rising, on sailing and the sea. The keyword is Sensible but alas since his ascendant is in the first house, was probably more prone to trusting to fortune than he ought but that was part of the whole horoscope that united creating his eccentric and irascible persona.
The two noticeable things in Ustinov’s chart is lacks a conjunction and also has no planets in air signs. In Ustinov’s case, he has a planetary preponderance in the eleventh house, important because it shows his tendency for associations and groups, and since the fifth house is empty, how he maybe attracted to children’s interests. Both of these things work well for him — he was Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF ( United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) and President of the World Federalist Movement, an organization committed to global peace and justice through the development of democratic institutions and international law.
But that brings us to what his chart is missing, for Marc Edmund Jones felt that was missing in a chart was as important as what was depicted. Already we have seen that missing planetary representation in the fifth house of creativity and children made him very active in that area, so what could the lack of air and no conjunctions do too? Here we see Ustinov set off like Don Quixote fighting against the windmills of his time, totally immersed in the project, only to suddenly change gears and jump into another, building his energy from their disparity — the preponderance of trines probably helped here as it weaved the various threads into his life.
lack of air makes for resourcefulness
The lack of planets in air signs made him open to advice, for while he was lacking in self-direction so while he was busy, doing lots of things — books, charity work, acting . Peter would you? Are you interested in? and the answer would be an affable Yes and another project would be added to his retinue. This lack of air though actually helped him work all the various threads together as it made him more resourceful than he would normally be and also take greater risks — his uneven acting career (from Spartacus to War and Peace to Logan’s Run) is a good example of this — that others wanting their careers to be of a piece would shun.
The download chart shows all the various asteroids that make up his ancestry: Russian, German and Ethiopian, and the two places that were the greatest personal affect on his life: London where he was born and Basel Switzerland when he fled from the British tax man. Nonetheless despite not wanting to support the great British state, he was knighted for his good works with UNICEF.
enjoy Peter ustinov.pdf
