Aldous Huxley’s Astro-Genius

The “bright May morning” was the iconic author’s second Saturn Return! Now I’m not a psychonaut and certainly don’t suggest mescaline for Saturn transits (lol!) but the timing is fascinating.

Clearly this contradicts the standard Saturn Return protocol to ‘take stock, consolidate, slow down’ etc. That Saturn was also conjunct Neptune in Libra at the time, with this rare Saturn-Neptune alignment trine Huxley’s natal Neptune and Midheaven suggests that he either knew a merde-load more astrology than he let on or he had a brilliant astrologer advising him.

There’s more proof of the astro but first, bear in mind that this was not just a personal psychedelic experiment. It was a genius career gambit and a moment that pushed substantial cultural change.

Aldous Huxley was 58, a Leo and one of the most famous authors in the world, thanks to Brave New World, the ultra-prescient dystopian novel he’d written two decades before. He’d become a regular magazine/newspaper correspondent, screenplay writer (FYI: Walt Disney rejected his Alice In Wonderland script treatment) and was an in-demand guest on the then nascent technology of television.

He had not, however, had a a huge wow-factor book like Brave New World in 21 years:  Huxley was taking mescaline with the intention of chronicling his experiences in a book that would zap him straight back into the center of the Zeitgeist and alter the cultural consciousness.

IHe selected the best day within a once-in-lifetime portal of opportunity to pull off a super-weird ambition and it worked. Aside from his 3rd house Sun (reflecting his word-wizardry), the author was absolutely a 12th house guy, with Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto stacked in this soul-sector.

Astrally adept well before he tried any sort of psychedelic, Huxley was an advocate of hypnopaedia aka sleep-learning. He could even drop into trance-state at will, as the extract below – from The Dream Drugstore – Chemically Altered States of Consciousness- illustrates.

Jupiter and Neptune are naturally affiliated to the 12th house and are superbly strong there. In Huxley’s case, they were further strengthened by being part of a fabulous Grand Air Trine – aligned to Saturn in Libra and an Aquarian Midheaven.

He took the mescaline on May 4 1953 at 11 A.M. in West Hollywood – get this:

*Saturn was conjunct Neptune in Libra – a counter-cultural moment in itself.

*The Saturn-Neptune alignment was conjunct Huxley’s natal Saturn – ie: a super-charged Saturn Return and his second one at that.

*The Saturn-Neptune alignment was also trine his natal Neptune and Midheaven, activating the author’s auspicious Grand Air Trine.

*At 11:00 AM, Cancer was rising at the degree of Huxley’s natal Mercury (Retrograde!) in Cancer, making the moment incredibly powerful for awareness and his writer self.

*The Midheaven was conjunct Venus + Mercury in Aries, making it opportune for a venture that would transmit widely and attract admiration.

*The Midheaven degree at that time was also conjunct Huxley’s natal Mars in Aries, accentuating audacity.

*Jupiter was square the Midheaven which is technically a combative aspect but the overall benevolence of Jupiter softens it. Even so, it suggests that anything begun at that time could result in flamboyant career/reputation morphs and attract outsize attention.

If you’re already in the spotlight and financially secure, Jupiter square Midheaven simply becomes ‘any publicity is good publicity.’

Huxley’s book on his trip – The Doors Of Perception – became a cult bestseller and inspired people from Hunter S Thompson to The Doors and the scions of today’s Silicon Valley LSD micro-dosing scene.

But the immediate impact was that he was slammed by everyone imaginable…

A fellow Leo, the psychologist Carl Jung, poetically called him a “sorcerer’s apprentice who has called on ghosts but does not possess the knowledge needed to control them” but most of the criticism was far blunter and more damning. It was over the top in a thoroughly Jupiterian way.

But wouldn’t a risky experiment like this go against the base vibe of a Saturn Return? Yes and no. You can see it as a move that solidified Huxley’s vital 12th house stellium, making his esoteric leanings and desire to alter his consciousness a formal part of his public intellectual identity.

Also, if you were going to put your career and mental stability at risk by crossing into 12th house turf – a 12th house containing Jupiter, Neptune AND Pluto, you could see that Saturn in friendly aspect to both the 12th house trio and the public-image-influencing Midheaven would act as a stabilizer.

It really was the most deliciously perfect date and time – did he select it by magnificent yet unintended astral synchronicity? Secretly study astrology? Or have an astrologer. I think the latter.

Sydney Omarr, the renowned triple Leo “Hollywood astrologer” of the era writes about Aldous Huxley in several of his books – they had dinner together and met up to discuss philosophy.

Naturally he would not have disclosed the names of his clients – especially not the big-name-recognition/publicity-sensitive ones – because nobody ever would.

But as Huxley was avidly into esoteric topics and the astro of this cultural/career/consciousness coup was so brilliant, I think they must have had a professional relationship as well.

Omarr recounts this dialogue in his autobiography – Answer In The Sky…Almost:

When I first met Huxley and articulated my interest in astrology, he was extremely interested.

“It is a strange subject”, he said.

“It is even stranger to me”, I said, “that scientists who should know better are so unscientific in their approach to it.”

“Well,” answered Huxley, “the reason most scientists are inclined to veer away from astrology is that it falls in the philosophical realm.”

Then he added “But, as for myself, I have found that the great truths exist in this philosophial realm rather than in materialistic conceptions. “

Interestingly, in Brave New World the government introduces a ‘standardised happiness’ metric and citizens have to take mandated mind-alterers to attain it.

Huxley was anti-drugs for years and never endorsed recreational drug use yet he wound up advocating for psychedelics as almost akin to the way some people see gold – as a buffer against excessive government control.

He really was the ultimate 12th-house person – thoughts?