When the Laughter Stops

'Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma' (Robin Williams)

It may be a cliché to point out that so many people become comedians to combat their own inner melancholy, but the fact is that there is a connection between sadness and the exaggeration of the opposite feeling. The exaggeration seems to bring some sort of balance, at least on the short term.

Robin Williams found in comedy a doorway out of the loneliness he felt almost his entire life. The sense of loneliness haunted him eversince childhood. As a little boy, he craved for his mother's attention and feared his rigid father. His both parents were always busy with work and little Robin would stay at home and play alone with his toys, in a world of imagination. He first took up on telling jokes, to gain the attention of his mother whose affection he needed the most. 

At school he had few friends and used to be bullied by different school mates, just because he was different. As a trick to escape bullying, he started telling jokes, in order to gain the sympathy of his oppressors.

Later on, when he was in high school, he enrolled in the drama department. Robin Williams declared that joining the drama program, made him feel more himself and, thus, he managed to come out of his shell of shyness. As an adult, he confessed to have suffered of an acute fear of abandonement and of a severe case of 'Love Me Syndrome'. 

We all know the prolific career of the comedian and actor that was Robin Williams. He enchanted us for decades with comedies like 'Good Morning, Vietnam', 'Mrs Doubtfire' or 'The Birdcage', but also with brilliant dramas like 'Dead Poets Society', 'Good Will Hunting' (interpretation for which he won the Oscar) and 'What Dreams May Come'. 

To the whole world, he was one of the most amazing comedians, a man full of energy and wit, a genius.

But few people knew that throughout his entire life he struggled with episodes of depression and anxiety. Alongside depression, he also battled drugs and alcohol addiction. A friend of his declared that, in the late years, Robin was on medication for anxiety and depression and had also started taking medicines to combat the early onset of Parkinson's. 'Many of the medicines he took, list suicidal thoughts as a possible side effect. A lot of Robin's friends are convinced that the cocktail of prescription pills he was on, somehow contributed to his mental state deteriorating as quickly as it did.'

On 11th of August 2014, Robin Williams committed suicide in his house in Paradise Cay, California. The news shocked the world who has always regarded him as a forever joyful person, always ready to make a joke, rather than take a dreadful action.

Let us now have a look at his natal chart and at his Solar Return for 2014. 

Robin Williams was born on 21st of July 1951, at 13:34, in Chicago, Illlinois, USA. 

In his natal chart we can see strong elements of water and a very dominant Mercury on his MC. The other dominant planet is Pluto, also at the MC. There is no doubt that he was a very emotional person, having the AS in Scorpio, the Moon in Pisces and the Sun in Cancer! The dominant Mercury-Pluto in Leo, shows that he had found a way to express or, better said, to communicate all that sensitivity. The expression was the comedy/drama scene. After reading Robin's biography, I came to the conclusion that he experienced almost all the facets that Mercury might induce. Since he was a child he used to read a lot and worked hard to create himself a solid culture base. Moreover, he had dyslexia and suffered from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD). The comedy ground was a field of communication and negotiation to him. His dominant Mercury gave him all qualities of a Gemini. He could imitate all kind of voices and accents. 

The fact that he was a Cancerian and that his Moon was in the 4th house shows his deep need to be in emotional connection with his mother. He first started playing the comic to impress his mother and gain her attention. The Moon-Venus opposition explains his 'Love Me Syndrome'. It is the need to be liked and appreciated by anyone they come in contact with. It translates emotional insecurity. 

Jupiter in the 5th house points out his immense talent he had for drama and his spectacular career in the show business. It also shows that, throughout this life, he had many love stories. Three of them ended with marriage.

Looking at the darker side of his chart, I see the terrible conjuction of Mars-Uranus in the 8th house. This conjunction activates intensely the house of torment and deep dark 'waters'. Indeed, Mars-Uranus perturbs the clear waters of Cancer. On the bright side, Mars-Uranus brings infinite energy, dynamism, will power, independence, originality, pioneering, but on the dark side, it adds a disruptive and rebelious attitude, impulsiveness and a lot of exaggeration. In my opinion, this aspect acts in a two-faced way: it spurs people to act in the most astonishing way, but it also puts dynamite in their pockets. 

The Ascendant falls in Scorpio, the sign of the torment and deep transformation. Many natives of Scorpio Ascendant fight episodes of depression in their lives. Mars-Uranus accentuates the house of Scorpio, which creates a sort of patio towards transformation which is felt (Cancer) like a tremendous explosion. This was felt in both inner and social life. He often complained that, having attained fame so fast, gave him a sense of instability and restlessness. He once said 'I feel proud now, but I just can't say it yet, because it's not over. It's a gamble. It's scary, really bizarre, because everytime you do something totally new, you suddenly think, "Oh, no. Now it's over. From now on I'll be selling the 'National Enquirer' door to door".'

Mars-Uranus in the 8th house always points to a violent death. The sign of Gemini is on the cuspid of the 8th house and Robin died from asphyxiation, after hanging himself with a belt.
But why would such a brilliant man take away his own life? 

We see that Mars-Uranus squares Neptune. Mars-Neptune square is a classic aspect found in the charts of drug and alcohol addicts. It also indicates an altered state of consciousness, a powerful vibration for an ideal or for an illusion. In the case of Robin W, the altered state of consciousness is induced by drugs. He has fought his drug addiction for many years. Generally, it shows that drugs and medicines play a harmful role in his life. The key word to describe the square formed between Mars-Uranus and Jupiter is 'exaggeration' in all its forms: food, drink, drugs, sex, spending money, overindulgence. All these lead to self distruction.

The opposition between Jupiter and Neptune indicates again addiction to drugs and alcohol. It also points to the intoxication of the liver or to poisoning. So far, it is clear that the drugs and medicines, taken in excess, deteriorated his consciousness and his state of health. 
Saturn in his 11th house explains his sense of solitude and social seclusion that he felt for most of his life.


Now let's see how the Solar Return chart of 2014 explains his radical decision to commit suicide. Robin Williams spent his last birthday in Paradise Cay, California.

The ASR is in the 2nd house of the natal chart and the Sun is in the 8th house. This shows that the main event of the year is connected to money, image and to the ending of a situation. Pluto is in the first house and indicates hyperbolic actions, exaggeration and a possible obsessive attitude. The Sun in the 8th house, together with Saturn in the 11th, shows a feeling of detention and, of course, mourning. Sun-Jupiter in the 8th house could also point to mental and physical exhaustion.

Neptune in the 3rd house shows phobias and mental blurriness. Uranus in the 4th house means insecurity and instability in ones home or an accident at home. Sometimes it can simply indicate the end of life. 
Mars in the 10th house talks about radical actions that have an impact at a social level or on one's career, life, development. 

Reading the SR chart on its own, we don't find it to be too bad. But if we look at the transits of the day of death, we might understand the desperation that made Robin Williams take such an action. Of course, we have to consider that depression is a disease that plague the body and mind and is difficult to cure even with good Solar Returns. In my opinion, one of the few SR configurations that could mend a depression is Jupiter on the Ascendant. But if the depression is severe, it will take a few years of good Solar Returns to cure it.


Here is how the transits of 11th of August 2014 look like. Both Mars and Saturn transit the first house. Mars falls exactly on the natal Ascendant and enters in a conjunction with transit Saturn (Mars-Saturn is the worst conjunction ever). Saturn forms a tight square with natal Pluto. Transit Uranus is in perfect opposition with natal Neptune and conjuncts natal Jupiter. Transit Neptune conjuncts the natal Moon. Transit Pluto is in perfect opposition with the natal Mars-Uranus conjunction and forms a square with natal Jupiter. Transit Sun is over  natal Pluto, and transit Mercury is exactly at the same degree with natal Mercury. Transit Mars forms a trine with the natal Moon, which, once again, shows that the trines between Mars and the luminaries are seldom good. 

In my opinion, all these transits are extremely dangerous and, in a case of chronic depression, I wouldn't have recommended the position of the Sun in the 8th house. But as we all know, death is a mistery difficult to decipher. Maybe when it's time, there's no longer time!

Book recommendations:

Robin Williams, When the Laughter Stops by Emily Herbert   on  Amazon.com

The New Guide to Astrology (vol 1) by Ciro Discepolo   on Amazon.com


Have a great week!

Georgiana Costescu
thesolarreturn@gmail.com