I awoke on Monday to a text. Ziggy Stardust has died. It was cryptic, but I knew what it meant. Bleary eyed, I rolled over, switched my computer on, hit the Internet and sure enough, Bowie had left the planet. And then it hit me; Friday’s show, his birthday, the chart. I talked about Bowie’s death. It was in there. I saw it, didn’t want to see it, but I saw it. After decoding his transits, I said, “Let’s appreciate him while we can.”
Then the texts and FB messages came in, “OMG you called it on your show.” It’s strange to have had that moment in time last Friday and gazed into the wheel. I had been connected to Bowie from the first time I heard, then saw him.
”Space Oddity” found it’s way onto home stereo when I was eleven. It was unlike any other song I had heard. I didn’t know it was Bowie at the time and wouldn’t find out for quite a while, which made it even more mysterious. Who was this? Where did this sound come from.
My next connection with Bowie was watching him in his last performance with The Spiders From Mars. It captured Bowie changing from costume to costume, shape-shifting from character to character, strange to stranger. Then he went down on Mick Ronson’s guitar when Mick was scorching one of his solos.
It was like I was watching Kabuki theater from Mars.
I found “Ziggy Stardust” and wore out the grooves.. With my Chiron in Aquarius in the Third House, I had discovered my soundtrack and glittered guide. From there I tracked Bowie’s peregrinations into various personas and styles. Most of you know who they were.
Needless to say, Bowie was a huge influence on me.
In 1999, I was working at MONDO 2000, a cutting edge cyberzine that was so sharp, it was bleeding to death by the time I got there. I did double time as a sales guy and music editor. We kept trying to get one more issue out, but we kept running into snag. We had run out of money. That didn’t stop us from carrying on as if we did.
One day, I got an email from Bowie’s publicist. She wanted me to interview David in New York for his latest album, the morbid “Hours” also known as Bowie’s mid-life crisis record.
You see Bowie loved MONDO and it was his personal choice, his call.
In February, 1999, I flew to New York and interviewed Bowie in the boardroom of Virgin Records. We got on amazingly well. He told me about how he played baseball when he was young on an army base in Dullage, England. He played right field for The Dullage Jays. He also confided in me that, as he got closer to his birthday, small nubs, like horns would protrude from his forehead and then recede after.
I found him charming, smart, funny and mischievous. As a journalist, it was the highlight of my career. You can read the interview HERE.
There was something about “Black Star” everyone was feeling it. It was dark, much darker than anything David had done in years. The imagery was startling. Bowie’s visage was taking yet another turn, thin, gaunt, and ashen, he was looking more like a Tall Grey. The alien inside of David was finally emerging, bursting at the edges.
”Blackstar” had decoders spinning. It’s about “Planet X” aka “The Blackstar.” It’s about the illuminati’s plans to enslave and destroy us.
I just saw a man coming to terms with his life.
What tipped me off about David’s chart and life? It was Pluto on Sun/Mars in the 12th, squaring Neptune in Libra in the 8th. It was Station to Station. David was stepping through the door of the 12th, gateway to the soul.
I’m tired. I’ve done 32 readings in the last ten days, which is why I haven’t been writing much. But I had to get this out.
If you want to listen to my breakdown of Bowie’s chart, check out last Friday’s broadcast, below.
David Bowie is the “Man Who Left The Earth.”
2 thoughts on “So Long David, Seeing Your Passing, On The Day Of Your Sun”
For a few weeks before before your summation of ‘chart I had heard “Pressure” and “Young Americans”several times on the radio while driving .This was odd because Bowie never gets play here . ” Something is moving in the shadows ” I thought. after your reading I realized you had caught the motion. After he passed All I could do was nod my head
Everything around this passing has been very strange, cagey, planned out, so much like David.