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Many people
remember magician Doug Henning's "The Magic Show," which ran on Broadway
for more than four years. Henning was famous for bringing a modern look
and approach to the very old art of magic and illusion. His extraordinary
success began in the 1970s and continued unabated until his recent death
from liver cancer.
Henning
became involved with meditation and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid-seventies.
He maintained an active role in the Transcendental Meditation movement
for the rest of his life.
Graced
with Talent
 Doug
Henning was born on May 3, 1947 in Winnipeg, Canada (time unknown) with
the Sun in Taurus and the Moon (likely) in Libra. These two Venus-ruled
signs have a flair for style that Henning displayed with his long hair
and tie-dyed shirts. Neptune, the planet of illusion, opposed the dynamic
combination of gracious Venus and active Mars, both in Aries. This is
a perfect combination of fire and fantasy, imagination and entertainment.
A
Darker Side?
A deeper,
perhaps even darker tale is told by the close square (challenging right
angle) from Pluto to his Sun. Pluto is the planet of the underworld, the
ruler of our inner secrets, fears and desires. This combination often
reflects issues associated with power, frequently in relationship to father.
A possible effect can be a lack of trust in oneself or a denial of one's
power.
Growth and
healing, however, are promised for those who are willing to meet their
fears and transform them. Doug Henning certainly was able to succeed professionally,
bringing joy to millions of people and expressing his power with a gentle
smile. Meditation can be a powerful tool to deal with matters of trust.
The ego is met with conscious stillness and all aspects of the self are
accepted. This kind of awareness can help turn painful patterns into forces
for love and creativity.
The
Last Cycle of Saturn
The planet
Saturn represents boundaries and the consequences of living in time. It
takes almost thirty years to pass around the Sun, and thus, to pass around
a birth chart. During this time it makes every possible contact with every
point and planet in the chart. Saturn is now at the position of the Sun
in Doug Henning's birth chart. It is also square his birth Pluto.
Any competent
astrologer would recognize this as a significant time in Doug Henning's
life. Death, however, is not the only possible outcome of this transit,
as many people have the same transit and continue to live for many years
afterward. Clearly, though, a threshold is being crossed. Superficially,
we could presume that Doug Henning did something wrong or failed to do
something he should have. Cancer of the liver reflects a major physical
imbalance or toxicity. Perhaps if he'd dealt with certain issues the outcome
would not have been the same.
Yet death,
like life, is a mystery. Doug Henning completed his work on this planet.
Maybe his illness was really a healing. We don't know what he faced and
what he learned during the five months of his illness, so we can not judge
his actions. What we do know is that Doug Henning brought joy to people,
earned respect for himself and believed in a spiritual view of reality.
He has done his last illusion for us, his body has disappeared, but his
spirit will live forever.
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