Anthony Hopkins: Darkness Visible
Anthony Hopkins’ trademark is intense stillness broken by an electrifying stream of words, or a sudden violent movement, or a flash of those unsettling pale eyes.
He was born in the dark of winter. His powerful, stony Capricorn Sun is buried in the 12th house – the place of collective dreaming and collective nightmare, the prison and the place of letting go. The 12th house Sun must wrestle with angels and demons.
In Silence of the Lambs as Hannibal Lecter. Sun i(the self) n Capricorn (stone) in the 12th (prison).
I was fascinated by this quote when it came up on my Facebook feed. You can hear the rapid Welsh rhythm in the language he uses. The clear enunciation of a singer and a Mercury in Capricorn. The film we still associate him with is Silence of the Lambs in which he wears a cage around those lilting Welsh lips — Mercury in the 12th house.
“I was hopeless at school. I couldn’t read anything. I mean I could read, but I was so inattentive.”
But how interesting that he has this philosophy, the department of Jupiter, which appears in his first house, the house of self. Not only does he hold this philosophy, this is how he defines himself to the outside world. And look Jupiter in Aquarius is opposed by Pluto, the lord of darkness who wears a hood of invisibility.
It may be all illusion, but we look at Hopkins and we sense depth. Pluto in the 7th house. This is what others see of him, this is how he approaches others: intensely. And look, the tightest aspect in the whole chart is between Saturn, the chart ruler, and Pluto both at 29° in water signs.
In fact, Saturn is in the very final degree of the entire Zodiac. All the wisdom, all the suffering, all the knowing distilled into that final point, and turned to stone. This energy pours into that Pluto. You look at his eyes and you see a million years of human history — or at least you imagine so.
And back to that quote: Saturn in Pisces at 29°: “I expect nothing and I accept everything.” A rock on the edge of time. That Saturn in Pisces is in mutual reception with Jupiter in Aquarius, his philosophy. This is where it stems from.
In Silence of the Lambs, he embodies a monster, Hannibal Lecter. The second tightest aspect in this chart is between the Sun (the person) and Uranus in the third house of mind. I’ve written before about the connection between Uranus and monsters, in particular Frankenstein. But Hannibal Lecter’s mind is what makes him monstrous. It’s not fair to simply focus on one character, Hopkins is a tremendously powerful and versatile screen actor, adding a kind of miraculous integrity to even the silliest pot-boilers.
And here is the source of the violent electric energy we sense that Hopkins is controlling. Uranus-Mars-Sun in a mini-grand trine creates a pulse of energy across this chart. Another great actor who is able to utterly, electrically inhabit a character, to seemingly become a time machine, who has an exact aspect between Uranus and the Sun is Meryl Streep.
What lifts the chart out of the darkness of 12th house, Saturn, Pisces swamplands is that beautiful Sagittarian Moon, the highest planet and, of course, a philosopher’s Moon. Sagittarian Moon has a great big, generous soul. It’s Hopkins philosophy which made him.
I’m looking forward to Westworld, which he’s been making this summer. I wonder how Saturn to the MC will work for him.
data from astrodatabank
Great piece, thanks. That quote is a perfect affirmation of what Steven Forrest identifies as Capricorn’s purest expression, what he calls that archetype’s evolutionary ‘end point.’ To merge the private and public identities with utmost integrity, and to proceed towards ones goals without regard for public approval, applause, etc.
The solitude associated with the Capricornian process is entirely underscored by the twelfth house emphasis and his nodal signature. 4th house South Node, reaching (and achieving) fulfillment in the outer world of the 10th house – bringing forth all that inner work to the world. And the South Node ruler in the 12th house, conjunct the Sun in Cap, indicates a great deal of time spent identified with the path of a mystic…perhaps astic with considerable commitment/responsibility – a lot of hard work on the inner realms, seeking that integrity. North Node ruler in Aquarius in the 1st shows that expansive individualistic genius that merges with the outer persona to again underscore the wisdom of answering to ones own self. It looks like his time put in to purify a lot of ego trappings now brings a reward of freedom and abundance <3
Thanks for those excellent insights. It’s just a fascinating chart, isn’t it?
I haven’t read Steven Forrest — who is such a great astrology writer — on Capricorn. Now I will.
I was SURE I read on your blog at one point a list of books for beginners studying astrology and his first book, The Inner Sky was among them… no? In any case, he IS AMAZING, in every way. Thanks for your excellent work – I always appreciate it (and your aesthetics are lovely as well) <3
Yes it was — and recommended by me but I have zero recollection of the Capricorn stuff! I think he’s really great.
And funny that you should mention the books because I am just re-working that into a books page which I promised to do about, oh, six months ago.
Interesting cross between Chiron, Neptune, Moon, and Saturn, too.
There’s something very intimate about his screen presence. I feel like I know that man, whether or not I want to, and until the show is over I wouldn’t be surprised to find him at the door. One of the best and most compelling actors I’ve ever seen, I think.
Very well put. I feel the same.
Great article and interesting chart. The Moon at the helm of a t-square with Saturn & Neptune (and at their midpoint) speaks volumes about the choice to become an actor. With Uranus interacting so strongly with his personal planets I expect his intelligence could be transferred into many areas. …. I wonder how the tight Saturn-Venus square has panned out in his life, I would think it’s ruled him at times being at the Aries Point..
I have this theory that those in the public eye will be recognised clearly by whichever planet(s) fall closest to the angles. I think Pluto in this case is fitting 🙂
Hopkins tells a story about visiting Richard Burton for an autograph when he was 15. As he was walking down the hill from Burton’s house, Mr. Burton and his wife drove past him in a sports car. Hopkins had the thought that he wanted to lead a life free of the limitations he was then experiencing, he was inspired by Mr. and Mrs. Burtons example. I am experiencing a Mars transit to my natal Uranus and find I’m drawn to Hopkins life story of exceptionalism, reflected in his Sun/moon aspecting Uranus and Mars. Also in this interview Mr. Hopkins was so candid and generous in his self disclosure.