Chappelle's Chiron

A dear Taurus friend and I (shoutout to my girl KC) were discussing Dave Chappelle's recent appearance on Oprah (MSNBC), and how anxiety-ridden he seemed. His inability to articulate exactly why he fled to South Africa and abandoned his show was almost refreshing in this world of spin and overly media-trained celebs, except that it was kind of sad. Dave is such a comic genius, and the honesty of his humor is such a breath of fresh air -- his presence on TV and in the popular discourse is sorely missed. So, natch, I thought it would be a good idea to check out his chart and see what his deal is.

Dave's Leo Sun and Mercury in Virgo are in mutual reception, meaning each planet is in a sign ruled by the other. Planets in mutual reception tend to work in concert. In this case, the ego and mind are strongly identified. Dave is up in his own head a lot, strongly invested in expressing his perspective. And Leos need to express themselves like they need oxygen. With the Leo-Virgo combo, there's a strong ego with a lot of anxiety involved. Leo-Virgo people tend to be the type who assume everyone is talking behind their back -- in other words, simultaneously self-absorbed and insecure. Dave also has Venus and Pluto conjunct, so he needs to be in control in all his relationships and financial dealings.

Mercury trines the planetoid Chiron in Aries, which could contribute to his paranoid tendencies or feelings of being threatened. Chiron can show the parts of our lives where we are capable of healing others but feel chronically wounded ourselves. And Dave obviously has a gift for sharply perceptive insights on the way society thinks -- but perhaps he has a blind spot when it comes to knowing his own mind. Explosive Uranus opposes Chiron (common in people born in '73) and sextiles Mercury, signaling a volatile reaction if his buttons are pushed. Unfortunately, without a birth time for the chart, I can't determine the aspects to Dave's Cancer Moon, but if he were born late at night, it could even be forming a T-square (three-way square) to Chiron and Uranus.

On May 4, 2005, when Comedy Central announced the show was halting production, transiting Saturn in Cancer was within range of a T-square to Dave's Chiron-Uranus opposition. The sense of being fenced in or having rigid limits imposed on him (Saturn) may have become unbearable, pushing his buttons (Chiron) fostering the urge to rebel and create chaos (Uranus). Also, transiting Chiron in Aquarius (mass media, public perception) was right on Dave's natal Jupiter (growth, opportunity, good fortune). So in some ways he couldn't even enjoy his success, defensive as he was about people using it to hurt him. "When you're a guy who generates money, people have a vested interested in controlling you," as he told Oprah.

For someone whose identity hinges on speaking his own truth, the sense (real or perceived) that he was being controlled by corporate interests was suffocating (Saturn again). Without the level of creative (Leo) control (Virgo) he needed at work, "I felt like some kind of prostitute or something...." Dave told Oprah. "The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching." With colleagues telling him (understandably) that he might need psychiatric help, Dave freaked. With his Sun-Mercury configuration, for people to suggest that his mind wasn't in good working order was to threaten his very identity.

Revealing his Leo side, Dave told Oprah that he loves being famous, and even that he would consider returning to his show if given creative control. Regaining that outlet for self-expression would be tremendously positive for his Virgo-Leo well-being, provided he lays some mental groundwork for coping with the pressures of fame. Were I a New Age guru whom Dave Chappelle had, either on a lark or out of desperation, consented to see, I would recommend that he start incorporating some mind-body practice into his daily regimen. Meditation would help quiet his mind and allow him to hear his own inner voice. A daily practice of back-bending and neck-stretching exercises would open the heart and throat chakras, where Dave is clearly feeling blocked from freely expressing his ideas and emotions. Hopefully he will make an effort to do the psychic work involved in getting his sense of self back -- and, ideally, getting his show back. The world needs to hear his voice.