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Tom Robinson

Bisexual English Rock Star, Broadcaster & Activist
"no-one ever stopped being homosexual by sleeping with a member of the opposite sex" -- Tom Robinson
Astrology chart, profile, books, music, links

Leo Ascendant, Gemini Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Venus Midheaven
tom robinson's astro-chart

ASTRODATA: 1 June 1950, 09:00 (9AM) GDT (1hE), Cambridge, England (52n13, 00e08). [copyright] (Robinson emailed his data to Sy Scholfield in June 2002 via his official website, confirming that he was "actually [born] on June 1st 1950, not July 1st 1950. A newspaper printed [my birth date] wrong once and now it's spread and seemingly impossible to stamp out"). RR: A.
STAR FEATURES: PERSONALIZED PLANETS: Leo PLUTO (sextile Sun, trine Moon), Virgo SATURN (square both luminaries), Libra NEPTUNE (conjunct IC, trine Sun), Pisces JUPITER (square Sun, disposits Sagittarius Moon), Aries VENUS (conjunct MH, trine Moon), Taurus MERCURY (quincunx Moon, disposits Gemini Sun). PATTERNS: GRAND FIRE TRINE (Pluto, Chiron/Moon, MC), KITE (Grand Fire Trine plus Sun), MUTABLE T-SQUARE (Moon opposite Sun, both square Saturn), MUTABLE T-SQUARE (Saturn opposite Jupiter, both square Sun), YOD (Neptune sextile Chiron, both quincunx Mercury). SHAPE: SPLAY. CHINESE SIGN: METAL TIGER.

ASTRO~PROFILE

Those folk with the Sun in Gemini ruling a Leo Ascendant could be said to be born performers with a real capacity to express their thoughts on the dualities of life. Add a Sagittarian Moon to the mix and they would have abundant experiences (and feelings) to air on the subject! Yes, Tom Robinson is essentially a "mercurial" type, a wordsmith and vocalist who expresses himself through the Sun-in-Gemini activities of song-writing, singing, broadcasting and writing. But this doesn't even begin to sum him up because there is much more to this rock and pop star than that simple astro-delineation!

Mercury & Venus High in the Sky: Aspiring to "Communicate & Connect"

Sylvie Simmonds writes in her biography of Robinson that "communication remains key to everything he does" and that his motto is "simply connect. "These phrases operate as keywords respectively for Mercury and Venus, Robinson's most elevated planets. "Connection" (indeed, physical contact) is especially important to those with tactile Venus at 29° Aries (placed at the degree just before the cusp of Earthy Taurus, Venus' own sign), particularly when this planet also appears, as in Robinson's chart, on the Midheaven. The importance of "communication" is hightlighted by the placement of Mercury at the apex of a Yod (or "Finger of God") pattern, which also involves Chiron (the glyph of which represents a "key") and Neptune (the planet of the all-encompassing). Also, Mercury is found in Taurus, the “Fixed Earth” sign, and is thus disposited by Venus, adding more focus to his strive to "connect.”

Prominent Venus & Pluto: Early Love & Sexuality Issues

At age 16, Venus (love) had progressed 16 degrees by Solar Arc to the 16th degree of Taurus, thus squaring Robinson's natal Pluto (sexuality) in his 1st House (facing death). At a time when homosexual acts between males in Britain remained punishable by prison sentences, the former choirboy had fallen "hopelessly (and unrequitedly) in love with another boy at school" and was "[w]racked with shame and selfhatred," thus attempting suicide. Two characters, both typically Plutonic & Leonine, then shaped the direction of his life henceforth. Firstly a head teacher transferred him to a "pioneering therapeutic community for disturbed adolescents." Secondly, he entered the presence of Alexis Korner, the legendary blues rocker and "supreme communicator," an acoustic guitar player who sang about raw human experiences (love, poverty, and racism). With progressed Venus in Taurus in his 10th House (of vocation) squaring his natal Pluto in Leo, Robinson was mesmerised by the charasmatic Korner, and the "whole direction of his own future life and career became suddenly clear."

Progressed Venus & Pluto aspect Mars & Saturn: Incendiary (Homo)Eroticism

In the early seventies Robinson formed the acoustic trio Café Society, and "fervently embraced the politics of gay liberation." By age 26, he had formed the Tom Robinson Band (TRB), releasing the single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" in 1977, soon followed by another disc, a live EP, that also became a chart hit despite a BBC ban on the lead track, "Glad To Be Gay". TRB's debut album Power In The Darkness then went gold. The band had however broken up amid squabbles within a year. During this period Robinson's Venus had progressed to 25-26° Taurus, thus forming a trine aspect with his natal Mars (the rough'n'ready and pioneering planet) that rules his Aries MC. As if this wasn't enough to set the tone of the period, Robinson also had progressed Pluto ("darkness") in conjunction with his natal Saturn ("power"). Life apparently imitated art at this time, with (Marsian, Plutonic and Saturnian) power struggles coming to light.

An Overload of Planets in Mutable Signs: An Ever-Interchangeable Life

Robinson has more than half his planets in Mutable Signs, including both of his luminaries (namely, the Sun in "Mutable Air" Gemini & the Moon in "Mutable Fire" Sagittarius). Moreover, he has the planets that rule the four Mutable Signs in aspect to either of these principal planets. His Sun is squared by Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius) and trined by Neptune (ruler of Pisces). His Moon is quincunxed by Mercury (ruler of Gemini) and placed in conjunction with Chiron (ruler of Virgo). Having the dispositor of each luminary in aspect to the other luminary also adds to his supremely bent outlook on life. In this arrangement, as just discussed, Mercury (dispositor of his Gemini Sun) aspects his Moon, and Jupiter (dispositor of his Sagittarian Moon) aspects his Sun.

Those people born with such a "Mutable Overload" tend to spend their lives changing things around, including their own views and those of others. After many years as the homo activist who was "glad to be gay," Robinson discovered (or uncovered?!) his bisexuality in the early 1980s when he "spotted the boyfriend of his dreams who, inconveniently, turned out to be a woman." They became friends, then lovers, and eventually parents, and today live as a family in South London. Like many men with fatherly Leo on the horizon, Robinson places extra importance on parenthood. Becoming a father himself was one of his “sweetest moments.”

As with many folk with revolutionary Aquarius on their 7th House cusp, Robinson had ended up experiencing a rather shocking surprise as far as his capacity to form relationships was concerned, and moreover his relationship itself became shocking to others. He first spotted his partner in 1982, when progressed Uranus at 5° Leo was hovering on his Ascendant and forming an exact trine aspect with his North Node at 5° Aries. The North Node indicates one's impact on one's community, and for Robinson his new partnership and sexual orientation led to "a brief period in tabloid hell," but also contributed to a more positive reassessment of bisexuality in both the gay and straight worlds.

"... to me, bisexuality means being equally attracted to people of either sex whereas I've had maybe half a dozen female lovers ever. I can't tell you how many men there've been but it's a lot more than that. So from my point of view it's simple: I'm a gay man who happened to fall in love with a woman. But ten years of explaining this to the prurient, the misinformed and the downright bigoted seems to have caused more problems than it solved. So to hell with it. If liking men and loving a woman makes me bisexual, then it's time to stand up and be a bit proud about it. So the answer to your question is "Say It Loud, I'm Bi and I'm Proud" (Tom Robinson, "")
While the Mutable Overload in his chart indicates his ever-changeable life, Robinson's sexual fluidity comes more specifically from having a planet that rules a mutable sign ruling each of his houses of sexuality and romance, and both of these planets in aspect to the ruler of his Ascendant. In this formulation, his angular Neptune (ruler of his Piscean 8th House of sexuality) and Jupiter (ruler of his Sagittarian 5th House of romance) both aspect his Sun which rules his Leo Ascendant, making him “bi and proud.”

His being “loud” and assertive about his (bi)sexuality, comes from having his Mars in challenging aspects to both the Neptune and Uranus discovery degrees. The 25th degree of Aquarius is located in his 7th House (which indicates the way one approaches one's relationships, and relating to the world in general). This is the degree where planet Neptune was discovered. Neptune rules Pisces, the mutable water sign, and in Robinson's case, as we’ve seen, he's literally 'fluid' in his (bi)sexual desires. He also has the Uranus Discovery degree of 24 Gemini in his 11th House, Uranus’ domain. Mars at 26° Virgo forms a quincunx with the Neptunian degree and a square with the Uranian one.

This placement of pioneering and outspoken Mars in analytical Virgo has even manifested in Robinson's discussion of the politics of the labelling of sexual identities (as 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bi,' 'queer,' ‘lgbt'...). He remarks innovatively that he prefers the Italian notion of the sexually 'diverse.' With his Mars in (“Mutable Earth”) Virgo dispositing and quincunxing his elevated Venus in the last degree of Aries, Tom Robinson aims for connection and comunication with others through his website that in part promotes his preference for (bi)sexual diversity!


References

Robinson, Tom. "Article in The Independent"

---. "Interview with Bi Community News"

Simmonds, Sylvie. "A Brief History of Tom" February 2002.


Tom Robinson
(the offical website including Biography, Discography, and Photography sections, containing "lyrics, links, lists, pictures, interviews, articles, samples, jokes, reviews and other stuff"!!)



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