ASTROLOGY ARTICLES BY JON

THE EAGLES' LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN (AND THE SATURN CYCLE)

The last time the Eagles released a studio album was also the last time Saturn was in Virgo, about 28 years ago. The Long Run was released in 1979; and in 2007 — one complete Saturn cycle later — they've released the follow up, Long Road out of Eden. Even the titles sound Saturn-inspired suggesting a long, hard road back to the top, which is where they are: perched at the top of the charts once again. Saturn always rewards a job well done.

Don Henley and Glenn Frey are the Eagles' co-founders and principle songwriters. There have been some legendary power struggles between the two of them over the years, but as Henley said in a recent 60 Minutes interview they are inextricably tied together like brothers. In the same interview he also suggested that the Eagles were basically Glenn's band because Glenn had the vision and gave them their name (which happened to be a source of conflict between the two of them).

We do have a birth time for Henley, but I couldn't find a birth time for Frey so I cast his chart for noon. If we look at the synastry between the two of them, we see that Glenn's Saturn sits on Henley's Ascendant, suggesting an unbreakable bond, and that Glenn is the authority (Saturn) in the relationship, he's has Henley under his thumb. Saturn is also the key indicator of longevity in relationships, so once they got together they would be stuck with each other for a long, long time. I imagine at the beginning of the relationship Henley looked up to and admired Frey but after a while he began to feel stifled by him. It actually goes both ways because Henley Saturn-Pluto conjunction squares Frey's Sun as well. This screams power struggles!!

If you look at the transits for October 30, 2007 the release date of Long Road out of Eden you will see that transiting Saturn was exactly atop Henley's Ascendant at 6 degrees Virgo and this also corresponds with Glenn's second Saturn Return. Saturn times are times of great responsibility, but often times of great reward as well. With Saturn you get what you put into it, no more or no less. It's reality check time. I'm sure he (Saturn) appreciates the fact that this album took years to make and it really shows. Virgo is the sign of detail and perfection and I'm sure they went over every little detail with a fine tooth comb, Henley would of made sure of that. Henley also has his Moon in Virgo giving him the soul of a master craftsman.

Henley's 10th house Mars in Gemini is exactly opposite Frey's Mars in Sagittarius suggesting that they will always be butting heads with each other, this is truly unavoidable. This puts Frey's Mars (irritation) in Henley's 4th house of home and they actually were roommates at one time. They must have driven each other crazy!! In the interview Henley (a Cancer with a Virgo Moon) said that they were "the odd couple" and that he was always trying to clean up after Glenn (Saturn in Virgo). The sign and house that Saturn is in shows the area of life where we face the greatest challenges and Glenn with Saturn in Virgo is more than likely challenged in the house keeping department and Henley of course being a Cancer (hearth and home) with such a prominent Virgo in his chart is a natural.

There are some really nice interaspects between them as well. In important relationships we always want to see some connections between the two Suns, Moons and Ascendants. Though we don't know the exact degree we know Glenn's Moon is in Capricorn, so it is opposite Don's Sun in Cancer and trine Don's Moon in Virgo. Any contact between the two Sun-Moon and Ascendants is highly desirable, in the past I have put way too much emphasis on the "easy" aspects. Any contact between these important points is better than none and they all show the potential for a strong bond. The easy aspects just make the road a little smoother.

We also see that Glenn's Sun is conjunct Don's 3rd house Jupiter and trines his Venus-Mercury conjunction. Glenn illuminates (Sun) Don's writing talents (3rd house Jupiter and Venus-Mercury), and in turn Don is Glenn's biggest fan (Jupiter encourages and inspires). These aspects suggest that they actually have a lot of affection for each other. It might be hard for them to admit this, but it's there: a love-hate relationship, just like brothers. Glenn's Jupiter makes hard aspects to both Don's Sun and Moon, and so Don may expect too much from Glenn at times and wind up being disappointed. Hard Jupiter interaspects also speak of excess and over-indulgence. (Duh! They are rock stars!!)

The musical, creative and soulmate connection is shown by the conjunction of Glenn's Venus to Don's Neptune. This is a highly idealistic combination, but in a creative relationship it can be absolutely magical. Judging by the number of hit songs they wrote together such as "Hotel California," "New Kid in Town," "The Long Run," "Desperado," "One of these Nights," "Tequila Sunrise" and the list goes on and on. I'd say it worked out quite magically for them, don't you think?