Giacomo Puccini

Love, Art, and Plenty of Drama

Often looked down upon by music critics, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s operas were wildly adored by the general public. The Moon, sect light in his nocturnal chart, and natural significator of the masses, shines bright. Nearing the degree of the Midheaven, this waning gibbous Moon distributes her dramatic Cancerian emotions through the tears of millions. Save your waterproof mascara for Tosca, La Bohème, and Madama Butterfly lest you want to look like a panda bear after the first act. Puccini didn’t confine the drama to these masterworks. His entire life, too, appeared to unfold as a romantic opera.

124 Years’ Worth of Puccinis

He was born into a long lineage of chapel masters who enjoyed a lot of respect in their local community. The Sun, often depicting the native’s father in the chart, is in the 3rd house of local environment and cultural customs. Goddess of beauty and harmony, and benefic ruler of the 8th house of social esteem, Venus, is copresent with the Sun.

Where is the music in this chart? Retrograde Venus is heading towards an antiscion with Mercury. This hidden aspect is bringing these planets together, much like a collaborative conjunction. Aphrodite and Hermes make an artistic, creative, skillful, and musical pair. The combination of a fiery planet with an earthy one is remarkably productive as inspiration marries practicality. Mercury is in the 4th house, firmly rooted in the family tradition.

The ruler of the 4th house is Saturn in the 11th place of Good Spirit where “the pennies fall from heaven”. Thanks to his family’s good name, Giacomo received a grant from Queen Margherita which allowed him to study at the Milan Conservatory. Note that Saturn is located in royal Leo.

The Greater Not-So-Benefic Jupiter

When he was only 5 years old, his father died. It was a 6th house profection year for Giacomo which brought on a double activation of Jupiter as the Time Lord of the Year. Profecting from the ascendant brings us to Jupiter’s Piscean temple, while calculating the profection from the sect light, the Moon, leads to the 3rd house of Sagittarius.

The Solar Return chart for that year shows an exalted Moon adhering to the South Node in Taurus. They fall into the natal 8th house of death. The Moon in the house of Bad Fortune in the Solar Return chart doesn’t bring good news despite her exaltation. On the contrary, the South Node tends to take things away, and close family is a prominent lunar signification. On the day of his father’s death, transiting Time Lord Jupiter activates the Solar Return Moon’s promise of loss through an opposition within 1°.

Mercury in the 4th rules the 9th house called God, where his guest Jupiter, god of spirituality, resides. At the age of 21, Puccini composed his Mass, thereby underlining his family's long association with church music. The Sun, describing the general trajectory of his life, is located at 29°57’ Sagittarius, ready to hop into the 4th house, again linking the plotline of his life to his roots.

“The music of this opera (Madame Butterfly) was dictated to me by God. I was merely instrumental in getting it on paper and communicating it to the public.” - Giacomo Puccini

The Sun is co-present with Venus, not only debilitated through her retrograde motion but also counteracted by her host Jupiter, who is exiled in Gemini and opposing Venus within 3 degrees. The 1st house ruler Venus, here in the 3rd house associated with habits, represents Giacomo’s health. He started smoking at a very young age and even stole some organ pipes from church to sell so he could buy tobacco. Eventually, he got into the habit of smoking more than 80 cigarettes a day.

On top of that, he also started overeating when he became the co-owner of a nightclub. The Moon in Cancer usually has a good appetite and is overcoming the ascendant. In addition to this, Mars is the ruler of the 2nd house, associated with both food and money, and located in the 5th house of pleasure. Making money in a place where people enjoy themselves. Mars’s other sign is Aries in the 7th house of business partnerships.

Dangerous Secrets

The antiscia between Venus and Mercury has a secretive element to it when it comes to Venus’s natural signification of love. Puccini started a romantic relationship with a married woman, Elvira, whose husband had numerous affairs. When she became pregnant with Puccini’s child, she left her home, and soon after Puccini moved in with her. Their relationship wasn’t always a happy one, as Puccini really did live for art as well as for love, and he had a lot of affairs.

“I lived for art, I lived for love” - Giacomo Puccini

The exact sextile between the Sun and Mars in Aquarius reveals an interest in science and technology. Puccini was a fan of technology and became passionate about cars. He collected a fleet of more than 20 vehicles! At the age of 44, he had a bad car accident. It was a 9th house profection year for him, making stationing Mercury Time Lord of the Year, along with exiled Jupiter when profecting from the sect light. Jupiter and his ruler Mercury are in the process of forming a secretive opposition, or contra-antiscia. This means Jupiter’s host Mercury is essentially hostile towards his guest Jupiter and vice versa. Each time one of them is activated through a timing technique, we can expect some trouble.

Elvira and their son had minor injuries, but Giacomo fractured his leg while a portion of the car pressed down on his chest. When the injury didn’t heal well, it was discovered he suffered from diabetes, which, again, is indicated by Jupiter counteracting 1st house ruler Venus as Jupiter is the natural signifier of both sugar and the liver.

Dangerous Company

The day after Puccini’s near-fatal crash, Elvira’s husband was murdered by the husband of a woman with whom he’d had an affair. Although Elvira’s time of birth is unknown, her chart paints the picture of a dangerous situation involving Venus, goddess of love and marriage, effectively making life less safe for her partners.

Venus, co-present with an exiled Saturn, makes a tight opposition to Mars, god of blood and injuries. Both are located on the nodal axis, intensifying this dramatic opposition. This configuration in solid signs indicates a pattern of challenging relationships.

The death of Elvira’s husband finally cleared the way for her marriage to Puccini, although that didn’t put a stop to his numerous affairs…

At one point, Elvira publicly accused their young housemaid Doria Manfredi of flirting with Puccini. Doria was so shocked and shamed that she attempted to commit suicide by drinking poison. She suffered for eight long days before she died. Doria’s family requested an autopsy and it turned out she died a virgin. They sued Elvira for defamation. She was almost sent to prison but Puccini managed to prevent that by making a large payment to the Manfredi family. The drama happened when he was 50 years old in a 3rd house profection year. Again, this makes Jupiter the Lord of the Year, as well as Mercury, if we count from the sect light.

Long after Puccini’s death, it was discovered he actually had an affair with Doria’s cousin Giulia. Again, this highlights the antiscia between Mercury and Venus. Additionally, Venus is hidden under the beams of the Sun and Mercury is the ruler of the 12th house of secrets. The affair went on long afterward, and they had a son together, born not long before Puccini’s death in 1924.

“I'm working, but there is so much still to be done! And it frightens me to think of my weight of years. But on we go, without fear or hesitation!” - Giacomo Puccini

At the age of 64, he had a reversed nodal return in his 6th house / 12th house axis, ruled by Jupiter and Mercury respectively, which means that solar and lunar eclipses were happening in two houses associated with illness. Puccini started suffering from a chronic sore throat.

By the time he was in a 6th house profection year, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Jupiter in the 9th house of foreign travel was activated. Puccini traveled to Belgium to undergo a new, experimental treatment which consisted of wearing a radioactive collar. Causing complications, the treatment eventually led to his death on November 29, 1924.

“Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man's faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements.” - Giacomo Puccini

We hope you enjoyed this chart exploration! Would you agree Jupiter acted as a functional malefic in Puccini’s chart? Let us know in the comments!