Helen Duncan's extraordinary journey as a medium began amid an ordinary, hardworking family. Her humble beginnings are shown by the god of privation, Saturn, who is the ruler of the 4th house of parents. At the very end of his cycle, Saturn is about to be conjoined with the Sun. The 8’-distance tells us Saturn is cazimi, and thus protected and fully capable of expressing his most pure self. As wonderful as that may sound, it doesn’t take away the fact that Saturn is the malefic contrary to the sect in this nocturnal chart.
Saturn Cazimi: Seeing the Dead
Part of a 5-planet stellium in the 3rd house, traditionally understood as a mysterious “world between worlds”, also known as the Metakosmios, Saturn inserts plenty of enigma, wonder, and perhaps also some shadiness to Helen’s life story. As the farthest visible planet in the sky, Saturn, the lord of death, touches the realm of the unseen – the “occult” – and combined with the Sun – the soul’s organ of perception – it’s not surprising that Helen was said to be able to see the dead.
In her early years, Helen was an unsettling presence among her peers. Her hysterical outbursts and ominous predictions of doom and destruction left her classmates bewildered and even frightened.
A “Metacosmic” Mind
The stellium in itself, ruled by Jupiter in the 1st house, hints at Helen’s extraordinary mind. Jupiter with his unifying powers strives to make sense of the world as a coherent system, and with so many talented guests in his resourceful Sagittarian home, there’s no lack of inspiration.
At the age of 12, Helen departed from formal education and found herself working at a local infirmary. The Moon, as the caring, nurturing ruler of the 10th house could certainly speak to that, but aside from that, a large stellium in the chart usually attracts all the attention, and oftentimes, most themes in the native’s life will center around it. The significations of planets that are located in the same sign can be blended. A blend of the Moon and Mars appropriately describes her work at the infirmary.
Bleached by the Light
In 1916, she married a wounded World War I soldier and skilled cabinet maker. Note that the 7th house ruler is a burnt-up – wounded - Mars, combust at a 1-degree distance from the Sun. With the 5th house of children ruled by Saturn, the couple found the perseverance to weather the storms of war and life, welcoming 12 pregnancies but enduring the loss of six children. Despite the hardships, the family found solace in their community, with Helen taking on work at a local bleach factory. Maybe we could say that the darkness of Saturn, associated with factories, is “bleached” by the blinding light of the Sun.
Friends and Foes
Helen's path diverged in a remarkable direction when she delved into the world of tea leaves and predictions, gradually transitioning into her work as a medium. She was encouraged by her husband who embraced the opportunity for her to make more money. Both the Moon and Mercury in the 3rd house, and Venus in the 2nd house of financial resources, have clever instincts when it comes to business. By 1926, she had become a fully-fledged medium, conducting seances during a time when spiritualism captivated the public's imagination. Her move to Edinburgh marked the beginning of her reputation, with even the ghost of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reportedly making appearances at her seances.
Drawing people from all walks of life, Helen's abilities as a “materialization” medium are well-described by the fact that 3 out of the 5 stellium-planets are nocturnal. The Moon, Mars, and Mercury are more likely to prefer some kind of physical manifestation. Operating in a trance state, Helen would produce a mysterious white substance from her mouth, taking the shape of deceased loved ones.
Families sought comfort in her sessions, finding solace in the idea that their departed relatives could communicate from beyond. One notable case involved Vincent Woodcock, whose deceased wife allegedly communicated through Helen during a seance. The positive testimonies added to Helen's growing reputation. Jupiter in her 1st house, in a close sextile to the ruler of the 11th house, the Sun, speaks to the development of an appealing charisma with which she gained the trust of her clients and a lot of people in her community.
That said, we can’t neglect Saturn’s grip on the Sun, which is bound to invite controversy. Photographer Harvey Metcalfe attended one of Helen's seances armed with a flash camera. His photographs aimed to capture the elusive phenomena associated with spiritualism, but the results were met with varying degrees of perplexity, as it turned out Helen was using props.
Her activities grabbed the attention of the London Spiritualist Alliance. During sessions, she regurgitated a cheesecloth that purportedly represented ectoplasm, a substance believed to manifest during spiritual communication. Investigations into her practices yielded conflicting results, with skeptics and believers at odds. Was she a complete fraud, or was she the real deal, using props to add some flair and drama to her popular seances?
People like Harvey Price invested a considerable sum in test-seances to expose Helen as a fraud. However, the polemics surrounding her took an unexpected turn when sailors materialized during her sessions, revealing the sinking of the battleships HMS Hood and HMS Barham in World War II, before the loss of those ships was made public.
The revelation prompted authorities to take notice, and on January 19, 1944, police intervened during one of her seances, resulting in charges under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. However, oddly enough, the Crown opted for a more severe approach, charging her under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Did they fear Helen might unwittingly betray wartime secrets, such as the plans for D-Day?
The natal chart does not always tell us what is “real” or “make-believe”. It appears to describe themes, whether they really happened or not. In the charts of actors, for example, we see their most prominent roles reflected in the chart. It doesn’t matter that it was only a movie.
What does that say about the roles we’re playing in our lives? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Wow! What an incredible example! Thank you so much, Michelle for sharing those insights! I always love reading these analysis! This one really captured me, for some reason.
I’m curious about the Antiscia between the IC and the Moon/Mercury conjunction. Could this also be a sign of someone with a mind that is deeply connected to the the place of mystery and endings (perhaps even more so with the sign of Capricorn at the roots and it’s association with the gate of the Gods)? I wonder also if she might have inherited this controversial gift or dark craft. Perhaps it felt ancestral with that exiled Venus in Scorpio in her 2nd house of resources sextiling the IC?
I can see in her 3rd house all the scepticism and doubt, as well as the need for that glimmer of faith and hope amidst the backdrop of world wars, economic depression and the pressure to rise above it all and make ends meet, perhaps at any cost, with that malefic enclosure of the Sun. The pressure must have been so intense. Perhaps even from her husband (Mars) and her children (Saturn).
I also love how the new moon is in her joy in the 3rd house and is still dark. I wonder if this can also signify and amplify that connection to those invisible realms and the world between worlds? But also the threat from the Crown?
Also, would that debilitated and hidden mercury ruling the 9th and 12th houses also be an indication of this spiritual/intuitive gift but also perhaps enemies?
It feels like Mercury would also speak to that magician energy. I can imagine people in her community feeling enchanted and/or hypnotised by her and her rituals. It’s beautiful also seeing how people would have felt inspired, healed and soothed, with the presence of the Moon connecting with Jupiter.
I love the way you ended this article with the question of what roles we play in our own lives. I find it so intriguing to see how these roles are influenced and shaped by the environment and culture around us and how they in turn influence and shape the people, culture and environment.
Even though I can see how a debilitated mercury could be that shifty trickster, I also wonder about the people in power who wrote her story, impacting how she is remembered. I wonder about their likely intention to undermine her, and others as well as those taboo practices by making her appear as evil and/or fraudulent?
Thanks so much once again to you and the brilliant AO team! I so look forward to seeing what engaging content and art you’ll share in 2024!
Happy holidays to you all!!!
Omg this was an amazing read. As a medium myself, I am captivated by her story and see some similarities to mine. Thank you Michelle!!!!!!