Ghislaine Explained but Not Excused

By Sue Kientz

How is it possible to detect much less understand the motivations of Ghislaine Maxwell? For approximately 10 years, she sexually trafficked and participated in sexually abusing hundreds if not thousands of underage girls and young women with Jeffrey Epstein, for which she was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Who would do such horrendous crimes? Or as we ask here, what would the astrology chart of her birth look like, and which celestial referents eventually pointed to an ineluctable desire to live such a life?

Maxwell was born on December 25, 1961,(1) the youngest child of well-off parents with a large family. Her Sun (3 Capricorn), Mars (0 Capricorn), and Mercury (8 Capricorn) are square (90 degrees, indicating difficult experiences) asteroid Juno (28 Pisces) and dwarf planet Eris (9 Aries) and opposite (180 degrees, symbolic of trouble or possible illumination) dwarf planet Orcus (10 Cancer). On the plus side, the Capricorn Sun/Mars/Mercury enjoy a supportive trine (120 degrees) from Uranus (0 Virgo), dwarf planet Haumea (2 Virgo), and Pluto (10 Virgo), representing intellectual capacity (Uranus), desire and ability to transform oneself and others (Haumea) and powerful resources (Pluto). 

All this describes both Maxwell and her family situation at her birth. A concentrated emphasis in achievement and ambition (Sun in Capricorn) is present that’s not only central to the child’s life (Sun) but her thinking (Mercury) and permitted actions (Mars) that could also center on the influence of a dominant parent (Saturn, parenting, rules the Capricorn group and is implicitly involved), one endowed with great power and intellect, but focused on self-interest (trine from the Virgo group). There’s some unsolvable marriage problem (Juno in Pisces, the latter suggesting illness, drinking, and/or deception) and uneasiness or mistrust of other people in general (Eris in Aries, feeling of alienation, wariness). The person could use a stabilizing force, someone offering a mission or plan (Orcus: search for perfection, order, balance, and the opposition suggests a partner, lover, or close friend provide this). But distrust of others (Eris) makes finding that “ideal” person difficult. That could lead to falling under the spell of a deliberately controlling, deceptive individual.  

As it happened, three days after Ghislaine was born, a terrible crisis hit the family. The oldest child, Michael (age 15), was seriously injured in a car accident that resulted in a coma; there he remained, hospitalized, for seven years until he passed away without regaining consciousness.(2) The parents were devastated and thrown into extreme disarray, with no capacity for the baby who was pushed aside, left for others to tend and therefore missed the usual loving treatment provided by parents of a newborn. The family didn’t grasp the disturbing dynamics until Ghislaine was a toddler and said to her mother, “Mummy, I exist,” which set off the opposite reaction, intense attention and overcompensation. This abrupt interruption of intimacy is reminiscent of the early days of “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski. At 9 months, he suffered a severe skin condition that prevented his parents from touching and comforting him,(3) so when discharged from hospital and returned to his parents, they felt he was a completely different child, remote and unemotional. 

The dominant parent signified by the Capricorn Sun is Maxwell’s father Robert, a powerful, successful and occasionally dishonest businessman. Robert Maxwell was physically and verbally abusive to the family, including his “favorite,” Ghislaine. The depth of his impact is evident by closely examining the ruler of her Capricorn cluster: Saturn (28 Capricorn) is embroiled in a Grand Cross(4) with heavyweight dwarf planets Sedna (27 Aries), Ixion (27 Libra), and Makemake (4 Leo). Such a dynamically perturbed arrangement points to someone fending off despair and isolation (Sedna), yet willing and able to break rules to get one’s way (Ixion), while fundamentally erratic, even perversely so (Makemake). This describes her beloved father, whose worst qualities, in the end, she emulated. 

Title Image credit: Image described by the author to ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com/), plus a little Photoshop

Notes and References

1. Ghislaine Maxwell, 24 December 1961, 3:20 p.m. CET, Maisons Laffitte, France, AA rated (birth certificate), https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Maxwell,_Ghislaine
2. Kelly, Jon, “Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? The story of her downfall,” BBC News, 28 June 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59733623
3. “Hospital incident haunts Unabomber suspect’s mother,” Tampa Bay Times, 17 June 1996, https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/06/17/hospital-incident-haunts-unabomber-suspect-s-mother/
4. Grand Cross describes a pattern where four planets or clusters of planets lie roughly 90 degrees equidistant from each other in a “cross,” indicative of a life of great stress, challenge, or terrible life choices.

For keywords and example personalities of the new dwarf planets, see “Dwarf Planet Basics,” 6 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/dwarf-planet-basics/

For more details about the angles or relationships between planets, see Lynne Hyde’s “Astrology Basics,” 12 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/astrology-basics/