Michael Jackson passed away on Thursday, June 25, 2009. He collapsed and died in his home where the paramedics were unable to revive him. Strangely, there was also a doctor in the house and, at this time, the apparent cause of death might have been a drug overdose. Jackson has been in a wheelchair for two years and it is not surprising that he might have been taking painkillers for his skeletal problems.

The seventh child in the Jackson family, Michael debuted on the professional music scene as a member of The Jackson 5. His solo career began in 1971. For decades, he was known as the "King of Pop.” Four of his solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). His 1982 Thriller album is the world's best-selling record of all time.

There is no time of birth for Michael Jackson, so it is estimated at noon as is the tradition when this important astrological information is not known. His actual birthdate was August 29th, 1958 and he was born into the famous performing Jackson family in Gary, Indiana. Looking at his chart, one sees a life filled with unusual astrological stressors including very difficult conjunctions with the Sun and Pluto.

Michael’s life has always been a little unusual, which is explained by the fact that he has a conjunction of the Sun in Virgo to Pluto. This is a difficult planetary combination to say the least. Pluto is the God of personal transformation and the Sun symbolizes the Self.  Virgo is the sign of the perfectionist and, in his own eyes, he was never perfect. He was always trying to create a new persona to replace the last one.

The Sun is also symbolic of the father and it is well known that Joseph Jackson was quite ruthless and critical when it came to molding the young Micheal Jackson into a star. Conversely, Michael was very criticized as a father figure himself, for doing things like dangling his own child at the window. Allegations of child abuse at his home In Neverland also haunted the star’s life, adding to his notoriety and reputation as an eccentric.

This charismatic star had Venus in Leo who means great fame and also riches. No matter what his fans seemed to always love him, despite charges of child abuse. His Venus is also conjunct Uranus which denotes androgyny.  His appearance at times certainly was both male and female; he was thin and his face had an almost Barbie like feminine appearance by the end of his life.

Chiron the wounded healer planet was is in opposition to both these planets in his natal chart which usually means a difficult childhood.  Chiron is currently in Aquarius and Jackson’s natal Chiron was also there at the same time.

Chiron in opposition to Venus can mean a person who is never satisfied with his or her appearance. It might also explain why he seemed so addicted to plastic surgery.  He was also the eternal wounded child in some ways and that explains Neverland – the bizarre eternal nursery and amusement park that he called home for many years.  It can also indicate a person who was constantly criticized and scrutinized in general. That could certainly be said to be true of Jackson’s relationship with the media who were always looking to exploit his eccentricities.

These planets also form a square to Mars in his chart, which describes a person who is constantly at war with himself. He was a very defensive individual who had a great deal of difficulty expressing himself to the public and setting appropriate boundaries.

He was also a very delicate and sensitive person, as indicated by a Moon in Pisces. This is a very sensitive placement that indicates tremendous creativity. This moon is squared by Saturn, which means that no matter how rich he got or successful, Jackson always had to work very hard. It also indicates a very lonely individual who felt misunderstood.

Chiron would be a force to contend with in Michael’s chart and, at age 50, it returned. Usually this produces some kind of emotional or physical crisis that forces people to seek healing. However, in Jackson’s case, the healing crisis seems to be his actual death and the liberation of his soul from his body.

It is no secret that Jackson had many emotional and physical problems. Among them was a back problem. This is classic with individuals with an ill placed Saturn. When he died, Saturn was transiting his birth chart. Also, Mars was transiting his natal Mars and this could have caused a physical reaction.

Even stranger, both transiting Neptune and Jupiter were within a two degree orb of his natal Mercury, which sometimes also means sudden death in astrology. Drugs for back pain are believed to be involved in his death, which is not surprising when Neptune is an influence. Neptune often symbolizes great stress.

When Jupiter transits the natal Jupiter, it sometimes means the liberation of the soul from the body. The upside is that this meant being freed from a life that was very painful physically, emotionally and legally over the past few years.