Articles
Catching The Trane

The Musical Genius of John and Alice Coltrane Copyright © 2005 All Rights Reserved

by David Cochrane

John Coltrane was born with Mercury opposition the Mars/Jupiter midpint and sesquiquadrate to both planets.

Extraordinarily, the angle of Mercury to Mars and to Jupiter is almost exactly 134.4 degrees, a 28/75 aspect as well as a 3/8 aspect, which confers focused creativity that is capable of extraordinary accomplishments.

You can obtain a visualization of the relationship of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter by looking at the grand trine of these three planets in the 25th harmonic chart (see below).

From this configuration, I determined that Coltrane must simply be a highly intelligent person who had accees to a saxophone and expressed his very highly creative mind through this instrument. A quick read of his biography at wikipedia.com confirms this; the man studied Plato and Aristotle. I don't think most black kids born in Hamlet, NC in 1926 read very much of Plato. Coltrane, however, managed to pursue these interests despite the opportunities and experiences available in his environment. His creative genius led him to an interest in Pythagorean thought, he studied harmony and music theory to a very sophisticated level; he did not just concoct his musical creations without technical training and understanding.

Recently I've been listening to Alice Coltrane and jokingly thinking to myself that she might be a bigger genius than her husband. But that is a bit like comparing Einstein, Neils Bohr, Kepler, and Newton; take your pick. Not having a birth time, I just entered 12 noon and looked at Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, thinking that they might be in a 5th harmonic or 25th harmonic pattern but a birth time would be needed to confirm a 25th harmonic. My reasoning is that they might have truly been made for each other.

Alice periodically performed late in her life using her married name of Alice Coltrane. That tells me how deep her love and appreciation of her husband was; a lady of that level of intelligence and sensitivity is not likely to do anything without some deep thought and consideration, in addition to the minor fact that they were married.

Alice's Mercury is quintile Mars, tridecile Jupiter, and Mercury at 12 noon is tightly square the Mars/Jupiter midpoint. The configuration was in effect for that day. This configuration is one that I have mentioned in lectures many times. It is a special configuration but it won't necessarily make an Alice Coltrane. It is almost guaranteed to give superlative creative intelligence, however. Alice did grow up in a family that provided her the tools to grow and develop. Of course, without a birth time we are unable to analyze planetary configurations at the time of Alice's birth in any detail.

I read that the Coltranes are bured in Pinelawn cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. In the unlikely event that I am ever in the area, I'll put a flower on both graves and wish them well. Namaste my brilliant friends. Many thanks for the music and the inspiration.

Finally, note that the above analysis is based on sophisticated mathematical models that I have developed for astrological analysis. The form of astrological analysis that I employ is almost unique, and unlike most astrologers, I remain skeptical of all astrological models including my own because they are yet to be confirmed through research and if correct, the models, in m opinion, can be validated. Most astrologers, however, have a very different philosophical and epistemological perspective on how astrology can be known and improved.



David Cochrane AUTHOR: David Cochrane