David Cornwall (October 19, 1931 – December 12, 2020)

I’ve read at least 20 of John le Carré‘s 25 novels, and the memoir “The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories From My Life” written in 2016. I feel I know the author from reading his words, but then every reader feels that about an author whose books they’ve read.

But I digress.

As you can imagine, David Cornwall’s birth time was never known. His mother left home when David was only 5 years old. His father was an insurance fraudster, and David once said that the story of his life was getting out from under his father.

Those details are important in rectifying his birth chart. In David’s case, Saturn (father) and Moon (mother) are in his 4th House (home). His success with “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold” in 1963, when David was 33 years old is signified by Uranus in Aries. It also represents his being outed as a spy (for MI6) by Kim Philby. His cover was blown.

There are two inconjuncts, and, surprise, surprise, they involve his parental planets.

Moon Inconjunct Neptune

People with this aspect often hide their real feelings and make sacrifices for others that they do not really want to make. Then they resent the person who asked for the sacrifice. You must learn to tell people how you really feel; if you do not, you have only yourself to blame for what happens. You must learn to accept that you are responsible for your own life. Do not act as if you are the victim of strong forces that you can’t control, because you can control them.

Jupiter Inconjunct Saturn

This aspect may signify great restlessness and unease, so that it is difficult for you to achieve a state of balance or feel calm and at ease. Often you have contradictory impulses; you want to plunge ahead into some relatively risky activity, but you are held back by feelings of caution or inhibition. It is often difficult to decide whether you want to act on your own or in a situation that is very structured and regulated. If your situation is too structured, you will feel closed in and repressed; you will want to break free and go off by yourself and do things your way. But when you get that freedom, you feel rather lost and at loose ends, and you find it difficult to set your own pace.

You may have mixed feelings about authority as well. On one hand you respect and admire your parents, teachers and other adults who guide your growth, but at the same time you resist their teachings. At times you resent these people very much, because they seem to limit you so.

He Couldn’t Help But Be a Writer

In his birth chart, David’s Uranus is opposite a close Sun/Mercury conjunction in Libra, situated in his 1st House (of Personality). It was the only way he could exorcise his demons. If you want an intimate portrait of what his life must have been like, read the novel, or watch the TV series, “A Perfect Spy”. It is the most semi-autobiographical book that he had ever written.

But David was also a man of insight, sometimes sitting on the cutting edge of history:

The Last Word is His

Amen.