Alan Turing: The Enigma
There are two versions of this same cover: the one shown above and the one where Benedict Cumberbatch turns and faces the camera, revealing his character. (Side note: Benedict Cumberbatch is a relative of Alan Turing.)
I’d heard of the ‘father of modern computing’ before seeing this film “The Imitation Game” but I never realized how tragic his life was. You see, Alan Turing was gay in a time when that was still illegal to be so in Britain.
I am now reading the book about his life and achievements and I wanted to share a couple of insights.
The Chart
Alan Mathison Turing was born when Pluto was conjunct both the Sun and Venus. This makes for a very ‘different’ personality. Here’s how my computer program describes the energy:
Sun Conjunct Pluto
Inwardly you are zealous and fanatical, though you may hide your personal desires and intentions, and the intensity of your feelings. You are driven by a deep inner sense of destiny and mission and an almost compulsive desire for personal recognition. You have an infatuation with power and are incredibly willful and stubbornly fixated on achieving greatness or being Somebody Special. You tend to worship heroes who have powerful personal magnetism and charisma, and often seek to emulate them. You have potential for tremendous good or tremendous evil.
Venus Conjunct Pluto
You have deep, compelling love feelings that seem irresistible and often irrational. Your love relationships are very passionate and intense, and you experience both agony and ecstasy in love. You are always changed in a deep, fundamental way by your love experiences, though this may come about through painful and difficult confrontations or separations. You are something of an emotional fanatic about things you care about.
The “Eccentric”
There is no doubt this man had a genius of mathematics. But he was also a non-conformist to the nth degree. To understand why, we must return to an aspect on his birth chart. This text comes from Robert Hand’s Planets in Youth:
Sun Inconjunct Uranus
There is a side of your personality that is very restless and impatient with rules, even when you know they are for your own good. You want very much to go your own way and do your own thing, even when you aren’t entirely sure that it is the right direction for you. So you rebel in subtle ways by having sudden fits of obstinacy and moods of feeling very contrary, especially to your parents or other authority figures.
Uranus in the Tenth House
You are a very restless person who wants to do everything in your own way. Because you do not like being told what to do, you may have trouble getting along with authority figures such as parents, teachers and other officials. But your aims are not destructive. You just need freedom to find your own path, because that is the only way you can be really successful. If you try to take the same path that everyone else does, your life will be full of disruptions and instability, and you will feel unfulfilled.
Later, in your career, you should try to find your own way of doing your job, your own unorthodox approach. If other indications in the chart concur, this placement may favor work in a technical or scientific field[,] in astrology, social reform or any other field that involves change through originality and insight. You will always be upsetting to people who cannot bear to see change, but those who appreciate inventiveness and individuality will recognize your ability. Just learn to have enough discipline so that you can follow your own path, because without it you will simply dart from one activity to another without making any impact.
This is confirmed by his Rising sign, Gemini.
Uranus Conjunct Midheaven
People should be prepared to encounter in you an extreme individualist. Even while you are very young, you insist on doing everything your own way, and you strongly resist any pressures to conform. In fact the best way to ensure that you will not do something is to try to force you to do it. You are a rebel, and the established ways of living will not attract you particularly.
On the other hand you can be very creative with this aspect, because you have much originality and can see life in ways that others are blind to. You may be very inventive; in fact, this placement is characteristic of people who make a career in scientific or technological invention.
Conclusion
With the help of astrology, this enigma of a man is no longer misunderstood.
Like the Colossus he built to break the Enigma codes during World War II, he had to stand tall and hold his ground against his military masters, in order to find the means to defeat Hitler and the German war machine.
We are truly grateful for his short (42 year) sojourn here on earth.
