Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Documentarian Morgan Spurlock passed on May 23, 2024, from complications related to cancer.  The name may not ring a bell at first, but doubtless you’ll remember his 2004 documentary film “Supersize Me,” chronicling his month of subsisting on nothing but fast food from McDonald’s.  Spurlock, judged by doctors and nutritionists to be in “above average” shape when he began his experiment on 1 February 2003, gained nearly 25 pounds in his thirty-day Ronald McDonald binge, along the way experiencing heart palpitations, sexual and liver dysfunction, lethargy, depression and headaches.

“Supersize Me” was conceived after Spurlock saw a news story about a pair of teenage girls who were suing McDonald’s for their obesity.  Produced for $65,000, the self-starring documentary made $22 million in box office globally, also being nominated for an Academy Award.  Spurlock eventually directed almost two dozen films and produced 70 others, as well as starring in FX’s reality TV series “30 Days” and hosting “Morgan Spurlock Inside Man” on CNN.  But it was “Supersize Me” which first brought him to international attention, and remains his most enduring legacy.

Born 7 November 1970 (no time available), Morgan Valentine Spurlock was perhaps fated to come to prominence via some self-defining act involving McDonald’s, with his 14 Scorpio Sun conjoined asteroid McDonalda 991 at 17 Scorpio, opposing asteroid Morgon 547666 (alternate spelling of Morgan) at 18 Taurus, with Saturn at 19 Taurus, channeling this hyper-identification with the fast-food chain into his career.  Also with the Sun is Mercury at 21 Scorpio, identifying Spurlock as a writer and someone involved in Media; Jupiter at 16 Scorpio, conveying a potential for fame and celebrity; and asteroid Stout 20430 at 20 Scorpio.  Named for the brewed beverage similar to beer, Stout also acts in its alternate English language capacity of “corpulent, thickset, or fat.”

Despite the Sun/Stout connection, Spurlock doesn’t seem to have had issues with his weight until he underwent his McDonald’s challenge, when the seed of asteroids McDonalda and Stout in combination with Jupiter, which promotes increase and expansion, was allowed to sprout and thrive (after the experiment, it took Spurlock over five months to return to his prior weight, but he maintained a slender appearance for the rest of his life).  Intriguingly, two other asteroids with resonance to the McDonald’s menu, Hamburga 449 (for “hamburger”) and Fry 5190 (for “French fries”), each appear at 11 degrees from the Sun (Hamburga at 3 Scorpio, Fry at 25 Scorpio), with the Sun on their exact midpoint, though technically not conjunct either.  Asteroid Berger 12729 (phonetic match for “burger”) at 0 Libra is semisquare the Sun, providing another link between McDonald’s and Spurlock’s core identity.

The only point at station in Spurlock’s nativity is asteroid Academia 829, which at 20 Pisces is trine the Sun and turned direct November 3^rd, four days before his birth.  Academia represents the Academy Awards, for which “Supersize Me” received a nomination; Academia is also trine McDonalda.  Asteroid Oskar 750, alternate spelling of Oscar, the Award’s nickname, appears at 26 Scorpio, widely conjunct asteroid McDonalda at 17 Scorpio, and opposed Saturn (career) at 19 Taurus.  The Oscar nomination for “Supersize Me” was the apotheosis of Spurlock’s career.

This resonance continues when Spurlock initiated his McDonald’s-only diet on 1 February 2003, when stationary bodies included asteroids Golden 4423, Stout and Hamburga, at 13 and 16 Gemini, and 4 Libra respectively (Stout turned direct on February 2, Golden on February 4,and Hamburga went retrograde, also on the 4^th, just as the experiment was beginning).  Golden here stands in for “the Golden Arches,” a common McDonald’s moniker, based on the dual curved fries that appear in their signage.  Hamburga and Stout reflect the dominant cuisine for the month (though Spurlock tried every item on the McDonald’s menu at least once) and its unhealthy results (with Spurlock adding 25 pounds to his spare frame in that period).  Golden and Stout conjoin Saturn at 22 Gemini, showing their continued impact on Spurlock’s career.

The Sun at 12 Aquarius is appropriately conjoined by Neptune, ruling films, at 10 Aquarius, and asteroid Morgon at 8 Aquarius, identifying the filmmaker.  An opposition to Jupiter at 13 Leo, bringing publicity and fame, joins in a T-Square with asteroid Fast 27719 at 19 Taurus, here a celestial stand-in for “fast food”.  Asteroid McDonalda at 12 Virgo conjoins asteroid Fry at 13 Virgo, and is exactly inconjunct the Sun, while asteroid Oskar at 27 Pisces is exactly semisquare it, suggesting the Academy Award nomination to follow.

The US opening for “Supersize Me” on 7 May 2004 (it had previously been screened at the Sundance Film Festival) shows an exact conjunction of the Sun with asteroid Academia at 17 Taurus, in a remarkable Grand Cross comprising an opposition to asteroid McDonalda at 12 Scorpio, and squares to Neptune at 15 Aquarius and a triple conjunction of asteroid Fast at 8 Leo, with asteroids Golden and Berger, both at 14 Leo.  Sun/Academia shows the potential for an Oscar nod; McDonalda identifies the film’s subject; Neptune rules film itself; and Fast, Golden and Berger are all additional qualifiers pointing to McDonald’s.  Note that this pattern aligns with the natal Sun/McDonalda-Morgon/Saturn polarity.

The film did receive an Academy Award nomination, but lost to “Born into Brothels.”  The loss is foreshadowed in the US general release chart by a conjunction of asteroids NOT 2857 (a general disqualifier or symbol of negation) at 5 Taurus and asteroid Victoria 12 (named for the Roman goddess of victory) at 7 Taurus, squared asteroid Oskar at 28 Cancer.  This spells “no Oscar win” in celestial shorthand, despite the potential offered by Sun/Academia.

Again we see asteroid Hamburga at station, this time accompanied by asteroid Morgan 3180 (the exact match for Spurlock’s first name; asteroid Morgon also makes an appearance, widely conjunct the Sun from 27 Taurus).  Hamburga at 27 Capricorn turned retrograde May 19^th, but already inhabits its station degree; it opposes asteroid Oskar at 28 Cancer, reiterating the potential for Oscar gold, in a T-Square with Mercury at 23 Aries, indicating the film’s popular reception in the Media, and the “buzz” it created, with everyone talking about it.  Morgan at 1 Libra turned direct May 18^th, squared Mars at 0 Cancer and conjunct natal asteroid Berger at 0 Libra.  Points at station connected to individuals often represent literal “turning points,” which was certainly the case for Spurlock, whose career took off after “Supersize Me” and the energetic boost (Mars) it provided.

When Morgan Spurlock passed on 23 May 2004, asteroid Morgan is again at station, illustrating the major change in circumstances from life to death.  At 3 Libra, Morgan turned direct on May 20^th, just three days prior, and virtually reprises its placement from the opening of “Supersize Me” twenty years before.  It appears in a Grand Trine with the Sun conjunct asteroid Morgon at 2 and 4 Gemini, highlighting (Sun) Spurlock (Morgon) one last time; and Pluto (modern lord of death) with asteroid Osiris 1923 (named for the Egyptian god of the dead) at 2 and 4 Aquarius, emphasizing his mortality.  Morgan also squares asteroid McDonalda at 6 Cancer, again connecting Spurlock to the creation for which he is best remembered.

Activations of natal death indicators at the time of passing include transit Saturn (ancient lord of death) at 18 Pisces opposed natal asteroid Lachesis 120 (named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life) at 16 Virgo; transit asteroid Atropos 273 (named for her sister Fate who severs the thread of life at death) at 23 Gemini squared natal Pluto at 28 Virgo; transit asteroid Lachesis at 29 Taurus exactly opposed natal asteroid Rip at 29 Scorpio (which functions as a death indicator in the form of the acronym “RIP”, “Rest In Peace,” a common tombstone inscription); the Sun/Morgan conjunction at 2 and 4 Gemini opposed natal asteroid Osiris at 7 Sagittarius; transit asteroid Morgan at 3 Libra squared natal asteroid Atropos at 0 Capricorn, also opposed natal asteroid Anubis 1912 at 2 Aries (named for the Egyptian deity governing funerary rites); transit Uranus at 23 Taurus conjunct natal Saturn at 19 Taurus; and transit Mercury at 0 Taurus, conjunct natal asteroid Requiem 2254 at 6 Taurus (named for the funeral mass for the dead), also squared by transit Pluto/Osiris at 2 and 4 Aquarius.

This type of preponderance of death indicators at a passing is not at all rare, though Spurlock’s example may be somewhat extreme, in that all indicators are activated. 

A final celestial hat tip to the fast food that made Spurlock’s career is seen as transit asteroid Hamburga at 20 Sagittarius, squared transit Saturn (career) at 18 Pisces and natal Academia (Academy Award nomination) at 20 Pisces.  And to the multitude of fans now remembering him fondly and mourning his loss, all we can ask is, “Would you like cries with that?”