The Astrology of Twin Peaks
'We live inside a dream..."
On Sunday, April 8th, 1990, at 9:00 PM during a full moon in Libra, a tv show premiered on ABC that would change television and culture at large forever. Airing right after America’s Funniest Home Videos and running adjacent to Murder She Wrote, Twin Peaks was like nothing that came before it. The show proved that tv audiences were hungry for television storytelling that was complex, dark, and experimental. Created by filmmaker/artist David Lynch and screenwriter Mark Frost, the show was a breath of fresh air for those who experienced the landscape of television as stale and contrived. The critics at the time called it “the series that will change TV”, and it did.
Set in a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest, Twin Peaks follows the murder investigation of local prom queen, Laura Palmer. While the journey to solve her murder is a through-line, the heart of the show is about Special Agent Dale Cooper and the people of Twin Peaks. The show was an instant success. The central mystery of "Who killed Laura Palmer?" dominated the pop culture conversation.
The first episode is often regarded as one of the greatest television pilots of all time. Despite its meteoric rise in the cultural zeitgeist, the show was abruptly canceled after just two seasons. Fortunately, this would not be the end of the Twin Peaks universe.
Although both David Lynch and Mark Frost co-created Twin Peaks, Lynch often receives more credit. However, the show is truly a blend of both of their creative visions. Frost had been a head writer on Hill Street Blues when he met Lynch who at that time was already known for surreal films like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. Together, Lynch and Frost worked on a screenplay based on the troubled life of Marilyn Monroe that didn’t go anywhere but the idea of a woman in trouble stuck with Lynch. This eventually led to Lynch and Frost pitching and selling the idea of Twin Peaks, originally titled Northwest Passage, to ABC.
“There’s this town and this wind… and then there’s a dead girl and then a whole bunch of stuff happens.”
- David Lynch
“If Jupiter and Saturn Meet…”
The show itself has some ties to astrology, one being a major storyline involving a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction. In that story, it is under a Jupiter/ Saturn conjunction where one can enter the mysterious White/Black Lodge, an extra-dimensional place where spirits and doppelgängers roam and where nothing is at it seems. In real life, the last Jupiter/Saturn conjunction that had happened up to that point was in 1981 when the two planets met in Libra.
Mark Frost had an interest in native American history and the occult which made its way into the scripts. The concept of a Black Lodge where dwellers on the threshold meet their shadow selves originated with the Nez Perce tribe, native to the American northwest. The notorious occultist Aleister Crowley wrote a book in 1917 called Moonchild centered around a black lodge of magicians versus a white lodge of magicians vying for an unborn child they want to corrupt and transform into an antichrist figure for their own magical purposes.
Developing Twin Peaks involved a lot of world building. Lynch and Frost created a map to get the geography down but to also give the fictional town a real sense of place.
Frost had a personal astrologer at the time, Bill Herbst, whom he commissioned to create natal charts for all the major characters. Herbst would do interpretive sessions on the charts and Frost would take that information into the writing process with him.
I had the honor of interviewing Bill Herbst recently about his time as Mark Frost’s astrologer. You can read that conversation here:
A Place Both Strange and Wonderful
The pilot’s premiere date as the birth chart of Twin Peaks makes the most sense to me. The whole story is here.
Twin Peaks has a Scorpio ascendant co-present with Pluto. As the modern ruler of Scorpio, Pluto deals with the shadows, death, destruction, and the brutality of life. One of the forces of evil in Twin Peaks, the demonic entity BOB, embodies all these qualities. He feeds off fear and corruption. “The evil that men do” is a theme throughout the show.
Mars, the traditional ruler of Scorpio, is in Aquarius in the 4th house of roots. The Sun in Aries in the 6th house of service, also ruled by Mars in Aquarius is like Agent Cooper, the guiding light of the story in pursuit of the truth using unconventional methods.
The full moon in Libra in the 12th house is all about the intrigue of “Who killed Laura Palmer?”. The 12th house is where we store unconscious memories. It takes work to uncover its mysteries. The moon in Horary Astrology represents the people. When you step inside the show, you enter an enigmatic puzzle.
In some ways, the character of Laura is also the moon in Libra; the enigma that opens us up to this strange world. The moon is ruled by supernatural, otherworldly Venus in Pisces. It’s like a continuing cascade of dreamy mysteries.
Venus in Pisces trining Jupiter in Cancer is ruling over that Mercury in Taurus opposite the ascendant. Venus in Pisces is concerned with the deep pool of imagination and Jupiter in Cancer leans heavily on intuition and vibes. Mercury rules the thought process and communication. This not only shows us Twin Peaks as part of the cultural zeitgeist in its time but it tells us of the creativity it conjures. Both, with the countless shows that have been influenced by it (The X-Files, LOST, Desperate Housewives, Stranger Things, The Sopranos, etc) but also with all the theories of what it all means. Did Josie really turn into a door knob? Why is Nadine like the Hulk? Who is Judy?
Lynch and Frost never wanted to reveal the killer of Laura Palmer. But there was pressure from the network and the public at large to do so. Mercury in Taurus in the 7th house opposite the ascendant also speaks to the constant tension between wanting the answers yet the story wanting to remain a mystery.
Around the time the show was canceled, the idea for a Twin Peaks film began to emerge. Lynch and Frost disagreed on the direction of the project and eventually Frost abandoned it. Lynch and Robert Engels wrote the screenplay of what would become a prequel, the last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life.
Lynch-ian
While Mark Frost’s contributions are indispensable to the world of Twin Peaks, it is undeniable that David Lynch’s name is synonymous with the series, and it’s no wonder when you look at his synastry with the show.
Both Lynch and the show have a Scorpio rising chart which immediately tells us they are in sync. On the night of the premiere of the pilot, Pluto was conjunct Lynch’s ascendant which indicates everything in his life was in transformation. He had already been known but the show would turn him into more of a household name. His identity would forever be connected to Twin Peaks.
Neptune was conjunct his Mercury in Capricorn. Lynch was weaving mysteries with his mind.
The full moon was conjunct his Neptune in the 12th house. A surreal new chapter was born.
In Lynch’s own chart, his Scorpio ascendent trines Mars conjunct Saturn in Cancer. So yes, David Lynch is connected to the moon.
Fire Walk With Me
The original cut of the movie was 196 minutes long. I watched a version of it that had all the edited “missing pieces” placed back in according to the script. It was like watching a 196-minute episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, the long awaited third season that would find its way 25 years later.
This version of Fire Walk With Me feels a bit random but balanced in terms of the much darker subject matter that is explored in the film versus the original show. Lynch was pressured to edit the film down. Most of the cast was cut, putting Laura Palmer’s trauma as the main narrative. While there are moments of comedy, it is a much heavier piece of work and was not received well upon release.
There is lore around the film being booed at its Cannes premier. But many say that is an exaggeration of the truth. Either way, this is where I decided to cast the chart for Fire Walk With Me.
I decided to go with a 5:00 PM time slot for the film because it premiered at Cannes to an audience featuring Lynch and guests that “early evening”. Every account I can find says it was early evening. If we are assuming that means between 4:00 -6:30 PM then that gives the chart a Libra rising.
Libra rising is ruled by Venus in Taurus in the 8th house. The 8th house is many things. In modern astrology, it’s sex and death. In other traditions it’s debt, issues of power, “death experiences” and our karmic ties to others. It is also one of the hidden house and planets in the 8th can indicate things you keep hidden from others. This is a story of a girl in trouble.
Venus is trine Neptune in Capricorn in the 4th house of home and roots. Neptune rules drugs, the “thinning of the veil’ and can bring fog and confusion. Laura has a serious drug problem. In the 4th house, Neptune can also indicate boundary issues at home.
We have another full moon in this chart but this time a full moon in Scorpio conjunct Pluto. Before Laura was represented by the moon in Libra hidden in the 12th house. Now she is in Scorpio conjunct Pluto in the 2nd house opposite Venus and the Sun in the 8th. Laura is locked in a cycle of addiction fighting a demon from the underworld who wants to literally possess her.
People with their Sun in the 8th house often don’t feel seen or understood. That could be said for the film as well. With the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the 8th house, it shows us how most critics and viewers didn’t receive the movie well at the time. The light was hidden. The subject matter was dark with little relief. Eventually, Fire Walk With Me would be regarded as a masterpiece.
I’ll See You Again In 25 Years…
At the end of the original series finale, Laura in the lodge tells Cooper she will see him again in 25 years. Twin Peaks – The Return premiered on Showtime on May 21st, 2017, at 9:00 PM, 27 years after the original run.
Lynch and Frost wrote every script of the limited series, and Lynch directed each one of its 18-episodes. In many ways it is a third season, but it also is its own thing entirely.
Lynch and Frost experienced less network interference and had more creative freedom. The Return was well received, and many regarded it as changing the game yet again.
Lynch refers to The Return as an 18-hour film rather than a television show. It certainly is paced that way. Most of the original cast returned as well as a plethora of other actors.
The story takes off 25 years after the finale. Dale Cooper has been in the lodge and now attempting his long journey back to Twin Peaks. He is still trying to save Laura Palmer.
The chart has a Sagittarius rising ruled by Jupiter in Libra. Jupiter likes to indulge, expand, and go big. The story takes place in several locations across the country and there are over 200 characters. Also, an 18-hour long film is a really, really long film.
Sagittarius loves a long winded story.
Jupiter in Libra opposing the moon and Venus in Aries speak to themes of balancing the scales of good and evil, and the struggle to find beauty in an ever-expanding brutal world.
Saturn in Sagittarius in the 1st house trine Uranus in Aries in the 5th shows us breaks in tradition in terms of storytelling, breaks from what is typically deemed acceptable in a television story structure.
Some examples:
There is an entire scene of someone sweeping a floor for a whole two minutes.
In episode 8, we witness the inside of the first atomic bomb being detonated and giving birth to evil.
And then this scene…
Uranus revels in shaking things up. The Return starts jumping timelines and introducing elements of time travel and the possibility of altering the past.
The Sun in Gemini opposite the ascendant in Sagittarius, shines a light on the complex nature of this 18-hour experience. So many characters are introduced and while many of their storylines come together to tell a larger story, a good portion of them just lead to more questions than answers. Gemini loves a good question.
Gemini is also the sign of the twin. Kyle MacLachlan not only plays Cooper but two other version of him: Mr. C and Dougie.
The moon in Aries conjunct Venus in the 5th house is ruled by Mars in Gemini. This is malevolent trickster energy. In The Return, People or entities up to no good seem to be lurking around every corner.
In past charts, Laura Palmer has been signified by the moon.
In the original Twin Peaks chart, she was in Libra in the 12th house ruled by Venus in Pisces – the story of beautiful dead girl and a mystery.
In the Fire Walk With Me chart, she was in Scorpio conjunct Pluto ruled by Mars in Aries and we were witness to her trauma and brutal death by killer BOB.
In The Return chart, she is in Aries conjunct Venus ruled by Mars in Gemini. We meet many versions of her. Laura in the lodge, Laura as a glowing golden orb, Laura in a different dimension with the name Carrie Page and possibly the dark entity…Judy.
In its final moments, it is not clear whether Cooper succeeded in saving Laura. The vibes points to no, but unlike when Laura whispered the name of her killer into Cooper’s ear in the original show, we don’t know what she whispered to him this time. Based on the expression on his face, it wasn’t good news. But again, we will never know.
The legacy of Twin Peaks will most likely only grow stronger as the years go on. Now 35 years later, it is more popular than ever.
That full moon in Libra in the 12th house ruled by Venus in Pisces from the pilot episode has now been realized in a sense. Lynch and Frost took the mystery back with The Return. If we never get more Twin Peaks, it at least accomplished what it had originally set out to do: explore a mystery that was never meant to be solved.
Of course David is a moon. And as a ~Gemini~ your in-depth recap has left me with more questions to think about.
Lynch's chart is lit up right now! Jupiter in the 8th heading for his node. Pluto on his Sun. Mars in Cancer rx coming for his Cancer/Capircorn planets. I don't feel good about it all....hope I'm wrong.