Stars & Artists: Tony Iommi, Mars, and the Factory Accident that Birthed Heavy Metal

Photo of Tony Iommi playing with Heaven and Hell in 2009 by Adam Bielawki

Anthony “Tony” Iommi was born in Birmingham, England on February 19, 1948. His birth time is unknown. He is best known as the founding guitarist and sole continuous member of the legendary band Black Sabbath who pioneered heavy metal itself. He is frequently ranked as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. His style has had a particular influence upon the subgenre of Doom Metal, to the point where he’s nearly become sanctified by die-hard Doom fans (see Sleep’s Iommic Life EP). Unfortunately, Tony’s birthtime is not in the public record. Here is the chart for his birthday with the time set to 12 noon local time:

Tony Iommi’s untimed natal chart.

Without an accurate birthtime, it’s unclear what Tony’s Ascendant may be. Moreover, Tony was also born on the day when the Sun changed signs from Aquarius to Pisces, so his Sun sign is also uncertain without rectification or obtaining a copy of his birth certificate. However, a few key features of the chart immediately leap out. For instance, the chart contains two tense oppositions between benefic planets and outer planets. A triumphant Jupiter in Sagittarius opposes both the Moon and Uranus in Gemini while brash Venus in Aries opposes Neptune in Libra. What really draws my eye though are the three Malefic planets of Mars, Saturn, and Pluto concentrated in the very performative sign of Leo. From a Whole-Sign House perspective, its tempting to speculate that either his 1st or 10th houses correspond to Leo, as Iommi’s identity and career have centered upon introducing and performing a monstrously heavy music genre famous for its malefic themes such as war, strife, struggle, occultism, darkness, and mental anguish.

Although the world has come to love the dense, dark sound he pioneered, Tony’s unique guitar style came from a horrible industrial accident. It was 1965, and a 17-year old Tony Iommi was working in a sheet metal factory in his hometown of Birmingham, England. He had recently started playing in a band called the Byrds & the Bees, and the band had just scored a string of tour dates in Europe. Determined to embrace life as a musician and escape his working class origins, Tony went home on lunch break one Friday and told his mother he wasn’t going back. She famously (and fatefully) encouraged him to return, saying “Iommi’s don’t quit! You want to go back and finish the day off, finish it proper!” (Iommi, Lammers)

So young Tony returned to the factory. When he arrived, he was asked to operate a machine he was unfamiliar with: a huge guillotine-like press that bent pieces of metal before they were sent down the line to the welder. While daydreaming of being on tour in Europe, Iommi lost focus. Suddenly, the press slammed down on his right hand. He looked down and gasped. Two of the fingertips on his right hand were gone!

That Metal Show’s fantastic animated depiction of the incident is narrated by Tony himself!

At the hospital, doctors were unable to reattach his fingertips. Tony was dejected, thinking he would never play guitar ever again. But after the accident, the factory foreman introduced Tony to the music of Django Reinhardt, a jazz guitarist who played with only two fingers on the fret-board after losing two of his own fingertips in a fire. Feeling inspired, Tony made his own prosthetic tips to fit on the ends of his fingers from melted plastic and scraps of leather. He also replaced his guitar strings with banjo strings and started down-tuning his guitar so that the extra slack would make bending the strings easier. In the process, he created a richer, more ominous sound, and the rest is history.

Since we have no birth time for Tony, my research tools were limited to transits and annual profections. Luckily, from Tony’s biography and multiple interviews recounting the incident, I gleaned a few key pieces of data:

1. It had to be a Friday

2. in 1965

3. after his 17th birthday on Feb 19

4. in an astrological alignment involving Mars.

I inferred the last point from the story itself. When read with astrological eyes, the incident has Mars written all over it. From the setting (a hot, loud factory) to the injury (a bodily severing), the story is thoroughly Martial. Dubbed the “Lesser Malefic,” Mars governs life’s painful parts that are delivered in acute, sharp stings rather than the grinding, chronic suffering that Saturn serves. Appearing in adrenaline-drenched moments of intensity, Mars manifests in the urges to fight, fly, or fuck. Glowing ruby red like the crimson blood flowing through our veins, Mars’ hand guides our corporeal existence and the burning passions that animate the flesh. Reveling in sweat, iron, and fire, Mars is also the patron planet of those who work with their hands like carpenters, mechanics, blacksmiths, and welders like young Tony Iommi.

Having reached age 17, Tony was also in a 6th House annual profection year. When the 6th House is activated, its topics such as physical health, injuries, sacrifice, and menial labor are highlighted. In Hellenistic astrology, the 6th House is known as the House of Mala Fortuna or Bad Fortune, and sometimes its simply the place where subjectively negative events befall the native. The fact that Tony was in a 6th House year adds further testimony to Mars’ involvement, as the 6th House is also called the Joy of Mars. The Red Dread Planet rejoices in the toil of incarnate existence, the urgency of unexpected change, the courage cultivated in confrontation, and the occasional necessity of “going under the knife” to maintain physical health.

In this pivotal moment of Tony’s life, we can perceive a multitude of 6th House themes cropping up. Obviously, there is the grinding, menial labor of factory work and its meager compensation. There is the literal bodily injury to Tony’s hands and the spilling of blood. There is also the subsequent emergency visit to the hospital and the inability of surgeons to reattach Tony’s severed fingertips. But there is also Tony’s steely determination to pursue his dream of becoming a musician despite being impeded by a physical injury. Yes, Mars revels in sacrifices of blood, but he also delights in delayed gratification. Tony’s aspirations of jetting off to Europe to play with the Byrds & the Bees were immediately cut short. However, by working creatively within his new material circumstances, Tony developed a whole new way of playing guitar, achieving a legendary status for himself in the annals of music history. Just think how different the landscape of music today would be if his adolescent dream of playing in the Byrds & the Bees had been realized rather than enduring this injury and finding a new form for his dreams and creative output to take.

Just ask yourself: How many people have heard of the Byrds & the Bees anyway?

Having taken stock of all dates that meet the above criteria, I propose the accident occurred on March 26, 1965. Check out the chart below:

An untimed chart for March 26, 1965

The early months of 1965 were dominated by a Mars retrograde in Virgo that was opposite to Saturn in Pisces and co-present with Uranus and Pluto in Virgo. The retrograde began on January 28 and concluded on April 19. On Friday, March 26, Mars was applying to a conjunction with Uranus within less than a degree of exactitude. Meanwhile, both planets in Virgo were within less than two degrees of an opposition with Saturn in Pisces.

Uranus and Mars are both revolutionary, unruly, combative planets, eager to hurl Molotov cocktails and tear down obstacles and institutions. When their energies are melded, the results are explosive, often manifesting in accidents, injuries, unexpected surges of anger or strife, and technologies that are deleterious to human life. Moreover, this supercharged, impulsive pair were diametrically opposed in the sky to Saturn in Pisces. Mars is an extremely hot planet who encourages acting on instinct whereas chilly Saturn favors acting methodically and incrementally over a long timescale. Mars says “go,” and Saturn says “no.” This highly pressurized planetary combination suggests intense pressure, the shattering of patterns, and the frustration of encountering massive obstacles - the thwarting of the Will and challenges that deny desires. Nearby Pluto amplifies the danger inherent in this volatile brew and injects its own themes of death, rebirth, and transformation. It’s easy to see how this archetypal combination can speak to Tony’s violent injury and its concordant frustration, but what is really fascinating is what happened in the following days.

An untimed chart for April 8, 1965

As if the wicked pileup of Mars, Uranus, and Pluto retrograde in Virgo opposite to Saturn in Pisces wasn’t enough, there was a Mercury retrograde in Aries that started on March 29, 1965, a mere 3 days after the day I suspect the accident occurred. Since Virgo is one of Mercury’s home signs, this means that Mercury was informing the character of all the planets in Virgo (including Mars) while slowing down and preparing to suddenly change direction. Since the Mercury retrograde fell in Aries, one of Mars’ home signs, Mercury was in turn taking its cues from Mars. Therefore Mars and Mercury were actually in a state of mutual reception, abiding in each other’s signs. Traditionally speaking, Aries and Virgo are averse to one another, but this mutual reception suggests that the processes described by the retrogrades were intimately interlinked.

Now retrogrades signify reversals of fortune, as from our standpoint on Earth, it appears that planets move backwards across the ecliptic, in defiance of their typical orderly procession. They go against the grain. On a tactile level, this manifests as revision, review, rearrangement, and the adjustment of plans to fit shifting circumstances. With Mercury ruling thought, communication, and travel, its retrogrades often bring about a shift in thinking, revising what one has spoken or written, or alterations of travel plans. Tony’s plans to tour Europe and his musical aspirations were completely upended. The path he thought his life was taking was completely flipped on its head. Like a planet stationing retrograde, he had to stop, quit his job, leave the Byrds & the Bees, change course, and move in a new direction musically.

The midpoint of every Mercury retrograde cycle is its inferior conjunction with the Sun. These conjunctions highlight moments of clarity amidst the general confusion and frustration of the retrograde. They are the eye of the storm. Oftentimes, solutions arise for whatever problem arose at the start of the retrograde. Revelations dawn, penetrating insights are gleaned, and new strategies appear.

The midpoint for Mercury’s retrograde in Aries in 1965 fell on April 8 at 18 degrees of Aries. Interestingly, Venus was very close at hand for this conjunction at 17 degrees of Aries, and Venus in Aries is actually Tony’s natal Venus placement. Every time Venus returns to its original place in the birthchart, it presents a reaffirmation of one’s images of beauty and ways of relating and creating. I wager that it is around this time that Tony was introduced to the work of Django Reinhardt and was inspired to take up the guitar once more. Arguably, in early April, Tony began to apprehend a path forward in which he could continue to write righteous riffs, but with a new technique guiding his hands. Although the Martial incident at the factory brought a setback and injury, it is through the related Mercury retrograde and its Venusian cazimi that Tony began to rethink and re-envision the course of his life as a musician.

As I mentioned above, Tony’s birthtime is unknown, so until a timed chart emerges or Tony shares the date of the gruesome accident, all this talk of retrogrades is speculation. However, through studying the story and sitting with these transits, what emerges is an inspiring tale of human determination and the triumph of genius over debilitating setbacks. Tony easily could have packed up his guitar and carried on with his life, perhaps continuing a career in welding. Instead, he summoned courage and perseverance, experimenting with strings and faux fingertips until he gave birth to brand new way of playing guitar that has utterly remade the musical landscape. A new form of beauty was born from his blood.

Bibliography

Iommi, Tony, and T. J. Lammers. Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Stars & Artists: James Hetfield, Metallica, & Mars in Libra

James Hetfield was born in Los Angeles, California on August 3rd, 1963 at 6:16PM. He is best known as the frontman, co-founder, and principal songwriter of the legendary band Metallica who spearheaded the thrash metal movement of the 1980's.

James Hetfield - Live in Amsterdam, April 2023

James Hetfield was born with Mars in Libra in the 10th whole-sign house of career and legacy. Ordinarily, Mars in Libra is considered a difficult placement, but Hetfield’s life is a great example of a debilitated planet put to good use. Many highpoints of his musical career correspond to moments when his Mars was activated either by annual profections or by transit.

James Hetfield’s natal chart. Note Mars at 4° Libra in 10H

Libra is a Venus-ruled sign associated with the arts. The charts of musicians often have prominent Libra placements so it makes sense that James would establish his legacy by spearheading a popular band. Mars’ presence here steers that artistic output in a decidedly aggressive direction. Mars, after all, is the patron of heavy metal. Therefore, the substance of James’ work is Venusian (creating art, bringing people together), but he does so with Martial tools (distorted guitars and growling vocals).

The first time the 10th House is activated by annual profections is at age 9. At 9 years old, James learned to play his first instrument: piano. At age 14, James began playing his older brother’s guitar and some time the next year, he started jamming with his brother and friends. At the time, he was in a 4th House profection year. Since James’ whole-sign 4th House is Aries, his natal Mars placement was activated. Interestingly, the 4th House is at the base of the chart, and they primarily jammed in their basement (Sabina).

Metallica was formed in 1981 after James responded to an ad that drummer Lars Ulrich placed in a newspaper called The Recycler that read: “Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with, Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden" (MTV). They met in May 1981 when Saturn was retrograde in Libra and conjunct James’ Mars.

However, the band officially started on October 28, 1981 once Saturn was moving direct. The Sun was also conjunct James’ MC at 4° Scorpio in the 11th House of Groups and Friends. Like the 10th House, the MC is also associated with career and vocation. In a whole-sign house system, the MC can float around the top hemisphere of a chart, drawing in significations from the house it falls into career and vocation. The placement of James’ Mars-ruled MC in the 11th House manifests in the fact that Metallica’s success rests upon James and Lars’ lifelong friendship.

James Hetfield's natal chart with an outer wheel showing the transits for October 28, 1981. Note the Jupiter opposition.

After recruiting a bassist and another guitarist, Metallica played their first gigs and recorded “Hit the Lights” for the Metal Massacre 1 compilation, generating a lot of buzz in the underground metal scene (MTV).

On July 6, 1982, Metallica recorded the No Life ‘Til Leather demo which sent further ripples through the tape-trading circuits. It also attracted the attention of producer Jon Zazula who later financed the band’s first studio album Kill ‘Em All. Unbelievably, July 6 was the day of a Mars-Saturn conjunction in Libra opposite James’ Jupiter in Aries - a powerful act of Venusian malefica that summoned a big opportunity.

James Hetfield’s chart plus an outer wheel for July 6, 1982. Note the Mars-Saturn conjunction at 15° Libra.

One of the most literal manifestations of James’ Mars is the release of Metallica’s fourth album ...And Justice For All on August 25, 1988. Libra is the sign of the Scales. Its corresponding Tarot card Justice is typically depicted as a judge holding scales and a sword. In an act of shocking synchronistic literalism, James designed the album cover, choosing to depict Lady Justice holding a sword & scales.

Metallica’s …And Justice For All

The album was released on Aug 25, 1988, the day before Mars stationed retrograde in Aries. The Sun-Mars opposition at the middle of this Mars retrograde happened at 5° Libra-Aries, less than a degree away from James’ Mars. Unlike previous releases, Justice’s lyrics focused on political injustices, corruption, discrimination, and environmental issues. Musically, it was Metallica’s most progressive album, featuring long and complex compositions (Wikipedia).

Retrogrades often signify reversals in direction. Interestingly, ...And Justice For All was the last true thrash album the band every released. Its follow-up, The Black Album, was Metallica’s most commercially successful record. But it also marked a significant departure from their original sound, as they moved in a more radio-friendly direction (Ghost).

Metallica continues to tour internationally to this day, having become one of the most influential and successful bands, not just in metal, but in the entire history of music so far.

Bibliography

...“...And Justice for All (Album).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Jan. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...And_Justice_for_All_(album).

Ghost. “Metallica Album Sales - Ranking Their Best-Selling Albums and Musical Legacy.” Metalhead Community, 19 June 2020, metalheadcommunity.com/best-selling-metallica-albums/#:~:text=The%20creative%20and%20commercial%20pinnacle,more%20than%2030%20million%20copies.

Hammer, Metal. “Metallica’s Hetfield on His Past with the Piano.” BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Metal Hammer, 8 May 2009, blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-s-hetfield-on-his-past-with-the-piano.

“Metallica Timeline.” MTV: Icon, MTV, 2007, www.mtv.com/onair/icon/metallica/timeline/?id=1.

Sabina. “James Hetfield Biography.” Geocities: James Hetfield Biography, Sabina.Metallica, 2001, geocities.com/james7hetfield/bio2.htm.

On Cunning and Cutting: Mars as Sword and Swordsmith

With Mars currently running retrograde through the Mercurial sign of Gemini, lately I’ve been thinking about Mars as an underappreciated planet of magic and sorcerous power. Throughout astrological history, swords and knives have always been his domain. Most glyphs depicting Mars are suggestive of weaponry - sleek, sharp, and direct. Therefore, the knife, as that which cleaves, slices, and separates, is symbolic of Mars' power. It's an essential part of every magician's arsenal as well. 

Although called by many names, ritual knives are an indispensable tool in many Western magical occult traditions. Everyone from kitchen witches to Chaotes wield ritual knives. Contemporary consensus understands the ritual knife as one of the four magical weapons. Depicted in the Tarot, each weapon is connected to one of the four elements, with the sword representing Air, the element of ideas, analysis, communication, and the rational intellect. Like a sword, a mind ought to be sharp, able to cleave fact from fiction and eviscerate ignorance. In a ritual context, one may use a knife to symbolically cut a cord, demarcate sacred space, or threaten spirits.

In the context of astrological interpretation, the planet Mars may represent swords, those wielding them, or those slain by them. However, Mars is also the swordsmith. In Greek mythos, the god Ares (Mars) was the illicit lover of Aphrodite (Venus) but her husband was Hephaestus the Smith, whom some authors considered to be the brother of Ares (1). Crippled from a young age, Hephaestus never marched off to war with the Olympians, Instead, he spent his days in a volcanic forge. With soot-stained arms and the aid of his cyclops companions, he wrought chariots, magical automatons, and the legendary weapons of the Olympian gods. His greatest works include Achilles’ armor and Hermes’ (Mercury) winged shoes. The Iliad states Hephaestus could produce motion, an ironic trait considering his crippling, yet also reminiscent of the planet Mars’ associations with ignition, friction, and beginnings. (2)

Vulcan in his Forge, Pompeo Batoni

As a smith, Hephaestus was naturally a deity of fire. A forge’s centerpiece and well of magical potential lies in the generative flame, into which goes raw metal, yet out of which is wrought wonders and weapons. Metallurgy is essentially an act of transmutation. To the ancient mind, such a creative act would have carried miraculous significance, as raw ores became alloys and alloys became weapons, jewelry, and tools. It’s easy to see how a blacksmith’s creative work with metals became analogous to a magician’s creative work with spirits.

With its smoke, soot, intense heat, and harsh sounds, the blacksmith’s forge was naturally seen as reminiscent of a volcano whose rumblings were taken to be the pounding of Hephaestus upon the anvil. Several volcanoes and mountains throughout the Classical landscape were considered to be the site of his forge like Mt. Etna in Sicily or Mt. Mosychlus in Lemnos. Etymologically, the word “volcano'' actually descends from his Roman counterpart Vulcan. As Jake Stratton-Kent goes to great pains to point out in his masterful work Geosophia, these chthonic sites of cultic worship point to Hephaestus’ intimate association with magic and Goetic fire cults (3). The lame smith also played a prominent role in the pre-Greek mystery cult of the Cabiri of which we know sadly little.

Hephaestus is only one of many smiths in world mythology dripping with magical potential. In Genesis 4, Tubal-Cain is identified as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron" and remains a deeply inspirational figure to practitioners of Traditional WitchCraft in the tradition of Robert Cochrane. Appearing throughout Germanic and Scandinavian mythology, Wayland the Smith is an enigmatic figure whose stories usually involve metallurgy, cunning, and trickery. Once England's most popular native saint, St. Dunstan is the patron saint of all smiths. Most of his hagiographical accounts involve stories of St. Dunstan outwitting the Devil. In the most popular tale, the saint catches the Devil by the nose with the red-hot tongs of a forge. Of all mythical smiths, my favorite by far is Ilmarinen, a key figure in Finnish mythology. He is best known for creating the dome of the sky itself and the Sampo, a magic device that produces endless gold and food. Curiously, his creation of the Sampo appears more magical than technical, involving the destruction of evil spirits and the summoning of the four winds. 

St. Dunstan Catching the Devil, Medieval Manuscript

Today the echoes of these fabled smiths can be seen in the works of industry. In factories worldwide welders, smiths, and workers upon assembly lines labor in hot and cacophonous conditions evocative of volcanoes. Alongside them, machines rattle, pop, and hiss. Vettius Valens affirms their identity as children of Mars in his Anthology, attributing to the red planet “those who work with fire or iron and those who work with their hands.” (5) From their forges and furnaces come gadgets, appliances, and most importantly cars. As a self-propelled chariot driven by small explosions safely contained within an engine, the automobile is a thoroughly Hephaestian creation, one often attributed to the planet Mars by contemporary astrologers. 

Most of us would prefer to never undergo typical Martial experiences like war, violence, abuse, or robbery. However, Mars cannot and should not be banished from the world. He remains a vital component of life and many of his domains are essential to making a life. Knives are needed in kitchens, on dinner tables, and upon altars. On cold winter nights, fires warm hearths and hands. Saws, nails, chisels, and files are essential for building homes. And cars carry us across vast distances in a fraction of the time it would take our ancestors to make the same trip. Heavy metal, being essentially Malefic music, also owes its existence to Brother Mars, offering sonic catharsis for intense emotions like anxiety, anger, and rage. Like the generative flame of a blacksmith’s forge, Mars is both perilous and potent, able to build and burn, craft and cut, help and hammer. Capable of creation and destruction in equal measure, Mars is a magician.

References:

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hephaestus

2. Iliad, XVIII 372ff

3. Jake Stratton-Kent. Geosophia: The Argo of Magic I. Scarlet Imprint. 2010. Pgs. 193-195.

4. Genesis 4:22 (New International Version)

5. Vettius Valens translated by Chris Brennan. Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune. Amor Fati Publications. 2017. Pgs 175-176.