Leader of The Band
- Urban Shaman
- 2 days ago
- 18 min read
An astrological look at the life of Dan Fogelberg
“I seek again the river’s source through time’s dark shadowed veil.”
~Dan Fogelberg
“The lines of life are never long when seen from end to end, the future’s never coming, and the past has never been.”
~Dan Fogelberg
“In this planetary circle we are but a single stone, spinning on our fragile axis through the endless night alone…
May we walk within your footsteps as you lead us ever on, ever on, ever on. “
~Dan Fogelberg
The text message read "Dad, did you hear Dan Fogelberg died?". The date was December 17, 2007. The alert came from my oldest daughter who had been relentlessly exposed to her father listening to Dan Fogelberg songs over and over while she was a child. I had not heard, and the news hit hard. I was a big fan. Dan's music spoke to me on many levels. To this day I can put on his music and instantly be transported to a different place and time. Dan Fogelberg's style is primarily classified as a folk rock and soft rock artist. His music combines heartfelt singer-songwriter lyricism with melodic folk influences and elements of rock, country, and pop. He was known for his expressive tone and romantic-themed, acoustic-based sound, often featuring rich harmonies and delicate arrangements. Being a Pisces Sun and having a Scorpio Neptune trine to that Sun, I like music that evokes deep emotions and lifts one to higher planes of consciousness. Dan's music does that for me.
To honor his career and life, I decided to conduct an astrological deep dive into his natal chart. In particular, I plan to go beyond the traditional planets typically used in my astrological analyses and incorporate significant asteroids. When researching Dan's life before writing this blog, I anticipated uncovering more depth and nuances about his life and career by including certain asteroids than if I focused solely on the planets. Let's just say, I don't think you as the reader of this analysis will be disappointed.
Here is Dan Fogelberg's natal chart:
What immediately struck me about his chart was the powerful conjunction of his natal Sun and Pluto in Leo, located in his second house. This house governs financial matters, specifically our earning potential and strong desires related to what we value. It's where we experience gains and is intriguingly linked to vocal cords and our voice. With the zodiac sign Leo involved, Dan's natal Sun is infused with the energies of creativity, entertainment, love affairs, music, playfulness, and taking center stage. If you're familiar with Dan and his career, all these elements are relevant. Additionally, in a remarkable coincidence, one of Dan's hit songs is titled "There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler". Leo is also connected to gambling. As I delve further into Dan's life, there will be many more incredible correlations like this in his chart.
There's a place in the world for a gambler
There's a burden that only he can bear
~Dan Fogelberg
Dan's natal Sun is in conjunction with the planet Pluto. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term conjunction as it applies to astrological aspects, it represents a condition existing in one's birth when two or more planets are closely aligned. When this occurs, it represents energies that are being forced to act together, combine their efforts, and often times it can be easy for one planet and hard for another. The key to success is coming to some union of interests. In the chart above we see that the Sun is at 19 degrees and 45 minutes of Leo and Pluto is at 19 degrees and 30 minutes of Leo. In traditional astrology a planet in such close proximity to the Sun is considered to be "cazimi", meaning the heart of... this happens when a planet is within 17 or less minutes of orb to the Sun. This is poetic due to the sign of Leo being associated with the heart. Even the symbol or glyph representing Leo has been dualistically interpreted as resembling both a lion's tail as well as the two valves of the heart. Of note, many of Dan's songs addressed the heart. Here are a few verses from one entitled "Heart Hotels":
Well, there's too many windows in this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy
And the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living in inside
Nobody living inside
Gonna pull in the shutters on this heart of mine
Roll up the carpets and pull in the blinds
And retreat to the chambers that I left behind
In hopes there still may be love left to find
Still may be love left to find
~Dan Fogelberg
Another song that has strong overtones of Pluto being present at the heart of Dan's natal Sun is his song "Don't Lose Heart". Here are a few verses from this song:
This life is heartless and it's rarely just
Full of sad betrayals and misplaced trust
And it can suck your spirit just as dry as dust
And steal your soul if you let it
Oh, every life contains its sorrows and pains
Its stormy weather and its rough terrains
You watch me wrestle with my length of chain
And smile so bravely as you tell me
Don't lose heart, don't lose heart
Though it feels like yours will fall apart
Just remember when the road gets dark
I will always be beside you
~Dan Fogelberg
Aspects between a natal Sun and Pluto can be intense. In my experience as an astrologer, people with these aspects have signed up for a lesson plan designed to demonstrate the extremes in life experience and relationship. To what end? It seems to be related to coming to know the difference between the light and the dark, warmth from the cold, and the good from the bad. The curriculum is composed of experiences that seem tilted toward one facing the darker areas of life and of one's persona, shedding light on our taboos, secrets, or unhealthy patterns that burden us in some way. Plutonian initiations require radical honesty, transcendent self-acceptance and forgiveness. When one's persona is so entangled with this energy as Dan's was, it speaks to someone who experiences a series of deaths and rebirths requiring one to either become a master of reinvention or to wilt under its destructive potential. Being a Leo Sun, many of these experiences came in the realm of romance and love affairs for Dan which he in turn transformed into music.
A song that memorializes this concept is "Phoenix". It is dripping with Pluto's paint. Here are a few verses from that song:
I have cried too, I have cried too long
No more sorrow, got to carry on
Found deep water, before I'd even learned to swim
Never thought I'd see the sun again
Once I was a man alone
Once I was a man alone
Now I've found a heart to call my own
Like a phoenix I have risen from the flames
Like a phoenix I have risen from the flames
No more living someone else's dreams
I have cried too, I have cried too long
No more sorrow, got to carry on
~Dan Fogelberg
According to his bio, Dan Fogelberg was married three times. His first marriage was to Maggie Slaymaker from 1982 to 1985, his second to Anastasia Savage from 1991 to 1996, and his final marriage was to musician Jean Marie Mayer in 2002, with whom he remained until his death in 2007. This is where the inclusion of certain asteroids can give us a more nuanced look at Dan's relational imprint.
To gather this intel let's enlist the services of the asteroid Eros. At the time of Dan's birth, it was situated in his tenth house at 19 degrees and 19 minutes of Aries. This is the asteroid connected to our passion, desire, and lust. Typically, the sign and house placement represent what one desires in a mate and what one does not. Being in Aries, themes of passionate desire, eroticism, creativity, and the dynamic power of attraction are a focus. Aries Eros desires to assert one’s identity through attraction and loves the thrill of the chase. Interestingly, this same drive can be hard to maintain as the initial burst of excitement and desire can flame out just as easily as it emerged. On this note, Dan wrote a song that seems to capture the essence of Eros in Aries. It's called "Make Love Stay": Here are those lyrics:
Now that we love
Now that we loved
Now that the lonely nights are over
How do we make love stay?
Now that we know
The fire can burn bright or merely smolder
How do we keep it from dying away?
Elusive as dreams
Barely remembered in the morning
Love like a phantom flies
But held in the heart
It pales like the empty smile adorning
A statue with sightless eyes
Moments fleet, taste sweet within the rapture
When precious flesh is greedily consumed
But mystery's a thing not easily captured
And once deceased not easily exhumed
Now that we love
Now that the lonely nights are over
How do we make love stay?
Moments fleet, taste so sweet within the rapture
When precious flesh is greedily consumed
But mystery's a thing not easily captured
And once deceased not easily exhumed
Look at the moonless night and tell me
How do we make love stay?
~Dan Fogelberg
Additionally, there's a particularly revealing verse from his song "The Last Nail":
Running away like two refugees
Trying to find a place to hide
And all the times I said I loved you
It just wasn’t enough to keep you satisfied
~Dan Fogelberg
It's also important to note that an Aries Eros placement in Dan's tenth house, which governs public image, contributions to the world, and ambitions, endowed him with passionate energy, creativity, and charisma in his professional life. This placement emphasizes one's magnetism and the capacity to draw significant attention in social or career settings. His drive and desire were manifested through ambition and creative accomplishments. Additionally, this often results in relationships or partnerships forming through professional connections or public channels. In this regard, Dan's marriages appear to have followed this pattern.
Before briefly looking at each of those, let's explore if the asteroid Eros is in any meaningful aspect to other points in Dan's natal chart. The answer is a resounding, yes. As mentioned, Dan has the asteroid Eros at 19 degrees and 19 minutes of Aries in his 10th house and conjunct to his Aries Jupiter at 14 degrees and 3 minutes of Aries (wide orb) also in his 10th house. The important aspects to consider are a strong trine to his Sun/Pluto conjunction at 19 degrees of Leo in his 2nd house, and a quincunx to his natal Venus in Virgo at 18 degrees 20 minutes in his 3rd house. And lastly, and most importantly, Eros is in opposition to his natal Neptune at 17 degrees 18 minutes of Libra in his 4th house.
In non-astro jargon, what this meant in Dan's life is his passion, desire, and lust, which is the more divine masculine manifestation of love, was challenged. How so? It was influenced throughout his life by a tendency to vacillate between fantasy and reality, not seeing the boundaries where he would potentially get hurt or suffer, extending compassion and empathy only to be disappointed or experience loss in some manner, allowing his imagination to create something that was not the case, and seeking oneness that was elusive and nebulous in nature. Where does this emanate from? It comes from Eros being opposed by Neptune. This would be best described as passion and desire finding it hard to balance themselves with fantasies and dreams.
Additionally, there's another challenge at play: Dan's highly analytical approach to love, symbolized by his Venus in Virgo. This necessitated frequent adjustments to his idealistic perspective, often at the cost of his passionate dreams. The aspect involved is a quincunx, indicating a blind spot. It's likely that Dan was never fully aware of the perfectionist scrutiny his mind applied to matters of love.
Lastly, all of this angst and struggle flowed beautifully via a trine to Dan's core identity encapsulated in the Leo Sun archetype and sharing space with deeply psychological pairing with Pluto. This resulted in music emerging capturing a panorama of love scenes playing out over his lifetime. This gifted musician and analytical thinker was able to take gut-wrenching experiences and convert them to stories that melodically entranced all who listened.
Such as, his song Same Old Lang Syne. here is an excerpt from this song:
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me, and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totaled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged
Went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how
~Dan Fogelberg
I mentioned that Dan's relationships or partnerships were to potentially come about through professional connections or public channels due to the presence of the asteroid Eros in Aries being in his tenth house. Here are brief explanations of his marriages I was able to locate that help support this notion.
Dan Fogelberg met Maggie Slaymaker while they were both in Nashville. She was a dancer from Nashville, and their relationship started there. They were together for several years before marrying in 1982. Maggie was a significant muse for Dan, inspiring some of his enduring love songs like "Longer" and "Sweet Magnolia," the latter of which Dan described as a sequel to a song about when he first met Maggie. Their romance was intense and deeply influential on his songwriting, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1985
Two hearts
Throwing off sparks
Young and in love with
Our freedom
Moonlight,
Those soft, southern nights
We were both ripe to fall.
I was
Out on my own
Playing for all who
Would listen
You were
As free as a bird
Flying from nest to nest.
But somewhere our eyes met
And our hands reached out
And we felt a kindred spirit
And as our faces touched
I could feel the fire
And needed so to just
Be near it.
~Dan Fogelberg (Excerpt from the song Sweet Magnolia)
Dan Fogelberg met his second wife, Anastasia Savage, who was a nurse and painter from Louisiana, around 1987. They dated for about three years before marrying in 1990. Anastasia was notably a private nurse for Georgia O'Keeffe, one of Dan's favorite artists, and her connection to the art world was a point of interest in their relationship. They were married for six years before divorcing in 1996. Their relationship coincided with Dan's album Exiles, which is often referred to as his "divorce album." Anastasia also inspired some of his work during that time.
There's thorns on the cactus tree
There's thorns on the rose
There's thorns in the heart of me
That nobody knows
They tear at the flesh until
The tears start to rise
They form in my heart
But they fall from Anastasia's eyes
And I was lost in the wilderness
Without courage or hope
I was setting my signal fires
And watching the smoke
When out of the smoke appeared
The sweetest surprise
And I knew I'd been found
When first I looked into Anastasia's eyes
~Dan Fogelberg (Excerpt from the song Anastasia's Eyes)
Jean Marie Mayer, Dan's third marriage shared her story of meeting Dan Fogelberg in a biography on her own site. She described meeting Dan in 1996 while performing at a small cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their connection grew, and two years later, she left Santa Fe and the performing life to move to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to be with him. They shared 11 years together until Dan's death in 2007. Jean also managed Danʼs estate and legacy after his passing, continuing to honor his music and memory. Dan wrote the following for his final wife Jean:
Listen to me and I will try to
Sing you a song that makes you see
How much I long to be beside you
And how much you mean to me
Sometimes A Song's the only way to
Show you my heart will never stray
So, if I can't find words to tell you
I'll sing what I cannot say
Let me sing you a field full of waving flowers
I'll sing of the sun on the sea
For this is the way that you make me feel
Every time you smile at me
Will you only smile for me
At times it must seem I take for granted
All of the little things you do
Know in your heart I'm so enchanted
And still so in love with you
~Dan Fogelberg (Sometimes a Song)
Turning now to how Dan got his start. From Wikipedia we learn that "Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois, on August 13, 1951. He was the youngest of three sons born to Margaret (née Irvine, 1920–2015), a classically trained pianist—also, Dan himself became an accomplished pianist." It goes on to further indicate that Dan's mother had immigrated to America from Scotland. Two facts from this biographic information caught my eye, classically trained pianist, and Scotland. Why? Because here were two interesting facts about Dan's family that I wondered if they could possibly match up with known asteroids that would add to his story.
There is no asteroid named piano. However, there was one with the name piano included in its name, called Renzopiano asteroid 216241. When this asteroid is placed in Dan’s chart, it falls into his fifth house, the house associated with artistic endeavors, creativity, entertainers, music and musical ability, passion, and children in Scorpio at 11 degrees and 27 minutes, the sign known for being hidden and intense, as well as for legacies and shared resources. There is no song about Dan’s mother being a classically trained pianist, and this is not as widely known as the fact about Dan’s father being the leader of the band. Therefore, this information is more obscure or hidden, a Scorpio characteristic. Nonetheless, it represents a shared legacy since Dan became an accomplished pianist himself. One can imagine a young Dan hearing his mother intensely practice her craft not realizing he was being prepared and influenced for what was to come to him later.
Like piano, there is not an asteroid directly named Scotland. However, there is an asteroid named Scotti asteroid 3594. It lands appropriately in Dan’s fourth house of family, home, and ancestry at 12 degrees and 49 minutes in Libra. This is the zodiacal sign associated with artistic expressions, especially the fine arts, think concert pianist, and artists of all kinds and remarkably, pianos fall under the archetype of Libra. Could there not be a more poetic way to show Dan's mother in his natal chart? Both the ancestry and musical inclinations are time stamped into his first breath.
Dan Fogelberg mentions his mother's Scottish heritage explicitly in the song "Forefathers," from his album "The Wild Places." In the lyrics, he writes:
My mother was of Scottish blood, it's there that she was born
They brought her to America in 1924
They left behind the Highlands, and the heather covered hills
And came to find America with broad expectant dreams and iron wills.
~Dan Fogelberg
The song I believe Dan Fogelberg is most known for is his epic hit "Leader of the Band" an ode to his father, Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, who was a band director at several institutions including Woodruff High School in Peoria, Illinois, Pekin Community High School in Pekin, Illinois, and Bradley University in Peoria. He was a respected music teacher and bandleader, conducting high school and college bands and deeply influencing Dan’s musical upbringing. Famously, Dan's father once allowed him at the age of fourteen to "conduct" the Bradley University school band. This was located in Peoria, Illinois where Dan spent his childhood years. This made me wonder if there is an asteroid named Bradley and if so, wouldn't be incredible of it fell into Dan's third house of local environment and neighborhood. Given that he ended up writing such an incredibly successful and popular song about his bandleader father and this experience at Bradley University, I thought it was worth a shot.
As you have probably already guessed, there is an asteroid named Bradley, and it falls into Dan’s third natal house at 3 degrees and 9 minutes of Libra. Its noteworthy the third house has as a few of its multiple correlations, the arms, which are used to conduct a band, as well as secondary school which Dan was in at age 14, and one’s local environment and neighborhood. Libra as already cited is associated with music and this asteroid is only 1 minute from being exactly conjunct his IC. The IC in astrology is a point on the natal chart reflecting one's deepest roots, foundations, home life, and upbringing. The IC embodies the private, inner world—our early childhood experiences, family dynamics, emotional foundations, and ancestral heritage. Again, a poetic placement.
Bradley represents the place Dan’s father (The Leader of The Band) was conductor of the band, and it is placed at the most emotional place it can be in his chart, and right on the cusp on his ancestral heritage!! Perhaps this is why when people hear this particular song they are emotionally moved.
Dan, in addition his piano skills, evidently influenced by his mother, was a highly skilled guitarist. The emotions he could evoke strumming an acoustic guitar were otherworldly. Given that Dan made his living singing and playing the guitar, this begged the question, is there an asteroid named guitar or something related? My first attempt to identify an asteroid with such a name failed. However, in the very nuanced world of asteroids, it is helpful to search for either alternative or close spellings to the word you are looking for or even an asteroid that deals with the topic but maybe doesn't have the exact name.
There is not an asteroid directly named guitar but rather an asteroid named BrianMay (which relates directly to a guitar, (see explanation below) which falls in Dan’s second house, the house financial matters, how one earns a living. It is located at 26 degrees and 59 minutes in Leo, the sign of someone who takes center stage, entertainers. So, here is Dan's guitar, something that he valued deeply, another second house topic, safely residing there and the means by which he made a living.
Brian May, the guitarist of Queen and an astrophysicist, has asteroid 52665 Brianmay named after him. Brian May is renowned not only for his guitar virtuosity but also for building his own iconic guitar, the "Red Special." These asteroids honor their contributions to music and science.
Biographic information also alludes to some of the earliest influences on Dan's journey leading him to become the iconic musical artist he was destined to be. One band prominently mentioned as one these early inspirations was the Beatles. At age 14, he joined a band, the Clan, which covered the Beatles. I found this information in my research, "Dan Fogelberg himself was inspired by and played in bands covering popular rock groups as a youngster, including The Beatles, whose music influenced his early bands like the Clan and the Coachmen." By now, you know what came next. Yes, there is an asteroid named Beatles, asteroid 8749. This asteroid falls into Dan’s fifth house, the house of artistic endeavors, creativity, entertainers, music, musical ability, and passion. It is placed at 3 degrees and 4 minutes in Sagittarius. Adding even more nuance, Sagittarius is the sign of inspiration, teaching, and interestingly the radio which is likely to be where Dan first heard the Beatles. I just dropped my mic and walked off the stage...
Venturing further down the rabbit hole, one story of Dan's early years was of him dropping out of the University of Illinois and moving to Los Angeles to pursuit a career in music. This came after a serendipitous encounter with a fellow student by the name of Irving Azoff. My research on this friendship turned up the following:
"Irving Azoff played a significant and multifaceted role in Dan Fogelberg's life. They were college friends who met while attending the University of Illinois. In the early 1970s, they dropped out together and moved to Los Angeles to pursue careers in the music business. Irving Azoff became Fogelberg's manager early on, helping him secure a record deal with Columbia Records. Their relationship was not merely professional but deeply personal—Fogelberg considered Azoff "family" and trusted him immensely. After Fogelberg's death in 2007, Azoff continued to manage his estate and legacy, including a recent deal where Azoff's Iconic Artists Group acquired the rights to Fogelberg’s music catalog to help preserve and promote his legacy for new generations.
Jean Fogelberg, Dan's widow, has spoken about the strong friendship and lifelong trust between the two. Irving Azoff's support was pivotal throughout Fogelberg's career, and he remains a key figure in managing Fogelberg’s posthumous legacy."
Surely someone this instrumental in Dan's life and career would show up in his chart. right? I couldn't resist. Repeating the process you at this point have become familiar with, I searched for Irving and Azoff among the cataloged asteroids. He wasn't there... however, the asteroid Irvine was, and its placement was stunning. The asteroid Irvine 6825 was at 20 degrees 53 minutes of Leo conjunct his natal Sun at 19 degrees 45 minutes of Leo. Further, this is the financial house, the house of money, and that is exactly what Irving brought to this friendship, he managed the financial affairs, and Dan wrote the music and performed. And if one digs a little deeper into to other correlations for the sign of Leo, it corresponds with entertainment, managers (according to Rex Bills - The Rulership Book page 337) and entertainment directors (according to Rex Bills- The Rulership Book page 336). Irving, like Dan, had a highly successful career, but his focus was management.
From the website musicbusinessworldwide.com we learn:
Irving Azoff is a highly influential American music industry executive, artist manager, and entrepreneur. He began his career in Illinois by managing local acts such as REO Speedwagon and Dan Fogelberg, later rising to prominence in Los Angeles where he managed the Eagles and co-founded Front Line Management. Over five decades, Azoff has run major labels like MCA Music Entertainment Group, founded Giant Records, and managed artists ranging from Steely Dan to Christina Aguilera. He has also served as CEO of Ticketmaster, chairman of Live Nation, and helped launch entertainment ventures including the Sphere in Las Vegas. Azoff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 and continues to shape the music industry with his strategic business acumen and advocacy for artists’ rights.
In conclusion, I want to appeal to you the reader to consider the implications of what you have just read. I could go even deeper into the life of Dan Fogelberg, uncovering even more information. Instead, I have elected to touch upon a few things that would capture your attention as well as your imagination. Astrology is powerful. It is ancient. It speaks to us being part of something much larger than we can comprehend. This gift whispers to us in the symbolic language of source. We are a part of something grander than we know. Dan Fogelberg lived his chart. He heard the siren call of his soul. The incredible manifestation of his natal Sun being conjunct his natal Pluto is evident in the songs he left us with. I leave you now with a song that never made it to the radio (I am dating myself with that comment) but fully illustrates Dan's energetic connection with love, death, and tragedy. It's over eight minutes long... written in a true Mercury in Virgo fashion.
Tucson Arizona - (Gazette)
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