The Dual Crossing of Ceresian Scholars
A Look at the Astrology of Jane Goodall and John Robbins
In 2025, the world bid farewell to two titans of ethical consciousness: Jane Goodall who passed October 1, 2025 at age 91, and John Robbins, who passed June 11, 2025 at the age of 77. Separated by thirteen years between them, their lives exemplify dedication to mission, drive, and legacy. Whether in the jungles of Tanzania or the boardroom of an ice cream empire, both individuals moved past the scientific detachment of their era to embrace a Ceres-inspired stewardship of Earth. They both became “heretic scholars” at a young age who rejected the dominant paradigm for life closer to nature, becoming advocates for plant-based diets, environmental protection, and conservation. As with my comparison of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, I became curious to see what astrological similarities might exist between the Dr. Goodall, “Chimpanzee Lady,” and the American author nominated for a Pulitzer.
Dr. Jane Goodall, the Chimpanzee Lady
“Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love.” – Jane Goodall
Jane’s chart shows a Sagittarius Rising with the Moon on the horizon. Her Sun is conjunct Mars in Aries, which is also conjunct her Part of Fortune, an outspoken champion for her cause. Her natal Uranus is also in Aries. The most elevated planet in Jane’s chart is Jupiter in Libra, which opposes her Sun/Mars/Uranus in Aries.
The Radical Departure
Jane left England as a very young woman in the 1960’s with no formal education. National Geographic states, “As a child, she had a natural love for the outdoors and animals. She had a much-loved dog, Rusty, a pony, and a tortoise, to name a few of their family pets. When Jane was about eight years old, she read Tarzan and the Dr. Dolittle series and, in love with Africa, she dreamed of traveling to work with the animals featured in her favorite books.”
Jane could not afford college, so she worked and saved her money to travel to Africa. At age 23 she left England and went to Nairobi, Kenya. She arrived in March of 1957 to visit a family friend and found a temporary job in Nairobi. Someone told her about paleoanthropologist, Dr. Louis Leaky, and she simply called him up one day. When she met the famous paleoanthropologist it just so happened that Leakey was in need of a secretary and he offered her the job. In three years’, time, she was given a permit to study the chimpanzees at Gombe preserve in Tanzania. By following her call to the wild, Jane’s dream unfolded.
From National Geographic, “[Leakey] felt her passion for, and knowledge of animals and nature, high energy, and fortitude made her a great candidate to study the chimpanzees. Leakey felt that Jane’s lack of formal academic training was advantageous because she would not be biased by traditional thought and could study chimpanzees with an open mind. His hope was that by studying our closest living relatives (chimpanzees who share a common ancestor with humans) he could discover more about what early humans were like−things he could not learn from fossils alone.”
Jane’s Big Discovery
In November 1960, Jane discovered the use of tools among the chimpanzees. What is interesting to me here in her astrology is Ceres contacting her North Node with Uranus opposing on the South Node. This is representative of her soul purpose of awakening humanity to the sentience of animals.
Less than three years later, Jane’s discoveries were published in the August issue of National Geographic in 1963. (Chart below) as her Saturn Return approached.
“The best days of my life were when I could spend hours in the rainforest and learn how everything is interconnected in this wonderful tapestry of life.”- Jane Goodall
Saturnian Shifts
Jane’s first Saturn return became exact the following February of 1964. Two years later, she was granted a PhD from Cambridge University for her groundbreaking discovery, becoming one of only a handful of individuals admitted to Cambridge’s PhD program, without an undergraduate degree. She married Dutch filmmaker, Hugo van Lawick and her research was brought to film (Neptune), giving her a global spotlight.
Transiting Jupiter came to Jane’s outspoken Aries Sun/Mars placement, opposing her natal Jupiter in Libra. It is interesting that transiting Pluto is joined by Uranus conjunct to her Natal Neptune, which seems to lend weight to the truly revolutionary nature of her discovery along with the connection to film. With each of these charts I find the position of Ceres eye-opening.
John Robbins, Author
“The fork is the most powerful tool ever placed in our hands.” — John Robbins, Awaken
Like, Goodall, Robbins had a mutable ASC too, but in Virgo-Pisces with Moon in Pisces on DC and Uranus on the MC. He was deeply empathic towards the suffering of animals. With a 3rd House Scorpio Sun, he became an investigator who revealed hidden truths about the food industry. He also had Jupiter at 0 °Sagittarius squaring Saturn, Mars, and Pluto in Leo.
John Robbins grew up heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire and was groomed to join his father’s empire. As a young man in the height of the cultural revolution of the 1960’s, in a Thoreau-like move, he walked away from his father’s trust fund at age 21 to live a life of simplicity in a cabin. He lived a quiet life with his wife and child and remained cut off from his father for many years. By 1976, the time of his first Saturn Return, he had earned his master’s degree from Antioch College. He continued to research and write about how our modern diet and the food industry impact the planet until his Uranus opposition.
Uranian Disruptors: Redefining Our Relationship with Nature
Diet for New America was published in 1987 during the exact same year that Robbins experienced his Uranus opposition, which made three conjunctions in 1987, in February, May, and December. Uranus at 25 Gemini is the most elevated planet in his chart, showing his trailblazing efforts which nominated him for a Pulitzer. His network, now headed by his son, Ocean Robbins, is called the Food Revolution Network, a great name for someone with Uranus on the MC. Chiron made a conjunction to his natal Uranus at the same time as transiting Saturn and Uranus opposed his MC/ natal Uranus. Transiting Mars and Pluto contacted his natal Scorpio planets late that year.
“Few of us are aware that the act of eating can be a powerful statement of commitment to our own well-being, and at the same time the creation of a healthier habitat. Your health, happiness, and the future of life on earth are rarely so much in your own hands as when you sit down to eat.” – John Robbins, Diet for a New America, (Oct. 26, 1947- June 11, 2025)
The Second Saturn Return: Trials, Foundations, and Legacies
Both John Robbins and Jane Goodall solidified their legacies during their Second Saturn Return through their education and advocacy foundations. Robbins created EarthSave and Jane created the Jane Goodall Institute. Jane founded Roots and Shoots to focus on youth activism. Robbins sponsored a youth-outreach group called YES, Youth for Environmental Sanity. Robbins also experienced the personal financial crisis of losing his investments and savings in the Bernie Madoff scandal (reminds me of Willie Nelson’s IRS crisis at his Second Saturn Return). The experience led him to another book, The New Good Life.
“It may be healthier to eat beer and franks with cheer and thanks, than to eat sprouts and bread with doubts and dread.” - John Robbins
The Ceres Connection: Astrology of the Natural World
The asteroid Ceres, which represents the natural world and animal instinct in astrology, was conjunct Jane’s North Node at the time that she made her discoveries about chimpanzees. The North Node represents a soul’s destiny, purpose, and life path. For Robbins, Ceres in Taurus was conjunct his Part of Fortune and opposed his Sun in Scorpio.
The role of the dwarf planet Ceres in these two charts is profound and deserve further analysis. If the Moon represents how we mother or nurture, Ceres represents how we mother or nurture the planet. For Jane, the Ceres transit to her North Node at the time of her discoveries suggests her destiny of protecting the sentient life of the forest. For Robbins, Ceres in Taurus conjunct his Part of Fortune points to a life where his greatest ‘wealth’ was found in reclaiming the purity of food systems.
Robbins’ research on the living conditions of animals raised for consumption was shocking (Uranus on his MC). Though they are both well-known for drawing attention to the sentience of animals and humanity’s ethical responsibility towards animals, both Jane and John advocated plant-based diets to combat environmental degradation.
I was not aware that Goodall had written a guide for mindful eating until I researched for this post. Her book titled Harvest For Hope was published in 2021. Her institute also published a cookbook containing 80 vegan recipes with essays explaining why transitioning to a meatless diet or even a meat-reduced diet is crucial for planetary health.
Both Jane and John had a significant fire element in their natal charts that gave them the courage to stand up to big business, and the establishment science and academia. Because I have special interest in adolescent development, I use a technique taught by Alex Trenoweth that involves looking at the timeframe from age 12-15. I affectionately call this developmental window “the gauntlet” because a young person has the critical task of coming to terms with identity. I determined that both Jane and John had their Jupiter Sextile first during the gauntlet period. (During that window of time, a person will experience a Jupiter Sextile to natal Jupiter and Uranus Sextile to Natal Uranus, but which one comes first varies by person.) If the Jupiter Sextile is first, there is a quest for Truth, and the young person could be called a “Scholar.” If Uranus sextile comes first, the young person could be called a “Rebel.” Both Jane and John experienced their Jupiter sextile first, followed very soon after (within a month) the Uranus sextile, thus making them uniquely heretical scholars. That also seemed an uncanny similarity between these two scholars.
“I believe that eating simple food in a healthy body with a clean conscience is more pleasurable, and infinitely more satisfying, then eating decadent food that makes you and your world ill.” - John Robbins
Closing Thoughts
The simultaneous departure of these two Earth stewards in 2025 is the passing of a torch. Jane taught us that animals have souls and stories; John showed us that our dinner plates are political and ecological battlegrounds. Their charts reflect their Jupiterian task and the courage to seek knowledge even if it opposes established ideas or norms. As we navigate the dramatic times we are living through, our connection and responsibility to the Earth remains. 2026-2033 (Uranus in Gemini) will be a time like no other. Jane and John’s lives make a statement to us: Our individual actions, voices, and choices make a difference.
Don’t Be a Food Bitch
Last year I made the switch to eating a plant-based diet. The hardest part was the social expectations- I didn’t want to be a “Food Bitch.” Besides harboring a life long fantasy of growing all of my own food, I started to write cheeky reflections, venting about the challenges (and also share the joys) in a separate Substack called The Food Bitch Chronicles.
References
Appleton, S. (2022, October 24). Jane Goodall. Education.nationalgeographic.org; National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jane-goodall/
Food Matters. (2024, June 6). Love Over Money: The Man Who Walked Away From Baskin-Robbins [Online Worldwide Premiere]. YouTube.
Goodall, J., & Morell, V. (2019). Jane Goodall: The Leakey Foundation Oral History Project: Jane Goodall. Digital Collections; Oral History Center. https://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/218946?v=pdf
John Robbins – Obituary. (2025, June 16). Food Revolution Network. https://foodrevolution.org/john-robbins-obituary/
Powers, T. G. (2026). Welcome To Zscaler Directory Authentication. Schoolofevolutionaryastrology.com. https://forum.schoolofevolutionaryastrology.com/index.php?topic=1294.0
Pruitt, S. (2025, July 17). How Jane Goodall Changed How We Study Animals. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/articles/jane-goodall-research