The Life of John Robbins
Glimpsed through the Lens of Astrology
At fifteen I read Robbins’ book Diet for a New America. I was so moved by it that I tried in my teens to become a vegetarian and then again later in my 20’s, but for different reasons the lifestyle didn’t stick until later.
This year, I adopted a vegan diet. By July, I can say I have been at it for about six months. This is no small feat for someone who grew up on a diet of Twinkies, Chee-tohs and Coke. I have lost twenty pounds and feel great.
But because of Robbins’ passing this month, I wanted to dig a little more into his biography and observe his natal chart. He lived an interesting and inspiring life, and laid out a strong message about health and the environment in regard to adopting a plant-based diet. Here’s a little of what I learned about the story of John Robbins.
John Robbins
John Robbins was born in 1947. He got Polio at age five in 1952. He regained some mobility, but walked with a limp in his teen years. At age 18 he still had to wear shoe lifts to walk. He overcame much of his difficulties with Polio through diet and exercise as an adult and lived symptom-free for much of his adult life. In the late stages of his life, however, he experienced Post-Polio Syndrome. It was publicly announced in 2019 that he was struggling with the effects of this.
His father was the founder of the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream empire, the largest ice cream company in the world. His father groomed him from a young age to take over the company. During John’s adolescence, the Vietnam War was heating up and John was subject to the draft. He was morally opposed to the war and took an interest in supporting the Civil Rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which upset his father. John rejected the future that his father had groomed him for, so he walked away from his trust fund at age 21. His father completely cut him off at that point and did not speak to him for two years.
John graduated from Antioch University (my alma mater) and he moved to a log cabin the woods. While living there for 10 years, he wrote his bestselling book, Diet for a New America, published in 1987.
John became an activist and humanitarian in the area of food, health, and environmental issues, writing several other books and becoming more deeply involved in humanitarian work.
John’s own wealth, which he acquired as an author, was then stolen from him in the Bernie Madoff scandal. According to an article from Reuters, “Robbins lost 95 percent of his net worth after investing with Madoff via a friend who pooled their money and who was also defrauded.” He received the call about losing his fortunes on December 8, 2008.
According to the PenguinRandomHouse Website,
John Robbins was a recipient of the Rachel Carson Award and the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award and was the founder of the nonprofit organization EarthSave International. His work was featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other publications. He appeared on many television shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show.
He published other books including The Food Revolution in 2001. He and his son, Ocean founded the Food Revolution Network online, an advocacy website and organization.
In John’s astrological chart there is a strong bucket configuration with a Moon handle. A person with a bucket configuration, “often directs their efforts towards one single purpose, wanting to achieve a goal rather than act just for their own self-preservation.” https://www.astro.com/astrology/in_jonespatterns_e.htm This quality certainly shows itself in his biography. At the time of his financial loss in 2008, transiting Pluto ingressed to Capricorn. Obama had been elected, but had not yet taken office, and transiting Saturn was conjunct Robbins’ ASC. In his Solar Arc chart for that day, his natal Pluto-Mars conjunction progressed very close to his second house of financial resources and the effects of that financial loss would have been felt in the following year.
John died this month on the Full Moon of June 11, 2025 with the Moon’s Node conjunct at his natal moon. A touching video tribute was made prior to his death which included his son, and celebrated his life’s work and accomplishments, and included commentary from many notable, public people. This moved me because it made me aware of the impact of his life and work.
With Uranus in Gemini on the midheaven, John changed the world through his writing. He had several very tight squares which gave him the drive toward his mission. His natal Mercury is stationed retrograde at the same degree trine his moon, the bucket handle. At age 21, Mercury by Solar Arc would have gone direct again, which would have been 1968. By that time the US had more than 500,000 troops in Vietnam and Robbins had withdrawn to focus on his writing.
John offered hope and wisdom to millions throughout his life. In an interview, he said about the environmental crisis,
“People sometimes say it’s too late, we’ve gone beyond our ability to reverse the damage, the trigger effects of methane emissions are already out of control and if we cut our carbon emissions by 20% tomorrow we’d still be in trouble. I’ve always taken the approach we don’t ‘know enough yet. I read those reports and realize it could be true, but we don’t know. I do know that it’s never too late to love, it’s never too late to do your best. Your choice and actions matter regardless of what happens. If we believe that things will go a certain way regardless of what we do we can’t be inspired, we’re prisoners of circumstances, and there’s no freedom in that. We can make a difference – what we do matters.”
Update:
June 11, 2026 marks exactly one year since John Robbins completed his journey on this earth. In astrology, the first year following a passing represents a complete solar cycle—a grounding of legacy into the collective consciousness. Over the last twelve months, the movement he ignited has only grown, carried on by his family and the millions he inspired to live with greater awareness. Having now walked a full year in my own vegan journey since first writing this, I find the example of his life echoes louder than ever: “
It’s never too late to love, it’s never too late to do your best.”