Sam Neill, an Astrological Obituary

On 13 July 2026, New Zealand actor Sam Neill passed away, at age 78, from pneumonia.  Diagnosed with advanced lymphoma in 2022, Neill had been in remission, but requiring ongoing monthly chemotherapy treatments.  A clinical trial with CAR T-cell therapy judged him cancer free in April 2026, but he succumbed to the pneumonia three months later.

Born Nigel John Dermott Neill, the actor began calling himself “Sam” in his early teens, while in boarding school, as there were several other students called Nigel, and he thought the name sounded “effete.”  Directionless in career, Neill almost stumbled into acting, getting his start in student productions at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, which he remembered as “the time of my life.”

He went on to spend a decade in New Zealand TV, learning his craft in small parts, until appearing opposite Judy Davis as the romantic male lead in “My Brilliant Career” (1979), which received international acclaim.  Hollywood beckoned, and Neill answered the call, with a breakout role as Damien Thorn in “The Final Conflict” (1981), the third installment in “The Omen” series.

Briefly considered to succeed Roger Moore as the new James Bond (the part went to Timothy Dalton), Neill’s compensation came quickly, in 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October.”  But he became truly famous for his work as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” (1993), reprising the role in two more films from the franchise.

By the late 1990s, Neill had moved back to television work, portraying the titular character in the 1998 miniseries “Merlin,” and Cardinal Wolsey in the Showtime historical drama TV series “The Tudors” in 2007.  In 2022 he starred in “Jurassic World Dominion,” recreating the role that had made him famous thirty years before.  His final film was the romantic comedy “The Last Resort,” to be released posthumously in 2027.

Born 14 September 1947 (no time available), asteroid Nigel 3795 at 27 Gemini squares the Sun at 20 Virgo, a typical PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) placement, which often connects to the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Mercury.  But the aspect is fairly wide, and asteroid Samuele 11622 at 20 Gemini, in exact square, is a much more comfortable fit, likely prompting the name change.  We have three celestial referents for Neill, for which there is no exact match; asteroid Nele 1547 at 20 Scorpio is exactly sextile the Sun.

A career in acting is suggested by Saturn at 17 Leo, semisquare Mercury (the voice) at 4 Libra and Neptune (films) at 9 Libra, and sesquiquadrate asteroid Actor 12238 at 6 Capricorn.  The importance of “Jurassic Park” to his career arc is seen as asteroid Jurasek at 23 Cancer, a homophonic match, conjoined energizing Mars at 20 Cancer and sextile the Sun.  Asteroid Parks 5585 at 22 Leo conjoins both Saturn and Pluto at 14 Leo, another nod to the film’s transformational (Pluto) role in his career (Saturn).  A square to Nele at 20 Scorpio and Jupiter at 22 Scorpio makes the part self-identifying (Nele), and offers fame (Jupiter).  Asteroid Grant 3154 at 20 Leo joins this mix, specifying the character’s name (Alan Grant).

When “Jurassic Park” premiered on 11 June 1993, the 20 Gemini Sun exactly conjoined natal Samuele, exactly squared the natal Sun.  An opposition to asteroid Jurasek at 25 Sagittarius forms a synastric T-Square, while putting the film itself in the spotlight (Sun); Jurasek also conjoins natal asteroid Alain 1969 at 28 Sagittarius, a variant of his character’s first name.  Asteroid Grant conjunct Pluto at 18 and 23 Scorpio reaffirms the deeply transformative effect of the role, while asteroid Allen 19727 at 22 Cancer conjunct asteroid Samuele at 21 Cancer provides that vital link between actor and role that leads to a successful performance.  (Interestingly, the film’s true star, the T-Rex, is seen as asteroid Tyrannosaurus 9951 at 20 Aquarius, exactly trine the Sun and squared Grant, recalling their memorable interaction.)

Sam Neill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 June 2022, as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.  Natal asteroid Knight 29391 at 5 Virgo exactly opposes asteroid Neally 903, another “Neill” variation, prefiguring the honor.  At the time of his elevation, transit Knight at 6 Sagittarius formed a T-Square with the natal polarity, while transit asteroid Elisabetta 25337 at 4 Virgo deputized for the Queen.

When Sam Neill passed on 13 July 2026, the Sun at 21 Cancer formed a Grand Trine Kite pattern with trines to asteroids Samuele at 13 Scorpio and Nele at 11 Pisces, both embedded at station, signaling a major turning point had been reached for the actor.  The String of the Kite is formed by the Sun’s opposition to asteroid Nemesis 128 at 14 Capricorn, a point noted for bringing ruin and destruction.  Conjunct the Sun is Mercury at 20 Cancer, propelling Neill into the news once more, with asteroid Jurasek at 16 Cancer granting a final nod to the source of his fame.  Samuele further squares asteroid Atropos273 at 11 Aquarius, named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death.

Asteroid Neely 13860 at 6 Taurus, our final referent for Neill, conjoins asteroid NOT 2857 at 11 Taurus, a general disqualifier or symbol of negation, succinctly defining the situation:  Sam Neill (Neely) is no more (NOT).  A square to Jupiter at 2 Leo with asteroids Anubis 1912 at 0 Leo (named for the ancient Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) and Osiris 1923 at 5 Leo (named for the Egyptian god of the dead) reiterates the theme of the death (Anubis, Osiris) of a celebrity (Jupiter), with the square personalizing it to Neill (Neely).

Contacts from the transit sky to the natal chart which reflect his passing include transit asteroid Nigel at 24 Leo, conjunct natal Saturn, ancient lord of death, at 17 Leo; transit asteroid Neally at 1 Virgo conjunct natal Anubis at 2 Virgo; transit asteroid Lachesis 120 at 29 Virgo (named for the Fate who determines the span of life), conjunct the natal Sun at 20 Virgo, asteroid Rip 7711 (“RIP”) at 22 Virgo, and asteroid Atropos at 26 Virgo; transit asteroid Requiem 2254 at 10 Libra (named for the funeral mass for the dead), conjunct natal Nemesis at 12 Libra; transit Pluto, modern lord of death, at 4 Aquarius, and the transit Anubis/Jupiter/Osiris group, T-Squared a natal pairing of asteroids Osiris and Neely at 0 and 3 Scorpio; and transit Rip at 18 Aries opposed natal Requiem at 23 Libra.

Alex Miller

Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .