Jonathan Cainer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Cainer
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Cainer on stage at the 2013 Latitude Festival
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| Born | Jonathan Cainer 18 December 1957 Surbiton, England |
| Died | 2 May 2016 (aged 58) |
| Occupation | Astrologer, journalist, author |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | UK |
| Genre | Astrology |
| Notable works | Jonathan Cainer's Guide to the Zodiac Cosmic Ordering Complete Book of the Zodiac Jonathan Cainer's Guide to the Zodiac The Psychic Explorer The Junk Food Vegetarian |
Jonathan Cainer (born December 18, 1957 – died May 2, 2016) was a famous British astrologer. An astrologer studies the positions of stars and planets to make predictions about people's lives and future events. Jonathan wrote astrological predictions, also known as horoscopes, six days a week for the Daily Mail newspaper. He also wrote forecasts for three Australian newspapers: the Sydney Daily Telegraph, the Melbourne Herald Sun, and the Perth Sunday Times. Cainer's predictions were also published in magazines like Hello, the Auckland Sunday News, the Botswana Echo, and Misty Magazine in Japan. It is believed that over 12 million people read his predictions regularly.
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Jonathan Cainer's Early Life
Jonathan Cainer grew up in Surbiton, England, in a Jewish family. He was one of six children. His father worked at Barclays Bank, and his mother was a medical secretary and a spiritual healer. When he was 13, he moved with his mother to Leeds. There, he attended Allerton Grange School, but he left at 15 without any qualifications.
After leaving school, Jonathan worked in various jobs. He was a petrol pump attendant, a school nursery assistant, and a factory worker. He also played bass guitar in a band called Strange Cloud. He enjoyed attending rock festivals and even helped to restart a 1960s underground newspaper called International Times. Later, he managed a nightclub near Los Angeles in the United States.
Jonathan Cainer's Career in Astrology
Jonathan was working as a musician when a friend read his birth chart to him. A birth chart is like a map of the sky at the exact moment someone is born. Jonathan was amazed by how accurately it described him. This experience led him to study astrology at the Faculty of Astrological Studies.
He was very interested in creating full horoscopes based on a person's exact date, time, and place of birth. In 1984, he was first asked to write a daily sun sign forecast column, which is a simpler type of horoscope based only on your birth month. He turned down this offer at first. Instead, he chose to write books that helped students learn about planets and their meanings in astrology. He also helped design one of the first computer programs for astrology. In 1985, he wrote a book called Jonathan Cainer's Love Signs and a cookbook called The Junk Food Vegetarian.
Becoming a Newspaper Astrologer
In 1986, when a new newspaper called Today was launched, Jonathan was asked again to write a daily sun sign column. This time, he was promised that he could also teach his readers more about the deeper side of astrology. He accepted the job, and his column became very popular.
He left Today in January 1992 and joined the Daily Mail in December of the same year. The Times newspaper later wrote that he was "arguably the only hippy ever to write a leading column for the Daily Mail." Jonathan himself said he "never once agreed with an editorial they have published," showing he had different views from the newspaper's main opinions.
Jonathan Cainer was also known for his charity work. He supported the Steiner School in York, which is a school based on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner.
Moving Between Newspapers
In January 2000, Jonathan moved from the Daily Mail to the Daily Express. This move caused a disagreement with the Daily Mail, which even tried to take legal action against him. The Mail believed that if Jonathan left, they might lose many readers to the Express.
After Richard Desmond became the owner of the Express newspapers, Jonathan joined the Daily Mirror in March 2001. The editor of the Mirror, Piers Morgan, promised him a very visible spot on page 9. However, Jonathan's column was soon moved to a less prominent place in the paper. He returned to the Daily Mail in June 2004.
Jonathan's book, Cosmic Ordering, was published in 2006. He often appeared on British TV and radio shows as an expert whenever astrology was being discussed. At the Daily Mail, he was one of the highest-paid journalists in Great Britain. He was also a regular guest on a TV show called Jools' Annual Hootenanny, where he would share his predictions for the upcoming New Year.
Other Ventures
From 1999 to 2014, Jonathan Cainer owned a building at 35 Stonegate in York. At first, he sold horoscopes from this shop. In 2004, he worked with Uri Geller, a famous mentalist, to reopen it as the Museum Of Psychic Experience, but this project was not successful. In 2007, he changed the building into Haunted, which was an attraction like a haunted house. This attraction closed in 2014.
Jonathan Cainer's Family and Legacy
Jonathan Cainer had six children. In the 1990s, his first wife sadly died suddenly in a car crash, leaving him to care for their young children alone.
On May 2, 2016, Jonathan Cainer was found dead in his home office by his wife, Sue. It was believed he had a heart attack. After his death, his nephew, Oscar Cainer, took over his newspaper column and astrology website. Jonathan had trained Oscar to be his successor.
