Spikehorn Meyer

“Spikehorn” John E. Meyer- Inventor, Builder, Farmer, Bear Master, Showman. My Great-Great-Great Uncle.

I write this after recently visiting the outskirts of what is left of Spikehorn’s Bear Den in Harrison, MI. He was my grandfather’s uncle. He would of been 154 years old today, July 15. What makes this astrologically intriguing today, Mars and Uranus stand conjunct in the heavens at 26 degrees. This is a fiery transit that can bring forth unexpected change, volatile shifts, sudden violence and anger and repressed urges for freedom may shoot to the surface. Spikehorn was a man that was in constant search for freedom, not afraid to push the limits of society and push against the grain of what was expected. Unsurprisngly this man’s natal chart has very strong Uranus and Mars signatures, and as his life would wind down, it would be these two planets in aspect that would swiftly change his own landscape and limit his freedoms. I would of loved to met him, there is a kinship to his nature, and researching his chart gave me a greater opportunity to get to know a relative who live suched a wild and authentic life. Happy birthday Uncle Spikehorn.

Standing outside of what remains of Spikehorn Bear Den and Wildlife Park on old US-27, original stone arches. Photo Credit: Author

Born with his natal Sun in Cancer, conjunct Uranus at 22 degree, and just separating from the North Node.  The Sun, our guiding light, our yang active energy in the material realm, the driver of our narrative. Uranus, the revolutionary, the seeker, the innovator, the breaker of chains. The two conjunct in a cardinal water sign, further activating an initiating energy and one that is also intuitive by nature, possessing a built-in inclination towards what will come to pass and a deep connection to the past. 

An astrologer would look at this planetary natal signature and assume this life path would be uniquely individuated, a creative driving force that seeks no boundaries, cannot be tied down, and dances to their own tune. A lunar eclipse in Capricorn occurred just two days prior to this birth, born under later degrees of an Aquarius Moon, carrying the eclipse energy forward. The Moon, the ruler of his Cancer Sun, resonates with the ecliptic Uranian energy, creating a unique life signature, one of invention, adventure, mischief and myth.

John E. Meyer

John E. Meyer, early 1900’s Photo Credit- Gary Gaffner

Born into an emigrated Swiss family, just as the Civil war was closing out, the Meyer family lived in rural Ohio, on 160 acres. The Meyers were farmers and his father, Alex would eventually also buy and move cattle. John E. Meyer from an early age would seek an alternative path from his seven other siblings. He would live a life that would assume the moniker Spikehorn fully by 1931, and only a few long-time acquaintances would know him as John, many referred to him as Grizzly Ike or Spikehorn.

Spikehorn lived a Uranian lifestyle, one who constantly sought freedom, liberty and a life without societal constraints. He was an inventor, a seed farmer, woodsman, lumberjack, land speculator, builder and most notably a bear master and a larger than life personality. Every endeavor he took was a first for its time. Born just five years after the closing of the Civil War, he was forward thinking in many ways, which is notably the Aquarian Moon signature. He was also strongly connected to the past, which a Cancer stellium would encourage. He resisted the closing in on personal freedom and liberties by a growing government and consuming capitalism that was well underway in the United States in the early 1900’s. He really would blend the two worlds constantly, which is a reflection of the lunar nodes resonating so tightly to both his natal luminaries that shaped and guided his life. He innovated and sought personal expansion, needing financial resources, but also craved a life on his own terms, separate from growing societal expectations and demands. This is a notable signature of those born under eclipses, they will forever oscillate between the two worlds of wanting and releasing. Born on a farm, but seeking to escape it from an early age. Innovating and being curious about new technologies, but ultimately running from those to live back on the land and “simpler” times. 

Spikehorn was forever pioneering in the new world that was unfolding, but also seeking a separation from those innovations. He “paved” the first road in his town, he shifted his family farm to seed farming which paid dividends after World War I produced a seed shortage. He invented and fashioned farming machinery with his own designs, utilizing steam engine technology. He claims he co-designed the underwater railroad tunnel that connects Detroit to Windsor, yet this has never been factually verified. He was a naturalist. He tamed and reared bears. He was an ultimate showman.

"Only bear den in world that visitors are allowed to shake hands with bear.”- Billboard advertising Spikehorn’s Bear Den

Spikehorn & the Bears entertaining the tourists. Photo Credit: TM Sellers

Leaving Ohio for good and moving to northern wilds of Michigan, Spikehorn discovered land to fulfill his legacy. His final and most notable act was owning and operating a tourist attraction. In the early 1930’s, he opened Spikehorn’s Bear Den and Wildlife Park just outside Harrison, MI. He lived his later years amongst wild animals, such as bear, deer, small woodland creatures and the occasional buffalo.  He built his own sanctuary, including a large log cabin, bear dens and a curio shop for tourists. He was known as the old man in buckskins wrestling bears and feeding them from his own mouth.

He never felt the need for evolving technology, like running water, but preferred to live off the land, feeling fully supported. He dressed the part of a pioneer, wearing buckskins, unkempt beard and hair, sometimes referred to as Grizzly Ike. He was a kind and good natured man in many ways, but disagreed with more authoritarian bodies like the conservation department and state highway authorities, and found himself often in legal disputes and business scuffles. He ran for political office as well.

Mars and Saturn sit in exact opposition in his chart. This push-pull of the two malefics would inevitably appear in his ongoing battle for land rights, how to build, what is owed and who is in debt to whom. Legal battles were a constant in Spikehorn’s life, and many think he enjoyed the arguments.

Spikehorn lived his life his way. There are many myths and legends of the man, many spun by him in what he referred to as “bunk stories”, tales as long as his beard. Though he tried to escape “society”, he had a knack of keeping that spotlight on him. He was a notable character in the midwest, increasing tourism to Northern Michigan, and he loved every bit of the publicity. 

January 16, 1957, on a very cold morning, Spikehorn built a sturdy fire to keep him warm. On this very morning fiery and explosive Mars was transiting his home temple of Aries at 22 degrees, which is the exact striking distance to Spikehorn’s natal Sun and Uranus conjunction. This square aspect falls on the exact day a fire exploded out from his stove, across the cabin and set it ablaze. Transiting Uranus and the Moon were also conjunct in the fiery house of Leo, which rules the Sun. This transit was an astronomical powder keg, and one that Spikehorn would never recover from. At this point his health was beginning to fail, and the loss of his home, stockpile of feed for the bears and loss of extra lumber was a lot for one man to bear. Insurance paid out only a fraction of what was destroyed. He slowly rebuilt over the next few months and reopened that fall with just a few bears and woodland animals,  but in 1958 he was hit with a stroke that would leave him paralyzed from the waist down. This happened under a Mars and Uranus opposition, which hovered over his natal Aquarian Moon. Another shocking inflammation, another key signature of Mars and Uranus’ tense dance.

“All my life I’ve loved bears. They’re human in  many ways. I’ve made a study of them ever since I was a kid. My parents kept bears back in their native Switerzeland many years ago, so it’s really in the family.” (Sellers, 1994, p.49)

Spikehorn feeding his bears. Photo property: TM Sellers

If I had to rectify his chart, I would place him as a Leo rising, which would describe his passionate self-will, his zealous and illuminating personality which could easily turn heads. This would also place his Uranian Sun in the 12th house of solitude, favoring those who seek to dwell on the edge of society. The 12th house also signifies large animals, further emphasizing his passion and rearing of bears, one that stems from a nostalgic connection to his parents and their ancestral connection to large beasts, redirecting us to the Cancer wistfulness.

Spikehorn never fully recovered from the stroke and unfortunately had to leave his home and enter a nursing home. He passed away under a lunar eclipse in Aries on September 19, 1959, ultimately taken by a cerebral hemmorage, a very martian illness. Uranus was also opposing his natal Moon and he was just coming out of his 3rd Saturn return, which sits in exact opposition to his natal Mars. Those born under eclipses will feel any eclipse or full Moon with more potent intensity, it just seems to be written in the code of the stars. He was a fortunate man to live the way he wished to live, and for so long. Ultimately the gods do come to collect, and for a man with vigor, passion, and independence, one would expect Uranus and Mars beckoning his luminaries from the threshhold beyond.

I credit the majority of this research to T.M. Sellers who wrote the book Spikehorn: The Life Story of John E. Meyers. Thank you for taking the time to compile this fascinating history of a fascinating man into one book.