A MONDAY MARINADE ~ Escoffier

I'm trying out a new series featuring famous chefs, past and present, and their astrology. It'll be interesting to investigate the astrological components in the chefs' make up - and to discover, eventually, whether there are any common factors.

Before I started I asked myself what I'd expect to find prominent in the charts of those whose life's work is to prepare and present food. My first thought was of the element Earth, and the zodiac sign Taurus in particular. My second thought was that preparing food is a nurturing activity - nurturing others - the zodiac sign of Cancer relates to this. Beyond those factors, any successful individual, in whatever sphere they choose to operate, will need drive and energy. Any occupation involving the mass preparation and serving of food is demanding, make no mistake about that! Presentation of food is very important, so an artistic eye would be helpful. When you get right down to it, preparation of food is artistry in itself. Individual chart factors will be determined by any sidelines a chef might engage in: writing, for instance, would entail some strong Mercurial input.

So - to kick off this series I'm choosing a chef who is world-famous, king of all the chefs: Georges-Auguste Escoffier.

Born 28 October 1846 at 10am in Villeneuve-Loubet, France (Astrodatabank). My software doesn't have that city as an option, but Nice is at almost exactly the same latitude/longitude, so I've used it.




Well - was I wrong, or was I wrong? No Taurus, no Cancer planets. We do have an artistic streak via Venus/Mars in Libra (ruled by Venus, planet of the arts), and this at 10th house, the area of career. What we have here is a very Airy chart, in spite of the fact that natal Sun and Mercury lie in Watery, intense and passionate Scorpio.

There's a nice Grand Trine in Air linking the Libra planets to Jupiter in Gemini and the three planets in Aquarius. This reflects a high degree of natural intelligence, an intellectual nature.

Sagittarius was rising as Escoffier came into the world, and right opposite, on the descendant is Jupiter (Sagittarius' ruler) in Gemini. Sagittarius and Jupiter relate to excess, exaggeration, publication, and travel and are generally a benign influence. There's a link to the enjoyment of good food here, and a definite link to writing about food, which Escoffier did in several well-known volumes.




What about Aquarius though - how does that relate to the work of a chef? This particular chef was known for inventing new dishes (Peach Melba, we all know) and re-organising the way restaurant kitchens were run. There is the Aquarius influence! His philanthropic endeavours as mentioned in the quote below reflect another side of Aquarius, and of course, his benign Sagittarius ascendant.

Three of Escoffier's most noted career achievements are revolutionizing and modernizing the menu, the art of cooking and the organization of the professional kitchen. Escoffier simplified the menu as it had been, writing the dishes down in the order in which they would be served (Service à la Russe). He also developed the first à la Carte menu.

He simplified the art of cooking by getting rid of ostentatious food displays and elaborate garnishes and by reducing the number of courses served. He also emphasized the use of seasonal foods and lighter sauces. Escoffier also simplified professional kitchen organization, as he integrated it into a single unit from its previously individualized sections that operated autonomously and often created great wasted and duplication of labor.

Throughout his career, Escoffier wrote a number of books, many of which continue to be considered important today. Some of his best-known works include Le Guide Culinaire (1903), Le Livre des Menus (1912) and Ma Cuisine (1934).

As well as making changes in the culinary world, Escoffier undertook several philanthropic endeavors including the organization of programs to feed the hungry and programs to financially assist retired chefs. (See here)

The dynamic tension, the engine room of Escoffier's nature, comes mainly from the oppositions Aries to Libra, Uranus opposes Mars, Pluto opposes Venus. Both Uranus and Pluto represent the urge for change and transformation - which is exactly what Escoffier achieved in his kitchens.



Something I've learned from this experiment already: Earth isn't a necessary ingredient in the natal chart of a chef - there are no planets in Earth signs in Escoffier's.



Second helping of Monday Marinade coming up next week.

WEEKEND PONDERING

A meadow of mixed ponderings seeded from events and articles encountered during the past week. A river runs through it though, an astrological river linking Mercury-related matters: communication, words, and presentation of the self.





Ponder # 1: What the heck is "postmodern" or "postmodernism"? I researched, read and continued to ponder. I've come to the conclusion that, in the main, it's used fairly indiscriminately by those who want to sound knowledgeable. It literally means something which occurs later than that which was thought to be modern : post=after. So really, postmodern is very modern, more modern than modern. But no - that's not it! Postmodern is a reaction to the modern - a going back to what was there before the modern happened. It's all very confusing! If post-modern means anything then, astrology is postmodern. We're in an era where the commonly held motto is "astrology is crap". Postmodern thinking dictates that we revert to eras of long ago when astrology was revered. Astrology is postmodern!

Ponder # 2
Narcissism. Phil Bronstein's article at Huffington Post started me on this theme.
"We're all about the new N-word: It's not about you it's about me". The string of comments which follows the article it is worth perusing too. One of these led me to ponder closer to home:

"Narcissism seems to be on the rise. Just look at Facebook and Twitter and the way people use those tools. It's all about them and needing an audience(DennyCrane)"

and

"The Iranian "Twitter Revolution" notwithstanding, Twitter is the new drug of choice for the chronically self-absorbed. Blogging filled that need for a while, but blogging was only the gateway drug. (Semper Veritas)"

Is blogging a symptom of chronic narcissism, and is using Twitter and/or Facebook a sign that the disease has become acute?

Blogging, for me, is simply a way to experiment with a girlhood dream of being a writer or journalist. Maybe there is a bit of retro-narcissism going on. Hey - maybe I'm a postmodern narcissist!

I find Facebook a wee bit creepy, though not sure why. I opened an account and almost immediately deactivated it. Maybe I'm a reverse narcissist. As for Twitter, I'm new to the medium. I can see that for some people it could feed incipient or rampant narcissism (and that is a very awkward word to type, I'm finding). Twitter occasionally leads to information I'd have otherwise missed, but beyond that, I'm not wildly enthusiastic. If it's a narcissistic pastime, I fear I'm not doing it right!

Another ponder-worthy topic occurs to me: is perusing one's astrological natal chart the ultimate in narcissism?

Ponder #3 was triggered by a commenter on the thread referenced at #2 mentioning American Idol and reality shows in connection with narcissism. Reality shows and American Idol are two entirely different animals. Reality shows proper do, I'm sure, attract true narcissists. American Idol is a talent show. There has to be a strong streak of the N-word in any public performer, but in most cases this is tempered by an urge to entertain the masses - which brings about a nice balance. In the case of American Idol, especially in the later rounds when the wild-eyed dotty element has been eliminated, a sincere wish to entertain is clearly the aim of the top-rated contestants, whose dream is to make this their profession.

The "Top 10" Idols are currently on tour, performing in most of the states and in two Canadian venues, entertaining packed arenas, living their dreams.



The net result of my ponderings - more ponderings.

"I've been thinking Hobbes --"
- "On a weekend?"
- "Well, it wasn't on purpose..."

( Calvin & Hobbes)

Arty Farty Friday ~ Auguste Rodin

Most people, whether interested in art and sculpture or not, are aware of one or two of Rodin's works - "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" are widely recognised - they've become almost iconic.











What I didn't know, before researching, is that the original inspiration for both of those famous works came originally from another of Rodin's sculptures "The Gates of Hell", a work commissioned for the entrance to a Decorative Arts Museum which was never built. Rodin later produced a second version of the work in a less defined, more abstract style. Several of the figures seen in the earlier composition were re-presented as individual, large sculptures, "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" being two examples.




Auguste Rodin was born on 12 November 1840 in Paris, France. Astrodatabank gives his time of birth as 12 noon, with an 'A' rating - I guess someone has to be born at 12 noon - so this isn't one of my usual 12noon "near miss" kind of charts - this guy was really a 12 noon baby.




On first sight of a chart, something I like to notice is whether planets trip off each other around the chart in a kind of chain reaction - semi-sextile, sextile, trine, and square aspect. This is an example of such a chart.

Starting at Pluto at 18 Aries at the bottom of the circle, then moving leftward:
Uranus semi-sextile Pluto at 16 Pisces;
Neptune at 12 Aquarius, semisextile Uranus and sextile Pluto;
Venus/Saturn & Mercury at 18/20 & 12 Sagittarius sextile Neptune, trine Pluto;
Sun at 20 Scorpio trine Uranus;
Mars at 19 Virgo sextile Sun;
Chiron @ 20 Cancer trine Sun, sextile Mars
Moon at 28 Gemini linking backwards through the chain to most of the planets mentioned.

Aspects listed are helpful ones. There are challenging ones within that chain too, of course. Oppositions and squares - notably Uranus opposite Mars, and Moon opposite Saturn, which can also be loosely linked into a Grand Cross by square aspects between Urnus/saturn/Mars/Moon.

What does it all mean in real life? To me it describes a personality very well integrated, with enough harmony to manifest as beauty (in some way) to the outside world, yet with enough challenge to provide dynamic energy, sufficient that the native will not rest upon his laurels at the first success.

I'm going to leave the astrology at that, apart from saying that it's interesting that Rodin was attracted to Dante's "Divine Comedy" for inspiration for that elaborate design for his door, and called it "Gates of Hell". It's a depiction of those said to be condemned to eternal damnation. Scorpio and Pluto are the only sign and planet which immediately spring to mind with regard to images contained in the door's design. That sounds ominous for anyone with sign and planet prominent in their natal chart, but this is the extreme interpretation - the limit of extremity! Rodin's Sun and Jupiter in Scorpio link to Venus/Saturn (art and business/career) by semi-sextile, which then proceed to link to Pluto via trine. A nice chain of symbolic resonance !

Straying from Rodin's actual sculpture for a moment, into his route of inspiration, Dante's "Divine Comedy", I couldn't resist copying this tidbit from Wikipedia

Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two of them begin their journey to the underworld. Each sin's punishment in Inferno is a contrapasso, a symbolic instance of poetic justice; for example, fortune-tellers have to walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life:

"they had their faces twisted toward their haunches
and found it necessary to walk backward,
because they could not see ahead of them.
…and since he wanted so to see ahead,
he looks behind and walks a backward path.

Astrologers beware!!


ETERNAL IDOL



THE DANAID



More information and examples of Rodin's work HERE

JUNO, Goddess and Asteroid

In ancient Rome, today, 9 July , a festival called Caprotinia, dedicated to the goddess Juno was held in favour of the female slaves. A solemn occasion during which they ran about, beating themselves with their fists and rods. Only women assisted in the sacrifices offered at this feast.

Oh really! And much fun was had by all?

In mythology Juno was daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god Jupiter, and the mother of Juventas, Mars, and Vulcan. Her Greek equivalent is Hera. ~~ From Wikipedia.

In astrology an asteroid bears the name Juno. (Glyph shown). As I understand it, Juno's position in a natal chart can give a clue as to the kind of long-term relationship a person needs.

You can test out the astrological theory by finding the postion of Juno in your natal chart at astro.com. After inputting your birth data (if not already done) move to the "Extended Chart Selection" and highlight Juno from the list of asteroids there. Juno can then be pinpointed on your chart. Note the sign it's in, whether it's very close to a planet or one of the angles (ascendant, midheaven and their opposite points, which would give it extra significance); and the house it's in. Remember though that the last two positions rely knowing a correct birth time.

Astrologer Bob Marks offers some interpretations for Juno in the signs and houses.

After checking my own Juno position, I found it is conjunct natal Mercury (within a degree)and in 7th house, in Capricorn. Bob Marks' interpretation of Juno in Capricorn doesn't fit at all, but his 7th house interpretation is a good match for me. From my own knowledge of myself, and this is something I've said many, many times and which Juno's position underlines very clearly - it's this: I'm always attracted to one who writes well (Mercury-related), and really that's my one and only sure requirement in a partner (other than that he's not an axe murderer, bank robber or child molester, of course).

So there might be something interesting in Juno's position in your natal chart - it's certainly worth investigating.