Pluto's Transit of Capricorn

Pluto moved from Sagittarius into Capricorn in 2008. Back in 2011 I asked in a post: "Are we standing far enough back yet to discover how Pluto's transit of Capricorn is manifesting?" Inspecting a large oil painting up close, one sees nothing but wild brush strokes, a jumble of colours. Stand well back and a clear picture emerges. Astrology in life is like that. Not many of us want to believe it though. We want to see prompt results for planetary transits and major moves. Pluto's Capricorn transit will continue until 2024 - we are now on the last lap.

Before the transit began many astrologers offered predictions of what Pluto's new domicile would mean for the world. Pluto is known as the transformational planet (or dwarf planet, or whatever). Capricorn is the cardinal Earth sign linked to business, structure, tradition. Not surprisingly most early predictions indicated changes to the structure of society, consolidation of corporate power, upheaval of the status quo and traditional institutions, political or religious. Pluto is not the only outer planet whose transits astrologers find to be significant. While Pluto is in Capricorn we now have Uranus in Taurus and Neptune in Pisces. These variations, and others including Saturn transits (also now in Capricorn) factor in to astrological issues. A Pluto transit, though, because of its length (248 years to transit the entire zodiac), could be seen to indicate a specific "era" all by itself, irrespective of placement of the other outer planets.

What we saw during the first few years of the Pluto in Capricorn transit started to match those early predictions. Banks (institutions) in trouble; "Arab Spring" a challenge to tradition in the middle-east; the strengthening of corporate power on government in the USA - and in other parts of the developed world; a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico might, in time, present restrictions as yet not envisaged by the general public; earthquakes and tsunami in Japan - likewise.

In January 2008 Australian-based astrologer Douglas Parker made a good clear assessment of what Pluto in Capricorn has meant historically, and what he considers it will mean for us in the future. The link I added in 2011 is now defunct, but the predictions remain in my archived post as follows:

I've picked a handful from Mr Parker's list of predictions, and added comments of my own:

Massive popular revolts are likely to occur in countries, that will shake the very foundations of government and power of those countries.(This one is working out well, so far!)

There will be a Peoples Revolution against Big Business and the way in which governments function. Laws will be written to control the power of BIG business. (This is the one I'm waiting for. Bring it on!!)

Massive volcanic eruption, possibly in January 2020, causing global climate change for several years is possible. If not, massive, devastating earthquake activity is possible, as are tsunamis. Global climate change shocks will become apparent between 2008 and 2023. (We can already see some evidence of this one coming to pass)

Some of the greatest Empires in history were born or destroyed with Pluto in Capricorn. A great country will be formed or will begin to crumble into dust during this time. Also some of the great conquerors, like William the Conqueror and Napoleon, were born in this time. So a warrior leader with gigantic power will be born in this time. (Interesting. We shall see!)

The greatest explorers in history set out with Pluto in Capricorn. Last time it was James Cook, The time before that it was Magellan. This time another great explorer will write his name into history before 2023. (Will he/she be a space explorer, I wonder, or an explorer beneath the oceans, or into another dimension? Exciting!)

Another great Golden Age in the history of Music and Art is beginning. (I'm not feeling it - not even in 2019!)

We did appear, back then, to be "in the Puto in Capricorn groove".

What's certain, is that by the end of Pluto's journey through the sign of Capricorn, the world will have changed just as it changed since Pluto moved from Scorpio to Sagittarius in 1996. During the period 1996 to 2008 my own, personal, world underwent transformation in every respect, and during part of that time span Pluto conjoined my natal Venus in Sagittarius. Nothing, not a single thing, is the same for me now as it was then. Now, in 2019 with Pluto in Capricorn and conjunct my natal Mercury, close to the descendant angle of my chart, my life has been, and is being, disrupted again, this time due to medical issues.

I suspect that Donald Trump's ascent to the US presidency in 2016, and the vagaries of Brexit in the UK, during the past few years of Pluto in Capricorn, are both relevant reflections of a Pluto transit transformation of some kind, positive or negative - or of things working towards an eventual transformation.

I may not be around, myself, to see Pluto move from Capricorn into Aquarius in 2024, but do hope to see some indication of how things will turn out, before my final exit.

Aquarius Unplugged

Around this time each year I inwardly grumble, about Aquarius, and how this zodiac sign has come to be commonly perceived.

What has gone awry? Is it me? I'm probably as guilty as anyone else of being drawn into the crowd's expectations - calling Aquarius quirky, avant garde, rebellious, unpredictable, cold and aloof....you know the rest. Humanitarian, another commonly stated characteristic of Aquarius is often apt, but it fits more nearly with Pisces in reality. Most people with Sun in Aquarius have a planet or two in Pisces. Intelligent? I'll go along with that one, it's the only description common to all Sun Aquarians I've ever met. Intelligent, mind you, not genius or even highly intelligent. They simply possess an innate cleverness irrespective of schooling or higher education, which, in some instances when applied can bring out inventive talent. Aquarius is Fixed Air. Air relates to mental processes, so it's reasonable to expect that all Air signs (Aquarius, Gemini and Libra) will share natural intelligence, honed to sophistication by education, or not, as the case may be.

I don't agree with the "love of groups" thing for Aquarius. Where did that come from? In any case it contradicts the "aloof, detached and cold" motif. I haven't ever met a Sun Aquarian who loves to join groups. I run away from them as fast as my little legs will carry me, so did my Dad, and friends who share Aquarius Sun. So perhaps Aquarius-types can appear to be a tad aloof and detached, but I prefer to think of that as independence.

The rest of commonly used keywords for Aquarius, apart from humanitarian belong, in my opinion, more properly with planet Uranus, delegated to replace Saturn as ruler of Aquarius in modern astrology. I often suspect that Saturn was more appropriate as ruler of Aquarius; a Saturn in Airy mode, lighter and less tied down, whereas Capricorn hosts a heavier, Earthy Saturn.

Where does Uranus truly belong among the signs? Its accepted characteristics can infect and invade any of them with its presence, and with equal intensity. The rush to allocate the outer planets to rulerships was curious, I think. Why was it necessary ? Weren't things working satisfactorily in personal astrology beforehand? The outer planets seem to relate far more to mundane or generational issues.

In my old copy of Llewellyn George's "Student Chart Reader" (1934), he has this to say of Sun in Aquarius:

"In Aquarius the Sun gives a quiet, patient, determined, unobtrisive and faithful nature, as a rule. The Aquarian is refined, pleasant, friendly, generous, charitable, dignified and humanitarian; fond of art, music, scenery and literature; cautious, steady, intelligent, intuitive, discriminitive, concentrative, studious, thoughtful and philopsophical. Good reasoner, practical as well as theoretical; strong likes and dislikes and often with very radical and advanced ideas; is cheerful, sincere and honest, easily influenced by kindness, slow to anger, but will not be driven; loves liberty and is fond of occult research."

Aquarius by Johfra (HERE)

I find that description quite fitting, even though parts of it are too general to be identifiable as purely Aquarian - for example pleasant, fond of art, music, scenery. I especially like the the last few phrases (easily influenced by kindness, slow to anger, but will not be driven; loves liberty). Interest in astrology, something I've had, at various levels, for almost as long as I can remember, doesn't seem to automatically connect to Sun in Aquarius, none of my Sun in Aquarius relatives and friends have had the same interest. Perhaps this is another facet belonging more properly to Uranus, or perhaps Pisces, where lies my natal Jupiter. However, there are two Fixed Stars in Aquarius with traditional connection to astrology.




So, my own stripped down, unplugged group of keywords for zodiac sign Aquarius is:

freedom lover, independent, naturally intelligent, quietly determined, loyal, faithful, studious, practical but also theoretical, stubborn, slow to anger, will not be driven.

Radicalism, the avant garde, rebellion and quirkiness will, in my view, be a part of Sun in Aquarius, or other zodiac signs' makeup only when Uranus is in close aspect, or on a sensitive point in the chart. Other characteristics, occasionally found associated with Aquarius, could come via emphasis on neighbouring signs Pisces and Capricorn.

All of the above is, of course, in my not so humble opinion only!

Capricorn Considered

In his book, Astrology published 1964, Louis MacNeice, not an astrologer, but a poet and scholar, gathered together much of interest from a variety of sources, ancient and modern. On zodiac sign Capricorn, through which the Sun now travels, he wrote the paragraphs below, quoting from some professional astrologers whose works may now be less known by the average astrology fan - some related links are added at the end of this excerpt.
(Illustrations here were added by me.)

Capricorn the Goat
December 22 to January 20


A cardinal, earthy sign; also an equinoctial sign, the equinox of course being the winter one. So Capricorn's ruler, predictably, is frosty old Saturn. "One does not invite to dinner on the same evening Leo and Capricorn"; so writes Gleadow. With this sign one is (in western Europe) at the midnight of the year, so no wonder Morrish makes this the stage for "control of the mind". Tucker says that if Capricorn is your Sun-sign you should avoid alcohol in any form, if it is rising you will be inclined to be very pessimistic, and if you have Moon in Capricorn you will be very disagreeable if you don't exercise control - witness Napoleon.

 Capricorn by Erté

In the mid-19th century, when astrology was getting more mixed up with biblical symbolism, Frances Rolleston (author of an odd book called Mazzaroth, the Hebrew name for the Zodiac) equated Capricorn with the kid of sacrifice. But then she had already equated Aries (of all the signs!) with the lamb of innocence and meekness. From more orthodox angles A.J. Pearce ascribed to this sign a "disposition subtle, collected, calm, witty, and yet melancholy" and Ingrid Lind speaks of "action allied with common sense." through the ages Capricorn has been more often than not represented as a goat with a fish tail: Varley comments that while some Capricorn people look like goats, others look like fish. Symbolically, however, we can go deeper - or higher - than that: This is a fish with ambition that would like to clamber up the mountains.


Barbault stresses the opposition - and complementary relationship - of Capricorn and Cancer: Cancer is to Capricorn what the mother is to the father, the base to the summit, etc. In Capricorn we are getting away from matter (compare Morrish). Collectivization is coming in and the state or religious conscience may take over. Saturn is casting a chill or a shadow and yet he may be a liberator. If Saturn the ruler is actually in this sign, then everything is cut to the bone: You get people like Kant and Mallarmé. Among other Capricorn types Barbault instances Queen Elizabeth II (Capricorn rising and in sextile to Saturn, so strongly Saturnian), the stolid Marshal Joffre (both Sun-sign and ascendant), Kepler (of whom more later), Pasteur, Woodrow Wilson, and, above all, Stalin. The last named had his Sun in Capricorn, in aspect with all the slow-moving planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Get the idea?

 Capricorn by David Palladini

Capricorn people are thought to be born traditionalists, yet they are not so much disciplinarians as diplomats. They like traditional ceremonies, religious or civil, and are upset if they are dressed wrongly for the occasion. It is also conceded that many of them are religious in deeper sense; this might provide a bridge from traditional astrology to Morrish's astro-psychology. For Morrish, Capricorn is the gate to the spiritual life just as Cancer was the gate to "form-life." We are now getting into yoga (under Capricorn, like a yogi, one practices control) and are on the brink of spiritual rebirth, which for Morrish is represented by the next sign, the last but one in the Zodiac.

Astrologers mentioned:
André Barbault
W.J. Tucker
Frances Rolleston
A.J. Pearce
John Varley
Morrish (L. Furze-Morrish?)
Ingrid Lind
Rupert Gleadow

Fixed Stars in Zodiac Sign Capricorn

Nearing the turn of the year now, and we've moved into zodiac sign Capricorn - a look at Fixed Stars within this sign. Data comes from Astroweb (HERE), showing star positions in 1900 in the left-hand column and in 2000 on the right.

Astrological interpretations for some of those stars, if found to be tightly conjunct a natal personal planet, or important point, are available online. A good, all-encompassing website to investigate for this is
Constellation of Words.

Once again the question of constellations vs tropical zodiac signs arises. Many of the fixed stars within the segment of the ecliptic we call zodiac sign Capricorn are actually part of the constellation Sagittarius (see Skyscript here), others are part of constellations which are not what we might term "zodiac constellations", yet they are within the span of a given tropical zodiac sign. In this case constellations such as Lyra (The Lyre) and Cygnus (The Swan), Pavo (The Peacock), and Aquila (The Eagle) are involved.

Area involved is  very roughly indicated - within the red lines

First star in the list, Spiculum, also Polis, lie on the bow of Sagittarius. Nunki lies on the vane of the Archer's arrow. Sham lies on the shaft of the arrow. The Kaus stars are in the bow area too. Rukbat lies on the horse's front knee, the two Arkabs in the area of the horse's front hoof. Manubrium is close to the Archer's right ear. Albaldah is on the back of the Archer's head. Ascella is found near the Archer's armpit.

Vega(aka Wega) (a Behenian Star), Sheliak and Sulaphat are part of The Lyre constellation.

Tarazed lies on the back of the Eagle of constellation Aquila, Dheneb is on the Eagle's tail.

Last star in the above list, Albireo is situated on the beak of Cygnus the Swan.

 Hat-tip here

Peacock (conjunct my own natal Mercury) is part of constellation Pavo in the Peacock's tail.

Influences: Pavo is said to give vanity and love of display, together with a long life and sometimes fame. [Robson*, p.55.] Well alright - I'll cop to some of that. I've been know to be a tad vain in my time! No fame though, and how long will be my life is yet to be determined.

A further look at Vega. I noted its inclusion in the natal chart of Neil Diamond some years ago when I wrote about him.

Venus, planet of music lay conjunct fortunate Fixed Star Vega as Neil Diamond was born. This star was said by ancient astrologers to bestow artistic talent.

It's worth noting that the planets involved with Vega are Venus and Mercury, and the star is conjunct Venus in Neil's chart. While the Behenian Stars were used in magical applications rather than interpretation of a natal chart, it's not too big a stretch to consider that there could be an interesting connection to Neil's artistic talent as both songwriter and performer.

Fixed star Vega, and others mentioned in this post, figured in the natal chart of famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (there's a relevant piece at Skyscript)

Ascella (nature: Mercury & Jupiter), then at 10° Capricorn 38, was close by longitude and latitude, promising good fortune and success in literary pursuits. The benefic Mercury/Venus star Vega, from the artistic constellation Lyra, was closely conjunct his Midheaven at 12° Capricorn 25, bringing refinement, hope and idealism into his work. The closest star by longitude and latitude was Manubrium from the constellation Sagittarius, at 1 2° Capricorn 06. Its influence combines the nature of the Sun and Mars, giving a dynamic flair to Shelley's writing that made it compelling and controversial at the same time. Several of his best works are satirical and critical in stance and, true to his Sun / Uranus conjunction, he was never prepared to bow to convention.

A fun section at the website h2g2.com
has this:

Vegans Roll 'n' Rock
In the sci-fi novel and film Contact by Dr Carl Sagan, the extra-terrestrial message received by Earth hails from the Lyra constellation, specifically the Vegan stellar system. The heroine of the story, Dr Ellie Arroway travels to some distant galaxy via an intergalactic wormhole routing station of sorts near Vega.

Chevrolet launched a 'Vega' model in 1971, but the star had an earlier car named after it, one of the most beautiful of the classic cars, the Facel Vega from the 1950s.

In the Star Trek universe there are many mentions of a human settlement cohabiting with native Vegans.

There is a Russian counter-terrorism unit called Vympel (Vega Group).

In the Foundation universe created by Isaac Asimov, one of the planets is called Vega.

Places which took its name are: Vega in Bulgaria; Vega in Norway; Vega in Sweden and Vega in Texas.

Keywords don't always open doors - Capricorn

With Sun now in zodiac sign Capricorn, what's to say about the types of personalities associated with this sign? On the whole it gets a bad rap, probably second only to Scorpio for negative, or at least non-enthusiastic, reporting.

Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is allocated keywords which include: serious, disciplined, careful, cautious, thrifty, cold, organised, solid, old-fashioned, conservative, business-like, and even the adjective coined from their ruler's name, "saturnine". Sounds boring, doesn't it? In real life - not necessarily!

From a 2008 post of mine:

A handful of well-known Sun in Capricorn people who seem to fly against the Capricorn keyword stereotype, (from what we know of them):
David Bowie, Jim Carrey, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, LL CoolJ...

I draw a blank regarding close relationships with Sun Capricorn people, but I've noticed from a few casual acquaintances whose birthdays put them amongst the Capricorn clan, that many have a wickedly dry sense of humour, its roots possibly in planets lying in neighbouring signs.

In any case, I suspect that Sun Capricorn does not embody much of the accepted stereotype unless every personal planet lines up in that sign. Sun Capricorn people are liable to have two or more personal planets in neighbouring signs Sagittarius and Aquarius, both have potential to dilute text-book Capricorn characteristics, and bring in a hint of happy-go-lucky Sagittarius flavour, or some whacky Aquarianisms. Conversely, it's quite easy to pick up Capricorn flavour in natives of those two neighbouring signs, where close personal planets are often found doing a turn in Capricorn.

I'd expect to see more typical Capricorn traits in a person with Saturn rising in Capricorn, the ruler rising in its own sign. That's when Capricorn is going to be more easily seen in public, even if that person's natal Sun and Moon are nowhere near the sign of the seagoat. It's unwise to place too much confidence in Sun signs, they are an easy label, a convenient rule of thumb, a fun grouping, but they are liable to be terribly misleading.

(Sir) Anthony Hopkins has Sun and ascendant in Capricorn - perhaps slightly more stereotypical than those people mentioned above. He comes over as fairly serious and disciplined, a little old fashioned. But even here, his Moon in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Aquarius tend to "mix it up and make it nice", added to which, Capricorn's ruler Saturn lay in Pisces as he was born, lightening its heavy influence quite a lot.



















Graham Chapman (of Monty Python - shirtless in the photo), with Sun and ascendant in Capricorn, Moon in Taurus, Saturn in Taurus sounds like someone Earthy and sensible - heading closer to the stereotype - but Venus and Mars lay in Sagittarius, which kind of knocks it all smartly on the head.



(Sir)Sean Connery (aka the original James Bond) is the nearest I can find to matching a typical Capricorn stereotype, yet his Sun and Moon are in Virgo, an Earth sign which doesn't tend to smother Capricorn completely. He has Capricorn rising with Saturn in first house very close to the ascending degree. Saturn is his dominant planet and Capricorn shares sign dominance with Virgo. The ususal culprits for messing up Capricorn's serious reputation, Sagittarius and Aquarius, don't get a look in in Connery's chart, by the way.

Hopkins and Connery both happen to have been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II - that in itself is rather Capricornian! However, Hopkins is unimpressed and says he only accepted it to make his (then) wife happy! Connery describes it as one of the proudest days of his life. He had been denied the honour for several years due to his passionate Scottish nationalism, and support for Scottish Independence. I'm with Hopkins on this!

Thoughts on Saturnian-Uranian Aqua-Caps

Saturn traditionally ruled both Capricorn and Aquarius, signs which are, unlike any other signs with co-rulers, adjacent in the zodiac. Modern astrology has placed Uranus as ruler of Aquarius, but Saturn's echo remains. The same could be said of other zodiac signs with a modern ruler and second, traditional, co-ruler. Jupiter once ruled Sagittarius and Pisces, but the signs are not adjacent, they are two signs away from one another. Mars used to rule both Aries and Scorpio, signs which are four signs apart. While Pisces retains echoes of Jupiter, and Scorpio retains echoes of Mars, and it's not impossible for personal planets to emphasise those echoes, Mercury will never be found in the co-ruled sign, as often happens in the case of Capricorn and Aquarius. This seems particularly significant.

Astrologer Carl Payne Tobey in his book Astrology Primer for the Millions wrote of similarities and differences between pairs of zodiac signs traditionally ruled by the same planet. Mr. Tobey considered that, in the case of Capricorn and Aquarius, the two signs have similar interests and drives, but approach them from opposite viewpoints. Capricorn is conservative by nature, Aquarius has distinctly progressive inclinations, one would wish to uphold the law, the other to change it.

Attributes of these two zodiac signs are well known among astrology fans, but just a mention here of one or two points from Carl Payne Tobey's assessment:

Capricorn will tolerate frustrations, is very practical in outlook, insecure about material things, will not take unnecessary chances and will put up with a great deal for the sake of material security. Doesn't like change - makes them feel insecure. A true Capricorn wouldn't be likely to go into politics except perhaps locally, usually those who do enter this arena are mixed Capricorn/Aquarian types.

Aquarius sees into the future because the future and not the past is of interest. Divorce is more common in Aquarians than Capricorns - Capricorn is more likely "stick it out", for economic or other reasons. Aquarius has great curiosity, and inventive ability. Likes change and progress, doesn't fear the future in the way Capricorn does. Assumes and hopes that the future will be a surprise and when it is, Aquarius reacts automatically and knows what to do about it, while Capricorn must first get over the shock. Aquarius is open minded and something of a hobo by nature. A true Capricorn man would find it difficult to keep up with a true Aquarian wife - she likes freedom, isn't keen on routine.

I've pondered on an idea that some natives of these two adjacent signs with a common traditional ruler can turn out as a curious type of hybrid personality. Individuals with Sun in either Capricorn or Aquarius frequently have planet(s) in the other sign. I have Sun in Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn, for instance. Whilst I would never describe myself as in any way conservative, I do appreciate tradition as well as visions of a fairer future for all. Even so, I'm not what I'd call a true Saturn hybrid.

Distinct hybrid Aqua/Cap and Cap/Aqua personalities could partly account for the reason Sun in Aquarius types have mixed reputations. I've heard people comment that "there are two kinds of Aquarians". Previously I had put this down mainly to generational traits. We're all astro-hybrids of one sort or another, but due to the zodiacal juxtaposition of Capricorn and Aquarius, Saturn hybrids are of particular interest in view of their common ruler.

Paul Newman, Neil Diamond, Tom Selleck - are all Sun Aquarians with more Capricorn than Aquarius in their astrological makeup. Saturn hybrids?

Astrotheme states: (rounded up/down)
Newman - 43% Cap, 6% Aqua, 16%Scorpio.

Diamond - 30%Cap, 10%Aqua, & 22% Taurus.

Selleck - 30% Cap. 13% Aqua & 19% Leo.

Capricorn content outweighs Aquarius in all three cases. There are lots of other, similar examples, Aqua/Cap and Cap/Aqua, but this post would become even more tiresomely long quoting them all.

Another well-known Aquarius Sun person, Dick Cheney, is not a Saturn hybrid. He = 30% Taurus, 22%Aquarius. His dominant planet is Uranus, which I find a little surprising.

As for astrologers with Sun in Aquarius, the late Maya del Mar was a Saturn hybrid: 23% Capricorn, 17% Aquarius. C.E.O.Carter was not a Saturn hybrid: 31% Aquarius but no Capricorn at all, Saturn comes in 4th in dominance among his planets. Evangeline Adams wasn't a Saturn hybrid either. She had Sun in Aquarius, but her dominant sign by a wide margin was Pisces @ 46%, with Aquarius 17%.
(Details of sign and planet percentages obtained from lists at Astrotheme.)

All of which underlines that those who have Sun in Aquarius or Sun in Capricorn could sometimes surprise us by displaying either a muddied mix of the two signs' traits, or an unexpectedly heavy dose of the traits of the adjacent Saturn-ruled sign.

Capricorn Casserole

Some re-hashed astrology-talk regarding zodiac sign Capricorn, the sign through which the Sun is currently traversing ~~~

On the whole zodiac sign Capricorn gets a bad rap, probably only second to Scorpio for negative reporting. Standard keywords for Capricorn, the sign ruled by planet Saturn, include: serious, disciplined, careful, cautious, thrifty, cold, organised, solid, old-fashioned, conservative, business-like. There's an adjective coined from their ruler's name -"saturnine". Sounds dry and boring doesn't it?

A handful of well-known Sun Capricorn people refute that Sun sign stereotype though, at least from what we're allowed to know of them: think David Bowie, Jim Carrey, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, Betty White, LL CoolJ..........

From personal, real-life, experience I draw a blank regarding Sun Capricorn people, but I have formed the idea at the back of my mind that many of 'em have a wickedly dry sense of humour - I'm not sure from whence that idea would spring, possibly from planets lying in signs adjacent to Capricorn. Sun in Capricorn individuals are liable to have two or more personal planets in neighbouring signs Sagittarius and Aquarius; both signs' characteristics would be likely to dilute Capricorn traits considerably, bring in a hint of happy-go-lucky Sagittarius flavour, or a touch of whacky Aquarianisms. Conversely, it's quite easy to pick up Capricorn flavour in natives of those two neighbouring signs, where close personal planets are often found doing a turn in Capricorn.

Typical textbook Capricorn traits would be more likely apparent in a person with Saturn rising in Capricorn - ruler rising in its own sign. That's when Capricorn traits could be more easily discerned, even if that person's natal Sun and Moon were nowhere near the sign of the seagoat. It's unwise to place too much confidence in Sun signs, they're an easy label, a convenient rule of thumb, a fun grouping, but also liable to be very misleading if taken in isolation.



(Sir) Anthony Hopkins has Sun and ascendant in Capricorn - perhaps slightly more stereotypical than those people mentioned above. He comes over as fairly serious and disciplined, a little old fashioned. But even here, his Moon in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Aquarius tend to "mix it up and make it nice", added to which, Capricorn's ruler Saturn lay in Pisces as he was born, lightening its heavy influence quite a lot.





Graham Chapman (of Monty Python- shirtless in the photo), with Sun and ascendant in Capricorn, Moon in Taurus, Saturn in Taurus sounds like someone Earthy and sensible - heading closer to the stereotype - but Venus and Mars lay in Sagittarius, which kind of knocks it all smartly on the head.



(Sir)Sean Connery, the original James Bond,is the nearest I can find to matching a typical Capricorn stereotype, yet his Sun and Moon are in Virgo, an Earth sign which doesn't tend to smother Capricorn completely. He has Capricorn rising with Saturn in first house very close to the ascending degree. Saturn is his dominant planet and Capricorn shares sign dominance with Virgo. The ususal culprits for messing up Capricorn's serious reputation, Sagittarius and Aquarius, don't get a look in in Connery's chart, by the way.

As it happens, Hopkins and Connery both have been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II - that in itself is rather Capricornian! However, Hopkins is unimpressed and says he only accepted the knighthood to make his (then) wife happy. Connery describes it as one of the proudest days of his life. He had been denied the honour for several years due to his passionate Scottish nationalism, and support for Scottish Independence.

 I'm with Anthony Hopkins on this!

Arty Farty Friday ~ David Lynch

A couple more days will take us into what I sometimes think of as astro-wierdo country....aka Sun in Aquarius. On Sunday we'll be at the Capricorn/Aquarius cusp, it will also be the birthday of a guy who I see as displaying clear Aquarian tendencies: David Lynch. He was, though, born around 5 hours too soon to qualify as a true Sun Aquarian, and has no planets in that sign. I've always believed that the signs, at their cusps, can bleed into one another (most astrologers don't agree). David Lynch offers a good manifestation of this possibility, in my opinion..

An interviewer HERE described Lynch like this: "In conversation Lynch proves to be a living, breathing analog to his art: a beguiling combination of the cosmic and the mundane, the surreal and an abnormally normal-seeming normal."

As well as being a maker of films with a distinctly surreal edge and dreamlike qualities, occasionally dipping into the macabre, David Lynch is also an internationally acclaimed painter, photographer and sculptor, he designs furniture, composes music and lyrics, and writes books too - in his spare time, you understand.

His films include an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune, (didn't do the book justice); The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and a peculiar TV mini-series, Twin Peaks. We have the DVD set of Twin Peaks and declared it to be a kind of hybrid of Psycho, Monty Python and The Three Stooges. To be fair, I think Lynch was attempting to parody some of the more hokey soap operas of the time. Here's a quote from the man himself:

"The whole Twin Peaks series wouldn't have been possible without the trust in the power of subconsciousness. I show in my movies thoughts and situations that preoccupy my mind. And I'm mainly interested in the dark side of life, the unknown, the frightening. That leads automatically to the controversy about violence. I'm tired of the perpetual arguing about the alleged brutality in my films. Violence exists in our world and you can't simply ignore it. You have to show it, especially if you want to tell powerful stories as I want to. Those who only want to tell about the joys of being and the art of picking cherries shouldn't start making films at all. Because good people are boring. Only the bad guys have style."

Hmmmm. Only bad guys have style? Can't agree with him there!

His rather unsettling artwork can be sampled at The City of Absurdity. There's more unsavoury detail at BBC News "David Lynch's Dark Side Laid Bare" ..." much of it resembles blackest nightmares or darkest hidden fears splattered onto canvas".

From the catalogue of a Tokyo exhibition of Lynch's artwork:

"When it comes to painting, it´s the darker things I find really beautiful. All my paintings are organic, violent comedies. They have to be violently done, and primitive and crude, and to achieve that I try to let nature paint more than I paint and stay out of the way as much as I can. In fact, I don´t paint with a brush too much any more - I prefer to use my fingers. I´d bite them if I could."

Four examples of David Lynch's artwork:

David Lynch was born 20 January 1946 in Missoula, Montana, at 3:00 AM

Scorpio ascendant definitely relates to the preoccupation Lynch seems to have with death and life's darker side.

Sun is right on the cusp of Capricorn/Aquarius, and conjoined to Venus planet of the arts, with Mercury also in Capricorn. In opposition there's an exact conjunction of Mars and Saturn, Capricorn's ruler, in Cancer. I'd guess that it's this opposition which is Lynch's driving force. The Capricorn planets reflect a capacity for hard work and a well-honed business-sense; a little bleeding over of Aquarian quirk allows for a less staid manifestation than unadulterated Capricorn would present. Opposition of Mars and Saturn drive the energetic work ethic feel of the chart, with a potential fascination with violence(Mars) thrown in.

The Capricorn/Cancer opposition already mentioned also forms part of a further configuration known as a T-square, linked as it is to Jupiter in Libra by two 90* square aspects. This configuration indicates stress, but manageable stress, once harnessed. In this case the configuration occurs in Cardinal signs - its owner is likely to thrive on crisis and excitement. It seems that David Lynch has successfully harnessed his T-square.

Yet another configuration occurs in Lynch's chart: I like Yods (Fingers of Fate) - there's one here linking Pluto(darkness) and Uranus(quirky/surreal) in sextile to Mercury via two 150* aspects, at the apex of the configuration. Being translated: elements of darkness and the surreal are blended and channelled through the planet of communication, Mercury. Exactly what Lynch is doing in his movies and paintings!

There's more: Neptune (creativity, illusion, dreams) Uranus (quirky, surreal) and the Sun (self) form a slightly out of kilter Grand Trine = harmonious flow between imagination, illusion, the unexpected and quirky, and the inner self.

Without a single planet in Aquarius, David Lynch does leave one with the distinct feeling that Aquarius is there - somewhere, around the edges.

LEFT- RIGHT

I've wondered for a long, long time, both during my life in the UK and since I arrived in the USA, how it can be that humans see matters of political importance in such diametrically different ways.....the black and white of it - the liberal and conservative of it, to attach available labels.

I attempted to write about the topic in April last year, in a post Political Preference - Brain Differences? Astrology in there anywhere?

If astrology "works", even at the most basic of levels, planet Saturn and/or its sign of rulership Capricorn (and possibly even its sign of rulership before Uranus was discovered, Aquarius), would have to be in some way more prominent or in a stronger position and without heavy conflict, in the natal chart of a dyed-in-the-wool right-wing conservative type. I don't have a view on what would likely be prominent in the chart of a strongly liberal left-winger, it's not as clear cut. Perhaps simply the absence of such astrological indications mentioned above would set political preference in the other direction?

Yesterday, How the Right Brain Works and What That Means for Progressives - an essay at Alter Net by Chris Mooney approached the topic (minus any astrology, of course). The essay draws on the author's book due to be published in April (The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality ) and on certain interviews.

The essay is interesting. I found several comments in the thread beneath it excellent assessments also. Two especially caught my eye:

From Perry Logan

A good way to frame it is to say conservatives in the U.S. have an incredibly strong herd instinct, whereas lefties tend to be weak or deficient in this area.

The Right are profoundly tribal. This intense group instinct affects both the emotions and the thought processes of conservatives.The most notable cognitive difference is that the Right's concept of truth itself is tribal--that is, conservatives only accept information/disinformation from conservative sources. Liberal or lefty sources of information are rejected out of hand. In addition, righties will categorize any unwanted or threatening information as being "liberal" or tainted.

That's why the Right can reject an entire scientific discipline--atmospheric science--for the simple reason that the information is unacceptable. Those scientists--hundreds of them, from all nations, all over the world--must be lyin' libs. The whole thing must be a plot.

Likewise, when I offer years of research and reviews from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, which one might have thought an unimpeachable source, showing that guns are just as deadly and dangerous as common sense would predict, the gun guys just snort. "Harvard? What do they know?" and trot out some stats their cousin cooked up in the basement, which are more to their liking.

Lefties are not clear-eyed, objective observers, by any means. But in my experience, they are rarely capable of such a profound degree of cognitive bias.

The result of all this reality-filtering is that the Right literally have their own facts about everything. It's as if they lived in a parallel universe, where liberals are the cause of all our problems, if the world could only see. Those are some weird brains they have over there.

When I say the left are "deficient" in herd instinct, I don't mean it as a criticism. Our relatively weak herd impulse is one of our virtues, it seems to me. At the same time, it puts us at a distinct disadvantage in politics. We're not the great followers our rightward brethren are.

The Obots are very tribal, by the way. Obots--Obamacrats--are strikingly similar to wingnuts in their thinking and behavior. That's because Obots are not true lefties, but are members of personality cult centered around the Bammer.

And..... from a different angle:

Along Came Jones

I found this article interesting from a philological prospective but I am not so sure of it's practical use. While there are certainly differences in the extremes, those difference begin to dissipate when considering the total attitudes between the extremes. There has always been this difference and likely always be a difference. I also suspect that civility has had it's ups and downs and will continue to ebb and flow. However, I don't believe these differences account for the problems we face now or similarly in 1890 or 1920.

There is a percentage of a group somewhere between 5-10% that either works at cross purposes, is unsuitable, is delinquent, or what have you. If you start with this premise it becomes clearer the nature of most problems. The problem society faces is how to justly isolate this percentage so as not to impede the group.

To cut this short and offer a quick summary of today's conditions:

1. 95% of people will obey safe driving rules either by choice of peer pressure, while 5% will not. Thus the need for traffic laws to protect the 95%.
2. We have allowed a small percentage of people, many of which are psychopaths or sociopaths, to game our political, economic, and social systems. When judged by wealth alone many are at the upper levels of respectability.
3.This small percentage of wealthy misfits uses distraction to confuse the other 95%.

These periods of the 1890's, 1920's, and today are similar in this case and I am sure there are other similar periods in history. If I had to guess, it is generational in nature, ie: one generation of abuse followed by one of reform, one at rest. and one diminishing group diligence. It starts over again as the last generation that remembers dies off.

"...one generation of abuse followed by one of reform, one at rest. and one diminishing group diligence. It starts over again as the last generation that remembers dies off. That proposition would benefit from some research, astrological and otherwise - as would the original conundrum of why people seem to naturally gravitate left or right politically. Perhaps more posts on this, sometime, if I can get my head around the best way to do it.

Music Monday ~~ 4 Born on 9 January

9 January, through the years, seems to have been a propitious day for the birth of singers and musicians. Wikipedia's details of births for this day has more musically inclined people than I usually notice. Some names are familiar, some not universally well-known. I've picked four from the many; four for whom Astrodatabank has times of birth. It could be interesting to compare the charts, because initially one might not expect a glut of musical talent to be aligned with Sun in Capricorn.

Natal charts, with data from Astrodatabank are shown later and together, for ease of comparison.

In date order:


Born 9 January in 1928, a name possibly unfamiliar to anyone not "of a certain age" : Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter of the late 1950s and 1960s who co-wrote, sang and had a huge hit with Volare ("nel blu dipinto di blu"). His rendition of Piove (Ciao Ciao Bambina) is still, for me, the definitive. I shed many a tear over it back in my Italian-tinged youth. Later in life Modugno got into Italian politics, by the way.



Piove (sniffle!). It was Italy's entry in the Eurovison Song Contest, 1959.










Born 9 January 1941 ~ Joan Baez - surely familiar to all - almost iconic in fact: American folk singer , recorded over 30 albums; songwriter, musician and human rights activist, campaigner for peace.


Here she is, not a protest song this time, but with Bob Dylan's Forever Young - still sounding great!







Born 9 January 1943: Scott Walker, American lead guitarist, singer, keyboarder and composer, member of the Walker Brothers trio. 1960s and 70s hits included My Ship Is Coming In, The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore, No Regrets. His songs were often filled with melancholy. Scott Walker is the most under-appreciated singer of the 20th century. He has sung straight-ahead pop, wonderful renditions of works from The Great American Song Book which compare admirably with any of the biggest name vocalists; superb versions of movie theme songs, interpretations of Jacques Brel's songs- very difficult to do I'd guess; and many self-penned songs, poetry filled with angst but showing off that creamy smooth voice, instantly recognisable as Scott Walker. Yep, after a trawl through YouTube - I'm a fan -all over again! (PS: Bingo! His Mercury and Venus conjoin my natal Sun!)

Singing his favourite Jacques Brel song Alone









Born 9 January 1944:
Jimmy Page, English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer, member of The Yardbirds band from 1966 to 1968, later founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.One of the most influential guitarists and songwriters in rock music.

Jimmy Page with Robert Plant ~ Since I've Been Loving You









THE CHARTS









General similarities:

All four have a Capricorn Sun, of course, which indicates a certain serious, common sense attitude to things in general, including business matters - which, though not an essential part of the musical arts, has to be a help in ensuring some level of worldly success.

3 of the 4 charts have Sun/Mercury conjoined = powerful drive to communicate.

3 of the 4 have Venus (the art and music planet) in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is Jupitarian in character and expansive; we could interpret Venus in Sagittarius, then as indicating a powerful draw towards some sphere of the arts.

(Odd one out in both cases = Scott Walker, who has Venus/Mercury conjoined in Aquarius.)

Other than the above, key to Domenico Modugno's chart, I'd say, is a limelight-loving Leo Moon and communicative Gemini rising. His later draw into politics is likely reflected in Saturn's position in Sagittarius, alongside Venus....providing a "second string to his bow".

Important in Joan Baez' chart, are a series of wide-ish harmonious trines: Sun/Mercury trine Moon/Uranus trine Neptune forming a loose Grand Trine in Earth with a slightly Airy overtone. It's that link of rebellious Uranus to her Sun/Mercury that powers her draw towards social activism; the link to Neptune powers creativity.

For Scott Walker, a post from my archives gives more astro information
see http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/11/music-monday-scott-walker-jacques-brel.html From that post

What stands out for me: Grand trine in Air signs which he shares with many of his age group (including moi). In Scott's case the generational trine between Neptune and Uranus links to personal planets Mercury and Venus in Aquarius - connecting this Airy circuit of mavericky creativity to art and communication, so it becomes extra- specially relevant in his personality and in his music.

Sun in Capricorn reflects a serious nature, though not necessarily morbid, or reclusive. To pinpoint that side of Scott's nature we go back to the Grand Trine and note that Saturn lay conjunct Uranus as he was born, and Pluto lay in opposition to Mercury/Venus. The presence of these two potential dampers (Saturn and Pluto) on an otherwise positive configuration explains Scott's early retreat from the spotlight, and his draw to darker, melancholic themes. While Saturn/Uranus conjoined explains how Scott's music can be categorised by the opposing terms "experimental" and "Baroque" (as at Wikipedia). Saturn hooked up to Uranus -the old hooked up to the new!

Watery Pisces Moon and Cancer rising underscore a deeply emotional and sensitive character, which I think can be seen from his young face, and sensed from many of his vocals.

Jimmy Page's Sagittarius Venus is opposed by Uranus and Mars in Gemini - which describes a balancing of Venus's intrinsic artistic beauty with the rebellious, avant garde Uranus and dynamic, aggressive Mars. Sagittarius Venus sextiles creative Neptune in Libra and trines Uranus/Mars in Gemini....superbly configured for a rock musician! Cancer Moon and Scorpio rising add emotional depth.