Women Candidates - of Loopyland & of Oklahoma (+ Am I Psychotic?)

What's with some of the women candidates in these coming mid-term elections in the US? Are they trying to out-do one another in loopiness? We are getting used to Ms Palin's antics, there's always room for one fruitloop - but now we have Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Meg Whitman, Michele Bachmann getting in on the loopy act. Is it an act? I do have to wonder. There are more astute and rational gals to be found on any supermarket checkout.

Is there something in the current astrological atmosphere that might bring on this new loopy-loony fashion for women ?

We still have Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces within around 3 degrees of each other - planet of the unexpected and planet of exaggeration and excess are still conjoined, enough to colour the atmosphere with extreme oddness, even without Neptune's help (planet of delusion and illusion)now in mildly helpful semi-sextile to Jupiter/Uranus from Aquarius. That seems like an astro-atmosphere ripe for some loop and loon.

Someone (identity unknown) once wrote that "The problem with political jokes is they get elected." Why should America tremble!?

And here in Oklahoma, not loopy exactly, but.....

A sequel to my post dated 4 August - Oklahoma's Gubernatorial Gals. Then, I looked at the natal charts of Jari Askins and Mary Fallin, Oklahoma's two females running for election as the state's new governor to replace Brad Henry (Democrat). I decided, along with an interested commenter, that it was not at all clear-cut from the astrology which of the women would be successful. (In photograph: Askins left, Fallin right)

This week a televised debate was held between the two candidates. I was interested to see and hear them, especially the "Democrat" Jari Askins who my husband's daughter and son-in-law highly recommend as the best option.

Unfortunately Ms Askins lost me at "Hello". She won the toss and gave her opening statement first.

Jari Askins said, "I am an Oklahoma Democrat. Oklahoma Democrats are conservative. We are not extreme.... I am a pro-life, pro-gun, pro-education, pro-business and secure-the-borders Democrat." In other words, Ms Askins, you are a Republican in all but name. She also said, later in the debate, that she will oppose what both women termed "Obamacare" - the Health Care (ahem) "reform" put through by the Federal government this year.

So, what it amounts to is that there's not as much as a hair's breadth between these two candidates apart from a few minor details. The election will be fought on personality only. Neither candidate made any clearly differentiating or arresting points. Responses to questions, from a panel of four, were repetitive and, to put it bluntly, boring. Even the moderator seemed a bit bored and out-of-it, she lost track of who was due to speak next on several occasions. I couldn't blame her one bit!


The state is what it is - a nest of right-wingers, some of whom like to masquerade in the guise of Democrats to give the illusion of choice.

Oklahoma is what it is. Repeat....breathe.... It is what it is....Go and vote, and resist the urge to do a write in (Karl Marx?)

Back to the question of loopiness then, and on a personal level...

When I logged on this morning I found a comment on an archived post awaiting moderation. The original post was about a comedienne, and really the comments have nothing at all to do with the post's content, so I'll simply copy the original comment, and my original response, then the new comment from today....

Anonymous ~~~ Wow! If astrologers as intelligent and as diligent as you were to put their talents and energies into something real, they could actually benefit humanity, instead of spinning these near-psychotic fantasies. As Wiig would say, just kidding. Except, not.
March 07, 2010 3:05 AM
Twilight said...
Anonymous ~~~ You are, of course, entitled to your opinion of astrology - and of my attempts to understand it. I do not, though, appreciate your use of the term "psychotic".

If you took the time and put in the effort to study the subject yourself you might see that "something is going on" over and above what sicence now understands. It may well not be everything astrologers suppose, but it is "something".

But hey - I do not have to explain myself to someone who cannot appreciate this, anymore than a hunter or fisherman has to explain to me their interest in something I find distasteful.

I wonder why you clicked on the link to this post if you have such a low opinion of astrology and astrologers? Was it simply to allow yourself to feel superior?
March 07, 2010 8:47 AM

AND FROM TODAY:
Anonymous said...
Well, actually astrology is psychotic, literally.

Clinical definition:
Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality, usually including false ideas about what is taking place or who one is (delusions) and seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations).

Saying we have to study astrology to understand it is like saying we have study kicking kittens to really understand it.

I understand astrology because I understand science. The planets and stars do not affect humans, full stop. And saying something is "beyond science" is just a way of saying you can't prove your beliefs because they are not based in reality.

Astrology is not real, you believe in it even when it's demonstrably false. You refuse to accept that your unsupported beliefs are not true so you are delusional. You also believe you have some magical power to "read the stars".

Given all that data my clinical diagnosis of you is you are psychotic and suffer from delusions of grandeur. If you do not get treated for your mental illness you could progress into full blown schizophrenia. Seek help now!
October 21, 2010 12:39 AM

Twilight said:
Anonymous ~~~ It's kind of you to take such interest in my welfare.
I have included both your comments in my post for today, in case it will be of "help" to others who are interested in this ancient art.
Oh - wait..... men in white coats are at the door.......
October 21, 2010 9:27 AM

Losing & Winning ~ Parable on Commitment

Another helping from Dr. David K. Reynold's book. This parable relates to relationships and fear of commitment. Astrologically these connect to 7th House, zodiac sign Libra, and its ruler Venus. Also linked in this tale is Saturn (as the father), and perhaps Chiron (the Woulded Healer). I see a preponderance of Mutable signs potentially involved as well: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. I doubt that a prominence of Fixed or Cardinal signs would be so....well... mutable: changeable, and lacking or fearing commitment, in spite of an unfortunate childhood loss.

See what you think! (By the way, important point: "Corinne" could just as easily be "Colin" with gender references in both cases altered - or not !)


Losing and Winning

Corinne's father died when she was only eight years old. As a grownup she couldn't remember much about him. Something he left her, though, was the fear that men would leave her. Corinne cried when she thought of losing someone.

Corinne tried all sorts of ways to keep men from leaving her. She learned to act sexually assertive and to talk tough in her attempts to please and emulate menfolk. She worked hard at warding off loss and rejection. And, pretty much, she succeeded. Corinne was a bright and beautiful lady. She revealed what talents she possessed and who she pretended to be to full advantage.

In the back of her mind, however, was a nagging question about who she really was.

Corinne had learned techniques to ward off the most dreaded possibility of life she could think of, but she hadn't learned to give herself away to someone who would give himself away to her. She had insured her measure of success with men, but found that success less than fully satisfying. She made sure that her interests were potected, but wondered at the cost.

Life brought Corinne opportunities now and then to sacrifice herself for someone else. Corinne saw these opportunities as dilemmas. Her friend was ill, but she couldn't afford to take time off from work to be with her. A boyfriend was willing to make a life commitment to her, but Corinne feared the entangling commitments of marriage. What if he discovered her true self (whatever that might be) after years of marriage and left her? It was all so difficult.

Corinne worked as an elementary school teacher. She found her work very satisfying. The headaches and long hours of working with barrio kids produced an odd delight in Corinne. School was the major part of Corinne's life in which her personal interests went unprotected. The salary raises and benefits were appreciated, but Corinne would have taught for free and worked on the side to earn money. She knew they needed her - her love and respect as well as her teaching ability. There was no problem with lack of confidence in this area of Corinne's life.

Why didn't Corinne figure out what you know already? Why didn't she transfer what she had learned as a teacher to her existence as a woman? In time, she did. She outgrew her childish self-protectiveness. She tried other ways of being with a gentle and patient man. When she discovered that being herself didn't scare him away she was so relieved that she began thinking some about HIS needs, HIS convenience, about protecting HIM. That put her on the track.

Just another happy ending-beginning.

("Commitment" - sculpture by Michael Speller).

LANGUAGE, PERCEPTION and MERCURY (& Ms Merkel's declaration).

“Language is the dress of thought” wrote Samuel Johnson back in 18th century England. Languages, national, international, ancient, modern, written, spoken, technical, speciality, and even slang, how they evolved, how they are written, how so much diversity exists - all of this is a constant source of wonder. Accents, side-kicks of language, add an extra layer of fascination.

All these, in astrology, are ruled by planet Mercury. Astrology is a language in itself of course, with its own vocabulary capable of confusing "outsiders", as well as the occasional "insider". The computer and the internet have their own technical language, better known as "jargon", which confused me no end when I began writing this blog, even though I'd been using a computer for years.


More important than language itself, or accents, is nuance of understanding or misunderstanding arising between people, even when using the same language in the same accent.

Perception.

Here's where astrology, as well as life-experience, plays its part, with particular emphasis on Mercury's natal position. As Anais Nin wrote:We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are. I'd paraphrase that and say that we don't always perceive words, phrases and concepts as they are commonly defined, but as we are, via our uncommon natal charts.

Sanderson Beck has this to say on his website Astrology Time Patterns: Mercury:

Mercury and the mind are like a great lens or focus device; it is an instrument we use to focus our awareness. The soul is the true experiencer of the consciousness, but our direction and consequent awareness depends on how and where we focus the mind. The mind is tremendously powerful; how we use it is up to us.

There's a list of interpretations for Mercury in the 12 zodiac signs, and Mercury the 12 houses at the above link.

Just this week the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel had something to say about language, and the learning of it by immigrants to her country. For anyone intending to spend their lives in a country where the language spoken isn't that they learned as a child, it would seem to be a "given" that they'd do everything possible to learn the native language fairly soon - for ease of everyday requirements: shopping, education, news etc. Some language transitions, though, will be easier to manage than others. I suspect that Turkish to German (the one Ms Merkel referred to) might pose more difficulties than some others. Turkish President Abdullah Gul, went too far in my opinion - in a weekend interview, when urging the Turkish community in Germany to master the language he stated: "That is why I tell them at every opportunity that they should learn German, and speak it fluently and without an accent." Without an accent!? That is a tall order, almost impossible for a person not born in Germany to comply with!

Being a comparative newcomer to the USA (6 years this month) I still sound like a foreigner here. My accent hasn't changed, as far as I'm aware, nor will it, and to my mind nor should it. Good thing I didn't marry a German then!

Music Monday ~ Laura Nyro

"I'm a Libra, and I seem to like balance," Laura Nyro declared solemnly near the end of her first set at the Bottom Line....."Since I started the show with some sweet old rock-and-roll, I'll finish with some more."

That's a good quote to begin this post, coming from a lady born today, 18 October, in 1947. Sad to say, she died aged 49, in 1997, struck down by overian cancer.



Wikipedia tells us that Laura was best known, and enjoyed her greatest commercial success, as a composer and lyricist rather than as a performer. Between 1968 and 1970 a number of other singers had significant hits with her songs: The 5th Dimension with Blowing Away, Wedding Bell Blues, Stoned Soul Picnic, Sweet Blindness, Save The Country and Black Patch; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Peter, Paul & Mary with And When I Die; Three Dog Night with Eli's Coming; and Barbra Streisand with Stoney End, Time and Love, and Hands off the Man (Flim Flam Man). Nyro's best-selling single was her recording of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's Up on the Roof.



Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro (pronounced Nero) pioneered a free-form style of songwriting, spawned from '60s folk music - emphasis on Bob Dylan. Laura was a trained pianist with the musical skills and insights to blend folk, soul, blues, gospel and Broadway tradition into intense, introspective songs which still defy categorisation. Singing her own compositions, and those of other songwriters, she adopted a signature "note-bending wail" and was one of the first females to introduce a style which came to be known as "blue-eyed soul" - an attempt by white vocalists to emulate their black role models.

Her concerts were "fervent affairs in which the dark-haired, dark-eyed singer, exotically gowned and surrounded by roses, performed with a transported intensity."

From an obituary written by Sean Elder at Salon in April 1997

Nyro was born of Jewish and Italian parents in the Bronx in 1947. Her father was a jazz trumpeter and even outside her home, music was a constant visceral presence, like air or electricity. "I would go out singing, as a teenager, to a party or out on the street, because there were harmony groups there, and that was one of the joys of my youth," she wrote in the liner notes to "Stoned Soul Picnic." The doo-wop and girl-group rock that filled the streets of New York then informed her songs (an influence paid homage to in the '71 release "Gonna Take a Miracle"), but so did the jazz she grew up with, the folk she heard in the coffee shops of Greenwich Village, gospel, show tunes, soul music -- Nyro's music was like the polyglot city from which it sprang, rich and surprising with an odd hint of danger. .....


"Stoney End," "And When I Die," "Eli's Coming" -- they were songs anyone listening to the radio in the '60s knew (they were covered by Barbra Streisand; Blood, Sweat and Tears; and Three Dog Night, respectively), but Nyro's originals remain a revelation. She was 19 years old when she recorded those songs and she sang them with the emotion and conviction of a woman twice her age......Nyro was nothing if not sensitive: She retired twice in her career, the first time at the age of 24. Her private life was just that, though her relationship with manager David Geffen was more than your average business deal. She is survived by a grown son and a female companion and countless invisible fans who will miss the warmth of her spirit.

Sources:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DF173DF937A2575AC0A965958260&ref=laura_nyro

http://www.salon.com/april97/sharps/nyro970411.html



SOME ASTROLOGY
Data from Astrodatabank: Born at 12:30 AM in New York City on 18 October 1947.




The "introspective intensity" mentioned above is easily recognised in her natal chart: a cluster in intense Scorpio: Venus, Chiron, Mercury, South node of the Moon and Jupiter form a chain through the sign, and might even be considered as overshadowing her sweeter natal Libra Sun and Neptune. Moon at 11 degrees of ebullient Sagittarius in exact helpful sextile to creative Neptune, but in harmonious trine to another cluster of severe planets in Leo (Mars, Pluto, Saturn) sets up something of an anomaly, sharpening the traditional sweetness of Libra and blunting the usual cheeriness of Leo. Laura Nyro was something of an enigma. A happy image of sweetness underpinned by an intense darker and sadder layer beneath.

Something else - North node of the Moon (a sensivie point in the chart) at 24.47 Taurus is very close to Fixed Star Algol, known to ancient astrologers as the most unfortunate of Fixed Stars. In some cases Algol doesn't indicate dire misfortune, or any misfortune at all - but simply a very intense nature; in other cases it can foreshadow unfortunate circumstances. In Laura's case, her untimely death immediately comes to mind.

Two versions of her song Stoney End follow:

First Laura Nyro singing on the 'B' side of her debut single Wedding Bell Blues with "adjusted" lyrics required by the recording company who felt her original opening lines might be offensive to some people. This version was never re-released on albums. The second video features Laura with Barbra Streisand (who had a big hit with the song) and Linda Ronstadt, and the original lyrics.

Laura's original opening lyrics:
"I was born from love/And my poor mother worked the mines/I was raised on the Good Book Jesus/'Til I read between the lines...."

Substitute lyrics:
I was born from love/ and I was raised on golden rules/ till the love of a winsome Johnny/ taught me love was made for fools.

PATRIOTISM (again)

Patriotism, British astrologer C.E.O. Carter told us, in his Enclyclopedia of Psychological Astrology, is "a Cancerian trait and most patriots have this sign prominent". I'm not sure that works for me - I have natal Cancer rising, but don't consider myself patriotic, except with regard to the Earth as my home.

Mr. Carter went on to say

"But many who are so called, and who perhaps have even performed deeds of great value to their country, have been actuated by such motives as duty (Saturn), resistance to aggression (Mars) or love of freedom (Jupiter or Uranus). Astrology enables true patriotism to be detected, and at the same time, although few national horoscopes are obtainable, it may usually be judged that a person who has many planets strong in a certain sign will do well for himself when in a country ruled by that sign, and, in turn, may benefit the country."

A variety of astrological charts are used by astrologers to represent the birth of the USA, rising signs differ, but Sun in the sign of Cancer is a common factor. I'm not a fan of astrological charts for countries. I feel that a chart set up for an inanimate entity describes a moment in time - nothing more, a moment whose "imprint" has no flesh and blood upon which to imprint itself (except of course upon babies born at that precise moment). I'm not a professional astrologer though, and could be wrong. Assuming that I am wrong, if the USA's Sun sign is Cancer, and C.E.O Carter was right about the sign of Cancer being related to patriotism, then it's hardly surprising that the USA has always inspired its citizens with great patriotism.

What worries me, as a comparative newcomer, though now a naturalized US citizen, is that a good proportion of people in the USA can see no wrong in their country, or its political system, its militarism, the decisions of its Supreme Court, and interpretation of the Constitution. They see their own attitudes as patriotism, and anyone disagreeing or questioning these things as "unpatriotic".

C.E.O. Carter's assessment of patriotism may have been correct for his own time, and for his own country (Britain). We now live in different times, are considering a different country, with different needs. I'd say the astrological signature for patriotism nowadays would have to include some good Mercury and/or Virgo aspects to enable clear, critical thinking, and a little bit of forward-looking Uranus/Aquarius to enable us as citizens of the world, rather than of any particular country. Oh - and what about compassion? Now that's an element of which this country, and its administration, and the opposition, are in serious need right now. Compassion has been thrown out in exchange for wealth, greed and "I'm not prepared to pay for "their" health care, "their kids" education, or to put out a fire when "their home is burning down, because they didn't PAY!"

I wish America could see itself as part of the wider world instead of a large self-contained world of its own - best of all worlds, which can do no wrong. The plea "God Bless America", to my ears is all wrong! "God Bless the World" is the way forward now, the only way, in fact. If the sensation or emotion we call patriotism were to be be re-jigged, re-aligned to encompass the planet and all its peoples, we might see a flicker of hope for the future of this sad and sick old world.

"I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world." (Eugene V. Debs)

(Above is a lightly edited and updated version of a post first published in 2007. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose")

COMMENTS FROM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007 by two natural born Americans:

anyjazz said...
Whether it is called "Patriotism" or something else, it seems there must be some common thread that holds a nation or macro community together. Whether it is a common goal, a common pride or a common defense, there is a place for some element to create a bond.

In a country the size of America, "patriotism" seems the simplest way to give people a common thread. There are simply too many religions, cults, languages, customs, races, climates and cultures in America to find much of a common thread in any of these. There must be some bonding thread. In times of national crisis, there must be something that sets a people together as an entity. Humans as a whole seem to function best when there is a strength and unity of numbers.

Abraham Lincoln who was most fearful of some states separating from the Union said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." But Mr. Lincoln makes no allusion to blindly following the current leadership. He speaks of cultivating and maintaining a common bond that will sustain a nation. Current leadership appears to say the opposite with phrasing like "if you are not with me you are against me."

Today, easily accessible transportation and communication have drawn close the people of once distant countries. Nations must become neighbors with a common thread of world patriotism.

Twilight said...
Yes, Anyjazz, I appreciate your point about a vast country like the USA needing some sense of community. What I find worrying is the inability by some elments of society to see any wrong in what goes on in their country or in their name. The "my country right or wrong" attitude. What they see as loyalty is just lack of critical thinking in my book.I agree 100% with your last paragraph.

The Next President of The United States said...
As with so many statements people quote as support for the argument, "my country right or wrong" is only part of the content from the original quote by Carl Schurz, who was a German revolutionary, a Union Army general in the Civil War, a Sec. of the Interior after the war and a 19th century reformer.

The full quote: "Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right." Kinda puts a different slant on image the super-patriots like to conjure up, doesn't it? Schurz is actually an interesting fellow, whose thoughts on Americanism aren't anything like those of some who constantly misuse his quote.

Twilight said...
I didn't know that - thanks TNPOTUS. The sad thing is though, even if 'they' managed to quote the whole quotation accurately, 'they' still wouldn't recognise if and when their country was "in the wrong". Blind, blinkered and brainwashed - I doubt there's any cure for it. :-(

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Arty Farty Friday ~ Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin. It's not easy to get a clear picture of the kind of man he truly was. Do we believe his own version of his life's events, or is English novelist Somerset Maugham's version in The Moon and Sixpence, based on Gauguin's life, with name and nationality changes, nearer the mark? Doubtful. What about the various dramas or movies about his life, eg: The Savage starring David Carradine as Gauguin and Lynn Redgrave as his wife (below) - sadly, both left us much too soon.








A more recent (2001) attempt to put Gauguin under a writer's microscope is to be found in Nancy Mowll Mathews' book Paul Gauguin, An Erotic Life. In an article from the UK's Guardian newspaper Amelia Hill discussed that book:

Until now, the received opinion has been that Gauguin's wife was a bullying harridan who chased her husband from the family home. But Mathews has discovered letters that prove that Matte Gad was in fact a kind, clever woman who was victimised physically, verbally and emotionally by her husband.

'When I was 10 years old,' the couple's son, Emil, wrote in a previously unpublished letter, 'I saw my father bloody my mother's face with his fist.'
...................................Eventually, in 1891, he hit on the idea of travelling to Tahiti to paint illustrations for the most popular novel of the day, Pierre Loti's The Marriage of Loti . He held a banquet for the cream of the literary and artistic world and explained how the primitive, erotic living conditions on Tahiti would revive his muse.

'He portrayed the natives as living only to sing and to make love,' said Mathews. That's how he got the money from his friends and raised the public's interest in his adventure. But, of course, he knew the truth, which was that Tahiti was an unremarkable island with an international, Westernised community.'
'I stand at the edge of the abyss, yet I do not fall in,' Gauguin wrote to a friend on the eve of his departure.

Tahiti was more sexually liberated than turn-of-the-century Paris and there is no doubt that Gauguin revelled in the opportunities it offered, but his time there was not nearly as extreme as he claimed. Unfazed, Gauguin transformed his prosaic experiences into titillating erotic adventures.

'The island [and the realities of Gauguin's life there] are virtually unrecognisable in his representations, carefully calculated to intrigue the French audience,' said Mathews.

In an article from the UK's Telegraph newspaper : Is it wrong to admire Paul Gauguin's art? He changed painting for ever, but Paul Gauguin’s despicable lifestyle presents a challenge to our appreciation of his greatness, says Alastair Smart . Clip from article follows:

Gauguin had never been a stranger to mythologising, of course. Part of our perception of Van Gogh as a mad, tortured genius stems from Gauguin’s tales of their troubled weeks together in Arles – most notably that of the Dutchman “charging at” him menacingly, “razor in hand”. And Gauguin was a fine self-mythologiser, too. As a self-portrait such as 1889’s Christ in the Garden of Olives exemplifies, he even embraced the role of Christ: martyr for a better type of art that no one else grasped.
(Gauguin's portrait of Van Gogh, above.)

So, was he a fraud? The romantic in me likes to think not. Besides, moving for good to a hut halfway around the world isn’t really the sort of thing you do lightly. If he was deceiving anyone with his idyllic island pictures, it was most probably himself. To Gauguin’s disbelief, Tahiti wasn’t the “august land” he claimed or had expected – there were too many French missionaries for that.

In some paintings, one senses another dark truth surfacing, too: that however hard he tried to “go native”, Gauguin always felt like an outsider, unable to share in the islanders’ profound mysteries. Consider The Ancestors of Tehamana, a portrait of his wife, wearing a high-necked missionary dress (see below), Tehamana sits in front of a frieze that depicts the alien combination of a Buddhist idol, indecipherable glyphs and two evil spirits. She smiles at us, sort of, with all the enigma of a Polynesian Mona Lisa. Beneath the Westernised clothing, and in all but the sexual sense, it seems Gauguin found her impenetrable.

Writers of any era tend to favour the dramatic and sensational over less interesting (and less likely to lure potential book-buyers) middle-of-the-road version. I'd guess that there's a little bit of truth in all of the above versions, and in other commentary about Gauguin - but none is likely to totally describe the man.

Let's have a look at his natal chart (data from Astrodatabank) and see whether astrology's microscope can detect anything helpful.
Born on 7 June 1848 in Paris, France at 10:00 AM
He unsuccessfully attempted suicide in January 1898; died in poverty, May 8, 1903 in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.




I have a theory. I don't think that art was Gauguin's best, or optimum life path. He began as a Paris stockbroker and "hobby painter", kind of fell into painting full-time, mixing with, and no doubt encouraged by, some now famous contemporaries of the Paris art world.
Yet I suspect he was, by nature, a writer. His father, Clovis, had been a journalist, Paul possibly inherited some of his talent. He wrote, as well as being a painter, sculptor and artist of other genres. Journals, now turned into books, and a magazine of sorts are among his written work: Noa Noa, the Tahitian Journal; Gauguin's Intimate Journals and The Writings of a Savage. He also founded his own periodical Le Sourire.



Sun and Venus in Gemini, Moon in Virgo - both signs ruled by Mercury, planet of communication. While painting is one form of communication, someone with such a clear input of "Mercury-power" might feel more fulfilled with pen, rather than brush in hand. This is theory only!

What I see as most significant in his natal chart is the oppostion between Moon (inner self) in strict and discerning Virgo and Neptune(creativity) in sign of its own rulership: gentle,dreamy Pisces. This opposition is in a very strong position, close to the ascendant/descendant angles, strongest position in a natal chart. It indicates an ongoing conflict in his nature.

The Moon/Neptune opposition opposition is linked by two challenging square aspects to Venus (planet of the arts) in Gemini, forming what astrologers term "a T-square", triangular formation interpreted (here) as:

"a difficult combination of aspects as it indicates the need to overcome many obstacles, but at the same time, it produces a strong driving ambition to do so. The tension and awareness created by two planets in opposition must be resolved by the planet receiving the double square. This third planet (Venus in Gauguin's case) becomes a focal point of much importance in your chart......If the T square is made up of planets in Mutable signs (as in Gauguin's chart): You tend to get emerged in criticism, ideals, and values. You are likely to consider it important to show your individuality and avoid merely following the leader and trend of the times."

Venus (planet of the arts) provided a potential outlet for Gauguin's inner conflicts. So it seems that Gauguin was doing much the same as Frida Kahlo (See last Friday's post): releasing tensions and angst through his painting. From his restless lifestyle, much of it in voluntary exile from his homeland, I think he did indeed suffer inner conflicts, which drove him to a "path less travelled", and a lifestyle few have experienced.

The T-squre in Gauguin's chart isn't a simple T-squre. There's another layer of confliction and challenge linked to it, by a chain of semi-square aspects, and a square between Jupiter (travel) and Uranus (change, rebellion) forming a complex "inset T-square". So challenge piled upon challenge for the artist. It's not surprising that he felt the need to "run away to a desert island"!

Not easily put off from my theory though - I still wonder whether writing would have been a better, more fulfilling, releasing and, in his lifetime, more profitable outlet. As a writer or journalist he maybe would not have had to die in poverty. As for many of his era, his fame came posthumously.




Day of the Gods



Night Café at Arles




Cattle Drinking



Jacob Wrestling With Angel



Daydreaming



Self Portrait




Caricature Self Portrait










Life's Questions: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?





Wood Box


To Be In Love



Peace

1066 and All That; Magna Carta, Human Rights, Democracy, Uranus/Jupiter/Saturn, Cathar Eclipses.

Today, 14 October, in 1066 saw the Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings – in England. It took place on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings. The forces of William the Conqueror defeated the English army and killed King Harold II (Wikipedia).








The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history. It largely removed the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy, and clerical hierarchy.

Pupils in English schools have this date, at least the year 1066, engraved on their hearts - it's often one of few dates to be so well remembered. So much so that a couple of 20th century humourists, W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman wrote a series under the title 1066 and All That, for the famous Punch magazine. The series, later developed into a play and a book, is a parody of English history. I have a copy of the book on my shelf and immediately reached for it when faced with Wikipedia's reminder of the date.

I'll not go into much detail of the book's content because it truly is an acquired taste, and to the uninitiated, those unused to this type of humour, it'd sound just silly. You really had to be there (in England over many years) to "get it".

I did notice something which might go down well here though, and there is an astrological link to be made.

Skipping through the years from 1066 to what's known as the Tudor Age (or Middle Ages), we come to King John, noted in the book as "An Awful King". During his reign, in 1215, came the Magna Carta, which I guess could be likened to the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The book parodies the intent of the Magna Carta, which King John was compelled to sign by the Barons (members of the nobility/aristocracy, mainly of French descent).
The Magna Carta, as described in 1066 and All That said:

1. That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason - (except the Common People).

2. That everyone should be free - (except the Common People).

3. That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm - (except the Common People).

4. That the courts should be stationary, instead of following a very tiresome medieval official known as the King's Person all over the country.

5. That no person should be fined to his utter ruin - (Except the King's Person).

6. That the Barons should not be tried except by a special jury of other Barons who would understand.

Magna Carta was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and thus A Good Thing for everyone (except the Common People).

The Common People in most countries, even nowadays, are still in the category "except for"! And Number 6 sounds eerily familiar too. Things do change, but remain much the same.....as the French are wont to say, but more prettily.

On a more serious and astrological note. Is there anything in astrology that ties into Magna Carta? My Googling finger found two articles of interest. One concentrates on Jupiter/Uranus and Saturn/Uranus cycles; the other on an eclipse series. From Astrology for the 21st Century
http://www.astrology21.co.uk/c1humanrights.html

and an article on The Cathar Eclipse at Astrology Portal
http://www.harmonicconcordance.com/__CatharEclipse.htm

From the former:

Human Rights: The planetary cycles of human rights

In astrology the development of human rights is often associated with Uranus and Aquarius, and the periods of history that coincide with the rise in awareness of human rights and human wrongs are usually linked with the Jupiter-Uranus and Saturn-Uranus cycles. But does this stand up to scrutiny?

This article examines landmark events in human rights in the UK, the USA and France, as well as major political thinkers/philosophers whose work influenced the way human rights were thought about and practised, and looks for correlations between these and the Jupiter-Uranus and Saturn-Uranus cycles.

Landmark events
These are said to be some of the major landmarks in the development of the current Western thinking on and practice of human rights :

Magna Carta
15th to 19th June 1215
Saturn conjunct Uranus (approaching)


USA - State of Virginia's Declaration of Rights
12th June 1776
Saturn trine Uranus


USA Constitution
4th March 1789
Jupiter conjunct Uranus (the aspect is wide but approaching and growing in strength)

USA Bill of Rights
15th December 1791
Jupiter just past sextile Uranus
Mars on the midpoint of Jupiter/Uranus

(Many other examples are listed. )

The astrological observations about Jupiter-Uranus and Saturn-Uranus seem to hold true. Awareness of human rights, and the relationship between the establishment and the people, does seem to correlate with the cycles of these planets.

Looking ahead, from 2008 to 2010 Saturn will oppose Uranus. We can expect this to resonate with the Magna Carta (agreed when Saturn was conjunct Uranus), France, Liberty, the European Court of Human Rights, and the UK's Human Rights Act (HRA).

The Saturn-Uranus opposition represents a point of confrontation and potential turbulence for these issues, and so perhaps it's not surprising that the UK government as well as the official party of Opposition, the Conservative Party, have already indicated that it will not shy away from altering or removing the HRA. In other words, they have already begun their 'drip-feed' of their intention to do so, to ready the public for a potential future action that they would like to take.

If the public want to disagree then people would be wise to alter the course of events now, rather than leave it until later when there is the potential for a tense confrontation between 2008 to 2010.

From the second link:

The 1210 Astrological Chart
This is the initial lunar eclipse in the Saros series 126, dated 8 July 1210, of which the "Harmonic Concordance" eclipse of 9 November 2003 is the last 'total' manifestation in the chain. (The chain finishes in 2490). The initial Moon should hold clues as to the energy spread throughout the 1280-year chain of eclipses and especially to the special eclipse in November 2003.

England was under an Interdict for 5 years at this time (1208-1213) from the same pope (Innocent III) who ordered the annihilation of the Cathars. Celebration of the Mass was prohibited in all churches and the dead had to be buried in unconsecrated ground. This was because King John had refused the Pope's choice for the next Archbishop of Canterbury................

The 1210 eclipse is also close to another more famous historical event: the signing of Magna Carta in 1215. Obviously the Magna Carta didn't suddenly spring into being one morning in 1215, it was the end result of work and discussion of the previous years. It is claimed that a Templar Grand Master was standing next to King John when he signed Magna Carta.

On one level this may suggest that this November's eclipse, the Harmonic Concordance, has a bearing on human rights, or basic human freedoms - things which are generally associated with Magna Carta.

I prefer the connection to Uranus cycles, I can't remember anything in 2003 which might link to the Magna Carta.....Anybody?

CASE FOR THE DEFENCE ?

Worth a close look, at website Astrology and Science is a section headed "Artifacts in Reasoning ~ Hidden persuaders make astrology work", by Geoffrey Dean and Ivan W Kelly. Interested passers-by can take a look at the full page of astro "stuff" via the links. I'm going to concentrate here on something there which particularly interested me: the topic of so-called "hidden persuaders".

The whole article was written for the edification of professional astrologers who conduct consultations, not for nosey-parkers like me. But whatever is found on the internet is open to all for their scrutiny - so I shall scrute away:

"....... factors that can make a vague reading seem so uncannily accurate that it becomes almost impossible not to believe in the system's validity. There are many hidden persuaders, of which thirty-four are listed below. All are an active component of experience and all are in routine use in astrology consulting rooms. For convenience we have grouped them under seven descriptive strategies:"

I'm picking 2 from the 7 "strategies", adding my own comments, relating to my own experience of blog-writing about charts of historic or well-known characters, artists, musicians, etc. My responses are in red text.

#2. Stifle chances of being wrong

Appeal to birth chart complexity (nonfalsifiability).....No need to "appeal": THE. CHART. IS. COMPLEX. Common knowledge to even a novice.

Avoid conflict, see what you believe (cognitive dissonance).....You can only see what is there, whether you believe it or not. If there's no Sun conjunct Neptune or whatever, it isn't there. Capiche?

Believe what you cannot prove (unavailable data)...In astrology nobody can prove anything. That is a given to any astrologer worth his bread. I may not be able to prove it, but I can see it working, proof enough that "something is happening".

Remember the hits, forget the misses (selective memory) Sometimes this appears to happen when attempting to highlight a specific point about an artist, politician etc. Again, if the factor I hope to see isn't there - it ain't there. Mostly it is, however. The "misses" are only "misses" when they don't apply to the specific factor under discussion.

Ask only confirming questions (stack deck) - Not really relative to my own case - sans client. I ask myself about the chart of an individual under scrutiny at that time - if I'm looking at the chart of a writer I look to see whether there are natal astrological indications of that. If there aren't any, there aren't any. This hardly ever happens.

Ignore disconfirming evidence (confirmation bias) - This duplicates the item above beginning "Remember the hits" - same response. Added that as long as birth data is accurate, and a factor is there, it cannot be totally disconfirmed (is that a proper word?) as far as I know. It can be "weakened" perhaps, but no more than that.

Deny that astrology can be tested (testability veto) - We can try to test it, denial of all possibility would be wrong. Thing is, nobody seems to have put enough $$$$$$ into an effort to test it using all available new technology - as yet.


#6. Make the chart fit

Find meaning where none exists (faces in clouds) - Can't do this. A factor is either there or not. Meanings are fairly tightly defined- you cannot "make stuff up".

Read specifics into generalities (Barnum effect) - See above.

See only what you want to see (illusory correlation) - See above.

Accentuate the positive (social desirability) - What in Urania's name is wrong with accentuating the positive?

Be seduced by resemblance (magical thinking) - Tsk. Magical schmagical.

Afterwards we knew it all along (hindsight bias) - Only if the factors are present. You cannot make it up...... rinse and repeat, 3 times.

Sound arguments yes, sound data no(stereotypes)....Don't understand this. Data = birth data ? If it is not sound, of course proper interpretation cannot be presented. Stereotypes (of a sort) can only be invoked if the right factors are present.

Case rests - comments and alternative views welcome.

IS ISLAM A THREAT ONE SHOULD FEAR?

GUEST POST by GIAN PAUL

The Arabs, mostly all Muslims, have a close connection with astrology. It's they who brought it back to the Christian world during the Middle Ages, when most of Spain was under their control and the Vatican had banned astrology from being permitted - except, it is reported, for the secret use of some of the Popes. (This, I guess, is one of the reasons the Vatican's Library is hermetically closed to outsiders).
(Illustration (left) = Blue Mosque in Istanbul)


Islam has a precise starting date: July 16, of the year 622. At Sundown (18 hours 44') at Medina. Mohammed had then had to flee from the violent opponents to his ideas in his home town of Mecca ("Prophet in his own land..."). At Medina where he had just arrived, on July 16, after a New Moon 3 days before had just passed, the Moon's crescent was becoming visible in the early night sky. And thus the crescent Moon turned out to be the symbol most Islamic nations carry in their national flags. This was the exact moment when Islam was "born". (Right = Flag of Turkey)






Permitted question: Here we have the first beginning of a major religion where the starting moment is precisely known; are we presented here with an astrological "gift"? (Rather then some obscure manipulation of dates as with the beginnings of Christianity).

An interpretation of Islam's horoscope is very revealing in terms of what this latest major world-religion represents. A stellium of 3 planets, Moon/Uranus/Neptune, opposed by Jupiter is the main "axis" of this map. Neptune and Uranus, in Virgo, opposite Jupiter in Pisces, the sign and main symbol of the Christian Era! Reinforced by the crescent Moon, a guaranee for a lot of "emotional spark" to develop between these two religions. An almost precise trine between Mars (in Virgo) and Pluto (in Aries) also indicates that if there will be conflict, it will be rather fierce (Mars) and fundamental (Pluto).
(Right = Flag of Pakistan)

Since ever the two religions have been fighting either to conquer the other's lands, or to try to get them back (the Crusades, aiming at taking back Jerusalem and the Holy Lands). The Suez Canal, Oil, and of course, Israel...

Some are intrigued, others proud and grateful that the bulk of the world's oil reserves are found in the Islamic Middle East. Allah's special gift to his followers, they say. Without that, the Arabs would not have been able to take the rest of the world hostage at various not so distant occasions. There were repeated conflicts around oil in the last 50 years, some costly wars in the Middle East, attentats by Al Queida and their allies in the USA, Britain, Iraq, India (Kashmir), Somalia, Yemen etc.

(Below map of Middle East taken from http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/maps_charts.htm)




But Islamic militancy also is to be found in behavioral patterns: head-scarfs and Mosques in provocative places, anathemas pronounced against writers (Salman Rushdie) or humorists depicting Mohammad, to cite the most controversial events.

Islam is by no means a united religion. There are the Sunni, the Shiite, the Druze etc. Often secular power and Islam (remember Saddam?), the Iranian Clerics, Khadafi in Libya etc. make particular alliances - and can be strange bedfellows. Oil has tended to unite them - and combined with that the existence of Israel at their doorstep. Or what unites them ideologically is foremost Israel and the equivocal role the Vatican has always been playing in the Orient.

There are however places in the world other then the West which are under much more serious threat of being "islamisized" than we are: the Philippines, much of Africa, part of India, Russia beyond the Urals, China in some sectors. Islam can be said to be a religion of "no fear" and expanding as no other. The Koran promises special rewards to whom dies for its faith. There is a better world promised in the beyond for all Muslims in general and more so even for the martyrs. This, for the simple-minded, stigmatized by some fanatic, can rapidly turn them into suicide-bombers or Taliban-type, fearless fighters.

What is going wrong in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Egypt's President Mubarak, a moderate Muslim, said years ago to Bush father and son that military intervention in the Islamic world by the West will never bring any results. Fight (and even catch) Bin Laden (left), another 300 will appear! It's a "Pandora's Box". And Mubarak knows his world. Egypt is under permanent internal threat of Islamic fanatics. So are Pakistan, Indonesia, to mention the most populated.

The problem of the Taliban, extreme "believers and fierce fighters" is that by opposing them they become fiercer. If left alone they will fall back into fighting each other. And so with the Iranians and the Iraqis. Providing the West can stop mixing up oil and "fighting for so-called democracy" (which few Muslims care for), an easier relation between these forces could probably be found.

For this Israel should be convinced (why not by threatening them with the withdrawal of unconditional support?) to play it's full part in de-fusing the powder keg (even nuclear) on which the whole of the Middle East + India/Pakistan are now sitting. And this once and for all. But as long as Israeli leaders can say in public that the US Government (Obama) is "easy to deal with", this can only help the Muslim fanatics in their argument that the USA is against Islam. Obama knows that, so he tried to establish some bridge in his ill-fated Cairo speech which as an only result earned him a much ridiculed Nobel price. Now exactly one year ago. Any results? It's not words that are needed. It's the West which should leave others alone and, as unfortunately now needed, has to learn to better control its frontiers. (Left: Bust of Golda Meir in New York)

The horoscope of Islam's beginnings is an inescapable fact. It can't be changed. What is possible is to take into consideration the inherent tension points, mentioned at the beginning of this post. And act accordingly, not by "patronizing" as the West is terribly inclined to do with others in this world.