Arty Farty Friday ~ Paul Poiret, "King of Fashion"

Sun's on the cusp of Aries/Taurus, and here's an arty character who was born with Sun at 00 Taurus, on 20 April 1879: Paul Poiret, one of the early 1900s' first French fashion designers. Not known for modesty he crowned himself "King of Fashion", used the title for his autobiography published in 1931.

He was artistic in his youth, but though encouraged by his mother and sisters, his father took a dim view of his arty son and put him in a job as assistant to an umbrella maker. Not distracted though, Paul used left over silk remnants of umbrella fabric to make designs from his sketches, miniature dresses for a wooden doll provided by his sisters.

Paul Poiret was to become the most fashionable of Parisian designers during the period from turn of the century to outbreak of World War 1.

From Britannica.com

Poiret was particularly noted for his Neoclassical and Orientalist styles, for advocating the replacement of the corset with the brassiere, and for the introduction of the hobble skirt, a vertical, tight-bottomed style that confined women to mincing steps. “I freed the bust,” boasted Poiret, “and I shackled the legs.”

After serving as a designer in the house of Parisian fashion designer Charles Frederick Worth, Poiret opened a small shop in Paris in 1903. By 1907 he had been instrumental in reviving the Empire style, popular in France during the reign of Napoleon I. Inspired by a widespread interest in Eastern art and Russian ballet, he created flamboyant, theatrical designs. His evening gowns, turbans, and harem pants appeared in brilliant shades of purple, red, orange, green, and blue.

A publication illustrated by artists Paul Iribe, Erte, Louis Barbier, and Georges Lepape became an early visual marketing tool for Poiret’s designs.










Poiret was, it seems, the embodiment of all the traits of the stereotypical fashion designer. He loved to be front and centre of the arty action of Paris, made sure he became part of the inner circle of sought after designers, painters and illustrators of early 20th century France. He threw extravagant parties - but by the 1920s styles and tastes changed, Coco Chanel's elegant tailoring in muted colours had become the new "in thing", and Poiret faced bankruptcy. He died in 1944.

A brief video showing vintage film of Poiret, Paris and some of his designs.

ASTROLOGY



Taurus is ruled by Venus, planet of the arts and of beauty - Sun in Taurus couldn't be more appropriate here, and there's a added spark: Uranus planet of all that's new and different was at 00* Virgo and in exact harmonious trine (120*) to Poiret's Taurean Sun. Little wonder that he set out to give early 20th century women something very different!

Venus at 2* Gemini (sociable and communications sign) in helpful semi-sextile to Sun and creative Neptune in Taurus is a further reflection of Poiret's creativity and natural ability to mingle in the right social circles to further his career and status.

Moon (whatever his time of birth) would have been in Aries along with Mercury and Saturn - an Aries trio of these personal planets = a go-getter, risk taker, person filled with enthusiasm for his chosen route through life.

Jupiter, planet of excess, in its traditional home sign of Pisces and in harmonious sextile (60*)to Sun and Neptune was a possible source of Poiret's inclination to go "over the top" in his style of socialising and related expenditure.

ASTROLOGERS Born with Sun in Taurus

The Sun is about to slide into zodiac sign Taurus. I'll follow a pattern I seem to have set for myself over the past three months of spotlighting astrologers with Sun in sign of the month.

Searching Wikipedia's list of astrologers for any Sun in Taurus astrologers afforded slim pickings. I found three, from very different eras. The earlier two encountered difficulties closely entangled with dramatic events of their own times; the 20th/21st century astrologer is having a much less adventurous ride, for which I'm sure she feels truly thankful!

In date order


William Lilly born 11 May [Old Style 1 May] 1602 in Diseworth, England; died 9 June 1681.

From a good article at Urania Trust

Astrology was extremely popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, although in England there was a lack of important astrological writings until the 17th century, perhaps due to the “malice of the clergy” or the “servile fear” of astrologers, who were uncertain about their legal status.7 Amongst the growing number of amateur and professionals, one name stands out, that of William Lilly, probably the most acclaimed astrologer of his time. The flood of astrological publications from the 1640s onward, as well as the success of Lilly and other astrologers, brought to astrology a “greater vigour, confidence and assertiveness, and (paradoxically) a new respectability.”

Lilly's many predictions, often turning out to be correct, drew much attention, and some problems. During the years of the English Civil War he was thought to be a parliamentarian, but was in hot water more than once with the authorities for apparently helping the royalists. Engravings in his Monarchy and No Monarchy, (1651) showing the Great Plague and the Fire of London caused him to be called to appear before a committee set up to investigate the cause of the Great Fire of London, predicted in his book five years earlier. There was a suspicion that Lilly might have been involved in planning the disaster - but he was not found gulity of any wrongdoing.

Later in his life Lilly studied medicine and was granted a license to practice. From 1670 on he was well-known as a physician as well as an astrologer.

He published 15 major works on astrology as well as 36 almanacs and was consulted by famous individuals of the time. See Answers.com There's another excellent piece at Skyscript by David Plant: The Life and Work of William Lilly

Natal chart at Astrodatabank indicates a very Earthy personality. 4 Planets in Taurus, Moon in Capricorn and Mars in Virgo, with an opposition to Taurus planets from Saturn in Scorpio, and a square from Moon in Capricorn to Jupiter in Airy Libra.

Earthy he may have been, but he had the mix of Water and Air ingredients in his makeup, the presence of which do seem necessary bring forth an astrologer of some note.







Karl Ernst Krafft born 10 May 1900 in Basel, Switzerland; died, died 8 January 1945, was famously (or notoriously), known as "Hitler's astrologer"

Krafft's originally preferred astrological style was in statistical research. He had tried to emulate his idol, Paul Choisnard and continue his work on "astral heredity", without much acclaim or success. In those pre-computer days statistical research had to be a hit-and-miss affair, I guess. Between 1926 and 1930 he turned to traditional natal and mundane astrology, economic prediction, while having some of his older statistical work published in astrological journals of the time.

He moved to Germany in 1937.

From website of Astrological Association of St. Louis

Krafft now entered the large and literate German pre-WWII astrological community as a serious writer. He published his Traité (1939) and abandoned statistical work, having relocated with his wife to Germany and his much-admired National Socialism in 1937.

His descent began with his own telegram to the German Head Office for State Security drawing attention to his prediction of a 1939 Hitler assassination attempt, which had turned out to be accurate. Reich propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels took note, as did deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, and, when Hess flew to Scotland in 1941 on a “peace mission,” Krafft was arrested along with hundreds of other astrologers during “Aktion Hess.” Wilhelm Wulff, later Reich Leader-SSHeinrich Himmler’s personal astrologer, says in Zodiac and Swastika (1973)that “...I had to swear I would no longer work as an astrologer. I was also watched from that moment on.”

Hess’s own astrologer, Ernst Schulte-Strathaus, was also imprisoned, following a pattern established years earlier with the murders of SA chief Ernst Röhm and his astrologer, Dr. Karl-Guenther Heimsoth, in 1934 (David Berlinski, The Secrets of the Vaulted Sky, 2003).

Incorrectly dubbed “Hitler’s pet astrologer” (that was probably Hess, and then Elsbeth Ebertin) by British propagandist astrologer Captain Louis de Wohl, who was a German refugee himself (see Bobrick, The Fated Sky, 2005), Krafft was mainly employed by the Nazis to compose predictive disinformation based on the Nostradamus prophecies until, no longer useful to his employers, he was sent to his fate as an unstable and uncontrollable practitioner of a "presumptive” activity".

His real importance lies in the object lesson his life provides for astrologers today. He became famous in spite of himself. Karl Ernst Krafft died 8 January 1945, en route to Buchenwald concentration camp.

Wilhelm Wulff, one of the few astrologers to survive, says, “National Socialism was smashed and disappeared from the scene. Astrology in Germany, although decades behind the times, remained.”

Another article on this topic ~ Hitler's Astrologer.

Natal chart at Astrodatabank . He had only Sun in Taurus, with more Earthy input from Virgo rising and Saturn in Capricorn. Moon in Airy Libra, Venus in Watery Cancer and a good helping of Fire from Mercury and Mars in Aries, Jupiter and Uranus in Sagittarius. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were all in their signs of rulership, Moon and Venus were in mutual reception - so this was a strong chart. A little more emphasis on the Water element, though, might have afforded Krafft more intuition, and led him away from the danger awaiting him in Nazi Germany.







Deborah Houlding born 14 May 1962, Mansfield, UK. I recognise her as creator of one of the internet's best astrology websites: Skyscript.
From a profile there:

UK astrologer Deborah Houlding has been instrumental in bringing traditional astrological techniques back to the forefront of modern day practice. She was the award-winning editor of the much respected Traditional Astrologer Magazine, founded in 1993 when she also established Ascella Publications to specialise in producing rare and out-of-print traditional astrological texts. Since the late 1980s she has been active in researching the astronomical and symbolic basis of the techniques used in the traditional art of western astrology, from its earliest roots to its contemporary extensions.

Deborah's book The Houses: Temples of the Sky is regarded as an essential text for anyone seeking a truly informed knowledge of the development and use of astrological houses. It is available in translation in Czech, German (awaiting publication) and Italian. Her expert awareness of the techniques of William Lilly and his contemporaries, enabled her to produce a richly annotated reproduction of Lilly's voluminous 17th century classic Christian Astrology, acclaimed for the illuminating explanations that accompany the main body of the text. She is currently preparing a similarly annotated reproduction of Culpeper's 17th century Astrological Judgement of Disease as well as completing a history of classical astrology.

Besides frequent event appearances and the many articles that have appeared in magazines and astrological journals around the world, Deborah hosts and maintains Skyscript, one of the most popular and informative astrology sites on the web. She also leads her own School of Traditional Astrology (STA), which tutors astrologers to a professional level of horary practice by correspondence and residential workshops.

Natal chart at Astrodatabank: I'm not going to presume to interpret the chart of a living astrologer - what impertinence that'd be! Enough to say here that Ms Houlding has only Sun in Taurus, with Moon in Virgo (more Earth) and Cancer (Water) rising. Airy credentials come via Mercury and Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Aquarius (well-equipped in that department); and extra Water from Jupiter in Pisces and Neptune in Scorpio. Mars in Aries gives enough of a Fiery spark to get her work noticed! She has exactly the right astro-equipment, it seems to matter not in which sign or element the Sun resides, as long as it's complemented by some Air and, importantly, Water.

Grace & Fury in Myth and Dance

Last week we attended a performance by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company at our local theatre. Dancers were cross-cultural: from China, Moscow, New Jersey, Korea, Cuba, Japan, and California , their choreographer and artistic director is Nai-Ni Chen who was a renowned traditional dancer in the Republic of China and served on several ambassadorial culture missions around the world. The show was a blend of traditional and modern dance.

Looking through the photographs my husband managed to capture with his pocket camera during the performance brought to mind an old post of mine featuring the Three Graces and The Three Furies. Dug it out, combined an edited version with our photographs.


One of Raphael's paintings depicts The Three Graces. In mythology these were goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, said to rule beauty and charm in nature and humanity. Aglaia represents radiance or splendor. Euphrosyne represents joy. Thalia represents fruitfulness or good cheer.


Which planets might the three sisters personify ? I'd guess Sun for radiance and splendor, Venus and Jupiter for the other two, not sure which is which though.

We all embody a potential for both grace and fury.


Here, with delicate grace the dancers performed Raindrops: Choreographer Nai-Ni chen drew inspiration from her childhood memory of the Taiwanese city in which she was born, Keelong, also known as the "Rain Harbor".



The exquisitely graceful and elegant Peacock Dance. The peacock is considered a sacred bird among the Dai people in the Yunan province. Movements derive from real actions of the peacock - drinking water, walking, running, grooming feathers.
Dancer was Min Zhou.





There was a lovely dance: The Way of Five - Fire which we didn't manage to capture. The photo is from the Dance company's website linked above.

A leaflet provided tells that this was Nai-Ni Chen's first exploration of the ancient Chinese theory that the cycles of creation and destruction correspond to the ever-changing phenomena of nature. the "Five" refers to the five elements: wood, water, fire, metal and earth. Each element as part of the forces of nature, creates another in harmony and destroys another in conflict.

(I wonder why Chinese elements do not include Air, as in astrological elements in western tradition?)




And so to The Furies:

Another trio - The Three Furies, the Greek Erinyes, daughters of Gaia (Earth) sprung from the blood of Uranus could be said to represent the shadow sides of the Three Graces. This painting is by W. Bouguereau Orestes and the Furies. Tisiphone (avenger of blood) Alecto (the implacable) and Megaera (the jealous one). Said to be merciless goddesses of vengance whose punishments continued after death. Which planets might carry the attributes of these three lovelies? Mars, Saturn, and what about "the jealous one"? The Moon, perhaps? I tend to give the Moon a positive interpretation, but in tarot,the Moon card isn't one of the true "goodies". The Moon is changeable, temperamental, could easily be jealous. Yes, I'll choose the Moon to represent "the jealous one".


In dance:
Lu Wen-Long, the Warrior. (A Warrior is nothing if not a symbol of fury!)
This dance is taken from the 500 year old Chinese Kunqu Opera. Legend goes that Lu Wen-Long was abducted from his Han military family by Manchurians, grew up among enemies of his family. After aiding the Manchrians in many victories he defected to become a famous general of his own Han people. The high platform shoes of his costume, and head dress of long bird feathers symbolise a courageous young general. The short white stick symbolises his white horse, and the double spears are his special weapons. Dancer: Yao-Zhong Zhang.





The Lion Dance (not exactly furious though) - Said to have originated in the Tang Dynasty 3,000 years ago. Seen as a prayer of peace because during the dance a child playfully leads a beast. Child and beast playing together symbolises harmony on earth. The Lion Dance is always performed at Chinese New Year. there are many different styles of the Lion Dance, this was the northern style.



The show finished with a colourful dance, Festival, based on the Dragon Boat summer festival. The spinning, floating ribbons symbolise prosperity of the village.

Mitt Romney - What's Not to Like ?

Writers, TV pundits, bloggers and commenters around the net are trying to drum up interest, excitement, angst or disgust at the fact that Mitt Romney seems certain to be the Republican presidential candidate in November's General Election. Labels attached to Romney by most liberal-types so far have been: boring, stiff, a flip-flopper, a liar (goes with the territory and is not exclusive to Republicans), doesn't understand women, out of touch with the 99%, along with an assortment of other unfortunate real and imaginary traits. Republican-types, though possibly secretly seeing Romney as uninspiring, try to focus on his competency in business, which, they say is key to helping bail out the sinking ship we all inhabit at present.

Personally, I'm relieved that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee, bearing in mind the alternatives who've alternately entertained or scared the pants off us over recent months.

Looking at Romney's natal chart, and trusting my own astro-antenna, I cannot bring myself dislike the guy or see him as likely to be any worse a choice than for President Obama to win a second term. Yeah, yeah (to my husband) Supreme Court picks - I know! Dang! But it'll make not a shred of difference who you and I vote for in November, because Oklahoma, as a state, will vote strongly for any Republican candidate on two legs - it's the default position of everyone and his 4-legged dog in this nutty state.

A benefit of having Mitt Romney win in November would be that in 2016 the political pendulum would swing back, a Democrat would be a near certainty to win then, and by 2016 there's a chance that somebody with real left-wing tendencies, someone who would dare to break rank and remain unharnessed, not obligated to corporate masters, might come forward, in stark contrast to the center-right tendencies of our current so-called "Democratic" corporate-owned president. Or, even....a strongly backed by the public new third party could have arisen, perhaps a much-needed amalgamation of all the would-be third parties we have in the shadows at present. Whereas, if we were to see a second Obama term now, the Republicans would be lining up again in 2016, to catch the then almost inevitable political pendulum swing. At that point there may not be anyone as mild as Romney in the mix.

For any passing reader seeking a good astrological profile of Mitt Romney see Solaris Astrology's Mitt Romney Swimming with the Tide.

Music Monday ~ GOTYE

While watching last week's edition of American Idol I noticed mention of someone or something called "gotye". Being completely out of the loop of today's popular music we both, husband and I, gave each other a puzzled look, then forgot all about it. The name, somehow, came up on my radar again while sitting at the computer, so this time I Googled.

Gotye, it appears, is stage name of Belgian-born Australian musician Wouter/Walter De Backer. (Gotye is pronounced Gaultier, as in the name of the fashion designer.) Gotye's lucky star has suddenly started to shine in the pop music world. His song Somebody That I Used To Know, described as "a hypnotic, xylophone-driven heartbreak duet", has reached the number one spot on various charts in 13 countries. The song found its way into the wider public consciousness via many millions of hits on a You Tube presentation where Gotye and female vocalist Kimbra appear nude, though body-painted, in a video featuring the song.



After I'd drafted this post we caught Gotye and Kimbra on Saturday Night Live. A refreshing change from SNL's usual musical fare, well worth a listen, more "organic" than anything I've seen from today's pop world for quite a while. Maybe the synthetic Gaga, Perry and their ilk are now played out - had their day.

From a couple of articles online (here and here) I gather that Gotye is: a) a perfectionist and b) a musician/singer/songwriter whose aim is to produce something different, and "arty", using "sampling" techniques and unusual instrumentation. His musical style is likened to past artists such as Peter Gabriel, George Michael, and Hall & Oates.

At 31, Gotye has been composing and performing for years, but has only now managed to hit the right balance of arty and unusual while still remaining accessible to the masses.

I don't have a time of birth for Gotye, he was born on 21 May 1980 in Bruges, Belgium, and has lived in Australia since the age of two.



His natal chart, set for 12 noon, clearly indicates his perfectionist traits via Jupiter, Mars and Saturn all in the perfectionst's sign Virgo. Natal Sun and Mercury in writer/communicator sign Gemini is no surprise either. Planet of the arts, Venus, in sensitive, sentimental Cancer semi-sextile Sun/Mercury, and sextile Jupiter/Mars in Virgo, ties up an apt astro-circuit for this fast-rising musical phenomenon.

Without his time of birth it's not possible to note where Uranus (the unusual/unexpected) falls in relation to the angles of the chart, either natally or when re-located to Australia, but I'd bet that it's close to one of the angles.

HUMANS : RISEN APES of PLANET EARTH

"But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses."
~ Robert Ardrey, African Genesis

I'd have to argue strongly with the last sentence of that otherwise insightful quotation. I'd say that the human species of planet Earth is known among the stars, if at all, by the insanity of its headlong rush towards its own destruction.

During the past week we've watched a 3-DVD set of Holocaust. This was a TV mini-series first aired in 1978, and has been, without doubt, the most painful to watch of any film I've seen in my entire life. I knew I couldn't, and shouldn't, "chicken out" part-way through, though.

Watching Holocaust has reminded me (if I needed to be reminded) that the human race is rotten at its core. Should we need even more evidence, we can look to news items from Sudan, Congo, Tibet, or a long, long list of historical instances of horrific dealings, human against human, throughout our relatively short tenancy of planet Earth. And if, at some point, a particular group or "tribe" appears to be on the side wearing the white hats and fighting evil - it's part of the pattern to see that same "tribe" slickly ducking into the black hats of oppressors and finding them a nice snug fit - in no time at all.

Because of our shared rotten core, over the centuries a few rare individuals, a scant few who must carry a mutant, sane and peaceful gene, have tried to point out a better way for humans to live. What happened? Their followers formed "tribes", the "tribes" killed one another.

Humans, in spite of their common species, tend always to gravitate into groups, "tribes". This has to be in our genes, our DNA. The "tribe" effect even happens in astrology. Sun sign astrology retains its hold on fans because so many wish to categorise themselves and others by "star signs", and find it hard to get out of that rut. When they widen their knowledge of the subject, a broadening of perspective and better understanding of themselves and others usually follows. The same broadening of perspective would surely be available in all areas where a "tribal" mentality persists?

"Our true nationality is mankind", wrote H.G. Wells, long ago. He was well ahead of the curve! I've often thought that we - we as in the human race - will not fully realise and embrace our common humanity until we are faced with "other" - living beings not of planet Earth. That could happen tomorrow - or never. I hope we shall not ever be visited by "other" though, because, if humans' past record is anything to go by, "other" would not be welcomed - they would be destroyed.

There isn't a solution, nothing to be done but to do our best with what nature has given us. There never will be a solution. Our particular mix of stardust ingredients have formed, and will continue to form, the complexities of our human nature and our, probably complex, destiny. Our species was an unfortunate accident of Nature.

“This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten.”
~D.H. Lawrence

Arty Farty Friday ~ Garth Williams, illustrator of children's books

Children's book illustrators are "a breed apart" in the art world. Garth Williams was one such, and really, his name should be better known.

He was a mid-April Aries-type, born
16 April 1912; he died in 1996. Williams sort of "fell into" the work of illustrating children's books. Both his parents were British artists who moved around quite a lot: New York, Canada, England. His first aim was to be an architect, but the Great Depression, and later World War 2 got in the way of his ambition.

He studied portraiture and sculpture.

After the war, in the USA, he produced art work for The New Yorker. His work must have caught the eye of E.B. White, author of Stuart Little - illustrating this book was Garth William's entrance into the world of children's book illustrating, a world in which he stayed from 1945 for the rest of his professional life. His work on E.B. White's Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, followed by a commission to illustrate a set of eight books in Laura Ingall Wilder's Little House series cemented his reputation and name among children's authors - if not in the minds of his young readership.






His style is easily recognisable, and admired by both young and older fans for his signature ability to endow animal faces and bodies with recognisable human emotions, gestures and body language, without this seeming to be in any way false.






He wrote a few children's stories himself, only one of these achieved much publicity. The Rabbits’ Wedding, published in 1958. It raised a few hackles because he had depicted, quite innocently, a marriage between a white rabbit and a black rabbit. The book was castigated, even burned, in the American South, an area still resisting the desegregation movement. His book became a best seller.
Williams’ response:

“The Rabbits’ Wedding has no political significance. I was completely unaware that animals with white fur were considered blood relations of white human beings. It was written for children from two to five who will understand it perfectly. It was not written for adults, who will not understand it because it is only about a soft furry love and has no hidden messages of hate.” ( quote from Time.com)

There are hints in various biographical articles that his life, outside of illustrating, may not have been the innocent and serenely romantic haven often depicted in his work. From a piece at Answers.com :

Although he avoided sentimentality, his work, especially when the subjects are animals, often suggests Romantic escapism—life is simple; the characters are charming and innocent. This may have been Williams's artistic counter to his own rather chaotic personal life: the tragedies and displacements of World War II, his peripatetic wanderings, and his four marriages.

And at Werewolf:

Williams married four times, and helped nurse one of his wives through a terminal illness. Reading his own account of his life in the Something about the Author series, it is striking that his succession of wives tended to be extremely young – one, a ward of the family, another a young woman with polio – when he married them. In the 1960s and 1970s, his restless, adventurous spirit took him to Mexico, where he bought the ruins of an abandoned 400 year old silver mine, and rebuilt the adjacent villa as his home and studio. Reportedly, the villa contained an internal waterfall and a dining room that could seat up to 150 people.

In many such respects, Williams seems to have been untouched by age, and retained his youthful vision until the end of his life. Only half jokingly at 80, when one interviewer noted that his youngest daughter was now 50 years old, Williams reportedly replied : “ But how can that be – when I’m only 42 !”

A good biographical article on Garth Williams is at Through the Magic Door

Garth Williams' natal chart is set for 12 noon as birth time isn't known.




He was a quadruple Aries with both Sun and Moon in that sign as well as Mercury and Venus. How this translated in his personal life isn't known, but it doesn't compute too clearly with the style of his illustration. Neither does Uranus in its home sign Aquarius, sitting in harmonious sextile to Venus, planet of art. His artwork isn't the least bit Uranian.
His Arien and Uranian traits must have manifested in his non-professional life. 4 wives, reportedly bohemian lifestyle, and "restless, adventurous spirit" - there ya go - thats a quadruple Aries and Uranus in Aquarius!

For astrological reflection of his art style see Saturn in Taurus (sign ruled by Venus planet of art) in harmonious sextile to Neptune (creativity) in Cancer (sentimental, nurturing, romantic).

Jupiter in Sagittarius, its home sign clearly links to his peripatetic lifestory: USA, Canada, UK, Mexico.

Beginnings....

A few very Aries-related items stand out in Wikipedia's list of 12 April events through the years.
Aries = initiating, leading, firsts, beginnings.....





12 April 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain.

When the first flag representing Britain was introduced on the proclamation of King James I in 1606, it became known simply as "the British flag" or "the flag of Britain". The royal proclamation gave no distinctive name to the new flag. The word "jack" was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag. By 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. One theory goes that for some years it would have been called just "the Jack", or "Jack flag", or "the King's Jack", but by 1674, while formally referred to as "His Majesty's Jack", it was commonly called the Union Jack, and this was officially acknowledged. (Wikipedia)



12 April 1861 American Civil War: Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina became The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861). The bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter began the American Civil War



12 April 1935 – First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter. It was one of the first British aircraft to have all-metal stressed-skin construction, to utilise retractable landing gear, flaps, powered gun turret and variable pitch propellers. Bristol Blenheims lost more aircrews than any other aircraft in World War 2. (Photo from http://www.hq.wwiionline.com/profiles/blenheim.shtml)


12 April 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
From HERE: Thanks to Frank Whittle, the world has shrunk. We have all become travellers. We are all the beneficiaries of this modest Warwickshire genius who took on the aviation establishment and changed the world that day. As Churchill noted at the time: ‘Get me a thousand Whittles.’








12 April 1961 – The Russian (Soviet) cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1). Colonel Gagarin died on 27 March 1968 when the MiG-15 he was piloting crashed near Moscow.













12 April 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia)on the STS-1 mission. It completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew members were killed

Dystopian, Plutonic/Scorpionic and Teenaged.

The other day I came accross a mention of the growth in recent years of a new sub-genre in the Young Adult Fiction category: Young Adult dystopian novels. A selection of such novels, with mini-synopses, is included in a list at Bart's Bookshelf.

What all these have in common, of course, is that the novels' main characters are all teenagers, struggling to live and survive in worlds filled with difficulty and oppressive elements of one sort or another. These assorted difficulties and challenges possibly stand as metaphors for problems teenage readers are experiencing in their own lives, in (relatively) non-dystopian surroundings.

I'd guess that today's young people, growing up in a world of Facebook, Twitter, wall-to-wall internet, video games, laptops, smartphones, i-pads etc.etc. would not be content to read the kinds of books my generation was reading at their age. Although.....actually, thinking back, my favourite reading theme at that age was about escape from prisoner-of-war camps during World War 2 - the basic feel of a need to escape, from something, was still there.

The recent crop of YA dystopian novels are, presumably, written by adults. Adult authors would seem to be tapping into some communal need to exhale some of the crappy stuff going on all around them, every day, as well as filling a desire of young readers who need an escape valve for their own "issues".

We shouldn't be surprised to see some of these novels adapted for the cinema soon, following today's current leader, The Hunger Games. Teenage dystopia is, in fashionista-speak, "the new black".

Astrologically - anything to be said? Hmmmmm - Pluto (things dark and scary) transited its sign of rulership, Scorpio (dark and scary) roughly 1984 to 1995, those years, or at least the middle to end of the span, cover the birth years of the generation now among the targeted readers of Young Adult dystopian novels. A young readership probably already satiated and bored of Twilight's (no relation) tales of vampires or werewolves, has moved on now to Dark Dystopia.

Che Guevara ~ Cans of Worms....

Mention of the character "Che" in Broadway's new version of Evita (yesterday's post) had me pondering on the real Che - Guevara - and his natal chart. This has been the subject of confusion - still is according to some websites.

Originally Che Guevara was thought to have been born on 14 June 1928, a date still carried by some online sources. It seems, though, that his mother, during research for a biography of Che, admitted that his birthdate had been adjusted to avoid embarrassment over his having been conceived before his mother and father were married. His real birthdate is, according to his mother's word, 14 May 1928, and according to one source to have taken place at around dawn that day.

Astrodatabank has Che's birth time set for 3.05 AM, which seems a little early for dawn, but is perhaps a rectification. It does put Aries ascending - very appropriate - but even more apt is Uranus on the ascendant at 6 Aries. Astrodatabank's brief bio and chart are here (click on chart illustration for more detail).

A birth date of 14 May tells us that his natal Sun was in Taurus, which doesn't immediately bring to mind a revolutionary individual - more likely an artist or musician, albeit a fairly stubborn one. Everything we know about Che has to rely upon his Fiery Aries rising, with revolutionary Uranus close to the ascendant angle.

But....there's something else to consider, something that I've not seen mentioned anywhere, so far: Che was born in Argentina, so in the southern hemisphere. Here's a can of worms to open!

I recall contributing to debates online, some years ago, about whether the zodiac signs might "flip" in the southern hemisphere, or become modified, be in some way different from their interpretation in the northern hemishere. The northern hemisphere, after all, is where the interpretations were first developed. There was never any unanimous decision from these discussions. I do remember the contributions of an astrologer who lived in the southern hemisphere, and had spent time in the northern hemisphere, telling us that she had definitely sensed a difference in the way the signs manifested in the personality from one hemisphere to the other. Not a complete "flip" to the opposite sign (i.e. Taurus to Scorpio, Aquarius to Leo etc.) but a certain modification.

Che, to my way of thinking, would be a good example of a complete "flip" taking place: Sun in Taurus to Sun in Scorpio. He seems far more Scorpionic than Taurean, yet there are no planets in Scorpio in his natal chart as calculated for the northern hemisphere. Flipping the rising sign would bring Libra to the ascending degre. Che was reported to have had a charming, charismatic personality.....that fits. Uranus would still be on an angle, so still strong, on the descending angle.

Anyway - it's something to chew on..... I intend to do so!