Saturday & Sundry Astrological Expectations

Finely drawn characters in books and movies sometimes tempt me to surmise on their astrology. It's a fun way to exercise and strengthen the astrological muscle. Off the top of my head I recall writing posts in that vein about characters from Gone With the Wind; Little Women; A Tale of Two Cities; maybe others too.

Gone with the Wind Zodiacal Connection
Little Women
A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton.

We watched the 2012 film version of Dickens' novel Great Expectations (via Netflix) this week, and it had me pondering on predominant signs and planets for one or two of the novel's main characters. There have been numerous films, mini-series, stage versions of the novel, I've seen a couple of different ones. The 2012 film packs a lot into 2hrs 8 mins, this is a nice version, but David Lean's film from 1946 still lurks in memory, which must mean that the old one had made a very deep impression.

Anyway...on to the characters' characters, astrologically speaking:

Pip ~ Though he's the tale's leading character he comes across as a tad colourless at times, when compared with the rest of the bunch. One telling characteristic of his was his early eagerness to "become a gentleman", to get away from his humble beginnings in a blacksmith's family. Sun in Leo perhaps? Yet Pip wasn't really yer typically bright Leo go-getter, not at first anyway. Leo Moon might be a better fit, with Sun in Pisces - he was always a bit of a romantic dreamer. His stroke of luck, in being able to follow his dreams, funded by an initially anonymous benefactor smells of Jupiter - in first house perhaps, or at mid-heaven.

“The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I love her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection.”

―"Pip" in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

Estella ~ In childhood and beyond she was evilly manipulated by Miss Havisham, taught to grow up cold, uncaring, completely without empathy or appreciation of love, so that she would wreak pain on men: Miss Havisham's twisted method of revenge. Difficult one this. Estella would doubtless have become a quite different person altogether had she grown up away from Miss Haversham's influence, and within an average family environment. She didn't crumble though, so must have been, astrologically, made of fairly sturdy stuff. Taurus I'll guess, for either Sun or Moon, or even for both. She was beautiful, Taurus is ruled by Venus, though is still one of the sturdiest of signs.

 Miss Havisham & Pip by Marcus Stone

Miss Havisham ~ Bitter and twisted by her experience of being jilted, turned eccentric and determined to have revenge on men by grooming a young Estella to grow up cold-hearted, unable to feel any emotion. She had stopped all the clocks in her mansion, still wore her wedding gown and lived among her wedding decor many years after the event. Saturn (restriction) Scorpio (dark, obsessive), Uranus (eccentricity). How about Sun in Cancer (Cancer = known to withdraw when in danger of hurt) with Saturn close-by, Scorpio rising, Uranus in first house?

Joe Gargery ~ Pip's relative and father figure. Down-to-earth, simple, patient, generous and good-natured, hard-working blacksmith. Loved, as he would often say, "to have a lark". Capricorn Sun, Mercury in Sagittarius, perhaps.

Magwitch ~ The convict who became Pip's benefactor, after having made a fortune in Australia. Mixture of Scorpio and Sagittarius is the best I can come up with for him. His eternal gratitude to Pip, for a comparatively small amount of help when in dire need, was so profound that Magwitch must have possessed unusual depths of feeling, despite a hardened criminal background.

DICKENS' 200th

Google's pretty header today reminded me that it's the 200th anniversary of the day Charles Dickens came into the world. I wrote a post about him, and his natal, chart in 2010, here's a link to it and to comments received then:

CHARLES DICKENS ~ Socialist? Nobleman? Moody?

Dickens' Sydney Carton (Tale of 2 Cities) ~ A Speculative Natal Chart

Syndey Carton from A Tale of Two Cities is, for me, Dickens' most memorable character - and that's saying a lot, for the author created so many vivid characters.

Next month will see the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth, by the way.

I got to wondering about a (fictional) natal chart for Sydney Carton. I can find no hint of when he was said to have been born. We know that he was English, practiced law in London - so "born in London" will suffice for this purpose. We know from Dickens' descriptions that Carton, though a barrister of early promise and sharp intellect, was unmotivated, the "idlest and most unpromising of men", and "a problem of carelessness and recklessness". We come to realise that Carton is, if not an actual alcoholic, then well on his way to it. He is often morose, says at one point, "I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me" . However, in the course of the story's unfolding we see that he is capable of a secret deep unrequited and eventually tragic love. As a result he sees his saving grace being the ability to sacrifice himself for this love. We read Carton's famous last words:

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Let's see then......Which Sun sign fits the stereotype? I'm going with Sun in Pisces, ruled by Neptune. I'll need an actual date to construct a chart. We don't know Carton's age, but we do have dates for historic events which form the setting of the novel, and likely dates for many events detailed. The court case when Sydney Carton saves Charles Darnay, by pointing out that he and Darnay are so alike that a witness could not possibly be certain he saw Darnay at a crucial time, is said be set in 1780. The last scene of the novel when Carton goes to the guillotine is set in 1793. I'm guessing that Carton would have been around age 35 in 1780, the time of the court hearing when Darnay was being tried for treason. This gives a birth year of 1745. A speculative birth date, with Sun in Pisces: 18 March 1745, using 12 noon brings up:




I like it! Look at Saturn and Mars opposing his late Pisces Sun - these two traditional "malefics" would act on a normally gentle Pisces Sun, driving it to melancholy - and likely to drink. Neptune, Pisces ruler is in sensitive Cancer and forms a Grand Trine on Water signs with Jupiter in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces - a powerful harmonious emotional circuit - but note that Pluto is conjunct Jupiter, bringing a dark and secretive element into the circuit. Mercury in Pisces and Uranus in is own sign Aquarius are in semisextile, linking in a bit of the unexpected, a bit of eccentricity.

Moon might have been in Libra or in Virgo depending on time of birth - I'd go for Libra, representing a basic feeling of decency beneath an unfortunate exterior.

A fitting rising sign? Let's see......the way he was seen by others - a bit of a slob, generally unpleasant, hiding his true worth, both mentally and morally....how about Scorpio (the duality of the scorpion and the eagle) rising putting Pluto/Jupiter on the ascendant?


Here's an extra tidbit of symbolism used by Charles Dickens via the character's name. Sydney derives from (Norman) French. Saint Denis (from Latin Dionysius) would be pronounced something like "S'Deni', which in English became Sidney. Dionysus aka Bacchus, Greek god of wine, represents Carton's alcoholism. Saint Denis, patron saint of Paris and a martyr who also by decapitation an echo of Carton's death at the guillotine.

A Tale of Two Cities has been presented on film, stage (as a musical), radio and TV numerous times over the years. Sydney Carton has been played by, among many others, Ronald Colman, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Wyngarde, Orson Welles; and my own favourite portrayal by James Wilby (right) in a 1989 UK TV mini-series.

To end this post, the wonderful words which begin the novel~~

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoc of belief, it was the epoc of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

CHARLES DICKENS ~ Socialist? Nobleman? Moody?

An article and string of comments touching on Charles Dickens set me thinking about this famous author the other day. The Spirit of Scrooge by Caroline Hamilton (Article and comments HERE).

One commenter had Dickens down as "a socialist", another as "one of the rich nobility". Both ideas are understandable but in truth way off the mark. Astrodatabank offers an outline biography, highlighting aspects of his personality.

He was certainly not born into a noble family. His father worked in the Navy Pay Office and spent time in debtor's prison. Charles had to do a stint in a shoe-blacking factory at one point in his young life, and found out first-hand what life was like for poor working-class people in 19th century London - and in a newly industrialised England generally. What he experienced and saw must have affected him deeply because reflections of it appear in many of his novels, written decades later.

Dickens became independently wealthy through his writings, and a husband and father of 10 (though 1 child died). He abandoned his wife and family for the company of younger women - so he was not exactly the paragon of socialistic virtue we might like to imagine. Astrodatabank's research led to a picture of him as "a moody man". His moods may have been rooted in an uncertain life as a child, or in an inbuilt weakness of character which led him to abandon his large family and his wife who was also prone to bouts of depression (quite understandable, I'd say, after bearing 10 wee ones!)

Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 at 7:50 PM ("A" rating for birth time at Astrodatabank, so it's reasonably reliable).



His natal Sun in socially-conscious Aquarius lends credence to an underlying concern about the injustices of his time - in spite of his questionable characteristics with regard to wife and family.

Moon in philosophical Sagittarius conjunct creative Neptune is a helpful position for a writer.

Mercury, the writer's planet, is in helpful sextile to Uranus (the rebel) and both planets make quincunx (150*) aspects to Jupiter (publishing) forming a configuration known as a Yod (Finger of Fate). This Yod describes his professional life well - writer with rebellious/socialistic ideas funelling through to millions of readers via (Jupiter) publication, in his lifetime and for long, long after.

If time of birth is near correct, Virgo was rising as Dickens came into the world. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, planet of writing and communication.

Pluto and Venus were both close to the Pisces descendant angle giving them significant strength in his personality, especially with regard to relationships.
Pluto has dark connotations, Venus relates to love and the arts. Perhaps his moodiness stems mainly from Pluto's strong position - or perhaps from the challenging square aspect between Saturn and Mars. These two planets have some negative attributes, and when found in antagonising angle to one another are unlikely to bring forth much comfort and joy.

Speaking of comfort and joy - leading us on to Christmas, Dickens featured the festival in a couple of his best known novels A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers. His Saturn square Mars describes Scrooge from A Christmas Carol quite well, and Mr. Pickwick is, for sure, Jupiter personified (at the apex of that Yod)!

"External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty......
Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."
- A Christmas Carol.






"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"
- The Pickwick Papers.