We heard mixed reports about the movie "Into the Wild". An on-line Flickr friend of my husband recommended the movie to him, presumably for its photography, but also because of a photograph of my husband's showing an abandoned 'bus - echoing part of the movie's storyline. My husband's daughter told us that she didn't enjoy the movie at all and advised giving it a wide berth, though her husband had enjoyed it.
We found the DVD and watched it Sunday evening. Our reactions were a mixture of the two reports.
Details of "Into the Wild', a book by Jon Krakauer, and film directed by Sean Penn, based on a true story, can be found at Wikipedia HERE.
The movie made me feel very angry with Christopher McCandless, whose story it tells. I couldn't see one admirable characteristic in the young man who had had every advantage but chose to throw everything away and virtually commit suicide. Perhaps that was his subconscious intention.
He seemed to me to be filled with hatred - for anything and everything - but with no apparent reason, other than the fact that his parents had relationship problems. The guy was highly intelligent, an A student with opportunity to go to Harvard Law School, parents who financed him generously, a loving sister and a potentially bright future. Now I can understand idealism, I have Sun in Aquarius, but his particular kind of idealism was purely selfish, judgmental, cold, and cruel to those who loved him, however flawed they may have been. Had he followed a different path his idealism could have been used to help people in need, rather than to destroy himself.
Although McCandless was said to be highly intelligent, he ventured into the wilds of Alaska without even carrying a map of the area. A map could have saved his life. Did he really have a subconscious death-wish ? Is there any indication of it in his natal chart?
Christopher McCandless was born 12 February 1968, in Annandale, Virginia. He died of starvation in Alaska on 18 August 1992. I can find no time of birth, so his ascendant sign and house positions remain a mystery, as does the exact position of natal Moon.
A Sun Aquarian! Wouldn't you know it? There was certainly rebellion and no little eccentricity in his actions and attitudes.
If I had to pinpoint aspects which could account for this person's state of mind I'd go for Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus in Virgo opposing or quincuncx his Sun and Mercury in Aquarius. The two outer planets, Pluto and Uranus, 6 degrees apart in Virgo, lie quincunx Sun/Mercury. Jupter lies in opposition to Mercury. Quincunx (150 degree aspect) is an uneasy mix - the two signs involved have no understanding of each other, so there's constant irritation. Uranus is ruler of his Aquarius Sun, which is also squared by Neptune in Scorpio. Therefore McCandless's Sun and Mercury - his ego, his "self" and his mental modes are being constantly challenged or irritated by all three outer planets as well as Jupiter. This could well account for the inner conflict he suffered. His natal Mars at 26 Pisces is directly opposed by Pluto and Uranus. Without this particular aspect perhaps Chris McCandless would have used his undoubted intelligence to work through his conflicts in a different manner. Mars the fighter, under challenge from Pluto and Uranus, brought the physical firmly into play.
Time of birth would bring everything into much clearer focus. I notice, looking at the 12 February 1968 entry in Wikipedia, that day is also the birthday of, among others, movie actor Josh Brolin.
One could argue that, if those chart positions resulted in such conflict for one person, why hasn't a similar pattern emerged in the lives of everyone else born the same date? This is where time of birth makes such an enormous difference, it defines the angles in the chart - the ascendant, midheaven and equally importantly the exact Moon position. Others born on 12 February 1968 will deal with inborn conflicts in very different ways, according to their external circumstances - astrology isn't the only factor to consider, but the seeds of conflict will be present in all cases.
1968 was a pretty tumultuous year in the USA - the position of those outer planets probably had a lot to do with the atmosphere overall. I even surprised myself when I turned back to an earlier blog post "1968, The Year That Rocked the World". That year certainly left its trademark on several of its infamous natives, as well as on Christopher McCandless.
We found the DVD and watched it Sunday evening. Our reactions were a mixture of the two reports.
Details of "Into the Wild', a book by Jon Krakauer, and film directed by Sean Penn, based on a true story, can be found at Wikipedia HERE.
The movie made me feel very angry with Christopher McCandless, whose story it tells. I couldn't see one admirable characteristic in the young man who had had every advantage but chose to throw everything away and virtually commit suicide. Perhaps that was his subconscious intention.
He seemed to me to be filled with hatred - for anything and everything - but with no apparent reason, other than the fact that his parents had relationship problems. The guy was highly intelligent, an A student with opportunity to go to Harvard Law School, parents who financed him generously, a loving sister and a potentially bright future. Now I can understand idealism, I have Sun in Aquarius, but his particular kind of idealism was purely selfish, judgmental, cold, and cruel to those who loved him, however flawed they may have been. Had he followed a different path his idealism could have been used to help people in need, rather than to destroy himself.
Although McCandless was said to be highly intelligent, he ventured into the wilds of Alaska without even carrying a map of the area. A map could have saved his life. Did he really have a subconscious death-wish ? Is there any indication of it in his natal chart?
Christopher McCandless was born 12 February 1968, in Annandale, Virginia. He died of starvation in Alaska on 18 August 1992. I can find no time of birth, so his ascendant sign and house positions remain a mystery, as does the exact position of natal Moon.
A Sun Aquarian! Wouldn't you know it? There was certainly rebellion and no little eccentricity in his actions and attitudes.
If I had to pinpoint aspects which could account for this person's state of mind I'd go for Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus in Virgo opposing or quincuncx his Sun and Mercury in Aquarius. The two outer planets, Pluto and Uranus, 6 degrees apart in Virgo, lie quincunx Sun/Mercury. Jupter lies in opposition to Mercury. Quincunx (150 degree aspect) is an uneasy mix - the two signs involved have no understanding of each other, so there's constant irritation. Uranus is ruler of his Aquarius Sun, which is also squared by Neptune in Scorpio. Therefore McCandless's Sun and Mercury - his ego, his "self" and his mental modes are being constantly challenged or irritated by all three outer planets as well as Jupiter. This could well account for the inner conflict he suffered. His natal Mars at 26 Pisces is directly opposed by Pluto and Uranus. Without this particular aspect perhaps Chris McCandless would have used his undoubted intelligence to work through his conflicts in a different manner. Mars the fighter, under challenge from Pluto and Uranus, brought the physical firmly into play.
Time of birth would bring everything into much clearer focus. I notice, looking at the 12 February 1968 entry in Wikipedia, that day is also the birthday of, among others, movie actor Josh Brolin.
One could argue that, if those chart positions resulted in such conflict for one person, why hasn't a similar pattern emerged in the lives of everyone else born the same date? This is where time of birth makes such an enormous difference, it defines the angles in the chart - the ascendant, midheaven and equally importantly the exact Moon position. Others born on 12 February 1968 will deal with inborn conflicts in very different ways, according to their external circumstances - astrology isn't the only factor to consider, but the seeds of conflict will be present in all cases.
1968 was a pretty tumultuous year in the USA - the position of those outer planets probably had a lot to do with the atmosphere overall. I even surprised myself when I turned back to an earlier blog post "1968, The Year That Rocked the World". That year certainly left its trademark on several of its infamous natives, as well as on Christopher McCandless.
