Renaissance Man ~ Renaissance Woman: Peter Weller, Barbra Streisand

Renaissance Man: a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas.

Peter Weller, best known for his starring role in RoboCop, but has appeared in a gaggle of other sci-fi TV shows (Odyssey 5 - see yesterday's post - is one example), run of the mill movies, and some oddities such as Naked Lunch in which he played William S. Burroughs. He's recently joined the cast of Showtime's Dexter. But more than this, Weller has directed for TV, writes for travel magazines, hosted his own series, Engineering Empires, on the History Channel. He also holds a master’s degree in Italian Renaissance art history, is self taught on the history of late Republican-early Empire Ancient Rome, developed and teaches a course, ‘Hollywood and the Roman Empire’ at Syracuse University, and conducts field trips for Syracuse University in Florence. Weller, in 2007, was finishing a Ph.D. at UCLA, in the history of fifteenth-century Venetian art, with a minor in Ancient Greek and Roman art. All of that, as well as playing jazz trumpet in a bebop sextet in Los Angeles. (More here)

Renaissance man ? I guess!!

Peter Weller was born on 24 June 1947 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin at 4.47 AM (Astrodatabank).

Any indication of his multi-talented nature, draw towards sci-fi roles, art, ancient history, jazz?



Ascendant, Sun and Mercury in Cancer connect to Weller's love of history. I'm not clear exactly why Cancer connects to history. It's probably to do with roots. Cancer needs roots, home, family etc. and what is history but a deeper level of that same thing?

Futuristic Uranus in Gemini sits ten degrees from Sun in one direction and ten degrees from Venus in Gemini in the other. Ten degrees, though not representing a tight conjunction, in this case provides a kind of planetary sandwich linking a Cancerian love of history with a draw to comminication of all kinds (Gemini), art, music (Venus) and futuristic endeavours and jazz (Uranus).

Moon in Virgo indicates that he's meticulous as well as versatile - that's a fairly unusual, and valuable combination! Often versatility comes with a need to skim over a variety of interests, studies, hobbies, becoming competent enough to get by in each but without delving too deeply, just enough to satisfy a restless mind. Not so in Weller's case. His Virgo Moon will insist on going all the way in any and all endeavours. He must have felt particularly frustrated by the unplanned, sudden cut-off of showtime's Odyssey 5.



Barbra Streisand easily qualifies for the title Renaissance Woman. Singer, actress, writer, director, producer, with countless awards for her many albums and movie roles. Possibly the best known of all her film roles was Funny Girl, both the Broadway and film version for which she won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress, the first of two Oscars. Her film hits continued with Hello Dolly, 1969, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1970 and The Way We Were, 1973. She starred in and produced A Star is Born in 1976. The Prince of Tides was the first motion picture directed by its female star ever to receive a Best Director nomination from the Directors Guild of America as well as seven Academy Award nominations. With Yentl, which took 14 years of development and persistence, she became the first woman ever to produce, direct, write and star in a major motion picture.

She hasn't plumbed the full depth of her talent yet though. Not content with such incredible success in multiple spheres, Ms Streisand has written and illustrated with her own photographs: My Passion for Design. In addition to her other talents she has become a connoisseur of Art Nouveau furniture and vintage clothing, and has designed and overseen the construction of a luxurious compound in Malibu. Her design notes are said to show that she brought to her design projects the same intense perfectionism that she brought to her movies, recordings and concerts. She has become an expert on the design periods that she’s passionate about, such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco. (See here.)



Barbra Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York on 24 April 1942 at 5:08 AM (Astrodatabank).



With four planets, including Sun in Taurus - the Earth sign ruled by Venus planet of music and the arts in general, her gravitation to, and talent for, singing is no surprise. These Taurus planets also reflect a love of art... and worldly security.
A quote credited to her: "I can't stand to see red in my profit-or-loss column. I'm Taurus the bull, so I react to red. If I see it, I sell my stocks quickly."

Midheaven point in Capricorn underlines a good business head - her need for, and talent in, obtaining financial security.

Moon in Leo and Aries rising - without these placements I guarantee the world wouldn't not be nearly as aware of Barbra Streisand as it is, and has been for decades. Leo and Aries add the fire essential for pushing the self into the spotlight and, at times, into areas where others have not yet trod. Saturn conjunct Uranus in Taurus adds a touch of the unexpected and daring to her undeniable Earthy work ethic. Moon in Leo conjunct Pluto puts power into her showmanship and glorying in her place in the limelight. Moon conjunct Pluto in Leo might also be translated as "Diva" - a term often applied to Ms Streisand.

Neptune (creativity) in (perfectionist) Virgo is in harmonious trine to the Saturn/Uranus conjunction describing well Ms Streisand's legendary demand for perfection in all her endeavours.


Similarities between the two charts which might relate to Renaissance-ness:

The Pluto conjunction with a personal planet: Saturn in Peter Weller's case and Moon in Barbra Streisand's. Saturn in Streisand's chart is conjunct an outer planet (Uranus). So as we are looking for similarities in career/work styles Saturn is the planet most related, and in both cases Saturn is conjunct an outer planet, adding significance and another layer of meaning. I don't know for sure, that's my own interpretation - but if I discover more well-known Renaissance people I'll check back!

Hmmm - didn't take long! When looking for something else in my archives I noticed a post from 2008 on Shel Silverstein, who I'd called a Renaissance Man-lite; John Lennon was also mentioned there. At that point I wondered whether Fixed Star Alpheratz/Sirrah conjunct a personal planet might have something to do with Renaissance man-ness. However, looking at the chart for Silverstein I see that he had Pluto conjunct Jupiter and Mars! another Renaissance man-type with personal planet conjunct an outer planet. Lennon had a looser conjunction of Uranus/Saturn/Jupiter in Taurus at 25, 13 and 13 degrees respectively. I don't see Lennon as clearly Renaissance-ish as the others mentioned here though - but he might well have evolved that that way.

Music Monday ~ Dr. Hook & Shel Silverstein

There was so much more to enjoy musically in the 1970s, and '80s. What happened? I got older, then old, I guess. Even allowing for that inevitability, and trying hard to be objective, today's music scene is anaemic and limp, at best, compared to back then. Lady Gag-Ga's shenanigans may be engaging enough to watch, but who's going to be humming her tunes on the way to work - eh? Nowadays we are expected to watch music as well as listen. Lyrics, as well as melody, have gone by the board (that should be bored!)Have all the good songs already been written?

Time for a little nostalgia.



Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, later known as just Dr Hook - a fun rock band who, with the help of many songs written by the late Shel Silverstein, became internationally famous during the 1970's until mid '80s when the band broke up. The two vocalists pursued solo careers.

The band originated in the pubs and clubs of Union City, New Jersey. Names of founding member George Cummings, Billy Francis (keyboards), Rik Elswit (guitar), Joey Oliveri (drums) have been lost in the mists of time, but vocalist Ray Sawyer (the one with the eye patch - result of a car accident) and Dennis Locorriere - he of the wistful voice on Sylvia's Mother, both retain solo careers - though with nothing like the acclaim they received in their Dr. Hook days. Dennis now lives, and still tours, in the UK. Ray tours in the USA and Canada.

Dr Hook, the band was first known for crazy on-stage antics and whacky humor . No doubt this is why Shel Silverstein felt a certain rapport with them and their style. Shel wrote a string of rather bawdy songs for the boys e.g. Roland The Roadie, Gertrude The Groupie, and better known The Cover Of Rolling Stone which later materialised! Soon though, both band and Shel(left) calmed down and produced some beautiful love songs and ballads - my personal favourites: songs such as More Like the Movies, A Couple More Years, Ballad of Lucy Jordan, and Sylvia's Mother. The band had other, non-Silverstein hits, of course, but without Shel's genius, I doubt we'd still recall Dr. Hook today.

There's more on Shel Silverstein in an archived post of mine:
"Man & Star....."






Ray and Dennis as they look now:





No times of birth available, so charts below are set for 12 noon.







Astrology throws up a strong hint of the compatibility between these two vocalists and the songwriter: all have Sun in Air signs - one from each, as it happens. Shel - Libra; Ray Aquarius; Dennis Gemini.

As well as easy rapport via Airy Suns, each has Venus, planet of music and the arts in a Water sign (Dennis: Venus in Cancer, Ray: Venus in Pisces, Shel: Venus in Scorpio)- Water signs are the most emotionally driven and creative of the signs, so no surprise that these three were often on the same wavelength. Interpreting Shel's songs seemed to come as second-nature to the vocalists of Dr Hook.

Ray's Moon would be in Libra whatever his birth time, and very compatible with Shel's natal Sun. Dennis's natal Moon could be in Capricorn, or in Aquarius if born in the evening, 7 PM or later - I'd bet on Aquarius, compatible with both Ray's natal Sun and Moon, and Shel's natal Sun.



MORE LIKE THE MOVIES by Shel Silverstein - performed by Dr. HOOK

Man & Star ~ Shel Silverstein & Alpheratz

Here's a fun poem, astrologically suspect, but never mind! It was written by multi-talented Shel Silverstein, about whom more follows.

The Man Who Got No Sign

Well, there was Gemini Jim and Scorpio Sal,
And they were living by the Golden Gate.
Freezing their nose
And wearing leather clothes
And dealing every way but straight.
They had a Leo dog and a Capricorn cat,
And everything was going fine.
Until, into their life,
On a moonless night,
Come the man
Who got no sign.


He roared right in
Like some evil wind
And he rolled himself a righteous smoke.
And as the thunder crashed,
And the lightning flashed
He took a toke
And spoke...
He said he was born in an astrological warp,
When the stars refused to shine.
On the cusp of nowhere and nevermore:
He's the man that got no sign.

So he told a story of an endless search
To find his missing part.
But Scorpio Sal, she just smiled at him, and
Tried to do his chart.
But Pisces Ben, who was Jim's best friend,
Said, "Man...you must be blind.
You better grab your knife,
And take the life
Of that man
What got no sign."

And so, it happened...
And his blood ran...
Soaked the ground...

The arrest was made by Sheriff Slade,
An Aquarius through and through.
But the jailer was a Sagittarius
And he beat Jim black and blue,
And as they dragged him up the courthouse stairs,
They said, "Jim, how do you plead?"
Jim said, "Man, the moon's in Virgo, so
Blame no fault on me!"

Well, the jury all was Libras,
So you know they were more than fair,
But his lawyer was Aries,
And an Aries just don't care.
And the judge, he was a Cancer,
And a Cancer's got no friends.
But the hangman
Was a Taurus,
And that's where
The circle
Ends...

A couple of commenters on my post about John Lennon (7 December) used the term "Renaissance Man" to describe John, due to his varied talents (see also last paragraph of this post).

While Renaissance Men in the true sense of the word (e.g. Leonardo da Vinci) don't exist anymore, some well known individuals exhibit characterisitics of what I'll call Renaissance Man-lite. Shel Silverstein was one of that ilk. Poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books (including "The Giving Tree", "A Light in the Attic", "Where the Sidewalk Ends"). I was surprised to learn that he wrote Johnny Cash's famous song "A Boy Named Sue", and many others recorded by country stars. "The Unicorn", which seems to have gathered the mistaken reputation of being an Irish song, is one of his, as is Marianne Faithfull's "Ballad of Lucy Jordan". His song "Sylvia's Mother" made Dr. Hook, and lead singer Dennis Locarriere internationally famous. There are numerous other examples. He wrote and drew cartoons regularly for Playboy Magazine, illustrated his own books, and other publications.



Shel Silverstein, born 25 September 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. Died in May 1999.



Extract from biography HERE

"A poet who crossed Ogden Nash's playfulness with Mad Magazine irreverence; a cartoonist who jacked up Dr. Seuss style fantasies with Jules Feiffer's neurotic social relevance; and a folk singer who wrote with the taboo-inducing bite of comic Lenny Bruce. Contradictory and difficult, he was a renowned children's author who was reportedly impatient with children, as well as a shy, private man whose work and image portrayed him as a bearded, shaved head attention-seeking extrovert. As a performer, the raspy, grating voice that so brilliantly underscored the nature of his spoken word pieces made him sound like an undisciplined madman when he sang. However, it was as a songwriter where he arguably made his biggest mark on pop culture. "

"Shy and private" connects to that stellium (cluster of 3 planets) in Cancer - it's a hefty dose of the tendency to shyness and need to withdraw which is often found in folks with this sign prominent in their charts. His Mercury in Virgo, one of its own signs, connects strongly to writing ability and a streak of perfectionism.

I'm not going to try to interpret the whole chart, I'm looking mainly for something special which might relate to his particular brand of versatility and Renaissance-lite.

I'm going for this: at the time he was born, Uranus lay conjunct Fixed Star Alpheratz, also known as Sirrah. This was true for anyone born between (approximately) May 1930 to March 1931. This star's ancient interpretation in general is

"Freedom, love of movement, speed, intellectual and can indicate riches and honors. Strong motivation, willfulness and the ability to take action. Well known, before the public and popularity with the masses; fame. Harmonius nature, good for relationships."

When conjunct Uranus, the inventor, technology, the rebel, the genius, change-bringer, catalyst for humour, the star's interpretation has to be blended with Uranian traits. In mid to late 1930 we can pinpoint some good examples of how the blend can manifest, when all other conditions are suitable:

Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins (Buzz Aldrin too, but born a little earlier in January)
Rebellious left-wing British author Harold Pinter
Genius financier Warren Buffet
Computer billionnaire and politician Ross Perot
Another Rennaissance-lite man, Clint Eastwood (actor, director, musician)
and our current subject, Shel Silverstein, quirky and irreverent, socially-relevant Rennaissance-lite man.
James Dean, born February 1931, a rebellious icon if ever there was one, comes into this group too.

I see Shel Silverstein's particular brand of Rennaissance-liteness rooted in the Uranus/Alpheratz conjunction. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Hey! Here's a thought - if John Lennon were to have been born a little earlier than 6.30 pm (which some say he must have been, because it was 6.30 when his aunt reported the event) birth time of 6.20pm would bring his ascendant conjunct Alpheratz at 14 Aries! Hmmm, that's.....spooky!