First decan Aries Sun people (born during the first ten days of the sign, roughly those born in March) unless weakened by a strong conflicting Moon or cluster of planets elewhere, are likely to display the most Aries attributes of the sign. This effect can be seen in a group of music stars whose birthdays fall around now.
In no particular order:
Lady Gaga 28 March
Aretha Franklin 25 March
Mariah Carey 27 March
Reba McEntire 28 March
Diana Ross 26 March ~ Happy birthday to her!
Elton John 25 March
Celine Dion 30 March
Eric Clapton 30 March
Steven Tyler 26 March ~ Happy birthday to him!
Sarah "Sassy" Vaughn 27 March
How many of those have been labelled "diva" because of their rather demanding natures, their drive and ambition? Quite a few - and it seems to manifest most noticeably in the females, probably because females in general, accurate or not, are considered to be less "pushy", so we notice when they display this tendency.
Because it's their birthday today, one performance by Ms Ross and one by Mr. Tyler:
Steven Tyler singing Beatles for a change, at the Kennedy Center:
PS: there are some posts on Steven Tyler and his astrology in the archives - access them by clicking on his name in the Label Cloud in the sidebar, at right.
A side-effect of being an American Idol junkie is the learning curve one has to negotiate in order to translate the "cool"-ish jargon one is liable to encounter. I've already gathered that in current lingo "sick" means good to brilliant, and "dope", as adjective, means something along the same lines. My education continues.
Upon reading a review of Thursday night's results show written by Paul F. Tompkins, who Wikipedia tells me is an American actor and comedian, I had need to research the following bits and pieces which may or may not be of interest to passing readers, keen to keep abreast of....not sure what:
Mr Tompkins began:
"The judges enter. Steven Tyler is dressed like Murphy Brown dressed like Ichabod Crane."
I had rather admired Mr Tyler's long flowing black duster coat lined with leopard-skin print (can't find a photograph), so was curious to know who is Murphy Brown and who is Ichabod Crane, neither being familiar to this transplanted Yorkshire lass.
Murphy Brown, it appears, is a character from a TV sitcom starring Candice Bergen - she of the long flowing locks, and Ichabod Crane is a fictional character in Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, first published in 1820. Norman Rockwell saw him thus:
I'd equate Steven Tyler's outfit more with a rather arty farty version of Doctor Who. Either way, I thought it looked rather swish (my own non-cool adjective).
A little further down his piece Mr. Tompkins reports
After Adam’s (Adam Lambert was a guest) performance, the segment ends with a discussion of The Dougie. I am thrilled that I know what this is and do not have to look it up. I am even more thrilled that some young people on the show do not know what it is! I still have some fight in me! Go rent The Lion in Winter, you utter children! People who do not know what The Dougie is: Steven Tyler, Adam Lambert, Paul, Pia, Thia, Scotty. People who know what The Dougie is: J.Lo, Randy, Jacob, Stefano, Ashthon, Naima, Lauren, James, Haley and … Ryan.
The Dougie? Another learning curve to negotiate. It's a dance, with name originating from hip-hop slang (see Urban Dictionary)
The term "dougie" derives from the name of 80's early 90's Hip Hopper Doug-E- Fresh. The term "dougie" means to have a cool or hip stlye. If we are going to go out tonight I need to go home and get dougie before we go. swagga; the way you carry yourself also a dance
That's the Dougie then. But, scratching head, what's the connection with Lion in Winter? This learning curve is becoming too steep....I should learn to listen to the kids sing and leave it at that.
I was pleased to read Jon Caramanica's piece in the New York times (online), last Wednesday. Steven Tyler Escapes From Idolatry. Pleased because the author highlighted something that stood out for me as we watched one of the recent audition episodes. The incident involved one of Idol's often annoyingly manipulative "sob stories".
"The moment when Mr. Tyler, one of this season’s new judges, claimed the show as his own came during the third night of auditions. Chris Medina tried out with a muscular version of The Script’s “Breakeven” after telling the story of how his fiancée, Juliana Ramos, suffered a brain injury that left her in a wheelchair, able to move her left arm and little more.
After he sang, he brought Ms. Ramos in to the audition room at the judges’ behest. By any measure it was difficult to watch, testing the viewer’s urge to turn away, to wish for a speedy change of scene.
Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez introduced themselves to Ms. Ramos, but Mr. Tyler took charge. “Hi, girl,” he said, shaking her hand. “I just heard your fiancé sing, and he’s so good.” At this point, as she teetered back and forth, he was gripping her shoulder and staring at her comfortingly: a rock, a confidant, a seducer. “You know, because he sings to you all the time,” he said, leaning in to her, stroking her hair, kissing her warmly — all with tenderness — then whispering in her ear, “That’s why he sings so good, because he sings to you.”
It was a stellar embrace, the sort of practiced sincerity that’s one of the wages of extreme celebrity. Except that, over time, it can shake free of its dishonesty, as was the case here. In that moment Mr. Tyler was both deeply practiced and deeply humane. It made for a stunning display of kindness unusual not just for “Idol,” but for all of popular culture in matters of dealing with the severely disabled."
As I see it Mr Tyler's action sprang directly from an innate kindness, an Aries/Leo-ness. The impulsive warmth, kindliness and sense of fun have shone from him from his first appearance. Okay - if someone wants to describe his pointed stares at an auditioning gal, a quarter his age, as "leering" that's in the mind of the beholder. I look at it like this: any gal (or guy) aiming for a career in the spotlight has to be willing audiences, whether judges or the public, to stare at them - so they'd best get used to it. In any case, I see no overtly lascivious leers - only encouragement, approval, interest, or perhaps a weighing up of how the gal might have dressed herself more stylishly - or less vampishly.
Another look at Steven Tyler's chart (my earlier posts are HERE and HERE)
Lots of emphasis on Fire signs, being more pronounced because Jupiter is at home in its rulership Sagittarius and Sun and Mars are in what astrologers term "mutual recption" - which means that they are in each other's rulerships, Sun is in Aries ruled by Mars, Mars in Leo ruled by Sun....a series of celestial underlinings.
I wish we had Steven's birth time - anybody know it?
That opposition Uranus/Jupiter (the unexpected/exaggertion) is no doubt a reflection of his quirky style and signature outlandish antics on stage.
The "Yod" (Finger of Fate) is interesting too. It links Netune (creativity) and Pluto (sexy and powerful) by helpful sextile (no pun intended) to Mercury, planet of communication, by two quincunx aspects (150*). The characteristics of the to sextiled planets are said to be chanelled through the planet at the configuration's apex - Mercury (communication) in this case. Works for me!
The linked article mentions that Mr Tyler is "scheduled to release a memoir — “Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?” — this year..." More communicative skills surfacing!
I'll stick my neck out - again - and predict that there are changes in the pipeline for Steven Tyler, later this year and into 2012 as Uranus transits his Aries Sun, backtracks then transits again. Perhaps his stellar performance on American Idol will lead along previously unthought of career paths for him.
It's looking increasingly likely that Steven Tyler will be my only reason for continuing to watch Season 10. Already, at this early stage the emphasis and re-gurgitation of a set of five or six "sob stories", and "pimping" of producers' favourites is becoming wearing. Even with Nigel Lythgoe in charge, audience manipulation continues apace.
This week's episodes, aired tonight and tomorrow, feature the travesty known as "group rounds" where the remaining contestants are split into groups of 3 or 4 and left to arrange a performance, singing together. Where many young teens and twenties are gathered together, competing egos and levels of excellence rapidly oppose one another. All manner of unpleasantness often ensues. Men are separated from boys, and the gals - well, they'd better rope in their inner divas, at least for this round.
Wasn't going to. Swore I wouldn't. I've sworn before. But I watched again then. And I did it again.
An Idol junkie, am I - that's all there is to it!
American Idol had become stale, and more obviously "fixed" than ever last season. We watched the opening shows of Season 10 on Wednesday and Thursday evenings this week in spite of reservations. It was a very pleasant surprise to find that the new judging panel changes the whole tone of the show.
Gone is the tiresome jaded sarcasm of Simon Cowell, embarrassing affectations of Kara Dio-wotnot, and the bland but well-meaning stumblings of Ellen DeGeneres who wasn't really suited for the show - good as she is elsewhere.
Enter Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Randy Jackson is the only judge remaining from previous seasons. He seemed a wee bit quiet this week, I thought - perhaps watching how the newcomers will tackle the job, waiting to fit in again. Ryan Seacrest is back hosting - the show would fail without HIM, of this I am absolutely certain. He makes it look easy - I'd wager that it's anything but.
One common factor among the judges - flashing white teeth! Lots of 'em: American Smiledol
Steven Tyler,(see my earlier Music Monday post) is proving to be a gem of a judge, so far, and great addition to the show. His quick wit and sense of fun has been something sorely lacking in seasons past. His experience of the music business, its demands and pitfalls will be invaluable as the show proceeds. Even now, on this brief showing he is providing insights previously missing. Something that particularly struck me as important: he pointed out to the other judges, who would have given thumbs-down to a young female singer, Broadway-styled, who said her ambition is to "bring Liza Minelli into the charts" that, as well as having a good voice, she had such boundless enthusiasm and personality:
"You won't find many people like that, that kind of enthusiasm.....I am going to personally work that into something good."
I admired Steven for that, Broadway isn't his thing, yet he was open-minded enough to see her potential - and he's so right. Cowell would have shooed the gal off with a sneer, dampened that precious drive and enthusiasm - perhaps even killed it off for her.
Trust a person like Steven Tyler, with Sun in Aries and stellium in Leo to appreciate enthusiasm. Talent without enthusiasm ain't gonna work!
Jennifer Lopez judged with fairness and grace, wary of being too negative initially, hating the first time it was necessary. She gradually began finding ways to tell contestants "No" without cruelty and with a positive remark to help sugar the pill.
They purged New Jersey and New Orleans of Idol talent this week. On to Milwaukee next week.
The new panel, and Steven Tyler in particular brought a much-needed blast of fresh air into the show. I suspect someone in "the executive" knew Steven Tyler personally, knew his personality and that he's more - much more - than a rock star whose best days are past. In fact, his best days might well be still to come. As transiting Uranus inches towards his natal Sun this summer, I'm betting there'll be some very interesting changes going on for him.
Below is the new panel with executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who returns after a spell away from the show. I remember Nigel back in the UK, with his Nigel Lythgoe Dancers.He has "come a long way" since then. He, along with Simon Cowell are the ones to blame for Pop Idol in the UK, which later spawned American Idol. If anyone could manage to return the show to something nearer its original roots, he could....he is very familiar with its DNA.
Steven Tyler personifies the rock of previous decades. His striking facial likeness to Mick Jagger was no doubt a bit of help in the early days of Aerosmith, the band he used to front. It was his high energy performance that kept the band top-rated for decades though. He has an outlandish yet stylish dress sense, uses mic stand adorned with scarves as his trademark, as well as an intimate dance technique with said mic stand - sometimes seen as scandalous by those of more delicate sensitivities. A showman!
Two things piqued my interest in Steven Tyler: a TV appearance, on the Kennedy Center Honors show, when he sang in tribute to honoree Paul McCartney; and news that he'll be one of the three judges in the 2011 season of American Idol shows. Whether he will take over Simon Cowell's "Mr. Nasty" slot remains to be seen. I cannot pretend to be a mine of information about Tyler. Apart from a liking for Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss a Thing, one of the band's hit songs, I know only what Google can offer - along with information thrown up by his natal chart.
"I mean, this is the guy who sang the National Anthem at the Indy 500 a few years ago, and decided it would be a hoot to change the words. He was lucky to get out of there with his hide intact, but it was a classic Steven Tyler moment. If you've ever had the pleasure of interviewing this great man, you know that part of his brilliance is that he has no attention span — his brain zooms from topic to topic, as he jabbers entire paragraphs of surrealist prose poetry, defying you to guess what the hell he's talking about. But now the plan is for him to concentrate on the same topic for an hour at a time, two nights a week, on live TV? Gosh, what could go wrong?".........................Last year, when Aerosmith were said to be breaking up, how did Tyler respond to the controversy? A well-thought-out public statement? A gesture of solidarity with his long-suffering bandmates? Ah, no. He opted to show up unannounced at a Joe Perry gig, crash the stage for "Walk This Way," make a dumb joke ("I am the rainbow!") and disappear. The team-player software was never installed on this man's hard drive. His specialty, as he put it in "Toys in the Attic," is: "Leaving the things that are real, behiiiiiiind!"
He comes from a very mixed background: Italian/German from his father, a classical musician; Cherokee and Ukranian descent from his mother's side. He got into music - and trouble - early on, was expelled from high school for drug use as a prelude to future drug and alcohol abuse, leading to Hepatitis C, long periods of treatment and periodic rehab.
Steven Tyler was born on 26 March 1948 in New York, NY. No time of birth is available, so the chart below is set for 12 noon.
A number of other legendary rock singers were born 1948: Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, Ted Nugent, and Alice Cooper among them. Anything going on that year - any astro-atmosphere conducive to hard rock?
The outer, slow-moving generational planets are where to look for all-round "atmosphere". In 1948 Pluto and Saturn (2 "hard" planets for sure) were very close together, conjoined for most of the year in Leo sign of the showman, and in Tyler's case Mars (energy and drive) joined the pair making a powerful threesome. This powerhouse lay in harmonious trine to Tyler's natal Aries Sun, and in a somewhat wider but still significant wider trine to Jupiter in Sagittarius. Aries, sign of impatience, impulsiveness, courage and boundless energy from its ruler, Mars. Jupiter in Sagittarius adds excess to that already overwhelming mix of Fiery power.
Two quotes from Steven Tyler which so well reflect Sun in Aries and Jupiter in Sagittarius:
"The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first."
"We believed anything worth doing was worth over-doing"
How is such a Fiery power-house involved in music though? We have to look to Venus, planet of the arts, and find it in Taurus the sign it rules, in helpful sextile to Mercury (communication) in imaginative Pisces. Tyler's songwriting abilites are reflected here as well as his singing talent.
With no information as to his time of birth, ascendant and Moon signs remain unknown. Moon could be in either late Libra or, if he was born after 5:00PM, in early Scorpio. I'd bet, though warily, on Libra, in spite of the sexy (Scorpio) image Tyler courts. Libra is another sign ruled by Venus. His flair for style and dress-up speaks of Libra, I think. Ascending sign is anyone's guess. It wouldn't be a surprise to me to find Uranus (the rebel) close to the ascendant angle though, with Gemini rising. His build is pure Gemini - gangling, bony, skinny, his style Uranian: outlandish, eccentric. Another of his reported quotes has Uranus at its heart:
"I have always said I would rather grow up wrong than being right in someone else's eyes."
A good selection of photographs of Steven Tyler appear as background to this video: Aerosmith & Steven Tyler with I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. The song was written by Diane Warren.
