Saturday & Sundry riddling of the inevitable

In the following lines from T.S. Eliot's The Dry Salvages, third of his Four Quartets, after the poet used water and the ocean as metaphors, the ocean symbolising the collective unconscious, later in the poem, in Part V, Eliot describes interest in mystical arts used as guides - something he saw as mistaken attempts to uncover the future.
(Note: a haruspicate = Taoist method of fortelling the future by the examining animal entrails. Scrying = act of gazing at a shiny stone, mirror, or crystal ball. Sortilege = casting or drawing of lots.)

To communicate with Mars, converse with spirits,
To report the behaviour of the sea monster,
Describe the horoscope, haruspicate or scry,
Observe disease in signatures, evoke
Biography from the wrinkles of the palm
And tragedy from fingers; release omens
By sortilege, or tea leaves, riddle the inevitable
With playing cards, fiddle with pentagrams
Or barbituric acids, or dissect
The recurrent image into pre-conscious terrors—
To explore the womb, or tomb, or dreams; all these are usual
Pastimes and drugs, and features of the press:
And always will be, some of them especially
When there is distress of nations and perplexity
Whether on the shores of Asia, or in the Edgware Road [London]............


....For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts.

Eliot didn't use the word "tarot" in the poem, but I suppose the term  "playing cards" covers that genre. Reading these lines again tempted me, later, to unwrap my tarot deck from its silken cover once more, and ask a question.

"What do I need to know about Donald Trump?"

Cards drawn, in this order, after giving the deck a good shuffle.

9 of Pentacles/Coins
6 Rods/Wands
The Hermit

(I've used illustrations of cards from my own David Palladini deck: "Aquarian Tarot";
and interpretations from Learn Tarot, here)

9 Pentacles/Coins

being disciplined
exercising self-control
showing restraint
reining in impulses
sacrificing to reach a goal
sticking to a program
taking a step-by-step approach

relying on yourself
handling the situation alone
acting on your own
falling back on your own resources
doing it all by yourself
wanting to be alone
feeling sure your way is best

pursuing refinement
achieving a comfortable lifestyle
avoiding the coarse and unsavory
being tactful and diplomatic
seeking high-minded activities
enjoying the finer things of life
remembering to be gracious
enjoying leisure

6 Rods/Wands

triumphing
having your day in the sun
being vindicated
walking away with the prize
prevailing against all comers
coming out on top
achieving success

receiving acclaim
being acknowledged
getting a pat on the back
receiving an award or citation
getting praise or a compliment
earning applause
achieving recognition

feeling pride
enjoying healthy self-esteem
strutting your stuff
holding your head up high
feeling worthy of notice
having a high opinion of yourself
putting yourself above others
being arrogant
condescending
feeling self-important

THE HERMIT (Major Arcana card)

being introspective
thinking things over
focusing inward
concentrating less on the senses
quieting yourself
looking for answers within
needing to understand

searching
seeking greater understanding
looking for something
wanting the truth at all costs
going on a personal quest
needing more
desiring a new direction

receiving/giving guidance
going to/being a mentor
accepting/offering wise counsel
learning from/being a guru
turning to/being a trusted teacher
being helped/helping

seeking solitude
needing to be alone
desiring stillness
withdrawing from the world
experiencing seclusion
giving up distractions
retreating into a private world.


I'm quite surprised at the level of positivity here. Many strands of interpretations for the first card, 9 Pentacles/Coins are nowhere near a comfortable fit for The Donald, as we have come to know him, but some certainly do fit. Second card definitely fits as regards his attaining the position of President-elect. The third and most important card, from Major Arcana, tells of a future Donald. As past, present and future these cards do not, I suspect, tell an unremitting tale of doom for us. However, it is left still to unfold as to whether the Hermit card tells of Donald Trump, in the near future "retreating" (as in resigning) or of him being overtaken after a vote recount, then replaced by Herself, resulting his withdrawal from the [our]world or... simply becoming far more thoughtful and introspective due to the rigours of office.

It ain't over 'til it's over!

New Year's Eve with T.S. Eliot

This magazine cover welcomed in 1936. I couldn't resist that cute little astrologer! There's a bigger version below.

Waiting to welcome in 2008, I'm in the mood for some T.S. Eliot. His poetry isn't to be greedily swallowed whole. I find that it's indigestible that way. Picked at like an elegant plate of Cordon Bleu cuisine (not that I've ever tasted any) it's quite beautiful.

"For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

He was born in St Louis, Missouri on 26 September 1888.
Top Synergy.com gives his time of birth as 7.45am - Libra rising. I'm not sure how reliable that is. It does add more emphasis to already well-emphasised Libra.



Sun, Uranus Venus and Mercury all in the sign of the scales, ruled by Venus, planet of the arts, with Venus and Mercury straddling the ascendant (if that birth time is to be trusted.)

Three planets in Gemini with Moon/Pluto trining Sun, Moon trines Uranus - communication and the Arts very well integrated. As an embarrassment of riches Jupiter (the publishing planet) in Sagittarius (sign of its rulership) sextiles Eliot's Sun, whilst opposing Pluto/Neptune. Mars in Sagittarius opposes Gemini Moon. Saturn in Leo sextiles both Uranus and Moon.

My first thought was that this is an extremely well integrated chart. There is a predominance of Air, indicating a person who "lives in their mind", some Fire but no planets in Water or Earth. Positive polarity predominates - goes off the grid in fact!

Biographical detail is thin on the ground, but the small amount which follows ties in nicely with his natal chart.

"I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature, and a royalist in politics." T.S. Eliot so defined, and even exaggerated, his own conservatism. The ideas of this stimulating writer were perhaps traditional, but the way in which he expressed them was extremely modern Eliot was one of the first to reject conventional verse forms and language. His experiments with free expression contributed to his reputation as one of the most influential writers of his time."(Tradition-loving Saturn sextile inventive, futuristic Uranus)

"Eliot held many different kinds of jobs throughout his lifetime, as writing poetry was not and still is not the most lucrative of occupations when one is not well-known. His occupations varied from schoolmaster, bank clerk, free-lance writer, assistant editor, editor, publisher, and even professor of poetry at Harvard. (Versatile Gemini Moon with Pluto/Neptune well integrated with other Air planets)
Being an introspective kind of person,(Sun in 12th house) as most poets are, Eliot underwent a profound religious calling. After much soul-searching and inner turmoil, Eliot was confirmed as a member of the Anglican church in 1927. This brought him a much more positive attitude towards life that can be seen in his writings after this date." (Jupiter and Mars in Sagittarius may be connected with his religious/philosophical traits).

It is rather difficult to find much information on T. S. Eliot, which is quite hard to understand, considering the profound impact he had on American and English literature. However, it can be explained that since Eliot was a very private man and also forbade in his will an official biography, the dearth of information on Eliot is justifiable. (Libra planets all in privacy-loving 12th house, except Mercury, which lies on ascendant at this birth time. I suspect that Mercury may actually have been in 12th house, also.)

T.S. Eliot died on January 4, 1965.

Another sample of his work - a favourite piece of my own. It comes at the end of "The Four Quartets".

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flames are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one."

(Sources : brief biographies HERE and HERE
Magazine cover illustration (top & below) is by J.C. Leyendecker.)