Investigating Mercury, Ruler of Virgo and Gemini.

To write his book, titled simply Astrology, Irish poet and playwright Louis MacNeice must have spent many hours of painstaking research, as befits his own natal Virgo Sun/Mercury/Venus. He cites much material from ancient sources which can serve, in many cases, to clarify how we got to where we are in interpreting the planets and signs. For me, this is part of the fascination of astrology. The Kalendar of Shepherds, from which he quotes below was published in 1507, translated from (I think) a French version of some years earlier.

Here's part of what Louis MacNeice discovered about Mercury.

"The fair planet Mercury", says the Kalendar of Shepherds is "very full and dry of nature and is lord of speech, as the Sun is lord of light......Who is born under Mercury shall be subtle of wit....(that is and always has been Mercury's first characteristic) and shall be very crafty in many sciences....He shall ever follow and resort to them that be of good manners, and shall be fortunate on the sea to use the course of good merchandise."

Mercury is the traditional patron not only of intellectuals but of merchants. He is also the patron planet of transport. The illustration below, borrowed from Astrology shows a French Bank advertisement for travellers' cheques. In both astrology and mythology Mercury is considered to be the patron of commerce and transport.




But the Mercury man, according to the Kalendar, will not have it all his own way.

"He shall be very gracious, and he shall have harm by women, and when he is married, men shall not set so much by him as they did before." All the same, "he will have great love to ladies and gentlewomen, but yet they shall not be masters over him. He will be a very good man of the church or a religious man, and he shall not love to go to a warfare...He shall love well to preach and to speak fair rhetoric language, and to talk of philosophy and geometry."

The Kalendar details other intellectual, artistic and commercial activities and ends:

"He shall be servant to some great lord or else a receiver of his money." (The original god Mercury himself had been something of a lackey on Olympus, always running errands for the greater gods.) "He shall have a high forehead, a long visage, black eyes, and a thin beard. He shall be a great pleader in the law and will meddle with other men's deeds if they do not well and say against it."

There has been general agreement that Mercury stands for the intellect and for most types of communication, whether mental or physical. Not surprisingly, however, he is undependable; astrologers have named him "the chameleon among planets" (compare the adjective "mercurial") and have explained that he is neutral because, in the aspects, he takes color from other planets but does not give color in return. This idea goes back to Ptolemy, who says that Mercury is "generally speaking in nature like whatever of the planets may be associated with him." By Ptolemy's time he was also firmly established as the ruler of two signs, Gemini and Virgo. Astrologer Rupert Gleadow, who called him a "sexless planet", points out that both these signs are "somewhat lacking in emotion".

Mercury can make you a genius; he can also make you a crook. The original god had been both, as is shown by the early Homeric "Hymn to Hermes" in which he is described (in Shelley's translation) as

A schemer subtle beyond all belief;
A shepherd of thin dreams, a cow-stealing,
A night-watching and door-waylaying thief
who yet, while still an infant, went on to invent the lyre, killing a tortoise to use its shell for the purpose.

The planet Mercury, like Venus, owing to its actual nearness to the Sun, is always seen from earth as lying in a sign near the Sun. Consequently Mercury and Venus are comparatively often found in conjunction."

As for aspects, it is generally considered that Saturn, having such a different and therefore complementary nature, is the best influence on Mercury.

Some of my own thoughts on planet Mercury. As ruler of mental processes, Mercury really does have influence over everything in human life. It travels so fast, no time to make its individual transits felt, but it very frequently touches everything in the charts of all of us. Mercury's journey around the Sun takes 88 days, whereas Saturn's takes over 29 years.

Everything we humans do is initiated in the brain, even what seem like emotional responses, though colored by Moon and the Watery element, actually do begin in the mental realm. As I see it we ought to pay more attention to Mercury in the natal chart - equally as much as to Sun, Moon and ascendant.

Mercury's rulership of Gemini seems obvious - Gemini, the consummate communicator, teacher, the all-round information collector. As ruler of Earthy Virgo, Mercury must be reflected as less abstract, more tangible. Virgo seeks and usually achieves near perfection in just about anything undertaken. Gemini roves around in the world of words and ideas, gathering them together, regurgitating them, sometimes in light-weight haphazard fashion, offering them back to an enthusiasic audience. Virgo is quite capable of doing this too, but with a far greater emphasis on accuracy and presentation, and a serious approach.

Saturday and Sundry Thoughts

Has anyone noticed that the Sun has quietly slipped out of heat-drenched Leo into what will, I hope, turn out to be an ever so slightly cooler, better presented stint in zodiac sign Virgo?

Speaking of Virgo, Ogden Nash, a favourite writer of mine, once wrote a piece of poetry which, all unknowingly by the author (I guess) was a pretty accurate description of someone with a hefty dose of Virgo in their natal chart - not just the Sun in Virgo though. A true, recognisable Virgo-type needs strong natal emphasis on the sign in order to advertise clearly its attributes. A cluster of planets in the sign, particularly the personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) would do it. Virgo on the ascendant angle or angle opposite, or at mid-heaven or nadir of the chart would provide even more emphasis.

Here's what Ogden Nash wrote about a true Virgo-type, possibly without realising what he'd done. I suspect he was describing his wife, a friend, or a colleague!

A Stitch Too Late Is My Fate
by Ogden Nash

There are some people of whom I would certainly like to be one,
Who are the people who get things done.
They balance their checkbooks every month and their figures
always agree with the bank's,
And they are prompt in writing letters of condolence or thanks.
They never leave anything to chance,
But always make reservations in advance.
When they get out of bed they never neglect to don slippers
so they never pick up athlete's foot or a cold or a splinter,
And they hang their clothes up on hangers every night and
put their winter clothes away every summer
and their summer clothes away every winter.
Before spending any money they insist on getting
an estimate or a sample,
And if they lose anything from a shoelace to a diamond ring
it is covered by insurance more than ample.
They have budgets and what is more they live inside of them,
Even though it means eating things made by recipes
clipped from the Sunday paper that you'd think they would have died from them.
They serve on committees
And improve their cities
They are modern knight errants
Who remember their godchildren's birthdays and the anniversaries
of their godchildren's parents,
And in cold weather they remember the birds and supply them with
sunflower seed and suet,
And whatever they decide to do, whether it's to save
twentyfive percent of their salary or learn Italian or write a musical comedy or touch their toes a hundred times every morning before breakfast,
why they go ahead and do it.
People who get things done lead contented lives, or at least I guess so,
And I certainly wish that either I were more like them or they were less so.

Arty Farty Friday ~ Beryl Cook - Virgo Variation

Beryl Cook was born on 10 September 1926 in Egham, Surrey, England. She had Sun and Mercury in Virgo. Her art style is quite different from a trio of other Sun Virgo painters featured in a past posting: Ralston Crawford, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre. They, in different ways, reflected the precision, neatness and clarity of typical Virgo. Beryl Cook's work, on the other hand, at first sight has more in common with an expansive Jupitarian nature. Ms Cook's work is great fun - not seriously "arty" or pretentious - just fun. Her natal chart could reveal a reason.

Video from YouTube : an accompanied tour of a UK exhibition of the late Beryl Cook's painting.



A 2008 obituary in The Telegraph has some interesting detail on the lady and her life.


A 12 noon chart is the best I can do, as no birth time is available.

Regarding my Jupiter-related comment, I was happy to find a Yod (Finger of Fate) linking her sextiled natal Sun and Pluto to Jupiter in Aquarius by two scratchy 150 degree angles. For me this, astrologically, describes her art style. Her fairly buttoned-up Virgo Sun is already loosened somewhat by the helpful sextile to erotic, sexy Pluto, then amazingly two otherwise iffy aspects draw into her nature an ebullient Jupiter in quirky Aquarius. While these elements didn't show in her outward personality, they certainly appeared in her artworks!


See how these extracts from HERE and HERE describe something of the personality shown in her natal chart.

 Self portrait

Beryl Cook found fame as a painter by accident in her late 40s, after buying her young son a box of paints. The flamboyant fun-loving characters featured in her work were largely inspired by the people of Plymouth. Beryl has lived in Plymouth ( on England's south coast) for over 25 years and remains fascinated by life in this lively naval port which is full of pubs, fishermen and sailors.

Having left school at 14, Beryl worked in a variety of jobs (splash-like chart pattern) but at that age showed very little talent for painting. ....At one time she was a showgirl in a touring production of 'The Gypsy Princess'.... She also worked in the fashion industry, which inspired her life-long interest in the way people dress and how they look. (Her Leo planets)

Beryl’s personality though is in great contrast to her paintings. She is a shy and private person, (Virgo Sun and Mercury) often depicting the flamboyant and extrovert characters she would love to be (Venus and Neptune conjunct in Leo). She prefers to observe a crowd of people, her acute eye missing nothing. She records in minute detail scenes of everyday life and has an almost photographic memory (all Virgo!).

Beryl Cook died aged 81 in May 2008.

Saturday & Sundry Thoughts on September

Most of these thoughts of mine are a decade old, but in the absence of new inspiration, could be worth re-airing:

September brings with it memories of two portentous events: in September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, World War 2 followed. September, 11th, 2001 brought another fateful, never to be forgotten event. This year [2017] September is seeing the aftermath, and continuation of horrendous flooding in southern Texas and Louisiana, USA, as well as even worse floods, and higher death tolls, in India and elsewhere in the world.

It's sad that September carries such bad memories.

Sorrow and scarlet leaf,
Sad thoughts and sunny weather.
Ah me, this glory and this grief
Agree not well together!
(Thomas Parsons, 1880, A Song For September)

September, so named because once upon a Roman time it was the 7th month.
(Septem = 7th in Latin). The first three weeks of September fall within the tropical zodiac sign of Virgo, with just one week left for Libra.

You know, September, as a month, here in the northern hemisphere, doesn't strike me as being a typically Virgoan time, or for that matter Libran. Yes, I know that in mythology Virgo holds a sheaf of corn, and in most places September is harvest time, but September is also when, in many locations, the leaves fall from the trees, and life starts winding down. September is not a neat Virgoan month. Leaves pile up all over the place, then chilly winds blow them messily around. If anything, Virgo has to describe the work of clearing up the leaves. September - the kids go back to start a new school term. The boys, in Britain anyway, play soccer and rugby again, after a summer of playing tennis and cricket. They often get themselves very muddy in the process - how Virgo is that? In the USA Labor Day (that is, to my mind, Virgoan) with a holiday weekend marks the move from August to September.

One of Frank Sinatra's loveliest recordings, September Song..."And it's a long long time from May to December, and the days grow short when they reach September..." describes our life's September, our own autumn/fall. On the back of the old LP cover to the Sinatra album September Of My Years, Stan Cornyn wrote:

"....September can be an attitude or an age or a wistful reality. For this man it is a time of love. A time to sing. A thousand days hath September"

Goodness me, those liner-note writers were good! It's a big loss that CDs don't have the space for their purple prose; and now, in 2017, even CDs are becoming defunct, along with even the briefest of liner notes.

Sinatra, though a Sun Sagittarian, for me remains a September man. Often melancholy, whether for the dying of the year, or for a lost love, a memory, or a feeling - yet with hope always for what is still to come. Perhaps that is the true essence of September.

I'll resist posting again Sinatra's well-known September Song. Instead I've chosen another singer, another song. This could come as a surprise to those who knew the vocalist best as an actor in TV and film, but his stage career began in musicals. He had been a favourite of mine for years, I was so sad when he left us in 2004. Here he is with Try to Remember - and - which song writer would ever be able to resist that rhyme? The song has some nice, very September-ish, nostalgia.

Mercurial Ponderings

I've often wondered why Mercury doesn't "rule" or govern all the Air signs - Gemini, Aquarius and Libra. The Air element is thought to be the most mentally related of the four astrological elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

In an obtuse version of astrological rulerships, Saturn would rule Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Fire signs - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - would be ruled by Mars. Water signs - Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces - by Venus. But then, what would be left for Jupiter to do? Jupiter would have to rule over-all, in true Jupiterian expansionist fashion. It would be acceptable for Sun and Moon not to have rulerships, they are different from the planets. The outer planets, Uranus Neptune and Pluto, are too far away to rule anything, they simply make themselves felt in transit.

Everything we humans do is initiated in the brain, even what seem like emotional responses, though colored by Moon and the Watery element, actually do begin in the mental realm. We ought to pay more attention to Mercury in the natal chart, in fact as much attention as is paid to Sun, Moon and ascendant. (My personal opinion).

Planet Mercury, ruler of mental processes, really does have influence over everything in human life. It travels so fast, no time to make its individual transits felt, but it very frequently touches everything in the charts of all of us. Mercury's journey around the Sun takes 88 days, whereas Saturn's takes over 29 years.

Mercury's rulership of Gemini could hardly be more fitting. Gemini is known as the consummate communicator, teacher, the all-round information collector. Mercury's rulership of Virgo initially seems to be a rather strange pairing. Strict, structure-loving Saturn would seem more compatible with perfection-seeking Virgo. However, as ruler of Virgo, another side of Mercury is reflected, a less abstract, more tangible side. Virgo seeks and usually achieves near perfection in just about anything undertaken. Gemini roves around in the world of words and ideas, gathering them together, regurgitating them, sometimes in light-weight easily accessible fashion, offering them to an enthusiastic audience. Virgo is quite capable of doing this too, but with a far greater emphasis on extreme accuracy and careful presentation - a serious, in depth, approach.

Once Again Into Virgo

About to begin copy-typing the Virgo section from Louis MacNeice's "Astrology", this month, following my current monthly bloggy pattern, I noticed that, back in 2010 I had already called on Mr MacNeice's book for some assistance in constructing a post on zodiac sign Virgo. I shall give my typing fingers a rest this month and do a copy-paste job instead, perhaps replacing illustration:

 Virgo by David Palladini

The Sun has now moved along the zodiac trail from the area western astrologers label Leo to that we know as Virgo. Virgo, the Mutable Earth sign ruled by Mercury. Mercury also rules Gemini (Mutable Air); it's somehow easier to connect Mercury with Airy Gemini than Earthy Virgo.

In a 1964 book, Astrology, recently acquired (more on this in tomorrow's post) author, Louis MacNeice, not an astrologer, but poet and scholar, has this to say about zodiac sign Virgo, quoting Ingrid Lind, a 20th century British astrologer:

Ingrid Lind once again asks straight away: "How can earth be mutable and mercurial?" And the answer yet again is in the other ingredients (though she says, this internal conflict does tend to make a Virgo type a worrier).

I like the expression "Virgo type", as against the more commonly used "a Virgo" - it covers my constant quibble that "there ain't no such thing as a Virgo, or an Aquarian...or...etc. etc. etc." I'll remember to use the expression Virgo(or whatever)-type myself in future. There are certainly "types" who clearly reflect major characteristics of zodiac signs and/or planets, though these people may not always have natal Sun in the relevant sign.

MacNeice then quotes astrologer (Rupert?) Gleadhow:

Virgo (is) "perhaps the most earthbound" of the 12 signs, but her earthiness is very unlike the earthiness of Taurus: Mercury could never rule Taurus. In fact the earth gives Virgo common sense and Mercury supplies an unusually keen intelligence. The two together make for disciplined thinking and acting.

Virgo is traditionally represented holding a sheaf of corn and, in western Europe Virgo's time of year is harvest-time. Granaries may connect with Virgo too - also the separating of wheat from chaff, in a way representing a very Virgoan characteristic: discrimination.

MacNeice writes that Virgo is thought of as the patroness of critics and craftsmen, but not of creators or commanders......Virgo is a great deal more than a sharp-tongued and keen-eyed housewife. It is the patron sign of Switzerland (which was to be expected), but also of Paris and of cats (no doubt because cats are so neat).

He tells us that Tolstoi is accepted by astrologers as a Virgo man, having had not only Sun and Mercury in the sign but the Moon as well. Which would suggest that Virgo CAN be creative sometimes, though perhaps what is most Virgonian about Tolstoi is the exact and conscientious way in which he tried to lead a new life in his old age.

Quoting astrologer André Barbault, MacNeice writes:

.......Anyway, the traditional Virgo type is somewhat dry and cold, a fusser over detail, a discriminator, a rationalist, a perfectionist, yet prepared to sacrifice himself. Barbault suggests that if the Pisces man is like an astronomer brooding on the infinite spaces, the Virgo man is like a biologist with a microscope.

 From Searle's Zodiac by Ronald Searle

As I've noted before in these blog posts, my husband's eldest daughter has Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus & Pluto in Virgo and has spent almost all her career in the newspaper business - how much more of a Mercury-type is there? Coincidentally her birthday is the same as that of Louis MacNeice, apart, of course, from the year. She matches some, but not all of the characteristics mentioned above. Her Leo ascendant (matching that of her Dad) accounts for her softer, warmer nature and sense of humour - more than might be expected from text book descriptions of Virgo.

Other posts on zodiac sign Virgo can be accessed via the Label Cloud in the sidebar, by clicking on.....well, "Virgo".

Astro-dar detects Virgo

Scooting around available BBC radio shows online last weekend, I happened across a programme where Bill Nighy was being re-united with tracks from his vinyl record collection, which had been lost in a flood. As I tuned in, the presenter was commenting on how Bill, holding the stack of vinyl LPs provided by the BBC, was fiddling with the records, making sure all were neatly aligned. Bill responded, "Yes, I'm really very good at aligning things - though not as good at dusting and cleaning them".

My astro-dar was alerted! Sounds like a Virgo trait ! I Google-searched to discover whether astro.com has Bill's natal chart, and found instead Astrotheme's. Born 12 December 1949 in Caterham, UK. Without knowing his time of birth, natal Moon's position can't be known, but Moon, along with Mars and Saturn, would have been in Virgo whatever time Bill was born.

Good to know my ol' astro-dar is still in working order!

Arty Farty Friday ~ Ralston Crawford, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre - all with Sun in Virgo.

It seems fitting that artists with Sun in zodiac sign Virgo should gravitate towards precision and minimalism: geometric shapes, clean lines, that kind of thing. Here are three such Sun Virgo artists, from the 20th century.

For reference I've added a natal chart, set for 12 noon, for each artist. Clicking on the chart image should enlarge it. I'm not getting into interpretation here - other than the focus on Virgo Sun, a factor common to all three artists. Crawford and LeWitt each have just Sun in Virgo, Andre has Sun, Neptune and Venus all there. Another commonality, easily picked out: all three artists have (at least) two oppositions in their charts - perhaps not relevant to their art styles though.

Ralston Crawford born September 5, 1906, St. Catharines, Canada. (From age 10 lived in the USA)

Abstract painter, lithographer, and photographer, best known for his abstract representations of urban life and industry. His early work placed him with Precisionist artists... focus was on realistic, sharp portrayals of factories, bridges, and shipyards. Later work was geometrically abstract.
Short, interesting video narrated by the artist's son:

Sol LeWitt born September 9, 1928, Hartford, Connecticut. An artist linked to various movements, including Conceptual art and Minimalism; came to fame in the late 1960s with wall drawings and "structures" (a term he preferred instead of "sculptures") but was prolific in a wide range of media including drawing, printmaking, photography, and painting.

Carl Andre born September 16, 1935, Quincy, MA. Minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear format and grid format sculptures. His sculptures range from large public artworks to more intimate tile patterns arranged on the floor of an exhibition space.

Hmm - in the course of preparing this post I kept hearing a bell tinkling in my memory banks - I now find that I did write a whole post on Carl Andre back in 2010: Artist Carl Andre, a True Virgo Type.

Fixed Stars in Virgo

Continuing the series of monthly posts on Fixed Stars in each tropical zodiac sign.

Data for Virgo from Astroweb (HERE), showing star positions in 1900 in the left-hand column and in 2000 on the right.

The images below give a rough idea of how some of the Virgo fixed stars are "patterned". Clicking on them should afford a better view. Names of the two constellations Corvus and Crater, being translated, mean crow and cup/chalice respectively. In mythology:

The constellation CORVUS represents the crow or raven who was given a chalice by Apollo and sent to collect the waters of life. Instead of flying straight to his task, the bird spent many days waiting around for the fruit of a fig tree to ripen before eating it. When he did eventually return to his master, he excused his tardiness by claiming that a watersnake had delayed him. Apollo was so annoyed that he cursed the wretched bird with eternal thirst and threw him into the heavens. The cup, CRATER, was also placed there, carefully guarded by the watersnake, HYDRA. (See here)

I'll scribble on about Zosma (on the "hip" of the lion), and Alkes - the latter only briefly - it conjoins my natal Neptune; the former because I've come across it more than once before over the years, while researching posts.

Alkes sits on the bottom right-hand edge of the chalice Crater. Astrologically, according to Constellation of Words

Alkes has always portended eminence to those born under its influence. When rising the star indicates dedicated environmentalists whose love for rivers and streams lead them to be very protective regarding water resources. At a less intense level the native may become a landscape architect, a builder of canals, or in some other manner do business in merchandise connected with water. [Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.53.]

OR, from Darkstar Astrology

“This sacred cup is also associated with prophetic ability as various vessels cross-culturally have versions of it. ie: the Holy Grail or the Cauldron of Bran. Therefore Alkes can be a gift, something precious carried by an individual to pass down the generations of the family, like artistic, musical or psychic ability. Alkes’ talent is usually of a Neptunian nature.”

Not particularly fitting for me, except that the star Alkes is conjunct natal Neptune in my chart, so maybe I missed my way as an artist, musician or psychic, and have scribbled on about others, who didn't miss their ways in those spheres, instead.

Onward to Zosma then.

The fixed star commonly known as Zosma (translates as "girdle" "loincloth" or "enzonement") is also known as Delta Leonis or Duhr. It is located in the constellation Leo, on the lion's rump, and lies about 58 light-years from Earth.

Astrologically Zosma is said to be "of the nature of Saturn and Venus". Interpretations indicate a generally negative "vibe": benefit by disgrace, selfishness, egotism, immorality, meanness, melancholy, fear of poison, a shameless and egotistical nature, to keen intellect, loss in childhood, and prophetic ability (the latter links also to another nearby star Coxa). Other interpretations indicate the concept of victim or saviour, stemming from the fact that Zosma lies on the lion's back - that part broken by Hercules in Greek mythology.

I've noticed Zosma in the charts of George Michael, Ann Coulter, blues singer Seth Walker, actor Ralph Fiennes, and Piers Morgan.

Because Pluto is a very slow mover, millions of people, those born from late 1987 to mid-1988, could find Pluto conjunct Zosma in their natal charts. Only when it's linked to personal planets, rather than just to Pluto, is it likely to make itself felt; it could then appear to bring "a certain something" into clearer focus.

Ralph Fiennes Pluto/Zosma links by harmonious trine to his Mercury in Capricorn, and might also link by sextile to Moon in Scorpio, but we can't be sure without time of birth. In this case the Zosma focus seems to be a similar syndrome to George Michael's: a strange need to be caught doing something "naughty". (See my blog post of 2009 HERE)

Ralph Fiennes stirred controversy in February 2007 when staff aboard a Qantas airline flight from Australia to India caught the actor leaving the same airplane lavatory as 38-year-old female flight attendant Lisa Robertson. At first denying any allegations of a mid-air tryst, Robertson later confessed to having unprotected sex in the stall with Fiennes, whom she had met just hours before.

Glen Beck is another individual with Pluto close to Zosma, and opposite Chiron. One of Zosma's traditional interpretations is "loss in childhood".

"His early life was pitted with tragedies. His mother committed suicide when he was 13. One of his brothers-in-law also committed suicide. Another sibling reportedly had a fatal heart attack.
Beck is a self-described reformed alcoholic In the aftermath of those three family tragedies, Beck said he used "Dr. Jack Daniels"and marijuana to cope."

(See my blog post HERE)

Piers Morgan, a former UK newspaper editor, occasionally seen on TV in the USA in various roles, has Mars and Uranus conjunct Zosma. I seem to remember there were hints of disgrace/embarrassment hanging around Mr. Morgan during his newspaper career in the UK. He was eventually fired from UK's Daily Mirror for publishing some faked photographs.

Well then....so far it looks as though Zosma, linked into a natal chart, indicates a person to whom I'd personally like to give a dope slap up the side of the head for managing to blot their copybooks....especially in the case of George Michael who could have been one of the truly greats.

A rapid skim through data available at Astrotheme threw up a handful of others, well-known in the UK and USA, who have Zosma attached to a personal planet. There's no obvious commonality (from what we know of them), other than that they are or have been famous, and would therefore have a goodly share of ego - but that applies to just about anyone who has become famous, Zosma or no Zosma. Shrinking violets seldom seek or achieve fame.

John Travolta (Moon 11.11 Virgo)
Madonna (Moon 11.33 Virgo)
Cass Elliot (Moon 11.56 Virgo)
Freddy Mercury Sun 11/55 Virgo
Astrologer Liz Greene Sun 11.33 Virgo (maybe here the "ability to prophesy" part of traditional interpretation kicks in ?)

I suspect that finding Zosma conjunct or closely aspecting a personal planet will not, alone, be a sufficient indicator for any of the traditional interpretations to "kick-in". There would need to be other supporting evidence in the chart. Zosma, properly positioned, might add weight to an otherwise uncertain potentiality. Planets at or close to 11 Virgo are worth noting!

There's a 2014 piece on Zosma by Milos Tomic at Mountain Astrologer - see HERE.

(Clicking on "Zosma" - last link in the Label Cloud in my sidebar will afford easy access to all Zosma mentions in past posts (2009-2011) including those already linked above.)

"People who get things done..."

Ogden Nash's poetry and comments on life never fail to bring a smile and a nod. In this piece he had, all unknowingly, written a description of the person with a hefty dose of Virgo in their natal chart. Sun is now inching into zodiac sign Virgo so:





A Stitch Too Late Is My Fate

There are some people of whom I would certainly like to be one,
Who are the people who get things done.
They balance their checkbooks every month and their figures
always agree with the bank's,
And they are prompt in writing letters of condolence or thanks.
They never leave anything to chance,
But always make reservations in advance.

When they get out of bed they never neglect to don slippers
so they never pick up athlete's foot or a cold or a splinter,
And they hang their clothes up on hangers every night and
put their winter clothes away every summer
and their summer clothes away every winter.

Before spending any money they insist on getting
an estimate or a sample,
And if they lose anything from a shoelace to a diamond ring
it is covered by insurance more than ample.
They have budgets and what is more they live inside of them,
Even though it means eating things made by recipes
clipped from the Sunday paper that you'd think they would have died from them.

They serve on committees
And improve their cities
They are modern knight errants
Who remember their god-children's birthdays and the anniversaries
of their god children's parents,
And in cold weather they remember the birds and supply them with
sunflower seed and suet,
And whatever they decide to do, whether it's to save
twenty-five percent of their salary or learn Italian or write a musical comedy or touch their toes a hundred times every morning before breakfast,
why they go ahead and do it.

People who get things done lead contented lives, or at least I guess so,
And I certainly wish that either I were more like them or they were less so.

JUPITER in VIRGOLAND

 Jupiter

Online astrologers have recently been regaling us with theories of how Jupiter's recent move, from Leo into Virgo, will "affect", or be reflected in, both mundane and personal ways.

 Virgo

Jupiter takes around a year to travel through a zodiac sign. To find out whether Jupiter's previous transit through Virgo brought anything of note into one's personal world or into the world at large, there's a list of Jupiter transits through signs at Dr.Standley.com, here:
JUPITER MOVING THROUGH THE SIGNS CALENDAR


The last Jup/Virg meetup was during late August 2003 to late September 2004. Well now...during that time (in August '03) I was involved in sorting out a "doable" visa/ route for me to emigrate UK to USA, were anyjazz and I to decide to marry; then (September '04) having got me a visa and married Himself, we were embroiled in selling the house in the UK where I then lived, and getting rid of most of my "stuff". I don't think Jupiter in Virgo had much to do with any of that, to be honest, but who knows? It's coincidental though.

By Sun Sign, several astrologers have predictions for us all. Not to be self-indulgent, but simply as a guinea pig test, here's a sample of mine - Aquarius Sun:

Aquarius: (at astrostyle.com)
Under the radar? While Aquarians aren’t exactly the hermit type, Jupiter’s move into your intense and intimate eighth house could find you consumed by research or a new obsessive interest. This could be a bountiful year for joint ventures, investments, real estate, spirituality, sex and marriage (yes, the eighth house rules all of these things). Is it time to make things official? You could make a large sum of money through a smart investment, a sale of assets, an inheritance, a divorce settlement or royalties. Think: passive income.

Aquarius (at harpersbazaar.com - by Jennifer Angel)
You connect with people who have expertise of business and monetary matters, people who can help you build security through clever financial knowhow. Business partnerships are favored. This placement of Jupiter in your chart can also indicate an inheritance or lucky windfall, but above all, it implies support, or benefit from other peoples' resources. Your life can become richer with a greater understanding of life itself. During this transit, relationships can be physically rewarding with a sensual chemistry connection.

Hmmm - notice the word "inheritance" in both. Interesting! Regular readers will know why.

Virgo in my natal chart, by the way, contains only Neptune at 23*, in 4th house, probably. Neptune is in trine to Mercury in Capricorn and (rather widely) to Uranus in Taurus. My natal Jupiter is at 6* Pisces in exact semi-sextile to Aquarius Sun.

The Oxford Astrologer wrote:

• Jupiter in detriment in Virgo opposes Neptune empowered in Pisces, and that aspect is functioning right now. It’s a fascinating one because Jupiter and Neptune are both rulers of Pisces, and here they are pulling opposite directions on the wheel of the Zodiac, with one side much stronger than the other. The last time this aspect happened was 27 Aug 1849: it’s rare.
Look at the axis of Pisces-Virgo in your chart and planets around 8° Pisces, Virgo, Gemini and Sagittarius. The aspect becomes exact in mid-September and carries on until early October. There is only one hit, so pay attention around September 17.

Ooh--kay!

Anyone else have Jupiter in Virgo stories or "great expectations"?

VIRGO ~ Sign and Type.

 Virgo from Erté's Zodiac Sign Collection

As the Sun reaches the Leo/Virgo cusp, a look at a few less commonly chanted traits of the sign through which the Sun is about to glide during the next four weeks: Virgo. Virgo's planetary ruler is Mercury. Mercury also rules Gemini.

Digressing for a moment, and considering the mystery of sign rulerships. I don't understand why communications planet Mercury doesn't rule the Air signs (Gemini, Aquarius, Libra). Air is thought to be the most mentally oriented of the four astrological elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

Everything we humans do is initiated in the brain, even what seem like emotional responses, though coloured by Moon and the Watery element, actually do begin in the mental realm. As I see it, we ought to pay more attention to Mercury in the natal chart - equally as much as to Sun, Moon and ascendant.

In an Aquarian-driven, typically obtuse version of astrological rulerships, I propose that Saturn could rule the Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn). Fire signs(Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) would be ruled by Mars. Water signs by Venus (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces). Mercury would rule the Air signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. But then, what would Jupiter do? Jupiter would have to rule over-all, in true Jupiterian expansionist fashion! It would be acceptable for Sun and Moon not to rule signs, they are luminaries, different from planets. The outer planets, Uranus Neptune and Pluto are too far away to rule anything, they will simply make themselves felt in transit when connecting with, or aspecting, personal planets.

Mercury's rulership of Gemini seems obvious: the consummate communicator, teacher, the all-round information collector. As ruler of Virgo, Mercury must be reflected as less abstract, more tangible. Virgo seeks and usually achieves near perfection in just about anything undertaken. Gemini roves around in the world of words and ideas, gathering them together, regurgitating them, sometimes in light-weight haphazard fashion, offering them back to a usually enthusiastic audience. Virgo is quite capable of doing this too, but with a far greater emphasis on accuracy and presentation - a more serious approach.

I do think Mercury's rulership of Virgo to be rather strange. To my mind strict, structure-loving Saturn would seem more compatible with perfection-seeking sign, Virgo. I'm probably missing something at a deeper level.

More on Virgo then...

I'm guided by 20th century British astrologer C.E.O. Carter and his piece
VIRGO ~ "A BEVY OF MAIDENS"

 By David Palladini (1970)

Mr Carter sometimes sounds as though he considers there's a person who, born between two specified dates, could properly and proudly carry the label "Virgo" on his or her tee-shirt. I'm pretty sure this well-respected astrologer thought nothing of the sort. Urged to write or speak on individual zodiac signs, as he often must have been, he decided to take the easiest way out.

As I've said, many times in these posts, "there's no such thing as "a Virgo", "a Leo", "a Scorpio" or any other such zodiac sign-labelled individual. Those are sign labels not people labels!

A person could have Sun in Sagittarius, or any other zodiac sign, and still exhibit many Virgo attributes due to a variety of combinations of planetary placements, points, and aspects in their chart. He or she could then be called a Virgo-type, if one insisted on attaching a label, as could a person with Sun in Virgo, if the traits fit - and they don't always.

So, passing reader, it's my opinion that we should look on whatever astrologers write or say, when using that sign-label type of shorthand ("a Leo" "a Virgo" etc.) as simply writing or speaking of a particular type who may or may not have Sun in the sign in question, but demonstrates a majority of character traits related to that sign.

And so...eventually...a few less commonly mentioned Virgo-type traits as listed by Mr Carter within his piece linked above, which is a good read in full by the way:

Whilst Leo and Virgo are as different as chalk from cheese,
with only a few exceptions, Virgo and Libra [the next adjoining sign]
have a good deal in common...both, for example, have taste in literature and art
and dislike rough and uncouth things.

... interested in dietetics and often have their private fads
and fancies in that respect.

... their alleged sensitiveness. Most Virginians
have a pose of being sensitive. It is, of
course, the sign of the inferiority complex, although this
is not to say that all natives of Virgo are afflicted in
this way or that all so afflicted are born under Virgo.
Still, in principle I think Virgo stands for this sense of
personal inadequacy, which in a world as complex and
difficult as ours has become, with ever higher standards of
efficiency set before it, is an easily understood
phenomenon.

Another point is that by their very nature the Mercurials
notice and think a lot about details and what seem to your
Jovian to be trivialities. This may appear to be
sensitiveness to some, and in other cases one must dub them
fussy and for ever making mountains out of mole-hills.
This tendency is best sublimated by their taking up some
occupation that entails much attention to small matters,
such as watch-mending or embroidery.
So much for the maiden-archetype in its everyday
presentation.


In a higher (presentation), it is the virgin mother of the new-born Sun,
since the constellation Virgo rises in the east at midnight
at the winter solstice when the sun is "in the tomb" for
three days before beginning afresh his climb into northern
declination.

The sheaf of corn would imply that Virgo is often and
agriculturalist. This is probably true. We do not come
across many nativities of farmers, since they are a race
that is as a rule too occupied with the soil to aspire to
understand the heavens, but I suspect we should find plenty
of Virgo in most of their maps. This would agree with the
liking that many, but not all,Virgos show for small animals,
traditionally up to and including the ass, but not the horse.

Still talking of animals, I am reminded of Benjamin, the
donkey in Orwell's Animal Farm. Being invited to admire the
goodness of the Creator who had thoughtfully provided him
with a tail wherewith to flick away flies, Benjamin remarked
sourly that he would have been more impressed if there had
been no flies and no need for tails. This is a very true
specimen of Virgo philosophy.


A virtue often ascribed to Virginians is a capacity for
hard work, especially routine drudgery such as Leo and Libra
would soon tire of. I regret to say that I have known
Virgos who were anything but industrious. The only sign
which really likes hard work is Scorpio.

MISCELLANY... touching on a Sun Virgo astrologer, fashion police, lifeboat heroes, photography.

Continuing a monthly trawl through astrologers with birthdays in zodiac sign where the sun currently resides: Virgo Sun astrologers proved to be rare. I found only Liz Greene and Louis MacNeice. The latter born 12 September 1907 in Belfast, Northern Ireland was a poet and scholar, rather than an astrologer proper, but he did write a book on the subject. My post on him is HERE .

Liz Greene was born on 4 September 1946 at 1:01 PM in Englewood, New Jersey (see chart at Astrodatabank)

American professional astrologer and author, Jungian psychologist and lecturer; one of the most highly respected astrologers of the 20th century. Greene has been awarded the Regulus Award for Theory and Understanding, 1989, recognizing the work with other disciplines and philosophical models. She relocated to England and then to Switzerland. With Howard Sasportas, she founded the Center for Psychological Astrology in London. Her books include "Saturn, A New Look for an Old Devil," "Star Signs for Lovers," and "The Outer Planets and Their Cycles." After Sasportas died of AIDS, she teamed with Charles Harvey as co-head of the Center.

Does she match the pattern I've been trying to establish (i.e. that best astrologers have Air (mental acuity) and Water (emotional intelligence) prominent in their charts)?
She does: 5 planets in Air signs (Libra and Gemini), a Water sign (Scorpio) rising.




Glancing down the long list of tags on my Blogger dashboard I noticed fascism and fashion adjacent....the fashion police ("never wear white after Labor Day, don't wear socks with sandals, don't wear back bra under pale shirt", etc )come to think of it are really distant cousins to outright fascists!





Among some photos we took during the time husband lived with me in the UK, in Bridlington, on the East Yorkshire coast I noticed this:



We found the gravestones of James Watson (43), David Purdon (38) and Robert Pickering (34) in the grounds of the town's Priory Church; they represent a very sad story of men who sacrificed their lives attempting to save the crew of a brig "Delta". In February of 1871 a terrible storm and gale, often referred to as the most notorious and best remembered of all the gales on the Yorkshire coast, caused the destruction of several vessels and deaths of many seamen and lifeboat crews around Bridlington Bay. A report of events is available at Flamborough Lifeboats website. The gravestones in the photograph commemorate three of the crew of the lifeboat Harbinger, David Purdon, one of the three, had also built the boat, three other crewmen of the Harbinger perished too.


The report of that storm reminded me of the raw courage lifeboatmen everywhere have always displayed, often with little recompense. They, along with firefighters are the TRUE heroes of our times, and of times long past.

A man of courage never wants weapons.
~Author Unknown

Painting by J.T. Allerston, see also HERE.



Words of my husband, aka "anyjazz" on photography:

A friend once described the difference between "taking pictures" and being "a photographer": You have to have the eye.

Taking a picture often catches the moment, a photographer catches the mood, the aura, the personality, the action. A picture shows you Grandma Hattie in her best dress. A photograph shows you how she felt that day. A photographer knows how to use the medium to capture more than the image. The elements.

Think about that: The Elements.

Color, balance, texture, design, rhythm and detail all are parts of most photographs, illustrations or paintings. These are basic elements of visual arts. There are probably others. Start with these.

In some photographs there can be seen action, story, drama, emotion, mood. Some others record a moment, predict an outcome, ask a question, decide an argument, set a course.

In some photographs the subject matter alone can be an element of its beauty or worthiness. In another photograph, there may be no identifiable subject at all but other elements, color, action, mood are there. In a sports photo for instance, the subject can be quite secondary to the excitement, the event, the action.

Sometimes it is just a picture of a baby, sometimes it is a picture of the future of mankind. Both pictures are wonderful but one is just an image of a child while the other is a legend.

Physical elements: Color, balance, texture, design, rhythm and detail. Intangible elements: action, story, drama, emotion and mood.

If a photograph combines several of these elements then it is likely an exceptional photograph.

A website carrying daily doses of all manner of wonderful photographs is Fluidr.com

Below are some of the husband's own work - shots he particularly likes:

"Some years ago I attended a couple Pawnee Powwow celebrations in Pawnee, Oklahoma. This gentleman posed for a picture. He was a distant relative of mine, loosely connected through marriage. A sort of ex-father-in-law from an ex-marriage of an ex-marriage...or something like that. He was a full blood Pawnee, I understand. His name was: Chauncey Gardipe. He and I actually got along rather well to the best of my memory.
This is a scan of an old print. I shot it with my old workhorse Pentax K1000 and some tri-x film. You can now tell how long ago it must have been. 40 years probably."

"I remember this shot very well. I was at Lac Gustav in Northern Quebec. The wind died for a moment and I got a shot in while the water was smooth as a mirror. The logs are the remainder of an old dock that had been replaced with the one next to it. Knowing what it really was kept me from seeing that it was a beautiful optical illusion."

"Bored but Quiet"

Arty Farty Friday ~ George Ault: Depressed, Obsessed, Alcoholic, Dogged by Misfortune

George Ault, a good-looking fellow, as befits Sun, Mercury and Venus in Libra - but he was an artist who could be said to have "painted his depression".

Born into privilege, on 11 October 1891. His parents were wealthy business people who moved from Cleveland, Ohio to London, England when George was young. He had the benefit of a good art education at Slade School of Art and St. John's Wood School of Art. He returned to the United States in 1911. His benign beginnings turned to tragedy, however. His mother died in a mental institution; his three brothers all killed themselves, two of them after losing the family fortune in the stock market crash. By the time his father died his family's fortunes were gone. Ault spent the last 10 years of his life broke and totally dependent on his wife in an artists’ colony in Woodstock, New York, in a tiny rented house with no electricity or indoor plumbing.

Ault seems to have been something of an obsessive, needing order in everything. In his wife's writings (see first link at end of post) she tells that:

Both studio and house needed to be perfectly clean before he could sit down at his easel. Ault would do the chores himself, Louise recalled, shining the small house each morning to its “permanent brilliance” before starting to paint. Outside, Ault “knelt with grass-shears and trimmed on either side of the path, close and neatly, cutting back the wildness to leave a park-like strip,”

When he didn’t paint, he drank, agonized over the Nazi occupation of Paris, and painstakingly arranged and rearranged his personal library. In 1948, a few days after Christmas, Ault joined his brothers. He fell into the icy waters of Woodstock Creek. His body was recovered five days later.

George Ault's depression can be felt in the darkness of many of his later paintings. Neurotic, alcoholic and reclusive, avoided by former friends, who had no doubt been put off by his alarming behaviour. He seldom included people in his paintings, though not due to lack of skill in that direction. A couple of his sketches demonstrate that he was well capable of figure drawing. I suppose, in his depression and alcoholism, having become alienated from his fellows, he had little wish to spare any space on his canvas for them.

Ault's paintings of the 1940s have a distinctive style, not quite surreal, yet not quite realistic. Flat colours, straight lines and sharp angles dominate, with some rather odd perspectives.

Will his depression and obsessions show in his natal chart, I wonder? I have my doubts. His state of mind was mainly brought about by events over which he had no control: his mother's slip into mental instability and death, World War 2, financial ruin of his family, suicide of three siblings. The guy's life was plagued by misfortune!

Let's see: born 11 October 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio. A 12 noon chart will have to suffice as I can find no birth time for him. Rising sign will not be as shown, and Moon, if he was born around or after 5pm would have been in Aquarius rather than Capricorn.



His draw to artistry is easy to find - Libra is ruled by Venus, planet of the arts, and here we have Venus in its own home sign along with his Sun (self) and Mercury (mental orientation). His obsessive need for order? I'd bet that can be laid at the astrological doorstep of Mars tightly conjunct Saturn in Virgo. Virgo is the sign of perfection, Saturn the planet of discipline, with Mars energising an urge for costant order. It's a pity his time of birth isn't known, so's to establish Moon's exact position. If around the 20s of Capricorn, Moon would be in harmonious trine with the Mars/Saturn in Virgo conjunction, strengthening those traits of perfectionism and need for order even further in his nature.

There's another tight conjunction: Pluto/Neptune in Gemini. This one is generational, shared by many well-known and iconic artists and communicators. In Ault's case an harmonious trine to Mercury in Libra gives the conjunction's powerful creativity extra significance.

I don't see any clear pointer towards his depressive state, beyond that indication of a constant reaching for order in everything. Perhaps his rising sign might offer a pointer. If Gemini were rising or in first house, for instance, then the Pluto/Neptune conjunction of potentially powerful creativity might manifest a shadow side: an obsessive addictive personality. Or, perhaps the simple answer would be that his tragic life experiences overwhelmed all - even his natal chart.


January Full Moon




Black Night at Russell's Corners (in Woodstock, close to his home there. Ault painted 5 variations of this scene, another below).



Bright Light at Russell's Corners



Sullivan Street, Abstraction


Brooklyn Heights



View From Brooklyn





Memories of the Coast of France



Old House, New Moon



Studio Interior



Anne



Untitled. Seated Female Figure.




SEE ALSO:
http://www.themagazineantiques.com/articles/george-ault-and-1940s-america/

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40628/to-make-a-world-george-ault-and-1940s-america-reviewed)