Same Language, Subtly Different Cultures

In the early years of my life in the USA I used to read and contribute to a British Ex-Pat's forum. Subject matter often turned to the cultural and personality differences we new immigrants were quite surprised to find between British and American people. I've noticed a lot of questions and answers at Quora on a similar topic recently. Subtle differences between the English speaking races is a popular talking point. I sometimes get to wondering about astrologers in this regard.

When an American astrologer prepares a report for a British person or an Australian (or vice versa), or indeed for a person of any other nationality than their own, are cultural differences taken into account? Is the astrologer aware of the differences, or do astrologers say "people are people are people, and astrology is astrology, irrespective of the subject's nationality"? Do English-speaking astrologers of different nationalities use subtly different approaches ?

Although the "nuts and bolts" of astrological principles remain constant, how these are interpreted and expressed will differ from person to person, astrologer to astrologer, not forgetting that the astrologers' own astrological makeup has to be thrown into the mix. Beyond those individual differences though, there may be a blanket factor common to astrologers of the same nationality, who have lived with the same problems and joys, prides and prejudices. This has nothing to do with "Britishness" or "Americanness", stereotypes, patriotism or nationalism, it's simply a question of different experience, and the way it colours interpretation, understanding, and mode of expression.

Astrologers from past decades, such as C.E.O Carter (British), Grant Lewi and Carl Payne Tobey (American) seem to me to be further apart in their styles, outlook, and modes of expression than do current British and American astrologers. The world is shrinking fast, our common experiences are becoming more global than national, aided and assisted by the internet. I guess subtle differences will always remain, but with each generation these are likely to become less and less significant.

Astrological Wisdom

British Astrologer of the 20th century, Ingrid Lind:

It is fatal to think of "the Stars" as determinants. We must not turn them into inexorable or malignant gods. This is altogether to mistake their power and to misunderstand the function of astrology, which is to give us a glimpse of a cosmic purpose with which we should try to harmonise. A man imprisoned in Saturn's dungeons may find real freedom in himself, and the chaos of disillusion of Neptune may drive him inwards until he finds the secret of his own integrity. Hard times may turn him into a walking complaint or he may learn to enjoy freedom from possessions. There is no difficult condition that courage cannot turn to good use.
(From the Conclusion to her book Astrology & Commonsense .)

One never has to go far to find wise words from astrologer Robert Hand. From Chapter 8 of Essays on Astrology (1982):

There are rhythms in human development, rhythms that weave in and out of each other, sometimes working together to reinforce each other, sometimes working against each other. Astrologers have long known about these rhythms, for that is the central study of astrology: the relation between the rhythms of human development and cycles of the heavens. Astrology is nothing more than this. It is not an effort to chart Fate or to describe an individual's immutable destiny. Astrology teaches that every individual is a creature of the cosmos and reflects its cycles. These cycles in turn affect the probabilities of different kinds of experience happening within an individual's life at various times.

From astrologer Liz Greene's Mythic Astrology (1994):

No horoscope can indicate whether an individual will turn healthy self-assertiveness into violence, or imaginative self mythologizing into dangerous delusions of global dominion. Mozart's horoscope may look surprisingly like that of the school music teacher. Factors beyond the scope of astrology - heredity, environment, historical epoch - interact with individual character to produce unpredictable results.

Snippets from the section "Introducing the Moon" in The Psychic Explorer co-written by astrologer Jonathan Cainer, first published 1986. All astrological input was from Mr. Cainer:

Our modern world is very solar. Despite recent advances in the feminist cause, we still live in a society dominated by male energy - and perhaps that is one reason why masculine sun signs have become so popular! There is a strong tendency for most of us to accept glib, generalized information and simplified scientific truisms. The sun rules "simplicity", and it also speaks of "material growth and self-interest", two very characteristic 20th-century ideals. The lunar principles of compassion, sympathy and understanding do exist in our world, but most of us would agree that they normally play a muted second fiddle in the process of human motivation.

It is crucial to recognize that people of either sex have two sides to their personality. Inside every macho man is a soft, poetic, sensitive individual trying to get out. Inside every soft woman is a strong, capable and ambitious person waiting for an opportunity to express herself. However, most women, at least on a superficial level, find it easier to identify with the lunar side of their character, while most men have more affinity with solar energy. In other words, women are often more in touch with their moon signs and men with their sun signs.

If you can accept the notion that each individual is not just a one-dimensional personality with a cardboard cut-out facade but a complicated, sensitive mixture of differing (and sometimes opposing) inclinations, you are ready to enter the world of real astrology.

Astrologer's Words of Wisdom ~ On the topic of aspects

A few years ago I would do the occasional post under the heading Astrologer's (or Astrologers') Words of Wisdom: pertinent quotes from astrologers' books, articles or print-outs of their lectures. I haven't posted one of these for a while, but on reading once again the introduction to an old book I have on my astrology shelf, I decided to revive that Words of Wisdom idea, once more. The points made are a fairly obvious, once given a bit of thought, but do bear repeating.

From The Astrological Aspects by C.E.O. Carter (published 1930 - 1969)

From the book's Introduction:

 Hat-tip for image to  Astro-wiki

The difficulties of writing anything reliable and capable of helping the practical student are great. For, while we can understand the abstract significance of the planets and so form a conception of the theoretical meaning of each aspect, it still remains true that when we descend from these abstractions to the effects of the aspects in actual life we find ourselves confronted with a very intricate task. That which is unitary above becomes many below; the trend of manifestation is always towards increased diversity. Thus, even in terms of character, the same aspect exhibits great differences in manifestation according to the almost innumerable possible concurrent circumstances that may arise. When we seek to determine the probable external form of the aspects in the affairs of life, we meet yet greater variation. What is more absurd than to suppose that the same aspect (whether radical or progressed) will manifest in the same way in the case of a convict serving a life-sentence, a millionaire financier, a Bohemian artist, or a soldier on active service?

A little further on in the Introduction he writes (or scolds a wee bit):

I must frankly say that I doubt if anything has done sane Astrology more harm than our constant prating about "good" and "bad" aspects, like children talking of "lovely sweets" and "nasty medicine". Such a point of view is debilitating and unworthy, and it implies that astrologers are people whose chief concern in life is to find ease and comfort and avoid hardships. I do not mean that astrologers are of this frame of mind, but our language leads others to this conclusion. We must indeed employ the terms of ordinary language, but there is no need to speak as if comfort were the one good thing, and discomfort the one evil.

Astrology and Astrologers Put to Test

A book I read some years ago, Under One Sky (2004), brainchild of Rafael Nasser, contains the biography of a woman, completely unknown to twelve well-respected astrologers. Each astrologer was tasked to give their "blind" interpretation of the anonymous woman's personality and life history, with only her birth data for guidance. Each used their own specialised system:
DEMETRA GEORGE - Asteroid Focus
EVELYN ROBERTS - Archetypal
GARY CHRISTEN - Uranian
HADLEY FITZGERALD - Psychological
JOHN MARCHESELLA - Modern Western
KEN BOWSER - Western Sidereal
KIM ROGERS-GALLAGHER - Light-hearted
ROBERT HAND - Medieval
ROBERT SCHMIDT - Hellenistic
RONNIE GALE DREYER - Vedic
STEVEN FORREST - Evolutionary
WENDY Z. ASHLEY - Mythological


The astrologers specified how and why they reached the conclusions they did.

The subject's biography is stated in detail, by the woman herself - a little wordy for my taste. I discovered her identity later (see here).

As I read the biography I picked out a few key points which, in my opinion, ought to come through loud and clear in an accurate interpretation. These were: world travel; academic ability; spirituality; health problems/accidents; relationship with her father.

It wasn't as easy as I'd imagined it would be to see clearly which astrologer had come closest to describing the anonymous woman. Some astrologers were overly wordy, somewhat woolly too in places! Finally I concluded that one astrologer who used the sidereal zodiac, and one who used the tropical, delivered the best, clearest, and most accurate reports. I'll refrain from naming names, because my opinion could differ wildly from another reader's.

For astrology-minded readers this is a fascinating book, I learned one or two things from reading it:

1. Both tropical and sidereal zodiacs can work, in the right hands.

2. Too many words muddy the waters, even when the writer obviously has style and flair.

3. A light touch is best.

4. Not everything is shown in a birth chart, even when experts translate.

5. Basic, bog-standard tropical astrology can be as accurate as the most complex specialised methods, or use of a variety of different celestial bodies, or myths.

A discussion about the book at the Skyscript forum dating from 2010 reveals a variety of opinions on the interpretations, and some disappointment on the performance of astrologers involved in the book's experiment.

Whether interpreting birth data in such a "blind" situation is a fair test of either astrology or astrologers is open to question. On the surface, and to any reader with little astrological knowledge, it might seem to be a reasonable test, but I have doubts. Almost everything in astrology is open to more than a single, black/white interpretation. Expecting a "blind" reading to be more than part-accurate at best would be placing an unnatural strait-jacket on the ancient art. We humans do not fit into astrological strait-jackets (though a few out there in Washington DC might benefit from being strapped into a regular one).

Linda Goodman

American astrologer Linda Goodman was born this day, 9 April, in 1925. She's the astrologer who lit the fuse under Sun sign astrology with her book
Sun Signs, first published in 1968. Sparks of inspiration from her book still fly far and wide, long after the author's demise in 1995. Back in England, I bought that book in the mid-'70s, enjoyed it a lot, due to her writing style and sense of humour. I passed it around work friends to spread "the word"; it was never seen by me again!

Most Sun sign astrologers, in spite of their continued popularity, and position as "gatekepers" to astrology proper, still receive a bad press. There are bad ones, some very bad ones, but those with a flair for writing in a style accessible to interested but low-information readers, who can show a modicum of humour and insight into the human condition, while tempting readers to find out more about their subject, continue to survive unfair ridicule and denigration. Linda Goodman was one such astrologer. In preparing this post I discovered more about her. Whether what has been published is 100% accurate only those closest to her will know, but it makes interesting reading, and paints a (possibly exaggerated) picture of a rather eccentric, driven, intense but very generous character.
Ms Goodman chose never to reveal full detail of her birth data, what she did reveal turned out to be inexact, once detail from her birth certificate became available.

I'll quote excerpts from each of the links below as samples, then take a peek at her natal chart.

Astro.com:Linda Goodman

Conscious Evolution - piece by Maria Barron about Linda Goodman (2000)

People.com - piece by By Sarah Moore Hall, Richard K. Rein originally published 1979.

From astro.com - notes regarding time of birth:

LMR quotes Kathleen Johnson for the date, from Goodman; confirmed by Frank C. Clifford by phone from the records bureau. Time deduced by LMR from her statement that she had Neptune right on the ASC. For the most part she concealed her own data, only dropping hints and clues to her colleagues.
According to Wikipedia, the magazine 'Today's Astrologer' writes on February 6, 2008, p. 11:
According to her birth certificate, on file at the American Federation of Astrologers in Tempe, Arizona, she was born on April 9, 1925 at 6:05 a.m. EST in Morgantown, West Virginia

From the Conscious Evolution link above:

...............Although Linda never revealed the full contents of her own birth chart publicly, a chart cast for around 8:23 a.m. on April 9, 1925, in Morgantown, West Virginia, matches all the aspects she did reveal about her natal chart and the circumstances she believed about her birth.

(NOTE: This time of birth is some 2 and a half hours later than the time on her birth certificate)

In Gooberz, Linda says she was born in the morning and that she always had a hard time really reconciling who she was because of her "somewhat afflicted planet in Libra." That kind of identity conflict fits the astrological description of a person with the Sun and Moon in opposite signs. In the chart as cast, it is the Moon, representing the emotional nature, which shows up as Linda's "somewhat afflicted planet" in gentle, beauty-loving Libra. It opposes her natal Sun in the fiery, independent and combative sign of Aries. The "graceful conjoining" of the stars Spica and Arcturus, which Linda mentions in the same description as a blessing in her chart, is there as well. The two stars are conjoined with her natal moon.

Linda also says her chart was blessed by trines from Gemini, Neptune and Mars. In the chart as cast, Linda's ascendant shows up at about 9 degrees Gemini, and indeed there are trines emanating from the point of her Gemini ascendant as well as from Neptune and Mars. Neptune, the planet of dreams, trines her Sun and Venus. The ascendant and Mars, both located in quick-thinking, communicative Gemini, trine the mid-heaven point in the chart. Suggestive of how one might be remembered in the world, Linda's mid-heaven point is in the New Age sign of Aquarius.
Also, in the chart as cast, Linda's ruling planet, Mars, sovereign of Aries, is conjoined with her ascendant, providing an explanation for why Linda would refer to herself, in newspaper articles and with friends, as a triple Aries. Only two planets -- the Sun and Venus -- are in Aries at any time that morning. But with Mars located at the point of the ascendant, the third dose of Aries Ram energy is added, conspicuously, to the personality...............................

Linda told interviewers that she began her career writing for newspapers in the eastern and southeastern United States. She also said she had written speeches for black American civil rights leader Whitney Young, who served for several years as president of the National Urban League. Her political activism re-emerged at various times throughout her life. In 1993, she whipped off political letters on both the national and local level. One, to President Clinton, advised him to study a particular experimental fuel additive as he formed his environmental policies. The other, a letter to the editor of Cripple Creek's little weekly newspaper, The Gold Rush, advised local voters to return incumbent city council members to office.

In her personal life, Linda endured the pain of loss time and time again. She had children who died in infancy and a daughter, Sarah, nicknamed Sally, who died or disappeared as a young adult.
........... during her final years, as she faced declining health caused by diabetes -- when her belief in the benefits of physical immortality would occasionally give way to a desire to move on from this earthly plain of experience -- she would call to the love of her middle years, her second husband, Sam Goodman, who had preceded her in death.

From the People link above:

As dawn breaks over her remote aerie high in the Colorado Rockies, Linda Goodman shakes off sleepiness, feeds wood into the stove against the chill and sets about a bizarre daily ritual. To the low recorded music of a Gregorian chant, she lights candles on a handmade altar and recites a mystical litany she created six years ago as a message to her departed loved ones. It begins with the prayer of St. Francis: "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace..."

Goodman's life defies imagination. On the one hand, she is a very rich woman, made so by her wildly popular books on astrology. Her 1968 explanation of the zodiac titled Sun Signs sold four million copies, and paperback rights to her current best-seller, Love Signs, went last year for $2.25 million, equaling the record held by Mario Puzo's Fools Die. By any standard, Goodman at 54 is the most influential astrologer in the world. But she has also become a recluse, hidden away in Cripple Creek, Colo., haunted by the disappearance of the two most important people in her life within the space of 20 months. One was her lover, Robert Brewer, a marine biologist of 22 who fled to Mexico without explanation in the spring of 1972 and has not been seen since. The other was her daughter, Sally, officially listed by the New York medical examiner as a suicide just before Christmas 1973, a casualty of liquor and barbituates at 21.

Goodman believes Brewer will return soon of his own accord; she keeps a place set for him at the dining table. Her grief over Sally, a budding actress and drama school graduate, has taken a more obsessive turn. "I know Sally is not dead," says Goodman. "I've done her chart over and over again. An astrologist can't predict death, but I can foresee non-death. I don't know exactly why she was taken, but I feel the time is right for her to reappear. The only reason I'm talking now is hope that I'll find some lead to her." ........................................
.....................A well-known astrologer on the East Coast, provided (by PEOPLE) with the date and place of Linda's birth (West Parkersburg, Va., April 9, 1925) but not with her identity, describes "an Aries who has a tendency to spin dreams. She is not a liar—she just dramatizes things. She tries to make her fantasies come true." Indirectly, Goodman's explanation seems to agree. "I admit that to be an astrologer you live a great deal in the imagination," she says. "But about Sally I'm like any distraught mother. I just want my daughter back."

Natal chart using data from Astrodatabank (AA rating, confirmed by birth certificate)

Linda Goodman's birthname: Mary Alice Kemery. Born on 9 April 1925 at 06:05 AM in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The chart differs in detail from the time of birth Ms Goodman gave to interviewers, but doesn't differ a lot in spirit. (See the snips from the Conscious Evolution link above). The Sun-Moon opposition is here. Her rising sign isn't Gemini though, but Aries, resulting, as she had stated, but for different reason, that she was "a triple Aries".
Neptune isn't on the ascendant, but it forms a nice close trine to Sun on the ascendant. Her mid-heaven was Capricorn, not Aquarius - and Capricorn underlines the kind of business sense she must have had, in spite of her seeming eccentricities and quirks. Jupiter close to mid-heaven reflects her reported generosity.

BELIEF AND BEYOND

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.

Long and scholarly dissertations on the topic of belief can, and have been written by those far better equipped than I am to do so. The subject has come up in a couple of movies I've watched recently though. A blog post on that level might just be within my scope. Before I get to the two films, I coincidentally came across an article at Salon the other day about five religious leaders who have lost their belief and have become outspoken atheists. That article led me to recall reading of an astrologer who, when interviewed for Garry Phillipson's book Astrology in the Year Zero (2000) described his feelings when retreating from his professional capacity, due to loss of belief. (See HERE) It does appear, however, that much later on the astrologer in question, David Hamblin, did decide to give astrology another spin - see his website HERE. Another lapsed astrologer was mentioned in a post of mine in February 2011: Rudolf Smit.

It would seem that any belief, however strongly held, is capable of being reversed. Conversely any disbelief, however strong, is capable of being transformed into belief. That is at the the crux of the two movies I've mentioned: K-PAX (2001) and The Man from Earth (2007). K-PAX was adapted from a novel by Gene Brewer; The Man from Earth has a screenplay co-written by science fiction novelist Jerome Bixby (his last piece of writing before he died, in fact.)

In K-PAX a psychiatric patient, after claiming he is an extraterrestrial from the planet 'K-PAX', 1,000 light years away in the Lyra constellation. His name is prot (uncapitalized and rhyming with "goat"). He is committed to the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan. There, psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell attempts to cure him of his apparent delusions. However, prot shows himself able to provide cogent answers to questions about himself, K-PAX his home planet and its civilization. Dr. Powell introduces him to a group of astrophysicists, to whom prot displays a level of knowledge that leaves them aghast. Prot also exhibits easy influence over the other patients at the Institute. They each come to believe that he is indeed from K-PAX. Prot, who claims to have journeyed to Earth by means of "light-travel", explains that he can take one person with him when he instantaneously returns on a pre-selected date.

That brief synopsis based on Wiki's page is all I'll add, so as not to spoil the movie should anyone who reads this wish to see it. The film leaves one still wondering, should the characters have believed; would I, could I, have believed his amazing story?

The same question came up after watching The Man from Earth. This is a wordier, more deeply thought-provoking film than K-PAX, but in much the same "ballpark". Here a group of university academics gather in a country cabin to say farewell to a colleague (John Oldman) who has unexpectedly decided to up-sticks and move on. The cabin is the only setting we see, scenes moving only from a single room and fireside to just outside the door once or twice. The film was very quickly and cheaply made, but is certainly none the worse for that. It could quite easily be performed on stage, and has been.

Again, so as not to spoil things for others, only a brief synopsis: some lines from Wiki:

As John's colleagues continue to pressure him for the reason for his departure, John slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, reveals that he is a prehistoric "caveman" who has lived for more than 14 millennia and that he relocates every 10 years to keep others from realizing that he does not age. He begins his story under the guise of a possible science-fiction story, but he eventually stops speaking in hypotheticals and begins answering questions from a first-person perspective. His colleagues refuse to believe his story. John continues his tale, stating that he was once a Sumerian for 2000 years, then a Babylonian under Hammurabi, then a disciple of Gautama Buddha. He claims to have known Christopher Columbus, Van Gogh (he owns a painting which was a gift from the artist), and other famous historical figures. John's colleagues question his story according to their specialties: Harry, the biologist, discusses the possibility of a human living for so long. Art, the archaeologist, questions John about events in prehistory; he exclaims that John's answers, though correct, could have come from any textbook, to which John points out the nature of knowledge, as he can only put his memories together with modern science after he learnt the new ideas with the rest of humanity. When the discussion turns to the topic of religion, John mentions that he is not a follower of a particular religion; though he does not necessarily believe in an omnipotent God, he does not discount the possibility of such a being's existence................................

No more!

So, was K-PAX's prot really a delusional psychiatric patient with a savant-like level of knowledge, or.........? What about John Oldman? He, being a university professor had plenty of brain power, sufficient to answer all queries about a 14,000 year life span, and deflect any confrontational argument. He had a certain charisma too, gentle yet persuasive, never bombastic. What could his motive have been to so deceive his friends? Was he simply, what in today's parlance might be termed, "an attention whore"? He didn't come across that way - but do they ever?

I particularly enjoyed the part of the conversation relating to religion, but can say no more about that without revealing too much.

Though I could find myself wishing otherwise, it has to be kept in mind that this was all pure fiction. Both authors had nifty, if frustrating, endings up their sleeves too.

I'll say thank you, here, to commenter "DC" for recommending The Man from Earth to me in a comment a short time ago. I enjoyed the movie a lot, shall probably watch it again.

A Communal Sigh

Soon the USA will be able to heave a communal sigh of relief that, for election year 2012, "alea iacta est" (the die has been cast). Several astrologers have predicted that it'll not be as clear cut as that saying might imply though, and for a variety of astrological reasons.

For anyone deeply into astrology who hasn't yet read Chris Brennan's excellent "Roundup" post at The Political Astrology Blog, detailing the method and conclusions of a long list of online astrologers on the result of the coming election, I highly recommend taking a look at it it.

That post led me to one by Eric Francis, whose work is always a reliably good and informative read: Mercury Retrograde Election Day at Huffington Post. A couple of important, non-astrological, points to bear in mind from Eric Francis's piece:

Behind the facade of ideology is the fact that "the business of America is business," and I don't mean the local ice cream shop. I mean the companies that can afford to buy elections -- and I mean the business of war. All the political shenanigans we witness have one end, really -- the perpetuation of constant war.

But voting is not enough. It is absolutely not enough. Not now -- and not ever. Question what you see and hear in the media. Question your own opinions. Educate others about what you learn. Use every tool at your disposal to get the word out. Take a personal stand and refuse to believe lies, and refuse to be manipulated. Research the truth yourself, and try to figure out what's really going on. Yes, Mercury will be retrograde, and it may be hard to get to the bottom of things. But astrology is no excuse.

An apt piece of poetry:

Election Day
by Ambrose Bierce

Despots effete upon tottering thrones
Unsteadily poised upon dead men's bones,
Walk up! walk up! the circus is free,
And this wonderful spectacle you shall see:
Millions of voters who mostly are fools--
Demagogues' dupes and candidates' tools,
Armies of uniformed mountebanks,
And braying disciples of brainless cranks.
Many a week they've bellowed like beeves,
Bitterly blackguarding, lying like thieves,
Libeling freely the quick and the dead
And painting the New Jerusalem red.
Tyrants monarchical--emperors, kings,
Princes and nobles and all such things--
Noblemen, gentlemen, step this way:
There's nothing, the Devil excepted, to pay,
And the freaks and curios here to be seen
Are very uncommonly grand and serene.
No more with vivacity they debate,
Nor cheerfully crack the illogical pate;
No longer, the dull understanding to aid,
The stomach accepts the instructive blade,
Nor the stubborn heart learns what is what
From a revelation of rabbit-shot;
And vilification's flames--behold!
Burn with a bickering faint and cold.
Magnificent spectacle!--every tongue
Suddenly civil that yesterday rung
(Like a clapper beating a brazen bell)
Each fair reputation's eternal knell;
Hands no longer delivering blows,
And noses, for counting, arrayed in rows.

Walk up, gentlemen--nothing to pay--
The Devil goes back to Hell to-day.

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"

Astrologers with Natal Sun in Leo

Continuing a monthly pattern: a look at a crop of astrologers, this time those born with Sun in Leo; most names are taken from Wikipedia's list.

With these monthly posts I'm trying to test what could well be a half-baked theory of mine that a combination of Air (mental acuity) and Water (intuition) is often found in astrologers' charts.

Enter the Sun in Leo astrologers: in birthdate order - second and third on list were not strictly astrologers by profession, but are included because of their interest, writings and contributions to astrology. Joan Negus was not included in Wiki's list, I found her date of birth elsewhere.




Alan Leo Born 7 August 1860, Westminster, UK. Died 1917.

Prominent British astrologer, author, publisher and theosophist, often referred to as "the father of modern astrology". His work stimulated a revival of astrology in the Western world after its decline at the end of the 17th century. Leo was a devout theosophist and he worked many of its religious concepts such as karma and reincarnation into his astrology.
Leo (he took his Sun sign as a pseudonym) is credited with starting the movement towards a more psychologically-oriented horoscope analysis in astrology, being the first astrologer to argue for a loose interpretation of possible trends of experience rather than the specific prediction of events.

In 1914, aged 54, Leo faced prosecution against the charge that he "did unlawfully pretend to tell fortunes" through astrology. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence, but it led to Leo's belief that astrology needed to be revised in order to be legitimised. His advice to fellow astrologers was:
Let us part company with the fatalistic astrologer who prides himself on his predictions and who is ever seeking to convince the world that in the predictive side of Astrology alone shall we find its value. We need not argue the point as to its reality, but instead make a much-needed change in the word and call Astrology the science of tendencies.
Astrodatabank Air/Water theory not holding up too well here: Only Uranus in Air (Gemini) with Water represented by Venus in Cancer and Neptune in Pisces (where it is especially potent - being in its sign of rulership). Leo (the sign) takes centre stage: Sun, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter and ascendant all there.



Max Heindel 23 July 1865, Aarhus, Denmark. Died 1919.

Danish-American Christian occultist, astrologer, theosophist and mystic; founder of the Rosicrucian Fellowship of the U.S. He wrote Astrology and the Ductless Glands, Astro-Diagnosis, and Message of the Stars.
Astrodatabank :
My Air and Water theory for astrologers isn't as apparent in his case either. Heindel had only a generational planet, Uranus, in Water (Cancer); but in Air: Venus in Gemini, Saturn in Libra. Holding centre stage again: Leo with Sun, Moon and Mercury.



Carl Jung 26 July 1875 Kesswil, Switzerland. Died 1961.

Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology. A practicing clinician, he considered himself to be a scientist, but much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. His interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic.
Astrodatabank A better Air/Water showing here: Jupiter in Libra, with Saturn and ascendant in Aquarius. Mercury and Venus in Water: Cancer. Sun and Uranus in Leo.



Sydney Omarr 5 August 1926, 10:27 AM Philadephia. Died 2003.

Popular astrologer of his time, prolific writer and speaker on astrology and numerology.
From Obituary by Lois Rodden:

.....Each year, he produced 13 books, one for each sign of the zodiac, and his books sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, making him a wealthy man. Rarely granting interviews, he appeared confident yet modest, part mystic and part everyday-Joe. His disease of multiple sclerosis, diangosed in 1971, robbed him of his sight in the early 1990's. When he died at age 76, Omarr showed remarkable spirit and zest for his work with syndicated publications. Paralyzed from the neck down by MS, the world's most widely read astrologer was now blind, still working with the assistance of his aides. His column still appeared in more than 200 newspapers.

Astrodatabank This is more in line with my theory.
Water: Moon, Venus, Pluto in Cancer; Saturn in Scorpio; Uranus in Pisces. Lots of Water!
Air: Libra rising and Jupiter in Aquarius......not bad for Air.
Sun Mercury and Neptune in Leo.



Joan Negus Born 30 July 1930 at 6:04 AM in Trenton, New Jersey. Died in 1997.

American astrologer, educator and author of, among other titles, Basic Astrology: A Guide For Teachers and Students , and Cosmic Combinations. Recipient of the Regulus Award in Education, 1995, recognizing her work of teaching and inspiring further generations of astrologers. I have her book Cosmic Combinations on my shelf, and remember finding the sets of exercises it contains very helpful.
Astrodatabank
Ms Negus had Moon in Libra and Mars in Gemini, providing Air input. Water from Jupiter and Pluto in Cancer. (Air and Water theory standing up here too.)




Mystic Meg 27 July 1942 Accrington Lancashire, UK.

British Sun sign astrologer and alleged psychic who had regular astrology columns in The Sun and News of the World newspapers until their demise.

Astrodatabank More good news for my Air/Water theory: Water represented by Mercury, Venus and Jupiter all in Cancer; Air: Saturn and Uranus in Gemini.
Sun, Mars, Pluto and ascendant Leo.



A. T. ("Tad") Mann 18 August 1943, Auburn, New York.

Highly acclaimed American astrologer, author, designer and artist with at least 18 books to his name. He is best known for books and paintings on astrology and Sacred Architecture, sexuality and gardens.

Some of Mann's astrology books are based on the concept of a logarithmic time scale derived from the work of G. I. Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky and Rodney Collin, and contributing to an application of astrology called Life Time Astrology.

Astrodatabank
No Water planets at all here! Air is represented by Neptune (Libra) Saturn and Uranus (Gemini).
Sun Jupiter and Pluto are in Leo; Moon in Aries; Sagittarius rising. Fiery!

Regarding my Air/Water "theory":
Four of these astrologers : Jung, Omarr, Negus and Mystic Meg uphold it; Alan Leo, Heindel and Mann do not. There's a difference in those two groups. The three who don't seem to fit my pattern are/were into the theosophical side of the subject. Of the others, two can be easily categorised as "popular" astrologers, one an educator in straightforward astrology, and Jung was more of a scientist than an astrologer, but not given to lofty flights of theosophy as far as I know.

Astrologers with Natal Sun in Cancer

Sun is now travelling through zodiac sign Cancer. I think I've exhausted what there is to say about the attributes of Cancer, the sign; relevant posts from past years can be accessed easily by clicking on "Cancer" in the Label Cloud in the sidebar at right.

This year I'm highlighting well-known astrologers born with Sun in the sign-of-the-month. Wikipedia's list (my source) threw up only three astrologers recognisable to me:

John Dee 13 July (23 July New Style) 1527

Michael Erlewine 18 July 1941

Rob Brezsny June 23 (year of birth not revealed by the astrologer).

Then, while searching for something elsewhere I accidentally came across one more:
Shelley Von Strunckel 15 July 1946.



In John Dee's day astrology was held in much higher esteem than it is in today's world. There could be much to say about Dee. I've mentioned him before in a post about "Magick".

For now, Astrodatabank's nutshell description will suffice, along with a couple of links to websites with more detail.

"British astrologer and a double-agent for Queen Elizabeth I to thwart Spain; signing his messages "007"! Gifted as a child, he was educated in math, philosophy and the occult, the author of two books before he was 21. Dee studied astrology with Cardan from 1552, gaining fame as a lecturer. Married three times, he produced eight kids. Dee died in 1608, Mortlake, England."

More athttp://www.johndee.org/DEE.html
and Britannica.com


Dr. John Dee had 5 planets in Water signs: Sun, Mercury, Jupiter (Cancer), Mars (Scorpio), and Neptune (Pisces).
2 in Air signs: Moon (Aquarius) and Uranus (Gemini). My theory that astrologers fare best when they have Air (mental acuity) and Water (sensitivity) predominant in their natal charts holds good for Dr. Dee.
Mars and Neptune are in the signs of their rulership too, giving them more relevance.




Michael Erlewine:
Extract from Astrology.com

Entrepreneur Michael Erlewine, an internationally-known astrologer, has studied and practiced astrology for over 40 years, as an author, teacher, lecturer, personal consultant, programmer, and conference producer. Erlewine pioneered computerized astrology, the first astrologer to program astrology on microcomputers and make those programs available to his fellow astrologers. This was in 1977. He founded the first astrology software company, Matrix Software, in 1978, and that company, along with Microsoft, are the two oldest software companies still on the Internet.

Michael, joined by his astrologer-brother Stephen Erlewine, went on to revolutionize astrology by producing microcomputer software for the first written astrological reports, first research system, first high-resolution chart wheels, geographic and star maps, and on and on. Erlewine has a least two other careers. In the 1960s, he was a musician. He hitchhiked with Bob Dylan, was the lead singer for the Prime Movers Blues Band (Iggy Pop was his drummer), and opened for bands like Cream at the Fillmore in San Francisco, during the Summer of Love. An expert in blues music, Erlewine interviewed and documented dozens of blues musicians.
Astrodatabank

His natal chart is at Astrodatabank

Watery input from Sun and Mercury in Cancer. Air from Jupiter in Gemini. So, Michael Erlewine does have planets in Water and Air in his chart, but in his case this may not be not the over-riding factor. What stands out in his chart is a stellium (tight cluster) of three planets: Moon, Saturn, Uranus in Earthy Taurus, all harmoniously linking by trine aspect to Neptune in Virgo. It's as though Neptune (creativity) is being harnessed to Moon (inner self), Saturn (business, career) and Uranus(technology, the avant garde) to produce exactly what Mr Erlewine turned out to be, as described above, a visionary entrepreneur with talent for both astrology and business.




Rob Brezsny is one of the growing band of astrologers sensitive about publishing full birth data - and who could blame him? Without more information all we can be sure of is that he has natal Sun in early Cancer. Mercury and/or Venus in nextdoor Gemini would fit him well, and provide some Air to support my theory. Mercury can be found only in the same sign as the Sun or in one of the adjacent signs (in this case Gemini or Leo).

Mr Brezsny is another multi-talented astrologer - also writer, poet, and musician. His weekly horoscope column and website Free Will Astrology has been published for almost 30 years in numerous magazines and periodicals, as well as latterly on-line. His style is quite different from most other Sun sign writers, which is what first attracted me to his work . I remember writing a review about Mr Brezsny's Free Will Astrology (one of the only two Sun sign sites I read) for a website called Sign Show - I checked - it's still around!




Shelley Von Strunckel
from Astrodatabank

"American-British astrologer who writes for the British papers, a column and Sunday supplements. After the death of Patric Walker, she took over some of his columns, most notably in the London Evening Standard. She also appears in TV interviews.

Von Strunckel first went to England in 1985. Very attractive, she married an English barrister in 1990. They are London residents but she keeps an apartment in New York City and travels between the two cities often."

Ms Von Strunckel has Sun and Saturn in Water (Cancer), Moon (Aquarius)Jupiter and Neptune (Libra) and Uranus (Gemini) in Air signs - she's a good example of Water and Air predominant in an astrologer's chart!

Astrologers Predict a Second Term for President Obama

This week at The United Astrology Conference in New Orleans a panel of astrologers agreed, having come to their conclusions using a variety of methods, that President Obama will win a second term. The conference meets every four years and is the largest gathering of astrologers from around the globe. Their prediction in 2008, that we'd have a President Obama, proved to be accurate.

The above news, rather surprisingly to me, was carried on at least one major TV channel, CNN, and in many newspapers - typing "astrologers predict Obama win" into Google's search box will bring up plenty of evidence that the astrologers are not being ignored.

The astrologers also said that the election will be close, which most non-astro pundits expect anyway. Astrologers suspect that the lengthy vote-counting and shenanigans which marred the 2000 election might be repeated this year; additionally they suspect that all might not be rosy for Obama for the first part of his second term. That's is a paraphrase, for a straight-from-the-astrologer's-blog report see The Political Astrology Blog.

It's brave of these astrologers to stick their necks out, and I think they must be very confident to have done so. Had there been another Democrat challenging the President I doubt they'd have been as confident. But that's fantasy. The powers that be would never have allowed a challenger to emerge.

Voters like me who are confident that neither Obama nor Romney will even attempt to address the many wrongs adrift in the USA at present, have nowhere to cast our votes. "Vote Green Party, or Justice Party, or socialist, or......" cry commenters on political forums when this is raised. Voters in some some lucky states have that option. For Oklahoma voters it's highly unlikely. There's a petition in court at present asking for ballot access here for the Green Party - result due next month. My fingers are crossed. If the opportunity arises, I'll vote Green and ignore anybody and everybody who tells me that it'll only help ensure a conservative win. I don't care. I'll vote my conscience, whatever the outcome, as everyone should. If I have no choice other than Democrat or Republican I'll either leave the space blank or do a "write-in".

I don't fear a President Romney. In fact a President Romney would enliven the Democrats in congress who have seemed to be sleeping for three and a half years, while their dear leader has done stuff which would have caused them to scream blue murder had G.W. Bush or any Republican done similar things.

Astrologers with Natal Sun in Gemini

Following the pattern I seem to have set for myself over the past few months of spotlighting astrologers with Sun in zodiac sign of the month........

(Names taken from Wikipedia's list, data from Astrodatabank, as linked.)

There are several well-known Sun Gemini astrologers. Gemini, ruled by Mercury, represents the stereotypical communicator, it is the mutable Air sign, versatile and mentally acute. Gemini provides fertile ground for astrology to blossom - provided that Gemini's Air is shot through with some emphasis on Water signs, for intuition and sensitivity.

Listed in order of Sun's degree in Gemini. Only one of these astrologers is still with us. I feel certain there are others around today, not included in Wikipedia's list.

22 May 1896 Cyril Fagan, Irish (died 1970)

22 May 1928 Lois Rodden, Canadian (died 2003)

8 June 1902 Grant Lewi, American - oddly absent in Wiki's list, but not in my memory bank!(Died 1951)

13 June 1835 William Butler Yeats, Irish, a poet, not a true astrologer but "into it". (Died 1939)

15 June 1920 John Addey, English (died 1982)

16 June 1880 Alice Bailey, English (died 1949)

17 June 1951 Zane Stein , American (still with us).


Anything in common other than their Sun sign and gravitation to astrology?

Four of the six named had/have interest and achievement in specific sections of astro-lore: western sidereal astrology; astro data collecting; Saturn Return; harmonics; esoteric astrology; Chiron.

Cyril Fagan best known for introducing the idea of Western Sidereal Astrology to astrologers in Europe and USA who commonly used (still do) tropical astrology. His system involved a correction of planetary positions to form a closer approximation to the astronomically-observed positions.
Excellent essay on Fagan by Ken Bowser at Radical Astrology.

Fagan had Sun and Moon in close Airy and harmonious trine aspect: 1 degree of Gemini & Libra. Saturn and Uranus in Scorpio provide the Watery intuitive sensitivity (and in his case, I guess, intensity). (Astrodatabank)



Lois Rodden, famous (and in my opinion ought to have been awarded some kind of medal) for her work collecting astrological data, and founding Astrodatabank. As Wiki states, and I can do no better: "Pioneer in raising awareness of the sourcing of data being foundational in the credibility of astrology."

She had Sun at 0.56 degree Gemini with Mercury at 20 degrees of the sign, and Moon in intuitive Watery Cancer. Her rectified ascendant, Aquarius adds even more mental acuity to Gemini Sun and Mercury. 3 planets in Aries and one in Sagittarius add sufficient elemental Fire to the mix to ascertain her work was widely noticed - and much appreciated. (Astrodatabank)



Grant Lewi, one of the USA's most popular popular astrologers and writers on astrology, mid 20th century.
From a post by astrologer Robert Wilkinson
"Before Grant Lewi, astrology was still a 19th Century art, filled with superstition and esoterica. Grant Lewi (and a few others)changed the way all of us would regard astrology forever, especially the Saturn Return.".

Lewi had Sun at 16 Gemini trining Jupiter in Aquarius, Mars at 0 Gemini and Pluto at 18 Gemini - lots of Airy, mentally oriented input there. Water (intuition ans sensitivity) came from Moon, Mercury and Neptune in Cancer. (Astrodatabank).



William Butler Yeats, poet rather than astrologer-proper, included here only as an "honorable mention" for his interest in astrology. I'll point out only that he had Sun Mercury and Uranus in Gemini, Moon in Aquarius. Uranus was a few minutes short of falling in Watery Cancer - there are no planets in Water signs in his chart, which I find surprising for a poet as well as for a potential astrologer. Astrodatabank has his ascendant in very early Aquarius with an AA rating (very reliable), so no Water there.



John Addey. Seeking to put the understanding of astrology on a more rational footing he devised the Harmonics system.

..... he found himself doubtful of his art and its scientific underpinnings. He turned to scientific research, his most important focus centering on longevity and people suffering from polio. His observations led him to the development of a "wave" theory of astrology. He subsequently moved to integrate completed and ongoing statistical studies of astrological effects and the insights of Hindu astrology into what he termed harmonics, a system of astrology that emphasizes the integral divisions of the horoscope chart. He saw in harmonics a method of bringing a united theoretical base to the many different systems of astrology that were emerging in the postwar world.

In 1958 Addey led in the founding of the Astrological Association, a professional association of astrologers primarily in Great Britain.

Harmonics was initially received with some enthusiasm by Addey's astrological colleagues; however, as astrologers worked with Addey's thought, they found it was too abstract and offered little insight to assist in the essential task of interpreting an astrological chart. As such, Addey's theoretical work was soon forgotten, though his empirical studies remain a major building block of contemporary astrology's attempt to provide astrology with an acceptable scientific base. (See here)

Addey had Sun, Moon and Venus in Gemini with Mars in Libra trine his Sun - lots of Airy input there. Pluto and Mercury in Cancer with Uranus in Pisces provide Watery intuition and sensitivity. (Astrodatabank).



Alice Bailey - I shrink from saying too much about this lady's contribution to astrology because, to my mind, she did the doctrine far more harm than good - but I'll not make many friends in saying so.

Her main contribution to astrology was her book on Esoteric Astrology. She generally wrote on spiritual, occult, esoteric and religious themes, including reference to "the seven rays"; she popularized the terms New Age and Age of Aquarius. She wrote twenty-five books, most of the content of which she claimed had been telepathically dictated to her by a "Master of the Wisdom" whom she referred to as "The Tibetan". Bailey's writings have much in common with those of theosophist Madame Helena Blavatsky, in that her followers believed her to be a mediator or channel for sages or wise men from the East.

Alice Bailey had Sun and Venus in Gemini, Moon in Libra, Mercury in Cancer, so the basic ingredients for an astrologer were there - Air and Water, but somehow, the Airy urge for rationality seen in some other astrologers here, got lost in the mix.
(Astrodatabank)


Zane Stein - modern-day astrologer who is credited with being the world's leading astrological authority on Chiron. For his work in this field, he received the Canopus Award For Excellence in 1998.

I became aware of Zane Stein some years ago when I used to contribute to an astrology forum where he often led discussion and answered queries. He was always helpful and generous with his time, always able to give clear concise responses - so essential !
Wikipedia's page
He has Sun Mercury and Mars in Gemini, Neptune in Libra. Moon in Sagittarius. Watery input from Uranus in Cancer and Pisces rising.

Conclusion: Once again it seems that, as a basic rule of thumb, a mix of Air and Water in the natal chart has clear potential to bring forth an astrologer, it could even be thought a necessary mix of ingredients to do so.