SEEING THE FUNNY SIDE

It's not easy to find real-life stuff to laugh at these days. Most of what's in the news frustrates, angers or saddens, rather than amusing us. Yet there's supposed to be a funny side to almost everything.

It's undeniable that infectious laughter and bright smiley faces light up life, make us feel better immediately, even in the face of dire circumstances. We are sometimes told that it'd help to be more child-like in our approach to life. Children laugh easily, I guess because they have little or no responsibility. We have to somehow strike a balance between child-like appreciation of the bright side of life with the serious responsibilities that arrive with maturity and a clearer understanding of the ways of the world.

Perhaps a person's astrological blueprint governs where their funnybone lies, and how sturdy and resilient a bone it happens to be. A well-respected British astrologer. C.E.O. Carter wrote a little on the topic of humour in his "Encyclopedia of Pyschological Astrology". He states that:

"Each sign has its special kind (of humour), but the general astrological indications of this gift are Venus and Taurus, Jupiter, Neptune, Sagittarius and Pisces, Moon Cancer and Uranus. Humour in the strict sense, I put under the Moon and Cancer.

Venus and Taurus seem to have to do with laughter and amusement generally; Moon, Neptune and their signs with whimsicality (which is also noticeable in many Virginians (I think this must refer to Virgoans rather than inhabitants of Virginia); Uranus with incongruity and unexpected effects; Jupiter and Sagittarius with fun and satire. Mercury must, of course, be prominent where the power of humourous expression is involved. Humourous persons, unlike witty ones, have not always the gift of speech.

Wit depends upon a strong Mercury, the quality of wit being determined by the chief aspecting planet. It is often found aspected by Mars, Jupiter or Uranus.

The signs which most commonly lack humour are Leo, Scorpio and Capricorn, as these often produce persons with a strong sense of personal dignity, not to say self-importance. They can seldom appreciate a joke at their own expense, as the Jupiter person can. It is probable that Saturn afflictions to the Moon tend to destroy humour, while Martian ones coarsen it, and incline to horseplay."

I dare not and should not argue with Mr. Carter, but I do wonder about one or two things he has written, especially in the last paragraph quoted above. I've found that it really is not possible to accurately categorise people by their Sun sign, or by a planet, as in "a Jupiter person", as Mr. Carter appears to be doing (but perhaps I'm misunderstanding him, if so, I apologise profusely).

A person with Sun/ascendant and more in Leo could have all kinds of aspects pointing towards humour in their chart, which would completely overcome any over-developed sense of self dignity. In fact, a good dose of Leo is very helpful in presenting humour to an audience.

I've found people with a lot of natal Capricorn to often have well-developed dry humour, which could combine easily with any sense of self-dignity. As for Scorpio - perhaps black humor (dark in content, not skin color) which seems to be gaining popularity, might be a genre natural to a Scorpio-heavy person, or one with Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) prominent.

As far as I can see (and perhaps that's not far enough) nothing in astrology can be set out as "cut and dried" for every individual. One man's hilarious joke is another man's yawn, or even obscenity. And come to think of it, isn't that word "hilarious" vastly over-used these days, at least in the USA where exaggeration seems to be the norm? I've lately heard the most inane or trivial stuff described as "hilarious", which makes me wonder if my own funnybone is suffering from osteoporosis.

Back to my original thought about seeing the funny side of things that in reality are not at all funny. It's a special talent, probably inborn and not easy to cultivate. As the wise old saying goes "if we don't laugh, we'll cry"; for sure laughter and sorrow are close together, on either side of that cusp dividing the normal from world shattering events, personal or communal. I'm going to guess that those people with Sagittarius and/or Jupiter well prominent and without blight from Mars, Saturn or Pluto are those who are most likely to be able to laugh in the face of disaster, with an ability to see through the gloom and into that elusive funny side.

MONDAY MIRTHMAKER ~ Kristen Wiig

This is my 1000th post on this blog! I join the ranks of k-bloggers everywhere. Onward and upward to 2000 then - will I make it? We'll see.



Homing in today on an American TV comedy star of a younger generation than those already featured in earlier posts. This is one gal whose career is likely to take off into a much wider sphere in the future: Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live. Her comedic acting and timing are special, frenetic, outlandish and high energy.

Brief points from her natal chart, set for 12 noon in the absence of a known birth time, so Moon's degree will not be accurate, though it will be in Gemini; and ascending sign can't be determined without time of birth.



Sun and Mercury in Leo is an excellent fit for someone appearing regularly in the spotlight, and Moon in Gemini blends very well, bringing in a rapid fire mind and quick wit.

More unusual though is to see that Kristen Wiig has 4 Yods in her chart.

Yods, aka Fingers of Fate, are patterns formed by a sextile (60*) between two planets, each of which is then linked to the same third planet by quincunx aspects (150*). This forms a sharply pointed arrow shape. The astrological explanation is that the energies of the blended sextiled planets are blended and chanelled through the planet at the apex of the Yod.

Jupiter sextile Neptune with Saturn at the apex =
Jupiter's feel-good exaggeration mixed with Neptune's imagination anc creativity channelled through Saturn's discipline and hard work.










Saturn sextile Mars with Neptune at the apex =
Saturn's discipline and hard work mixed with Mars energy channelled through Neptune's creativity and imagination









Neptune sextile Pluto with Mars at the apex=
Neptune's creativity and imagination mixed with Pluto's intensity and sexiness channelled through the energy of Mars.









Sun sextile Saturn with Jupiter at the apex =
Core warm and bright Leo personality mixed with Saturn's discipline channelled through Jupiter's feel good exaggeration.




That's a wonderfully helpful integrated network for a TV comedy star!




There are some other very helpful aspects too - Jupiter in quirky Aquarius trine (120*) Venus/Pluto in Libra - two mentally driven Air signs.
Uranus in Libra sextile Mercury in Leo - Uranus the zany planet in harmony with Mercury, representing communication and mental processes.

There are many helpful aspects and formations in Kristen's chart. Pluto in Capricorn will transit right opposite her natal Saturn in November/December this year, which might well stir up some interesting career developments, and because Saturn is linked into 3 of the 4 Yods mentioned above, any development could be far reaching.

Copyright precludes embedding YouTube videos of her performances but there are 5 video clips from HULU at Chris Fullman's website: "My Favourite SNL Kristen Wiig Sketches". Each video has a very brief commercial at the start, but it's well worth wading through it to watch the sketch.

MONDAY MIRTHMAKER ~~ Eric Idle

It's hardly fair of me to single out just one of the Monty Pythons, when as a group they comprised nothing short of comedy genius, but it'd take pages and hours to investigate them all, so I've picked my favourite, the one who always made me laugh most often.

Let's see where Eric Idle's astrological funny-bone lies. He co-wrote many Monty Python sketches as well as acting in them, and since the group split up he has gone on to write and perform in all manner of comedy projects.
Details at Wikipedia.


Born on 29 March 1943 in South Shields, UK at 1:20 pm (Astrodatabank)



I'm not looking to interpret the whole chart here, just to pinpoint any factors which may relate to his talent for comedy.

A strong impulsive and spontaneous streak is always helpful in comedy and it comes here via Aries Sun conjunct Mercury - quick responses are what comic timing is all about. Even better, Sun/Mercury in Aries is closely sextile Uranus/Saturn in Gemini -this is a harmonious link to Uranus, the inventive planet of the unexpected, and here it's blended with Saturn, the more old-fashioned, rigid, but business oriented planet, which has probably, over the years been instrumental in keeping Eric's talent harnessed from going right over the edge. In the absence of this Saturn placement, who knows where his impulsive zanyness might have led - possibly not to the almost universal admiration, wealth and fame he now enjoys.

Neptune in Libra is in trine to Uranus in Gemini - this is a harmony between inventive Uranus and creative Neptune that all in Eric Idle's age group will share, but in his case, being linked via the sextile Uranus/Sun, it becomes far more effective in his nature.

Eric's Leo ascendant is no surprise - he's equally talented as performer and writer, a definite plus. Many writers need solitude and withdrawal - not Eric!


He loves to sing too, but only funny songs: "Galaxy Song" and "Always Look On the Bright side of Life" for instance. Venus, planet of the arts including music, lies in its own sign, Taurus and is tightly linked by semi-sextile on one side to Sun/Mercury and on the other to Uranus/Saturn, bringing the melodic gifts of Venus into play.




Here's a video compiled by another fan of Eric Idle, featuring a string of very brief clips from some of his best Monty Python work.

ARTY FARTY FUNNY FRIDAY

A few cartoons or funnies, linking mirthmaking to art.....kind of. The first two are home-grown:

#1: A photograph found by my husband, captioned by him and used on his blog "Thinks Happen" earlier this week. #2: A cartoon drawn by my husband, captions chosen by both of us. The rest are "borrowed", with thanks to the copyright owners (clearly marked), in the hope they will not chase me for infringement for use on this "not for profit" blog.




"Oh Fudge!"

"My bad!"

Finally, verses from a poem by one of my favourite humorists of the 20th century. It was written c.1948, but it's oddly apt for how I'm feeling, right now!

I WILL ARISE AND GO NOW by Ogden Nash

In far Tibet
There live a lama,
He got no poppa,
Got no momma,

He got no wife,
He got no chillun,
Got no use
For penecillun,

He got no soap,
He got no opera,
He don't know Geritol
From copra,

Got no opinions
Controversial.
He never hear
TV commercial,

He got no teeth,
He got no gums,
Don't eat no Spam,
Don't need no Tums.

He love to nick him
When he shave;
He also got
No hair to save.

He use no lotions
for allurance,
He got no car
And no insurance.

If you will mind
The box-tops, comma,
I think I'll go
And join that lama.

MIRTHMAKER ~ Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks, described at Wikipedia as film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He's best known these days as a creator of film farces and comic parodies, for example: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, and The Producers .

Brooks' biographer James Robert Parish said of him, in interview:

"Both Brooks’ onstage persona and his filmmaking point of view are strongly tied to his background: As a youngster, growing up in the Jewish section of Brooklyn, diminutive Mel — whose father died when he was very young — had to be extra feisty to survive in the tough street corner society. If he lacked the physical strength to outdo his opponents, his quick mind, sense of the ridiculous, and a love of being the center of attention, provided him with the chutzpah to become the amusing neighborhood clown."

I'm sure that many well known comedians, over the years, were driven by very similar motives - but, of course, the potential for doing it well had to be in them to start with. Brooks himself once said: "Humor is just another defense against the universe."

Many comedians are supposed to be major bores when they’re not "on." Does Mel Brooks fit into that mold?
"Over the decades, few people (beyond Brooks’ family and very close friends) have ever witnessed Mel when he is not "on." He considers it his life-long duty to be entertaining both on camera and off. Whether bantering on a TV talk show, parrying with a dour waiter in a deli, or directing his cast/crew on the film set, Brooks uses humor to get his way, to gain attention, and to protect his private self. Even now, in his 80s, Brooks remains the dynamo — the inveterate clown."

Mel Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York on 28 June 1926. No birth time available, so chart set for 12:00 noon.


His sensitive Cancer Sun lies in challenging square to a strong Mars in its home sign, Aries. This could act as a spur, rather than an unpleasant challenge - a spur to keep him moving along in the face of difficulty - stiffening and strengthening his over-sensitive or timid Cancerian traits.

James Robert Parish said, "For me, the most intriguing aspect to Mel Brooks is his amazing resilience over the many decades in the face of career setbacks".

Brooks' natal Moon is in Aquarius, somewhere between 6 degrees and 21 degrees (can't be precise without time of birth). Wherever its exact position, it endows him with a quick mind and one of those "left-field" inner cores - not "yer average Joe", not a guy easily put into a box and categorised.

I like the chain reaction of planets I see in his chart. Judd Apatow (see here) had one, which was less helpful. In Brooks' chart, start at Neptune @ 22 Leo > semi-sextile Mercury 29 Cancer> sextile Venus 29 Taurus (its own sign) > sextile Uranus 29 Pisces > semi-sextile Jupiter 26 Aquarius. Saturn at 19 Scorpio can be added, loosely. The chain also produces square and an opposition, chains will always do so; I look on this as just part of how the planetary dynamo works. In Mel Brooks' chain the order of planets is more helpful than the one in Apatow's chart. The planets involved relate as follows: Neptune-creativity. Mercury-communication, writing & mental process. Venus- the arts, music. Uranus-inventive, the unexpected. Jupiter- the feel-good planet and planet of exaggeration. Saturn-business, discipline. So it's clear how these, working in harmony with dynamic tension inbuilt, would be a great asset to someone writing and performing comedy.

There's a Grand Trine in Water signs linking Mercury, Uranus and Saturn. Here's a Uranus-Saturn link again (as in Eddie Murphy and Billy Connolly - see post for Tuesday). Here it's a harmonious trine, linked to communications planet Mercury. There could hardly be a better circuit for comedy. And it's in Water, so the fun will retain sensitivity, even when based in sharp satire and parody, it's unlikely to be cruel or mean-spirited.

A quote from Mel Brooks, which I particularly like, and which could also be related to astrology:

Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him.

Here's Mel appearing on Dick Cavett's chat show - must be sometime in the 1970's I think.
He does impressions of "Susan" Bogart (Humphrey's sister) and "Hilda" Cagney (Jim's mom), and a brilliant impression of Sinatra singing "America the Beautiful".

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Gilda Radner & Tracey Ullman

Spotlighting female comedians today. I'm not using the term "comediennes" because to my mind the word adds a layer of uncalled for differentiation.

My husband was a great fan of "the old" Saturday Night Live. Nowadays it appears to have lost its early sparkle (and that's putting it kindly!) The late Gilda Radner was one of their brightest stars, I've seen most of her contributions to the show via DVD. Watching Gilda perform, I'm continually reminded of Tracey Ullman.





These two comedians were born some 13 years and 5,000 miles apart. It's possible that Tracy Ullman got her inspiration from watching Gilda Radner's performances. The ability to invent hilarious characters and play them with consistent brilliance and humour is the mainstay of both gals' acts.

Gilda Radner's regular characters included Rosanne Rosannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. Tracy Ullman slipped from one crazy character to another in her shows, characters such as Carmel Pinkum, a lady who's "different" , Nadia, the Russian trapeze artist, Dr. Jillian Smalls, radio psychologist, Kiki Howard-Smith, pro golfer from Australia, Ariel, a singer (her big hit was "Slit My Wrists").

Gilda Radner born 28 June 1946, Detroit, Michigan (12 noon chart below, as no time of birth available).




Tracy Ullman born 30 December 1959, Burnham, near Slough UK at 3:15 am.(Astrodatabank)




Any similarities ?

1. Both have Sun, Moon and Saturn within a 30* span.

2. Both have all planets within one half of the chart.

3. Both have Jupiter trine Uranus.

5. Radner has Mercury sextile Neptune, Ullman has Mercury trine Uranus.

6. Their Suns lie opposite each other within 2 degrees, in cardinal signs, Cancer/Capricorn.

Strange!

Closely grouped planets, a pattern common to both charts indicates intense focus in certain areas. It's obvious that to achieve the kind of success these ladies enjoyed, focus and dedication was a necessity!

Jupiter trine Uranus - Jupiter expands things, Uranus likes the eccentric or unexpected. Both ladies created larger than life eccentric characters, aided and abetted by their Mercury placements harmonious with Uranus or Neptune.

I'm not sure what the Sun/Moon/Saturn within 30* in both charts reveals. It's a definite similarity though. Symbolically it might mean that heart and soul went into their work ? I don't know.

Tragically, Gilda Radner died from ovarian cancer in 1989.


On the day of her death, 20 May 1989, it is remarkable that Uranus, Neptune and Saturn at 4*, 12* and 13* Capricorn, (all retrograde) opposed her natal Sun at 6* Cancer.

And.....those three planets on the same day were conjunct Tracey's Sun/Saturn/Moon.
That is spooky!

(Edited version of a post first published here on 1 January 2007)

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Eddie Murphy & Billy Connolly

I've chosen to put these two comedians together because they both make me laugh, in spite of their occasional, or sometimes frequent, descent into crude language and vulgarity. They can, by some personal magic, get away with almost anything. There's an underlying kindness and child-like delight in their own fun - at least that's what comes over to me. Both take on stand-up comedy and acting with equal ease. They are born clowns and entertainers.





Does any clear astrological similarity link to the feeling I get from both comedians? Not at first glance - not really....erm....no wait...both have Uranus conjunct Saturn ! I have to report though that the interpretations of that aspect in two volumes from my bookshelf do not fit the Eddie and Billy the public know and love. My version would be that they both are able to find the ridiculous (Uranus) in everyday practical, routine matters (Saturn), because these two planets are so close in their natures, they blend rather than fight.










Both have Sun and Venus in a Fire sign (Aries and Sagittarius) they show great energy and enthusiasm in all they do. Both have a dollop of Scorpio in their charts - Mercury and Mars for Billy, Moon and Neptune for Eddie, adding an inner passion and intensity which has no doubt helped them reach the heights they have.

Eddie has a Grand Trine in Water signs linking Mars, Moon/Neptune and Mercury. This points to an emotional and softer character than the persona we know. I feel pretty certain that Eddie is a soft-hearted, kindly individual, underneath all the flash of his Leo ascendant.

Billy's Jupiter in sensitive Cancer trine Mercury in Scorpio could well be his "soft-spot".

I suspect that it's this underlying softness which helps these two comedians get away unscathed with more than the average comedian. I can't recall ever thinking that their humour was cruel or mean-spirited. For me, that's the litmus test of good comedy.

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Ernie Kovacs - A Pioneer

I'm declaring this week "Mirthmaker Week" on Learning Curve on the Ecliptic. After sitting through the awful "Funny People" movie last week, I need to re-orient my funnybone! There'll be posts on humor/humour, astrology and funny people, past or present - and anything else that occurs to me along the way. There are so many possible characters to investigate in this field that I'm spoilt for choice, so after this week's marathon, I'll continue to look at a Mirthmaker on each following Monday for a while.

To start, a look at someone many may have forgotten, or are too young or "foreign" like myself, to have ever known.



My husband recently bought a DVD compilation of some of the work of the late Ernie Kovacs. I'd never heard of him. The husband enlightened me that Kovacs was one of the first ever TV comedians, from way back in the 1950s. Watching the DVD was a prospect that, secretly, didn't fill me with glee, but I approached it with as open a mind as I could manage.

As we watched the variety of short clips I kept thinking, "this guy had strong Aquarius - or maybe prominent Uranus - he just has to have had one or the other". I had to know, so asked for a short interlude in the proceedings during which I quickly Googled "Ernie Kovacs" - et voila! Sun in Aquarius, born 23 January 1919. Not only Sun in Aquarius, but also Venus, Mars and Uranus, the sign's ruler, there too!



Does it take one (a Sun Aquarian) to know one? Perhaps.
Mr. Kovacs is described by Wikipedia thus:

..... an American comedian whose uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident (in January 1962). Such iconic shows as Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Uncle Floyd Show, Saturday Night Live and even Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street and The Electric Company, and TV hosts such as David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson are seen as utilizing Kovacs' influence.

To fully realise the man's comic genius and inventiveness it's really necessary to think back to the 1950s, the first years of TV. I doubt that any passing reader is old enough to do so.

Nobody, in those days, had fully appreciated what could be accomplished on the TV screen, nor how TV presentations could differ from, and improve on, what was already available via radio and movies, while using the best from both.

I hadn't even seen a TV set until 1953, when a group of us kids piled into a neighbour's house (back in the UK) to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It wasn't until some years later that my parents bought our first TV set.

In the USA, I guess TV was considerably more advanced than in the UK, but even so, Ernie Kovacs was pioneering comedy in a completely new medium, and what better job for a quadruple Aquarian?

"FUNNY PEOPLE" (not) & JUDD APATOW

I'm liable to rant too long about director Judd Apatow's latest movie "Funny People", which we saw this week. Both I and my husband found it to be one of the worst we've seen in a long time. We shared a feeling near to insult at the level of gratuitous crudeness; this time it went beyond Apatow's usual appetite for schoolboy lavatory humor and anatomy jokes.

In an LA Times interview Apatow said of "Funny People":

"It's a mentor story. It's a disease movie. It's a coming-of-age movie. It's a movie about trying to restart an old romance. It's 11 different movies rolled into one."

We beg to differ. It's an insulting, asinine movie, dealing with none of the above issues with anything resembling intelligence.

Is this what American humor has come to? It's a sad reflection on the intelligence level of the general public. The USA has produced some brilliant comedians of all stripes: Robin Williams, Rita Rudner, George Carlin, Jack Benny, Gilda Radner, Gene Wilder, Martin Short....I could go on. The genes are there. Judd Apatow should be well-capable of producing and directing quality comedy. Is it a supply and demand thing? Have we become so moronic that the ability to differentiate between quality and garbage is now lost?

What happened? Where are the 21st century's witty, clever romantic comedies? The last ones I recall came from the UK, more than a decade or so ago, "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", for example.

Judd Apatow was born on 6 December 1967 in Flushing, New York. I can find no time of birth so have set the chart for 12.00noon.



I should like this guy. He has a lovely combination of Sagittarius Sun and Aquarius Moon....could be one of my favourite mixes. Ruled by Jupiter and Uranus this Sun/Moon combination has the potential to produce feel-good, modern, inventive movies. It doesn't happen though.
Overdoses of crude anatomy references or sexual jokes, largely insulting to females, do not make for a feel-good factor. Is there any indication in Apatow's natal chart as to why he insists on following this pattern. His earlier movies, "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year old Virgin" followed a similar but generally milder template. "Funny People" takes insult to another level.

So where's the astrological snag?

Starting at Mercury (planet of mental process and communication) at 1 Sagittarius, move clockwise to Jupiter at 5 Virgo - a challenging square aspect: any happy-go-lucky feel is blighted by this Sagittarius/Virgo square. Move on clockwise to Saturn (planet of restriction, conservatism etc.) at 5 Aries, forming a scratchy quincunx to Jupiter (so happy-go-luckyness is under a further challenge); it also forms a trine to Mercury, thus influencing mind processes towards a more dour tone. The chain continues to Mars at 3 Aquarius, in sextile to Saturn, adding potential for aggression to the dour tone, and forming a further quincunx to a trying-to-be-benign Jupiter. Mars is also in sextile to our staring point, Mercury in Sagittarius.

Jupiter, rules Sagittarius, Apatow's Sun and Mercury sign, and in this case, poor old Jupiter is well and truly punked. This is further emphasised by the Yod (Finger of Fate formation) with the Mars/Saturn sextile feeding into two quincunx aspects to Jupiter. Astrologers consider that this type of formation indicates that the "flavours" of the sextiled planets are channeled through the planet at the apex of the Yod - in this case, Jupiter fed by Mars and Saturn, two planets which are not inherently bad, but together their energy could very easily dampen Jupiter's natural tendencies.

The humour of Judd Apatow isn't as "feel-good" as Jupiterian humour ought to be. His brand of "fun" has a touch of bitterness, a touch of aggression and disrespect towards his audience and his fellow humans in general. To my mind, this is reflected in his natal chart.

My opinion only, of course. If a passing reader found "Funny People" to be a hoot, please - ignore my rant. To each his own!

Lenny Bruce - Another Libran Exception?

I'm one of very few people this side of the Atlantic who doesn't think Lenny Bruce was iconic, wonderful, great, funny. Maybe it's one of those situations where "you had to be there", you had to know how it was before him, then how things changed after him. Perhaps, in context, his input to the world of comedy has some value in the history of entertainment and communication. "Saviour of the First Amendment", some call him - for the uninitiated, this relates to freedom of speech. I don't get it! The mildest of profanity, or rude word is routinely blanked out during TV shows on most channels. Someone says "fuck" and not only is the sound eliminated, but the pixels surrounding the speaker's mouth disintegrate, so the delicate sensitivities of the audience are not upset by a little lip-reading. So what did Lenny Bruce achieve?

There's a vein of prudery in America which doesn't exist in Britain to anywhere near the same extent. Perhaps that's why I see Lenny Bruce as a pain in the arse (been there, seen that, didn't want the T-shirt) while many Americans idolise him as some kind of revolutionary icon.

Here's Lenny Bruce's natal chart. Born 13 October 1925, Mineola NY, at 11.24 am.



DANG! Another triple Libran who goes against the grain (Nazi horror-monger Irma Grese struck me this way too - I blogged about her recently (here). A few more charts like these and I shall start doubting traditional interpretations of Libra as the most diplomatic, tactful, indecisive sign of the zodiac. The dark underbelly of Libra is definitely not pretty. The thought led me to a little more research and this is what I discovered:

Lenny Bruce's natal Mars at 9 Libra is conjunct Fixed Star Vindemiatrix designated unfortunate or malefic by ancient astrologers. His natal Saturn is within minutes of arc of Fixed Star South Scale in Scorpio - another malefic, very unfortunate star.

Irma Grese was born with Sun conjunct Algorab ("One who is destructive, malevolent, fiendish and lying")

There are several websites with information on Fixed Stars, I used this one.

Lesson learned: it's worth checking whether Fixed Stars are close to personal planets if things seem discordant with accepted astrological interpretation, especially in the case of Libra Sun people who are supposed to be, in the main, mild mannered, sweet, ruled by Venus.

Something else springs to mind too - Via Combusta, The Burning Road, spans 15 Libra to 15 Scorpio, which takes in Bruce's Sun, Mercury and Saturn. I puzzled over Via Combusta here. .......... Curiouser and curiouser.

Astrologer Bob Marks points out a Funnel Pattern in Bruce's chart, with eccentric Uranus at the business end - see here.

Uranus is also at the business end of a Yod (Finger of Fate) - 2 quincinx aspects linked by a sextile. Sun/Mercury and Neptune form the sextile - so this Yod can be translated as this comedian's personal communication style(Sun/Mercury) linking to Neptune's creativity, and potential for addiction being blended and channelled through eccentric, revolutionary Uranus. It's a similar "feel" to Bob Marks' description of Uranus as the "singleton".

One more thing to point out: Pluto, Saturn and Uranus form a Grand Trine in Water signs - those 3 planets are hard-core, no warm fuzzies there! They link the emotional element (Water) in the chart, providing a kind of circuit of deadly emotional, electric shocks. Not a comfortable Grand Trine by any means.

Lenny Bruce's natal Moon in Virgo reflects a deeply critical inner self. It's a pity he hadn't turned critical focus onto his own shortcomings rather than hurling abuse at all and sundry, he might then still be among us, instead of dying of a drug overdose at age 40.

What would Hicks and Carlin say?

Surveying the currently erratic economic scene and hurly-burly surrounding the rapidly approaching US presidential election, I'm wondering, "What would Bill Hicks say? What would George Carlin say?" They'd have plenty of fodder for their gags, that's for sure! I wonder also, "How can anybody ever fill their shoes?".

I wrote a little about Bill Hicks and his natal chart last year : "Anger with Humour".

Any fan of Bill's with a basic knowledge of astrology will appreciate the fact that his close cluster of 4 Sagittarius planets (Sun, Mercury, Mars and Venus) are an exact fit for his angry philosophising about politics and religion.

His following quote is probably something near to what he'd be telling us, once again. I often re-read this quote - it's almost poetry!

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey - don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride." And we kill those people."

And that other, sadly missed, comedian whose Gemini Moon with Mercury conjunct Uranus brough forth such ascerbic wit and wisdom - George Carlin - what would he be saying now? It would, quite possibly, be unrepeatable on a family blog! The following, all-purpose Carlin quote fits well enough though:

"When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat."