Stan Freberg - Leo Laughmaker

While the Sun remains in the zodiac sign of Leo there's no lack of material for astrologers and astrology bloggers who like to write about entertainers, actors and comedians as birthdays come around. You'd struggle to find a list of birthdays late July to mid-August without some household name from the entertainment world appearing in it. Sun signs are not the be-all and end-all, of course, but in the case of entertainers, having the Sun in Leo certainly gives a person a kick-start!

I'm choosing comedian, actor, satirist, and advertising genius, Stan Freberg. It's his birthday today. Born August 7th, 1926. (Sun conjunct Mercury in Leo along with Neptune, and probably Moon in Leo too. Venus conjunct Pluto in Cancer, trine Saturn in Scorpio.)

I found Stan's autobiography "It Only Hurts When I Laugh" on my husband's bookshelves. In the early chapters he tells how, "radio changed forever the life of this introverted South Pasadena kid". He'd lie with his ear jammed up to the radio for hours on end. He says:

"I knew one thing - I knew I wanted to stand at a network radio mike someday and be able to write just the right line to skewer some of the absurdities I was already observing in the world: the Pasadena rich kids looking down their noses at people they decided weren't worthy of being included in the "in" group; the other boys treating sports with such deadly seriousness; some of my father's overly pious church members with their tight mouths all squinched up to ward off any possibility of "fun" in this world; along with the pompous attitudes I detected in the voices of politicians and public figures on the radio. I knew I wanted to write and perform someday, as my idol Fred Allen did, taking potshots at the pretensions and nonsense all around us."

Yay!! I detect a hint of Aquarius there. I see that Mr Freberg's natal Jupiter is, indeed, in Aquarius, right opposite Neptune in Leo.

It's quite likely that a lot of folks, with less years under their belts than yours truly, may not be familiar with Stan Freberg's recordings and broadcasts. His satire and parodies were a delight - incisive without ever being cruel - he got away with a lot because of an innate charm and an empathy to which most listeners could relate.

Here's a YouTube presentation of one of his recordings "Take An Indian To Lunch". With current focus on the 2008 election, this seems oddly approriate now.("Who are you taking to the witch-burning Saturday night?) Love it!
N.B. "Indian" = Native American, not Indian from India!

George Michael, and John Lennon's piano

"The piano on which John Lennon composed "Imagine," his famous ode to peace and healing, is on a yearlong magical mystery tour of the U.S. with a macabre twist.
The nutmeg-colored Steinway upright, believed to have been in Mr. Lennon's country home in Ascot, England, is crisscrossing the country to show up at some of the nation's most horrific sites of violence, death and destruction........British pop singer George Michael and his longtime partner, Kenny Goss, a Dallas gallery owner, are the force behind the tour."
Full article by Ann Zimmermen at Wall Street Journal on-line HERE.

I've always enjoyed George's singing. I especially like a CD of his called "Songs From the Last Century". It's been necessary to turn a blind eye to his unwise carryings-on, he has been caught in flagrante, in the glare of publicity, on more than one occasion. He hasn't harmed anybody but himself, after all, but I do feel like giving him a little slap for so injuring his reputation.

George Michael was born 25 June 1963 either in London or Bushey, Hertfordshire, UK (not far between them).

This latest news story shows George's softer, more caring side, I think. Cancer Sun and three planets in Virgo probably help to balance that other, wild side of his. Natal Moon would be in Leo, unless he was born after 11pm. Mercury and Venus conjoin in Gemini.

There are two Yods in this chart, which I suspect are quite significant, and seem be connected, complementary even.(I've drawn them in on the chart below). One has the sextile between Neptune and Mars, pointing, via inconjunct aspects to Jupiter in dynamic Aries. The other with sextile between Mercury/Venus in Gemini, and Jupiter in Aries, inconjunt the apex of the Yod at Neptune in sexy Scorpio.



Without an accurate time of birth we can't know into which house the apex of these Yods fall, but the planets and signs involved relate to communication, publication/exaggeration, energy, love, imagination, maybe some kind of addiction (Neptune). Neptune and Jupiter feature in both formations.

Astrologer Bob Marks on his website (HERE) has this to say about Yod configurations:

The “energy” of the two planets making the sextile seems directed to the house and sign containing that third planet. The effect of a Yod is said to be “fated” or show some special destiny. Oh sure, it sounds really impressive when you tell a client “Hey, you have a special destiny!” However, that’s nothing more than a “Barnum statement” and really says nothing. All that is really going on is an emphasis on one particular area of the life. Nonetheless, this focus frequently seems driven, compelling.

It seems to me that George Michael has a compulsion related to sex (Neptune in Scorpio), which has, on more than one occasion become public(Jupiter)....are these Yods the key, I wonder?

Inspiration ?.....From Pluto?

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The Week That Was

It hasn't been the most comfortable of weeks at Maison Twilight. We've had a virus bouncing around - well, to be accurate, it bounced from him to me. Pesky nuisance. I haven't been able to eat anything that wasn't white, bland, odourless and tasteless, seriously cramping the culinary style of ChefWhoKnows.

The virus must have sent signals to its geeky counterpart, a Trojan who promptly by-passed the anti-virus software and infected my computer. One day was wholly devoted to investigating a variety of virus removal tools. The free scan, in each case, came up with a completely different and lengthy list of "serious threats", along with the information that in order to eradicate the nasties one must "register", at a cost of $$... Whilst I don't expect anything for nothing, my cynical side surfaced. If this computer had contained all the nasties listed in all those free scans it would have ground to a halt and expired long ago.

(She, scornfully): "I bet this is a marketing ploy!"

(He, sarcastically): "You reckon?"

Eventually, the invader was caught and evicted, along with a gaggle of others, actual or ficitious. Gaggle doesn't sound right. I wonder what is the communal noun for a group of Trojans or viruses? A troop of Trojans? A surge of viruses?
Anyway, all's clear on the western front, at last.

On Wednesday, I turned from the computer to see a big "something" advancing across the living room carpet. It didn't appear to have wings, so I bravely inspected it from above. Little horns, a tail curled at the tip, carried high........

(Excitedly): "Come quick - there's a scorpion! Hurry !!"

HeWhoKnows did a heroic rescue using a big glass jar with a piece of stiff card, and ferried our invading friend out to the field at the back of the house.

In the two and a half years we've lived in this house, a toad, a 4-foot long snake, a field mouse and now a scorpion have paid us the compliment of a quick visit. Word must be getting around - "Hey guys, y'all can go into Maison Twilight, they won't stomp on ya!"

I have no idea which astrological aspects might be involved with this week's inconvenient invasions - maybe the full Moon in Aquarius(my Sun sign) last weekend, lighted the way for 'em all.

ARTY-FARTY FRIDAY# 15 (Uranus)

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Beatrix Potter and Renee Zellweger

We watched the movie "Miss Potter" recently on DVD, a delightful, well acted film with lovely scenery from the English Lake District. It's the story of children's author and artist, Beatrix Potter (remember Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck?)

Whilst it seemed a little strange for American actress Renee Zellweger to have been cast as Miss Potter, a quintessential English lady of the late 19th/early 20th century, she played the part so successfully, with never a flaw in the accent, that I wondered who else could have portrayed Miss Potter nearly as well.

Here's a brief YouTube presentation about the film.

I took a quick look at both natal charts for any astrological coincidences.

Beatrix Potter, born 28 July 1866 in London, England
Rene Zellweger born 25 April 1969 in Baytown, Texas, USA.



The double chart has Zellweger's data in the inner circle, Potter's in the outer, both are for 12 noon.

Both women have natal Sun/Saturn connections - Potter's is a square, Zellweger's an out of sign conjunction.

Comparing the two charts, Renee Zellweger's Sun at 5* Taurus is exactly opposite Beatrix Potter's Saturn at 5* Scorpio. Potter's Sun at 5* Leo is square Zellweger's at 5* Taurus, and Saturn at 29* Aries. A Sun/Saturn link between the two charts seems somehow quite appropriate, but the fact that the aspects are opposition and square is more puzzing.

I remember, in a blog entry back in January (HERE) that I found Sun opposing Sun in the charts of Tracey Ullman and Gilda Radner whose comedy struck me as being very similar.

Hmmm - curiouser and curiouser!

The Sun and Saturn - representing inner personality and, in this case, work/career, are appropriate links, even if they are challenging ones, between these two charts - one woman, an actress, in the 21st century, who in the course of her work, finds herself portraying the personality of a famous woman born about 100 years earlier.
(Peter Rabbit)

William McKinley's Saturn

My husband's younger son suggested that I look into the history (and astrology) of former President of the US, William McKinley. He'd been reading a book about this man, his assassination, and the next President, Theodore Roosevelt. He thought that McKinley might prove to be an interesting study.

William McKinley was born at 11.32pm on 29 January 1843 in Niles, Ohio.
I've been unable to find birth data for the assassin.

Extract from a short biography
"McKinley's presidency (1896-1901) witnessed the Spanish-American War, and a long guerrilla conflict over the United States' resulting occupation of the Philippines. McKinley was re-elected in 1900, again running against William Jennings Bryan who emphasized anti-imperialist themes. In September, 1901, while touring the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosx, a young unemployed laborer and anarchist. For many Americans, in particular, this shocking news was a reminder of the deaths of two other Republican presidents, Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield. The three men's assassins had widely varied motivations, but many observers linked the fates of "three martyrs to the nation," and McKinley's assassination intensfied fears of political and labor violence."

The double chart shows William McKinley's natal planetary positions in the centre ring, with the outer ring showing transits for 14 September 1901 when he died in Buffalo NY and his VP, Theodore Roosevelt, took office.





McKinley must have been a near textbook Aquarian, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune all lay in Aquarius as he was born, Moon and Jupiter closely conjoined. Saturn in its own sign of Capricorn at 19* seems to be the key planet here though, along with Mars, also in the sign of its traditional ruler, and sextile Saturn at 18* Scorpio.

On the dates President McKinley was shot (6 September 1901 at 4.07PM) and later died (14 Sep 1901 2.15AM), transiting Saturn was at 9* Capricorn, 10 degrees from his natal Saturn, coming up to a second Saturn Return. On the day he died transiting Mars was 9 degrees from his natal Mars in Scorpio. I think most astrologers would consider orbs of 9 and 10 degrees too wide to be of significance, but I remember reading somewhere that Saturn in particular can make itself felt some time before it comes within the generally accepted orb (which I think is anything up to 8 degrees).

There may well be other significant aspects in the natal and transit charts, but these two stand out most clearly. I'm not clear whether the natal chart should have been relocated to the place of death, to see proper house positions, but for this purpose just the planetary positions show Saturn's involvement.

Astrologer Grant Lewi, in his book "Astrology for the Millions" at page 67 says:

"The movements of the Planet Saturn are among the most vital astrological details to understand in order to become the master of your fate. Saturn is the most important planet influencing the life of the great and powerful in history.......Presidents, for example, being the most powerful, show the extremes that a single force such as Saturn can have."

Mr Lewi goes on to present a list of presidents from Lincoln to Daddy Bush, with dates of their Saturn Returns and a note of what occurred for them at that time, positive and negative.

"Saturn's Return was coincidental with shortened presidential careers in the lives of Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Harding and Hoover. Fortunate are those who moved into retirement before Saturn made its way back to its original position in their Vitaspheres."

The more I look into astrology, the less I understand why skeptics fail to see that "something is going on".

Time-wise

I often wonder how writers feel about their stories and books when time gives the lie, or more accurately the misjudgement, to the timing of their plotlines.

It's an odd experience to read science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels and short stories written many years ago, finding that the author has set his plot in a time-frame which now, in 2007, is in the past. Nothing remotely close to their imaginings has happened - life has gone on, albeit with changes, some discoveries, new technology and a few new traumas. The authors were storytellers, not astrologers or psychics, they were not predicting events. The fact that they set their plots in a specific time frame, though, indicates that they considered the chosen date to be realistic and believable, at the time of writing.

George Orwell's "1984", and Arthur C. Clarke's "2001 A Space Odyssey" are two of the best known examples. A lesser known book called "Down to a Sunless Sea" by David Graham is yet another. I bought a secondhand copy this week. I'd read it back when it was originally published (first in the UK then in the USA) in the late 70s/early 80s. I lent it to a friend , who lent it to another, and it was lost for ever. I was surprised when I flicked through the book again to see the date the author had specified for the action to take place - 1985. The world had exploded into nuclear war, eventually leading to a pole shift. How odd that seems now, 22 years later. Sure enough there have been flurries of war and terrorism, but nothing matching the author's vision - USA crumbling, hunger and violence everywhere, citizens trying desperately to escape from America to Europe. Perhaps what he imagined for 1985 is yet to come - or perhaps it will remain an author's imaginings for ever.

There are some examples of similar misjudgements, related to TV presentations at TV Tropes Wiki (scroll down to section on "TIME".) A remark made there highlights an interesting point:
" Writers in the 1950s and 1960s thought that placing something in "The Year 2000" was as good as placing it a million years in the future. Even today, The Future is generally 300-500 years hence, even if we've developed a vast star-faring civilization. Some of this is a product of the progress-mania of the early 20th century -- after all, if in your lifetime, you'd seen mankind go from inventing the airplane to walking on the moon, it didn't seem all that unreasonable that we'd be living on Jupiter by 1999. This sort of thing gives many shows set Twenty Minutes Into The Future a shelf-life of about fifteen minutes. "

What surprises me most is not what authors imagine, but that they risk specifying dates. This can detract from a very good tale. In spite of the fact that a story is just that - a story, many readers must find themselves wearing a slight sneer when dates now well past are specified: "Neener neener neener. It didn't happen!"

I think we can be reasonably certain that many of the thoughts we have about 2008, 2010 and 2012 will prove to be just as misjudged as some plotlines from past literature.

Snobbery

Once upon a time it was thought that people in the USA were less prone to snobbery than those in the UK and Europe. I suppose this idea originated due to the fact that many European countries remain monarchies. A monarchy underpins an eschelon of aristocracy, which in turn used to spawn class consciousness and its close cousin snobbishness.

Snobbery isn't just related to bloodlines though. Snobbery can be found in many circles. Sport, music, art, literature, entertainment, food, wine, etc. etc. In a nutshell, snobbery entails looking down on others in an attempt to make oneself feel superior - about anything at all.

“True individualists tend to be quite unobservant; it is the snob, the would-be-sophisticate, the frightened conformist, who keeps a fascinated or worried eye on what is in the wind” said writer Louis Kronenberger.

C.E.O. Carter had this to say in his Encyclopedia of Psychological Astrology (and, for once, I have to remark critically, in places, on his words!)-

"Snobbishness is characteristic of Leos and Capricorns (tsk, tsk, Mr Carter - judging by Sun sign?)who are still centred on the material aspects of things. It is probable that the better sort of Capricorn (tsk tsk!)is conscious of, and a believer in, class distinctions, but is quite ready to pay each man his due according to his own view of what ought to be accorded to a man in such a position (erm....eh??) This belief in the value of caste is part of the love of orderliness which Saturn gives; there is a feeling that every one has, and should have, his right place in life, and should keep there, unless he can raise himself by worth, expressed in such terms as Saturn can respect.

The snobbishness of Leo is due to the enhanced idea of their importance which some members of that sign possess."

I do get the gist of what Mr Carter says, and I have to remember that he lived in a different era from me, with slightly different attitudes. I'm pretty sure that he would not tar all Sun Capricorns and Leos with the same brush, but was using a kind of shorthand, which those writing about astrology in brief fall into now and again (myself included).

Summer and winter born people are likely to have some Leo and Capricorn planets in their charts. The key factor is how strong are those planets, what aspects are made, and from whence, and what kind of snobbery?

Regarding Capricorn: it's quite common for Sun Capricorns to have planets in Aquarius - probably the least likely sign to embrace class snobbery, and vice versa -Aquarians often have Capricorn planets...so where does that leave us?

Instead of wondering "am I (or some other person) snobbish?", a better investigation would be "what am I (or you) snobbish about?" This assumes that each one of us has a whiff of snobbery somewhere within our personality.

I'd better put up my own hand to something here. I'd like to think that in general I'm not snobbish, but I guess I AM a bit snobbish about writing and speaking correctly. Not with an elegant accent - just correctly. In my younger dating days, if a would-be boyfriend was a sloppy speaker and unable to string a sentence together, I'd turn up my snobby nose. In my natal chart Mercury (planet of communication)is in Capricorn, ruled by Saturn and almost on the descendant, so in a strong position. One victory for Mr Carter, then!

HeWhoKnows feels much the same as me about correct writing and speaking. He has Mercury in Pisces, but it is conjunct Saturn, ruler of Capricorn. I have to suspect also (whispering) that he's a leeetle bit of a music/jazz snob, and in his natal chart Saturn/Mercury sextiles his Venus(music)/Uranus conjunction in Taurus. He also has Moon and ascendant in Leo....nudge nudge, wink wink. Another tick for Mr Carter!

I found this video on YouTube. "How to be a Pretentious Snob". The presenter is just 19 - from New Zealand I think. It made me laugh. I reckon he has talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORm4jhitPxM


(Illustration from http://www.georgwilliams.com/gallery_of_pets.htm)

A Climate of Backlash

Yesterday I decided to spend a little time catching up on blogs I've neglected to read for a while. I started at Barbara's "Silverwheel Astrology" then moved on to Dr. Glen Barry's at "Earth Meanders" (17 July post)- I got no further.

Although the authors of these two blogs hold opposite views about climate change, the bloggers and many comments speak out against Al Gore and his "mission", albeit for different reasons.

It's no surprise that Al Gore is an irritant to those skeptical about man-made, or indeed any global warming. I can understand also why dedicated environmentalists might feel miffed to see him, with celebrity helpers, getting so much publicity when their own efforts have gone well nigh unnoticed over many years.

Al Gore is caught in backlash coming from both sides of this debate, not only in blogs, elsewhere too. Backlash is a by-product of success, of course, so I suppose it was to be expected. I'm not sure whether there's a coinciding astrological transit - transiting Mars is hanging around his natal Venus just now - maybe that's it.

I've noticed recently another discernable backlash. People who appear to have been scolded and chided by over-eager "Greens" are becoming weary of it. Over-zealous nagging is never helpful, and eventually turns counter-productive.

My personal opinion on climate change remains that human activity over the last century has contributed to, and exacerbated, change which may or may not be part of a natural cycle. I feel pretty sure that even the most qualified expert doesn't know for certain what's going on, or what's in store for the future. Isn't risk limitation the best way forward? It surely must be, unless we are truly short-sighted and uncaring, for the risk is scarily unquantifiable. Isn't this what Al Gore's mission is all about?

Solutions involved in combatting man-made climate change (whether one believes that it exists or not), would greatly benefit humans and the planet in the long term. Deforestation is patently bad for the planet. Huge mountains of waste plastic and other non-degradable materials will someday become a menace if nothing is done to reduce them. New sources of energy will be essential in coming decades - oil will someday run out. If population isn't limited soon, Mother Nature will do it for us. Glaciers are melting - proof is there for all to see. Ocean levels will therefore rise, to what extent is uncertain. Whether currents such as the Gulf Stream will be affected is also a consideration. Banning new development on flood plains, and vulnerable coastal areas, would surely benefit the environment whether catastrophe comes in our lifetime, or things trundle along much as they are now.

As for Al Gore's penchant for recruiting celebrity helpers - what does it matter about their motives or their lifestyles? The message is the important thing. Their luxurious lifestyles give these people the freedom to do what they are doing. It's the superficial, yet essential, side of Al Gore's mission. He's attempting to reach the youth of the world - those who will have to deal with after-effects from long decades of our not caring.

I admire Al Gore a lot, my only disappointment is that, so far, he declines to run in the 2008 presidential campaign. Without strong action from the government in the USA, which I suspect will not be forthcoming under any other presidency, nothing will change here - except, perhaps, the climate.

The Week That Was

I reckon this puts much of what we've read and seen this week in the shade:

MONTEZUMA, Iowa: Two teens are marching across the country for peace, hoping to gain followers and attention with each step they take.

Ashley Casale, 19, and Michael Israel, 18, had hoped others who opposed the war in Iraq would join them on their 3,000-mile (4,800-kilometer) walk from San Francisco to Washington. But since they started off on May 21, it has usually been just the two of them.

It was not what Casale planned when she started a Web site and sent fliers to colleges nationwide to promote what she called "March for Peace." Still, after 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) and three pairs of sandals, she seemed satisfied with the march's progress.
Full article at International Herald Tribune HERE

Generationally these two teens "have their heads screwed on right" (as my grandma would have said.) When they were born, 1988/9, Neptune, Pluto, Uranus and Saturn would have provided a generational mix of Sagittarius, Capricorn and Scorpio as background for their personal planets. Passionate (Scorpio) about their cause, with plenty of common sense and determination (Capricorn), going to extremes to make their point(Sagittarius).

To paraphrase an old Irish blessing :

May the road rise up to meet to meet them
May the wind always be at their backs.
May the sun shine warm upon their faces,
and rains fall soft upon them.
And until they reach their destination ,
May their God hold them in the palm of His hand.

ARTY-FARTY FRIDAY # 14

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Last lap of my journey

Today the last lap of my long immigration journey begins. Today's the day I'll be mailing my application for US citizenship. As it happens, transiting Mercury is just a couple of degrees away from my natal ascendant, and transiting Moon conjoins natal Venus - seems like a reasonably good omen!

I didn't choose the day because of anything astrological, I've chosen it because it's the first day I become eligible to apply, and because on 30 July the total fee will rise from $400 to $675.

The next stage will follow in a few weeks when I'll be called in for fingerprinting. After that there'll be a long wait of several months before the main interview, then another wait until the next available Oath Ceremony. I'll be watching transits closely to note whether any astrology fits appointment dates as I receive them.

In the meantime I'm brushing up on US history and government. As part of the main interview I'll be asked 10 questions on "civics" from a list of 140, and will need to answer at least 6 correctly. Then they'll test my ability to, er..... speak and write English! Apparently they go through the motions with this little test whether one is a naturally English speaking/writing person or not. It's probably all about discrimination.

I'm hoping to be a citizen in time to vote in the 2008 election!

A very good year......and Ansel Adams

1902 was a very good year for the arts. Oddly (or perhaps not), the prevailing astrological stew brought forth numerous men who were later to become film producer/directors. A few of the better known names are: David O.Selznick, Vittoria de Sica, Anatole Litvak, Harold Schuster, William Wyler, Darryl F. Zanuck - and there are others. Composer for musical theatre, Richard Rodgers, writers Ogden Nash and John Steinbeck, aviator Charles Lindbergh, TV personality Ed Sullivan, astrologers Grant Lewi and Carl Payne Tobey, and photographer Ansel Adams are also of this rare vintage. SEE HERE for more.

The position of the outer planets almost certainly contributed to this cornucopia of talent. Pluto lay between 17 and 19 Gemini, Neptune between 29 Gemini and 3 Cancer, Uranus between 18 to 20 Sagittarius. For a good part of the year Pluto (and sometimes Neptune) opposed Uranus in Sagittarius. Saturn remained in Capricorn throughout the year.

From amongst that line-up of luminaries I've already blogged about Ogen Nash (here),. I've mentioned the two astrologers in several blog entries too. Next up is famous photographer and conservationist, Ansel Adams.

Ansel Adams was born 20 February 1902, allegedly at 3am, in San Francisco. That 3am birth time is so convenient that I do wonder if it's a guess or rectification (I must learn to be more trusting and less cynical!)




A birth time of 3 am puts those magical outer planets near to the ascendant/descendant angles, giving them extra importance and strength. They are trining or sextiling his most personal planets, Sun, Venus and Mercury which lie in the last degrees of Aquarius and 00* Pisces. His Moon at 4 Leo opposes Jupiter at 3 Aquarius. This time of birth puts MC in Libra, ruled by artistic Venus - but no planets are there.

I see Ansel Adams as a clear blend of Aquarius and Pisces, with extra dynamism coming from his Moon in Firey Leo and the Sagittarian ascendant. Sun Mercury and Venus trining Neptune and sextiling Uranus are likely to be the key features here.

Neptune rules photography and is also the ruler of his (just in) Pisces Sun. Uranus, ruler of his Aquarian planets rules the technology involved in cameras generally, so the sextile to his personal planets will have been helpful.

It's becoming a little clearer now why so many film director/producers featured in that list of 1902 luminaries !

Below is a small sample of the work of Ansel Adams, with two quotations attributed to him.

"It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment".(The more things change, the more they remain the same!).

"It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators."

A story about astrologer Grant Lewi

Here's a little story about 20th century American astrologer Grant Lewi. It's taken from the preface to his book "Heaven Knows What", first published 1935, my second-hand edition is 1947, and has a preface by Carl Payne Tobey, another American astrologer who was around at the same time as Grant Lewi.

We're told in the preface that Grant Lewi was "restless Sun-in-Gemini conjunct the node of Uranus, with Leo on the ascendant, Sun in opposition to Uranus". He didn't believe in paying for life insurance because he said he had no intention of dying right away. When he was 48 and a half he changed his mind and bought life insurance. Right after his 49th birthday he died of what was thought to be a cerebral hemorrhage. So he had saved himself 30 years of life insurance premiums. He finally paid one premium and the insurance company had to pay off!

Carl Payne Tobey recalls that he was told by folks in Tucson, Arizona where Lewi lived, that they thought he knew he was about to die. As well as the story about insurance, there were reports that he had refused to make any appointments for the month of August. He told people "I'll consider it if I'm still here." He had joked about not knowing whether he would even be around in August. He died on the morning of July 14th 1951. People were sure that he had been ready.

Apart from my little gripe about Grant Lewi's take on Aquarius Sun with Aries Moon (me), which I feel is undeservedly harsh, I warm to his style. It's said that he didn't use progressions or fixed stars - which information immediately recommends him to me ! "He wasn't concerned with why astrology works. He was more concerned with the fact that it does." Hmmm. I should try to emulate him in that respect myself, I guess.

I do like the astrologers of Grant Lewi's and Carl Payne Tobey's generation. Their general attitude and style of writing occasionally appear dated, but that's to be expected. What they have to say can be refreshing and enlightening. Second-hand copies of their books are available for next to nothing at Amazon and Alibris.

M. Night Shyamalan

After watching "Lady in the Lake", a movie shown on HBO last week, I wanted to find out more about its writer and director, M.Night Shyamalan. I'd seen some other films he has written/directed - "Sixth Sense", "The Village" and "Signs", but hadn't fully connected the dots until now. Probably because when I'd come across his rather unusual name in the credits my eyes balked and skipped over it!

There's an easy-to-find link between these films, they're all somewhere between science fiction and fairy tale, mystical, with a touch of horror (but not the gratuitous gory, nasty horror so prevalent in movies nowadays).

I wondered whether I could spot anything in his natal chart which might match his style. He was born on 6 August 1970 in India. Some websites give place of birth as Madras, others Pondicherry, still others Mahe.
I've chosen Pondicherry. I reckon the planets will be in the same degrees - wherever. 12 noon chart, as no birth time available.




M Night Shyamalan has been slated and accused by critics of vanity, affectation, insecurity....you name it, they've said it about him . But couldn't the same criticisms be levelled at just about any human on the face of this fair planet, at different times in different stages of their lives?

I've watched some YouTube videos of interviews with him (HERE"S ONE). He comes over, to me, as a rather gentle person, certainly unaffected in his attitudes but determined not to fall into the trap of making films which spawn sequal after sequal in an effort to pander to the almighty(?) dollar. If he IS vain, he has a right to be proud of his achievements in writing and directing. He started at such a young age - he has been making home movies since teenage, writing and directing real movies since 1995, when he'd have been 25.

His chart shows Sun conjunct Mars in Leo. Vain? Of course. He's cute too!

Mercury, Pluto and Venus all in Virgo (ruled by writer's planet Mercury). Pluto and Venus conjoined.

Moon at 12 noon was also in the last degrees of Virgo - but with a birth time after 5pm Moon would be in Libra along with Uranus and Jupiter

Neptune in Scorpio and Saturn in Taurus, opposing each other complete the picture. This is an aspect many around his age would have shared. House position would really be needed to personalise it, I guess. It could though account for the criticism he excites - Saturn (the "square" critical establishment) opposing the writer's imaginative, dreamy Neptune.

Shyamalan's work displays a lot of Neptune - this planet is opposed by Saturn, sextiled by Pluto/Venus, semi-sextiled by Jupiter - so there's a lot going on here, no doubt stimulating his imagination 24/7. The Moon could well be involved too, if only we knew his time of birth.

His Sun/Mars conjunction is going to be a strong driving force in his life, personal and professional. This may be where the critics direct their niggles! He is probably very strong willed and determined to go his own way, no matter what. Yet, those closest to him will know a softer side I think, courtesy of those Virgo and Libra planets.

I'd have expected a few more Uranus connections to show up. M. Night Syamalan's work is fairly strange - "out there where the buses don't run"! This planet lies at 5.56 Libra, so it is just about sextile his Sun/Mars conjunction.

Neptune just has to be the star of the show in this man's firmament though. Any of his films will confirm it. I wonder if it's on his ascendant. With a birth time of 1.15 pm it would be, with Scorpio 28 ascendant, the Moon would be conjunct Venus/Pluto in Virgo - now that really would be an excellent fit!

A poem, and news of a challenge met.

I LOOK INTO THE STARS, by Jane Draper

Stars have ways I do not know,
Enormity that checks my thought,
Yet on the loom of their fine glow
The fabric of my dreams is wrought.

I look into the stars, and one
After one, convictions die,
While more than I have lost is spun
Delicately across the sky.

I look into the stars, and all
The fuming purposes life gives
Pass, like mists of evening fall,
And all life never has been, lives.



Illustration from Neopets

The challenge mentioned in the title is HeWhoKnows' reply to the tag game/meme about songs/music.

HWK typically took his time, whereas I had rushed into it head first! HWK's contribution is an interesting read, for true music lovers as well as musical plebs like myself. When it comes to our attitude to music we're chalk and cheese. I go for the words every time - he goes, almost always, for the music. Is this down to my Mercury in Capricorn and his in Pisces, I wonder? He likes to "sense" the meaning, I like to have it spelled out. Or is it just a "guy thing"?

My nice surprise.

Yesterday I logged on to find that Michelle of Crow's Feet had nominated me for a Creative Blogger Award. I was shocked and flattered. I've noticed a variety of little award symbols on blogs during my travels around the internet and often wondered how these came about. Now I know!

Thank you, Michelle, for the nomination and for directing me to the source of many of the award symbols I've seen around - a blog called Writers' Reviews.

I'm especially honoured to be nominated in this particular category. Look at the description of the award - I can't claim to fill all of the description, but part of it does say, loud and clear, "Aquarian Sun", I'll claim that part!

"This award originated with Christy at Writers Reviews, and is "for those who bring unique and creative elements to their blogs. For those who incorporate art, music, creative writing, photo's, and other beautiful visual effects into their website. For those who put a unique spin on things and come up with new ideas. This award is for the artsy, the funky, the inventor, and even the rebel. This award is for those creative individuals who stand out from the crowd."

I've looked at my relocated chart and transits for yesterday. Transiting Neptune (imagination and creativity) still conjoins relocated Aquarius ascendant, and transiting Mars 4 degrees from natal Uranus (planet of the unexpected) in re-located 3rd house of communication. I think those might fit, and that relocation charts might actually work - another surprise!

Thanks again, Michelle !

ARTY-FARTY FRIDAY #13

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Bonnie and Clyde

There's a good piece about this notorious pair at Crime Library. I'm borrowing a few extracts, and adding my thoughts in an effort to see whether we can observe astrology at work. My comments are in blue italics.

The double chart is for 12 noon, as neither birth time is known. The inner chart is Clyde's, outer Bonnie's.






"Bonnie and Clyde were meant for each other. And they clung to each other while they fought back against the elements. (See their natal Venus placements - right opposite one another at 24 Pisces and 23 Virgo, and their Suns opposite at 3 Aries and 7 Libra)

They were children of a nationwide economic depression ......


(There's no doubt that Clyde was the leader, Bonnie the follower )
An anger dwelt within Clyde, having been born ragged and made more ragged by the Depression.(See his natal Mars conjunct Uranus - Mars must signify his anger at perceived wrongs to 'ordinary' people (Uranus) His Mars and Saturn, two "heavy" planets are in mutual reception, Mars in the sign ruled by Saturn (Capricorn) and Saturn in a sign ruled by Mars (Aries) probably adding devastating strength to both planets. In my software's section on "Lilly Strengths", which shows one way of calculating planetary strength, devised by William Lilly an astrologer of the distant past, Mars' strength goes right off the chart!

He sometimes killed in cold blood, and always tried to justify the murders as if he had a right to pull that trigger, thus releasing somehow the seething that built up like a volcano deep inside him. (Natal Pluto within a few degrees of his North Node(sensitive point in any chart) This may have pointed him towards his imagined "path in life" - a path of death. Jupiter in Virgo opposite Mercury in Pisces - in mutual reception (both trine or sextile Neptune in Cancer)were sure to have bestowed an over-active and exaggerated imagination, which, with hindsight, amounted to a death-wish. Bonnie had natal Jupiter opposite Neptune)

Perhaps he actually believed in his own special privilege. As the fame of Bonnie and Clyde grew, they shot their way out of police loops, each time growing tighter and tighter, and claimed that the "laws" they killed just happened to get in the way between their fiery outcry and the rest of the country. Their killings were not personal, they contended. But, the government took them personal. And Bonnie and her man were marked for death.

Depression had lowered a hideous shroud over the nation. The American Dream collapsed along with Wall Street in 1929.

Historian Jonathan Davis, in an excellent A&E Cable Network-produced Biography on the two bandits, says of Bonnie and Clyde’s crimes, "Anybody who robbed banks or fought the law were really living out some secret fantasies on a large part of the public."

Even more than their insurgence against their status in life was Bonnie and Clyde’s devotion to their own. With police and government detectives constantly on their trails, sometimes literally by inches, they time and time again risked their own lives to protect the other. Says Marie Barrow, Clyde’s sister, in Biography, "They never worried about anything else but each other." (Bonnie's natal Mars is only a degree away from her Sun, indicating an anger equal to Clyde's, though it's said that she never carried a gun herself.)
........
In their getaway cars, Clyde and Bonnie habitually carried a Kodak box camera; they loved to pose in dramatic tableaux wielding shotguns and revolvers, self-parodying the gangster image they realized they had earned. More than that, they loved to pose together, embraced or kissing, having other gang members do the snapping. When they died, the police found an undeveloped roll of film under their car seat -- photos of them together, looking adventurous and deeply in love. (They seemed to be living out a game - nowadays folks do this with more safety to themselves and others, via computer games !).

They knew they were going to die, maybe next week, maybe next month. Maybe in the morning. "

On 23 May 1934 the two died when government agents ambushed their car. On that date Pluto had moved to 22 degrees Cancer, and lay opposite their natal Uranus, in Clyde's case Uranus/Mars conjunction. It seems to me that their days must have always been numbered by this transit of Pluto, the great cleanser.