INTRODUCTION
The story of the abduction of Persephone is one of the more prominent stories from Greek mythology that illustrates victimization and powerlessness. The core theme of abduction and descent into the Underworld is the commodification and forced compliance of females and the repercussions of the event that manifest in all parties involved. This research project came into focus while reading an article on famous kidnappings. Later, when scrolling through the asteroid menu in Solar Fire software, the asteroid Persephone appeared, and the story of her abduction, search, and rescue sparked an interest in this asteroid and whether it played a prominent role in the charts of kidnapping victims and the timing of their abductions. The main objective of this study is to explore if the asteroid Persephone and Ceres/Pluto Midpoint play an important role in kidnapping events.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Persephone, daughter of Ceres and her brother, Zeus, whose name translated from the Greek means “bringer of death,” is gathering flowers when Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, pulls her down into his realm, holding her captive (1)(2). Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, searches endlessly for her lost daughter, neglecting her duties as the protectorate of farming and harvests. Crops failed, resulting in hunger and desolation. Zeus ordered Ceres to give up pursuing Persephone and return to food production. Ceres refused, demanding to know what happened to her daughter. Helios, the all-seeing Sun god, informed Ceres of her daughter’s location. Raging at her brother, Ceres told Zeus that if he did not secure Persephone’s immediate release all crop production will cease and famine will prevail, leaving no mortals on earth to worship him. Zeus replied that he had already agreed to allow Pluto, also their brother, to abduct Persephone as his consort. Consequences must be accepted. Persephone, now Queen of the Underworld, was seduced but treated as an equal. Distraught at her situation, Persephone refused to eat, because consuming Pluto’s food would bind her to him forever. Whether from hunger or acceptance of her fate, Persephone consumed six pomegranate seeds, resulting in a successful compromise of her release: In order to return to her mother, Persephone, in proportion with each seed consumed, would spend six months in the Underworld followed by six months above the earth. This timing defined the growing season and the winter months when crops are dormant (3).
METHODOLOGY
Since a study of this nature has not been conducted anywhere else, charts were collected from Astrodatabank, Wikipedia, FBI public records, the internet, literature, and private sources.The FBI’s definition of kidnapping is as follows: “The taking away of a person by force, threat, or deceit, with intent to cause him or her to be detained against his or her will. Kidnapping may be done for ransom or for political or other purposes.” Charts were collected using this criteria, noting the date of their abduction. One hundred and twenty-six charts were used in this study. Thirty-six charts of victims of kidnapping are AA-rating. The remaining 90 charts have no time of birth but fit the criteria. Noon charts were used for the charts without birth time. Placidus houses system was used for all charts.
The kidnapped were mostly children, teens and, particularly, young women who were abducted against their will and usually, but not always, raped. Some of them were adult victims held hostage for political revenge or for ransom. The kidnappings of children between spouses or family members, which are so prevalent in incidents of domestic disputes and divorce, were not used. Orbs were kept as small as possible, usually within minutes but seldom exceeding 3 degrees. In examples with no time of birth, orbs of greater than 4 degrees were allowed, but were rarely used. As seen below in Figure 1, ages of people kidnapped range from newborns to 85 with most of them less than 25 years old.
For the purposes of this study, all the observations made were focused on the day of the kidnapping. “Persephone, the Ceres/Pluto midpoints are the main natal points in the chart that were observed for this study as they were thought to be relevant to kidnappings. Only hard aspects were studied and this included conjunctions, oppositions, squares, semi-squares, and sesqui-squares and orbs were kept around 3 degree for transits, and around 2 degrees for secondary progressions.
Using the 126 kidnapping charts, these were the following aspects that were measured:
- Transits and secondary progressions in tight aspects were measured to the natal 399 (asteroid Persephone) and Ceres/Pluto midpoint on the day of the kidnapping. An orb of 3 degrees was used for transits and 2 degrees for progressions and all 8 hard aspects were considered.
- Also, the solar and lunar eclipse preceding and nearest to the day of kidnapping was first determined and then aspect from these eclipses to the natal Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint was observed. Please note that both solar and lunar eclipse were taken into account and sometimes both the preceding and nearest eclipse were the same. An orb of 3 degrees and all 8 hard aspects were considered.
No natal aspects in birth charts were measured as this is beyond scope of this study.
RESULTS
Transits: Consistently Transiting Chiron and Transiting Uranus showed up with highest frequency to both the natal Persephone and to natal Ceres/Pluto midpoint. Random chance of a planet hitting a point with 3 deg orb and 8 hard aspects is around 13%, but in the study 25% and 18% of the kidnapping charts had Chiron transiting natal Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint respectively on the day of kidnapping. In Greek mythology, Chiron experienced unbearable pain being injured by the arrow from Herakles, and gave up his immortality in order to get relief from the pain through death. So Chiron transits could show experiences for which there is no healing and the pain has to be borne in some way. This makes sense, as kidnapping victims endure the most horrific kinds of pain imaginable. They lose everything, including their identity, loved ones, and hope, and are subjected to frequent abuse and torment. Some even tragically lose their lives. Another perspective is that Chiron was half man, half animal. His birth was the outcome of a rape between the god Cronos, who took the form of a horse, and the nymph Philyra. His hybrid appearance at birth caused both parents to reject him, creating an outlier who possessed an eclectic intelligence. Chiron’s association with wounding can also extend to psychological disorders.
| Transiting Planet | Percentage Observed on Day of Kidnapping | Chance Occurrence /random | |
| Transit to Persephone | Transit to Ceres/Pluto | ||
| Chiron | 25% | 18% | 13% |
| Uranus | 18% | 22% | 13 |
Uranus transits on the other hand show up in incidents that include sudden changes, both for negative and positive experiences. It also expresses change and an unpredictable reversal of fortune, which again can go both ways.
Secondary Progressions: Progressed (same as Solar Arc Sun position) Sun aspects to both Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoints were the only consistent and significant resultsobtained in the study. SecondaryProgressed Moon to natal Persephone aspects also came higher than expected but since 89 out of 126 charts do not have a time of birth, the results are questionable. As progressed Sun moves through the birth chart with one day of the sun’s movement equal to one year, it brings to light the area of the chart it aspects, opening up different areas of experience, which can be both easy and challenging.
Solar and Lunar Eclipse: Throughout the ages, eclipses have been considered important factors in predictive astrology. In antiquity, they were the harbingers of mundane events, particularly according to element. Eclipses in air affected winds and storms, in fire, heat and arson, in water, rain and floods, and in earth, acquisitions and crops. They are prominent in the ascents and demise of royal figures. In natal charts, eclipses bring upheaval and and often inexplicable turns of events that bring both disruption and enlightenment when conjunct or opposite a planet or angle within a four-degree orb. Both preceding and nearest eclipses were observed from the day of kidnapping to see if any of them made an aspect to natal Persephone or the Ceres/Pluto midpoint. A three-degree orb was used and all 8 hard aspects were considered. As seen in Table 2 below, 35% and 27 % of the charts had a preceding eclipse aspecting the natal Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint respectively. About 53% of the charts had an eclipse to either the Ceres/Natal Persephone or Natal Ceres from the day of kidnapping. To consider the significance, we could compare the random chance of an eclipse occurring at a particular point of the zodiac with 3 -degree orb and 8 aspects. However, due to the nature of eclipses, it is a bit challenging to ascertain the random chance of an eclipse occurring at a particular point of the zodiac. But to get an idea, for a specific point (for example – natal Persephone), a single eclipse event with 3 degrees orb x 8 aspects covers 24 degrees in the dial. However, since solar and lunar eclipses come in pairs, the eclipse covers 48 degrees on the dial. The probability of an aspect occurring to a specific degree in the zodiac with the nearest eclipse is 48/360 or 13% (for one set of eclipse).
| Eclipse (Lunar or Solar) | Percentage of Eclipse to Natal Persephone | Percentage of Eclipse to Natal Ceres/Pluto |
| Preceding eclipse to the Day of Kidnapping | 35% | 27% |
| Nearest Eclipse to the Day of Kidnapping | 28% | 18% |
CASE STUDIES
In Solar Fire software, the number 399 appeared next to this asteroid Persephone in the software. With no standard symbol available for this asteroid, the glyph “a” is used to identify Persephone in the chart of kidnapping victims.
Jaycee Lee Dugard
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at age 11 while walking home from school and lived for over 18 years in a tent in the yard of her kidnapper, being raped repeatedly and bearing him two children (4). On June 11, 1991, the day of her abduction, as seen in Chart 1, transiting Saturn opposed her natal Persephone (given as “a”) within 20 minutes and her natal Ceres/Pluto midpoint. It is incredible to note that her natal Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint were conjunct within 1 degree orb! So all 3 important mythological symbols related to kidnapping are connected. Although the Mars/Uranus midpoint and Mars/Pluto midpoint have not been included in this study, they did show up in a number of charts forming meaningful midpoint structures. In Jaycee’s natal chart, her Mars/Pluto midpoint = Natal Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint. In addition, the previous lunar eclipse aspected her Persephone within 3° 12’ and her Ceres/Pluto midpoint within 56 minutes.
Etan Patz
On May 25, 1979, Etan Patz, aged six, was abducted while walking two blocks to board his school bus in Lower Manhattan (5). His widely publicized disappearance helped launch a nationwide campaign, including new legislation and cutting-edge methods of tracking down missing children. One of the first children to appear on the photo of a milk carton, President Ronald Reagan designated May 25, the date of his disappearance, as National Missing Children’s Day in the USA.
On the day of kidnapping, transiting Chiron Venus and Mars made a semi-square (45 degree) aspect to the natal Persephone (given as a) and Transiting Uranus along with T Persephone also made a hard aspect to the natal Ceres/Pluto midpoint. The lunar eclipse prior to Eytan’s abduction opposed his natal Persephone within 1°5’, and his progressed Saturn, SA Mercury, and transiting Jupiter and Neptune were in hard aspect to it within 2º 17’. Progressed Jupiter and solar arced Ceres were in aspect to his Ceres/ Pluto within 1 degree.
Jemima Boone
Jemima Boone, Daniel Boone’s daughter, whose abduction was the basis of the book “The Last of the Mohicans,” was kidnapped by Native Americans on July 14th, 1776, on the day of a partial solar eclipse. Three days later her father rescued her. It is interesting to note that she has a natal midpoint structure of Mars Pluto = Natal Persephone and on the day she was kidnapped, as seen in Chart 3, transiting Saturn was conjunct natal Persephone triggering this midpoint related to intense aggression. Saturn could denote the separation from loved ones. Jemima’s Solar Arc Node and Ceres were also sesquisquare (135 degrees) her natal Persephone. Concurrently, as seen in many kidnapping events, both Transiting Chiron and Uranus were active, making an aspect to her natal Ceres/Pluto midpoint.
Patty Hearst
The granddaughter of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, (SLA), an urban guerrilla left-wing group (7). She was held captive for 19 months, raped repeatedly, and temporarily adapted to the SLA’s philosophy and tactics as she joined their sprees of robbery and even changed her name. She has the midpoint structure of Mars Pluto midpoint = Persephone in the natal chart showing the complicated nature of her kidnapping and the aftermath of how she got involved in their strategy. On the day of her abduction this midpoint was triggered by transiting Chiron and Persephone making an opposition and sesquisquare respectively. Also, her progressed Mercury stationed direct sesqui-squaring Persephone within 1 degree and 8 minutes, and the previous Full Moon conjoined Persephone within 1 degree, 3 minutes.
Polly Klaas
Polly Klaas was born with natal Persephone at 7 Scorpio 34 making a semisquare aspect to her Neptune Venus Midheaven Conjunction (as seen in Chart 2). She was kidnapped through her bedroom window at 10:30 PM on October 1, 1993 in Petaluma, CA (8). In the natal chart, both Pluto and Ceres make a square aspect. Although on the day of kidnapping, there were no major transits , Polly’s Solar Arc Pluto and Ceres conjoined and squared her natal Persephone respectively. Again all the 3 significators of kidnapping, Pluto, Ceres and Persephone are connected.
Sally Horner
Sally was the kidnapping victim upon whom Vladimir Nabokov based his blockbuster novel Lolita. Her natal Persephone was 10 Cancer 52. She was kidnapped on June 14, 1948 (9) when transiting Neptune was squaring her natal Persephone within 39 minutes, and her Progressed Mercury was stationary retrograde semi-squaring her natal Persephone within 35 minutes. Her natal Uranus conjoined her Ceres/Pluto midpoint within 55 minutes.
CONCLUSION
Natal Aspects to Persephone and Ceres/Pluto midpoint were not used in this study. As mentioned above, the primary focus was to assess the correlations between natal charts of victims and the date of abduction using planets, eclipses, progressions, solar arcs, and three critical points. The high occurrence of Transiting Chiron is very telling about the intense pain suffered by kidnapping victims. It also highlights how Chiron is associated with both mental and physical pain, for which there is often no real healing. Further potential for this study lies in examining other midpoints that could be related to the experience of being kidnapped. These interesting correlations and others can be used for future study of kidnapping. Many thanks to Dave Campbell and Anna-Cristal de Lyon for their assistance in providing accurate data of kidnapped victims.
CHART INFORMATION
Chart 1: Jaycee Lee Dugard, Natal Chart: May 3, 1980, 10:43 PM PDT Anaheim, CA Placidus, True Node. Rodden Rating: AA. Source: Astrodatabank.
Chart 2: Eytan Patz, Natal Chart: October 9, 1972, New York, NY. (No time of birth). Placidus, True Node. Source: Wikipedia.
Chart 3: Jemima Boone, Natal Chart: October 4, 1762 Mocksville, NC (No time of birth) Placidus, True Node. Source: Pearl, Matthew, The Taking of Jemima Boone.
Chart 4: Patty Hearst, Natal Chart: February 20, 1954 6:01 PM PST San Francisco, CA. Placidus, True Node, Rodden Rating: AA. Source; Astrodatabank.
Chart 5: Polly Klaas, Natal Chart: January 3, 1981 at 10:40 AM PST San Francisco, CA. Placidus, True Node, Rodden Rating: AA. Source: Astrodatabank.
Chart 6: Sally Horner, Natal Chart:: April 14, 1937 EST Camden, NJ (No time of birth). Placidus, True Node. Source: Weinman, Sarah, The Real Lolita.
REFERENCES
- Stored. (2022, April 26). Persephone: Bringer of Life or Destruction? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hBkgFGG-cM&t=507s
- Gillespie, I. (2022, April 14). The Myth of Hades and Persephone. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLAYGZeVTPQ
- Ovid, & Raeburn, D. (Trans.). (2014), Metamorphoses. Penguin.
- Dugard, J. (2021). A Stolen Life. Simon and Shuster.
- Cohen, L. R. (2009). After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive. Grand Central Publishing.
- Pearl, M., (2021). The Taking of Jemima Boone. Harper.
- Hearst, P. C. (1982). Every Secret Thing, Doubleday.
- Bortnick, B. (1995). Polly Klaas: The Murder of America’s Child. Pinnacle Publishing.
- Weinman, S. (2018). The Real Lolita. Ecco.
- Beers, K. Gusoff, C. (2015) Buried Memories, My Story. Beaufort Books.
Biography
Jackie Slevin M.A., C.A. NCGR-PAA, is the author of Finding Success in the Horoscope, available on Amazon.com. An internationally published and full-time professional Astrologer, she is the Education Director for NCGR where she hosts monthly webinars and was a Track Coordinator or Presenter at United Astrology Congress (UAC) from 1995 to 2018. A biography writer for Lois Rodden’s world-renowned Astrodatabank, she has been featured in the New York Post, Psychology Today, and in numerous radio shows and podcasts, including her show “Planet Speak” on the Bold, Brave, TV network. From 2008 to 2022 she wrote astrology columns for Horoscope Guide Magazine, and is currently the Secretary of the New Jersey NCGR chapter. Visit her website at www.geocosmicstudies.com.
Copyright 2024 by Jackie Slevin. All Rights Reserved.
“The ball is round so that the game can change direction.”
Sepp Herberger
Planetary stations are celestial phenomena that have an enormous impact in horoscopes. Lacking the convenience of having them highlighted with an S until my software upgraded, they were often overlooked in my analyses of charts. Their importance in delineation speaks volumes, and the influence of being born on one lasts a lifetime. This is why stations are one of my favorite techniques; their effect is permanent. A station stamps the entire chart.
As a magician uses smoke and mirrors to create a deception, the planetary motion employs the same suspension of belief with its own form of optical illusion, making a seemingly simple change of direction create a whole new dimension of interpretation.
The Reverse Rotation, or the Wagon Wheel Effect
A spoked wheel appears to rotate more slowly than the true rotation, it can appear stationary, or it can appear to rotate in the opposite direction. This last form of the effect is sometimes called the reverse rotation effect. The direction of movement appears to change. Retrograde is the Latin word for “backward step.” Retrograde motion is an optical illusion caused by the visual system, which is part of the central nervous system that is required for visual perception. This optical illusion is characterized by a visual precept that appears to differ from reality. In a horoscope, this visual precept becomes a frozen snapshot image, a freeze frame of a slowed-down motion that plays a central role in the person’s life, branding them with that planet’s influence. The qualities of the planet become intensified, characterizing the person’s life for better or worse. Anyone born within three days of this planetary phenomenon has the stationary planet functioning on overdrive in their charts and thus in their lives.
Stations are one of my favorite portents in a horoscope. The effects of aspects, both natal and transiting, can be minimized through lifestyle, and eclipses come and go. But if one is born on a station, the areas that come under that planet’s rulership planet are magnified; there is no way to escape their magnetic impact.
The following charts depict individuals who were born within 48 hours of a planetary station. All data was obtained from Astrodatabank. While no time of birth was recorded for Benjamin Franklin, astrologer Frances McEvoy rectified the time from the Franklins’ father’s diary and the baptismal records from the Old North Church.
Born on a Mercury Station
- Writers, storytellers, the printed word
- Transportation
- Writer, storytellers, the printed word
- Transportation
- Information
- Siblings or cousins play a pivotal role
- Exceptionally persuasive conversationalists
- Dialects and language are focal points
- Limbs, flexibility, movement
- Take an alternate route to education.
Example of Mercury SR: Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, printer, Postmaster, librarian, humorist, columnist, negotiator, and scientist, was a founding father in American history.
After two years of school, Franklin was apprenticed as a teenager to learn typesetting from his brother James, printer of the New England Courant. Despite his talent as a wordsmith, Franklin wasn’t permitted to make any contributions to the newspaper his brother published, only set the type. In 1722 James was jailed for 3 months for publishing a criticism of the governor. Franklin assumed all tasks in his brother’s shop with superior results. During James’ absence Franklin anonymously penned a column in the Courant entitled “Silence Dogood” that resulted in many letters of compliment and inquiry. When James returned and discovered that Franklin wrote this column, a fistfight ensued, and Franklin fled to the stage coach station. According to the law in colonial America, leaving an apprenticeship without permission made Franklin a fugitive, impelling him to take the coach to its furthest destination; the city of Philadelphia. It was here that Franklin’s prodigious abilities manifested in establishing another newspaper, a post office, a fire department, a library, a hospital, and a university. His Poor Richard’s Almanac sold over 10,000 copies per year, and the quotes from it, namely “Time is money,” and “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” are ingrained in the English lexicon. Franklin’s insatiably curiosity resulted in the invention of bi-focals, the Franklin Stove, musical instruments, the lightning rod, and electricity. His diplomacy earned him the position of Ambassador to France, where he formed a military alliance to help win the American Revolution, and in 1783 helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris, ensuring financial aid from the French for the colonies. After returning to Philadelphia, he helped draft and then signed the Declaration of Independence.
Franklin was particularly fond of his clever youngest sister Jane, teaching her to read and write at a time when girls in colonial Boston weren’t sent to school, and they corresponded through letters for 63 years. When Jane’s husband died, leaving her penniless and in debt, Franklin supported her for the rest of her life and bought her a house near his own in Philadelphia, where the two were close companions.
Born on a Venus station
- Music and the arts prevail over the life
- Diplomacy plays a central role
- Legal issues with partnerships
- Overindulgence
- Throat and neck problems
Example of Venus SD – Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis was a legendary performer and was the first musician inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His rowdy antics on stage earned him a loyal following and in 1957 he became an international sensation with the hit songs “Great Balls of Fire” and “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Born into an impoverished farming family, Lewis spent much of his childhood sneaking into the juke joint across the railroad tracks, where he emulated the itinerant black musicians playing rhythm and blues. By age nine his innate talent to play their music was so prodigious that his father mortgaged the farm to buy Jerry Lee his own piano, and by 14 the self-taught Jerry was playing in public assemblies, revivals, tent meetings, and on the local radio. Lewis was offered a record deal after his first audition in Nashville and his career was off and running, filling the gap left by Elvis Presley, whose enlistment in the army kept him out of the spotlight. Lewis was a frenzied showman who played the piano with his fists, elbows and feet, thrilling audiences across the globe.
In May 1958, Lewis’ much-anticipated concert tour in London was cancelled upon his arrival due to an interview with the young girl accompanying the 22-year-old musician, who told reporters she was his wife. Thirteen-year-old Myra Gale Brown (Lewis gave her age as 15), was legally his wife in Lewis’ second bigamous marriage. When the press received this news, Lewis ended up playing in pubs and clubs instead of sold-out stadiums at $10,000 per night, returning to America a few days later to find himself blacklisted. Radios stopped playing his music and his friends abandoned him, yet the couple remained married for 12 years and had two children. Regaining his career foothold in country music after struggling for a decade to resume performing, Lewis soon evolved into a rockabilly superstar. After a total of 7 marriages, problems with drugs, alcohol, and taxes finally took their toll, and Lewis retired from performing in 2019.
Born on a Mars Station
- Aggression manifests
- Athletics and sports predominate
- First responders
- Bold and protective: refuse to back down or play a passive role
- Head injuries change the course of their lives
Example of Mars SR – Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football. He was born Knut Larsen Rokne and emigrated to Chicago with his parents when he was five years old. In his youth he excelled at football and ran track. In the summer of 1913, he worked as a lifeguard.
Graduating Notre Dame in 1914 with a degree in pharmacy, he was then offered the job of football coach. His performance and record were unprecedented. In a span of 13 years Rockne led Notre Dame to 105 victories, 12 losses, five ties and three consensus national championships, which included five undefeated and untied seasons. Rockne posted the highest all-time winning percentage (.881) for a major college football coach. Rockne’s charisma and the stylish play of his teams riveted public imagination. He perfected such maneuvers as the Notre Dame Shift, the forward pass, and helped change the game from one of brute strength to one of speed and deception, making him the intercollegiate sport’s first true celebrity coach.
On March 31, 1931, Rockne died a violent death in a plane crash. Shortly after an hour after take-off from Kansas City, one of the planes’ wings broke in flight. The plane crashed into a wheat field near Bazaar, Kansas, killing Rockne and seven others. This tragedy and the resulting public outcry led to sweeping changes to aircraft design, manufacturing, inspection, and crash investigation, igniting safety regulations that transformed air travel worldwide from one of the most dangerous forms of transportation to one of the safest.
Rockne’s unexpected death stunned the nation. Over 100,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession, and the funeral was broadcast live on network radio across the United States, Europe, and parts South America and Asia.
Born on a Jupiter Station
- Philosophy and religion prevail over the lives
- Cross-cultural issues and higher education are focal points
- An extraordinary stroke of luck changes their trajectory
- Problems with legs and hips
- See to it that justice and mercy are implemented
- Righteous; they’ll have “their day in court.”
Example of Jupiter SD – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and philosopher who was a prominent figure in the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a champion of self-reliance, a prophetic critic of the Industrial Revolution and its stultifying impact on society, and published dozens of essays. A renowned public speaker, he gave more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.
A core belief in Transcendentalism is in the inherent goodness of people, that nature has its own intelligence, and that people are at their best when they are self-reliant, maintain good conscience, and see the divine experience inherent in everyday experiences, rather than believing in a distant heaven and suffering on earth while preparing for glory in an afterlife.
Emerson began attending Harvard College at age 14. After graduating 3 years later, he worked as a schoolteacher, then entered Harvard Divinity School. In 1829 he was ordained a minister and accepted the position of junior pastor at Boston’s Second Church. Two years later his world fell apart, after losing his adored wife to tuberculosis. He wrote in his journal: “I have sometimes thought that, in order to be a good minister, it was necessary to leave the ministry. The profession is antiquated. In an altered age, we worship in the dead forms of our forefathers. This mode of commemorating Christ is not suitable to me. That is reason enough why I should abandon it.”1
Embracing pantheism, Emerson believed that all things are connected to God and, therefore, all things are divine. His religious views were considered radical during his lifetime. He traveled widely throughout Europe and the United States, lecturing and meeting with prominent writers and philosophers.
Emerson died of pneumonia on April 24, 1882. In May 2006, 168 years after Emerson delivered his “Divinity School Address,” Harvard Divinity School announced the establishment of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Professorship.
Born on a Saturn Station
- Father is either absentee or all-powerful
- Maintaining traditions is a focal point
- Depression
- Restrictions
- Fall from Grace
- Longevity
- Become the Standard or an Icon
Example of Saturn SR – Betty White
American actress and comedian, White earned a Guinness World Record for “Longest TV career of a female entertainer in 2014. In a career that spanned more than 80 years, she received eight Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.
In the mid-1940s White was rejected from the Los Angeles television studios for being “not photogenic.” In 1952 her success on the TV show “The Make-Believe Ballroom” consisted of five and a half hours of live ad lib television six days per week, including singing a few songs during each broadcast, earning White her first Emmy nomination. The sitcom “Life with Elizabeth” followed in 1953, with White as the title character and producer, making her the first woman in Television to have control behind and in front of the camera.
In the1960s White was a regular on daytime TV and was dubbed “The First Lady of Game Shows.” Her performance in The Mary Tyler Moore show in the 1970s highlighted her comedic skills, winning her two consecutive Emmy awards in 1975 and 1976. In the 1980s stardom was assured in her signature role as Rose Nylund in the hit series “The Golden Girls,” marking the highlight of her already stellar career. She won the Emmy after the first season and was nominated every year of the show’s run. Television appearances on sitcoms in the 90s and in the 21st century, when in 2010, at 88, continued in the 1990s a steady stream in The Golden Pa2010 at 88 as the oldest guest host on Saturday Night Live.
“I’m having the time of my life and the fact that I’m still working – how lucky can you get? I’m 90 years old and still able to work as much as I do. That’s a privilege.” 2 On December 31, 2021 White died peacefully in her sleep in her home 18 days before her 100th birthday.
Born on a Uranus station
- Disrupt the status quo
- They break the mold and create a new one
- Rebel against personal or societal restrictions of all kinds
- Hold strong visionary goals
- Maintain a humanitarian and progressive outlook
Example of Uranus SR: Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the iconic 16th American President who abolished slavery and led the nation through the cataclysm of the Civil War. In both popular and scholarly polls, Lincoln is frequently categorized as the greatest president in American history.
A self-educated prairie lawyer, Lincoln’s sweeping changes in American culture had a shocking and permanent impact on the financial and social structure of the United States. The most activist president in American history, Lincoln changed the role of the presidency of Commander in Chief to prevailing over Congress and the courts, and stated that the President was subordinate to neither. Lincoln broke many laws and ignored a series of constitutional provisions. He affirmed his own version of judicial review that placed the President as the final interpreter of the Constitution, and while the government officials are required to support the Constitution it was the President alone who is sworn to preserve, defend, and protect it, placing the well-being and survival of the nation on his shoulders during times of war.
During his speech on September 17, 1859 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he said, “I think Slavery is wrong, morally, and politically. I desire that it should be no further spread in these United States, and I should not object if it should gradually terminate in the whole Union.”3
During the Civil War, Lincoln, a born charismatic leader, was determined to preserve the Union, which was quickly unravelling. Lincoln’s premise to abolish slavery incurred many enemies throughout the Southern States, where slave labor was the engine that drove their agrarian economy. Five days after the Confederate Army surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s theater in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865, plummeting the nation into shock and mourning.
Born on a Neptune Station
- Romantic and idealistic
- Lean toward activities connected to water, swimming, sailing, etc.
- Artistic talent that has an all-consuming, seductive impact
- Selflessly dedicate themselves to a charitable cause
- Wears a mask of deception
Example of Neptune SD: Mata Hari- Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle)
Responding to an ad for a mail order bride, impoverished 18-year-old Margaretha Zelle married Dutch Colonial Army Captain Rudolph McLeod in 1891 in Amsterdam, and the coupled then moved to Java in the Dutch East Indies. McLeod was a syphilitic, abusive alcoholic. Zelle fled the domestic violence in her household and immersed herself in the local culture, particularly Javanese dancing. Joining a local performing troupe, she adopting the name “Mata Hari,” meaning the Sun, or the “Eye of the Day.” Moving to Paris in 1903, she became an overnight sensation as an exotic dancer, claiming she was a Javanese princess of priestly Hindu birth, who had been trained since childhood in the art of sacred Indian dance. Her large following brought many influential contacts, and in 1912 Zelle traded the stage for the life of a courtesan, consorting with military officers of high rank throughout Europe.
At the outbreak of WW I, Zelle, fluent in seven languages, capitalized on her neutral Dutch citizenship to cross international borders with impunity. French military intelligence recruited her as a spy, offering Zelle one million francs if she could seduce admirer Crown Prince Wilhelm, and provide France with valid information about German tactics.
Zelle was arrested in England in 1916 and interrogated. Eventually confessing to espionage, her credibility and integrity came under scrutiny due to her background as an exotic dancer and courtesan; a woman of such loose morals could not be presumed to be telling the truth. To this day it is unclear if her reports were fabricated. She may have thought her testimony made her sound more captivating, or the French authorities were possibly using her as a scapegoat but were embarrassed to acknowledge it. Later that year Zelle offered to share French secrets with the German army in exchange for money, but she only reported gossip. Exasperated and feeling exploited, the Chief Intelligence Offer of the German army exposed Zelle to the French as a German spy.
On October 15, 1917, Zelle was executed before a French firing squad.
Born on a Pluto station
- Sex and sexual issues take center stage
- Inheritances, legacies, and bankruptcies
- Research and investigation
- Lured toward the Underworld
- Issues of life, death, and crisis
Example of Pluto SD: Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was born into an upper middle-class family. After spending 1877 in Paris with a housekeeping staff, governesses and tutors, the Steins moved to Oakland, California the following year, where Stein’s father purchased the Market Street Cable Car company, establishing the family’s financial security. When Stein’s father died when she was 17, her brother Michael took control over the cable car company. The business thrived.
A brilliant student, Stein studied literature and psychology at Radcliffe and then pursued a degree in medicine at Johns Hopkins College, where she encountered two female medical students in a lesbian relationship. It was then she experienced her “erotic awakening.” A love triangle followed, ending in crushing disappointment, which caused Stein to abandon her studies in 1902 and follow her brother Leo to London. The two siblings moved to 27 Rue de Fleurus in Paris, where Stein hosted her renowned salon, entertaining European and American artists, writers, and bohemians of every stripe. During this time Gertrude and Leo began an art collection, which was to become prominent for its cultural and historical importance.
Alice B. Toklas met Stein at a colleague’s apartment. It was love at first sight. Noting that that the two women were more than friends, Leo moved out and Alice moved in, managing Stein’s household, and helping her preside over the famous salon. Stein’s education and Parisian lifestyle were financed from her inheritance from the cable car company.
At Stein’s death in 1946, she left her distinguished art collection, including paintings of Picasso and Matisse, to her beloved Alice, who subsequently nursed her grief in Italy. During her absence, Leo removed all the art from their apartment and stored it under lock and key. Since Stein and Toklas’ same-sex relationship wasn’t legally recognized at the time, Toklas had no recourse. She spent her remaining 21 years in poverty, depending upon the kindness of friends and the modest income from the publication of two cookbooks.
The above examples highlight the overriding effect of planetary stations. Note them well when you analyze a chart, and discover the power of optical illusions and their impact on the course of events.
Using this technique, stage magicians keep their audiences in awe, and so can astrologers.
Copyright 2022 by Jackie Slevin. All rights reserved.
It is universally accepted that the basic necessities of life are food, clothing and shelter. In industrialized nations in the 21st century, the additional amenities of well being and security would include a cash flow, a bank account, a life insurance policy, and a credit card.
In the western hemisphere from ancient times until the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, a loaf of bread meant virtually all of these things. In 58 BCE the Roman Emperor Clodius issued an edict to distribute free bread every day for the poorer plebeians. This edict continued with minor changes for over four hundred years until the demise of the Empire in the fifth century CE. Thus it is no coincidence that the early Christians, whose primary congregation was in Rome, included the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread” in their signature prayer.
The staff of life was readily available, and grain in ancient Rome equals oil in the United States in 2008. The temple of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain, crowned the Aventine Hill in the Eternal City. Another statue of this goddess sits atop the Chicago Board of Trade Building, where agricultural commodities are traded.
Saturn (restriction) in Virgo (the harvest) has wreaked havoc in the world’s food supply. But the price of grain (Ceres) has skyrocketed beyond the means of most inhabitants in third world countries, or modern day “poorer plebeians.” On March 13, 2008, grain prices in Africa had risen 50 percent. Food riots were reported in the African countries of Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, and Senegal. In Sierra Leone, grain was up 300 percent. On this day, dwarf planet Ceres was at 24 degrees Taurus, 31 minutes, conjunct malevolent fixed star Algol within one and a half degrees. One month later on April 18, the front page headlines of the New York Times read “Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger,” reporting on the food riots in Haiti, the severity of which sent the prime minister packing. On that same day at noon, GMT, Ceres was at 7 degrees Gemini and 34 minutes, exactly conjunct the Cardinal Axis. (The Cardinal Axes are highly energized degrees at 0 degrees Cardinal, 22 degrees, 30 minutes Cardinal, 15 degrees Fixed, and 7 degrees, 30 minutes Mutable). Thus the goddess of grain was poised front and center on the world stage. Ceres reaches the Cardinal Axis at 0 degrees Cancer on June 11, 2008, when the food crises will no doubt be in the headlines. This summer the world will get a powerful trilogy of events when transiting Saturn is conjunct the Cardinal Axis at 7 degrees Virgo 30 minutes on July 30, the height of the growing season. Two days later the total eclipse of the Sun on August 1 at 9 degrees Leo 32 minutes may signal a heat wave, bringing drought conditions that would affect the harvest. On August 2, the very next day, Ceres is again conjunct the Cardinal Axis at 22 degrees, 33 minutes in Cancer, the sign of food. This celestial line-up is bound to impact the global markets of grain and rice, the fundamental staples of survival for humankind. Many of us will tighten our belts, and perhaps the poorer plebeians may again receive government rations, echoing the ancient petition to give us this day our daily bread.
The shining disk in the night sky that has held human attention since the dawn of times tells more than we know. Those shifting shadows that signaled to our ancestors when to plant and when to reap marked the passage of seasonal cycles as well as the passage of life itself. The display of nocturnal celestial phenomenon held a myriad of visual delights; planets wandered, stars twinkled, and meteors darted about in showers of light. Many star patterns remained constant for the navigation of nomadic tribes. One thing was certain; the Great White Circle was always changing its appearance. It mysteriously monitored the growth patterns of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms and these kingdoms were in a continual state of change, for change is the only evidence of life.
To observe the Moon‘s phases was to partake in the ritual of reflection, which is indeed the Moon’s favorite pastime. This distant disk symbolized the patterns of development from life to death, as virtually all living things have a beginning, a middle, and an end. We’re all familiar with the biblical quote from Ecclesiastes that became a credo for the sixties: “To everything there is a season and time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3).
The Moon pulls the trigger on timing the events that define the experiences of our lives. It can only be observed through the reflection of the Sun and, since it is the nature of the Sun to shine with a fierce light, we can only too easily become blinded by it. Being too bright to comfortably observe, the best way to view cosmic light was from the reflection of the Moon. Although the Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon, the Moon is 400 times closer to the Earth, which is a.ll the better for earthly observation on a clear night. Early peoples knew it was a powerful mirror of their earthly experience and behavior, and thus began to record the occurrences of the changes, or phases, which happened eight times during each cycle. Some of the most primitive etchings on rocks discovered on archaeological sites worldwide are the recordings of the Moon phases, and these rough etchings were humankind’s first calendars. As the phases repeated themselves without fail over time, the lunar calendar was formulated.
What better way to streamline your life than to plan your schedule according to Nature’s timekeeper? The Great White Circle and her measured movements determine the rhythm of the tides, shellfish activity and marine life, and the surface tension of all fluids on the planet; not to mention the moods of the public. “It has been shown that at the time of the Full Moon, and especially during a lunar eclipse, the surface tension of all fluids is increased (the molecular cohesive forces of the surface of any fluid). Because our bodies consist largely of water, this increase in molecular tension is bound to produce a biochemical effect upon our bodies. Furthermore, our bodies tend to take on and hold larger quantities of water during the Full Moon phase each month. The skull, being the only are of the body that cannot readily expand with increased fluid pressure, therefore exerts greater pressure upon the brain cells, which ultimately affect our behavior patterns. (Jansky, Carl, Interpreting the Eclipses). Is it any wonder that the root word for lunatic is luna, which is the Latin word for Moon?
Since the Moon rules the Mother Principle and Mother Nature in general, let’s take a look how She intended the population to perform in their daily lives. It’s Her prerogative to change Her mind, only She calls it a phase. She always comes through on schedule, and would like you to follow her example. Your Mother should know.
The first phase is the New Moon, or the Dark Night of the Moon, when darkness reigns. No lunar reflection is visible; living organisms are left to their own devices with no magnetic field to guide them. All life forms stem from chaos and void. The New Moon symbolizes life at its most basic form, the seed. In order for a seed to sprout, survival tactics are front and center. It is a pure masculine energy, the primitive warrior who lives on impulse and thrives on spontaneous action, requiring no direction whatsoever. Instinct is the only guide. Mental awareness is acute, yet full consciousness is not present. During this wholly subjective time it is best to plant seeds in all forms, whether you plant a garden, devise a new method of strategy or undertake a new project, the New Moon is the starting point. Not every seed is expected to sprout, as any gardener will tell you. Nor will every project reach the finish line, yet this is the time for laying the foundation for your desired goal. One never knows where their beginnings will lead them. You’re at the starting line and the shot is being fired. Go for it! Great oaks from little acorns grow.
The next phase is the Crescent Moon, the time of manifestation, when the seeds sprout. The wise gardener now examines his bed of seeds and thins out those that have never sprouted; they are cast aside for the scavenging birds. The promises, vows and plans that were established during the New Moon are now revised as new developments have come into play. Some prospects, like the discarded seeds, have also been completely forgotten. Those visible green shoots, however, represent the first stage of development of your new desire. They struggled through the metamorphosis from tiny speck to organic growth and, needless to say, not everybody else made it through. Your projected thoughts have taken form, and it is in this Crescent phase that we are most vulnerable. There is much unconscious resistance in public attitude during this period and the phrase “yea, but…” is the order of the day. Like toddlers in the playground, we’re up and running, but our definitive outcomes remain to be seen. Just as all promises are not delivered, not all sprouts take root. Those that do move on to the next development: seedlings.
The first quarter Moon, also known as the Half Moon, is the phase of the seedling. Our goals have not take root in our consciousness and sprouted leaves; further growth is assured as there is not turning back. We’re now bound and determined to deliver the promises we made at he New Moon, revised or otherwise. Literally or figuratively, we roll up our sleeves and seize an opportunity to do something – anything- to see our projects through. We become walking combustible missiles in action; we’ll find a crisis or make one happen, but we just can’t keep still. The outer world steps in with its own agenda and requires us to conform to some degree. Whether this agenda rewards out efforts or throws a monkey wrench at us, we’re ready for it. We’re in the emotional state of the teenager and we need action, whether it’s a challenge to our abilities or a rebellion to launch. If we’re confused and don’t know which way to turn, this is the time to seek guidance and/or direction.
While undergoing baptism by fire, we are faced with the fact that moving forward with a burning tenacity can lead to problems. Flies in the ointment become inevitable, but they are met with anger and frustration. We’re now in the phase of the Gibbous Moon, where we find ourselves up against a rock and a hard place. After such a good start with the greatest enthusiasm, why do we meet up with obstacles at this point? This phase can bring disillusionment in its wake because we’re up so close, yet so far. The plant is now ready to bloom, but it can’t bloom fast enough. Something has to give. It’s time to rehash, rewrite, and clarify. It’s the time to weigh pros and cons and put yourself in survivor mode. Pull out all the stops on patience and let go and let God.
The Moon is now at the end of her waxing phase. It will no longer increase in light as it’s reached its highest point of illumination. The Full Moon is the Moon in full bloom. It’s all it up doing it’s balancing act with the Earth, as it’s exactly opposite the Earth during this phase. The mood of the population is now blazing at a high pitch and it is open season on human behavior. The Full Moon uses her magnetic field to influence the water levels in our bodies to harness all our capabilities and bring our actions to fruition. The results of this polarity send a push-me, pull you message to earth dwellers to stand in the spotlight of your particular achievement, because it’s ready to harvest. You’re reached your goal; you can’t shine any brighter than you do right now and if you’re not feeling particularly fulfilled during this time, discontent may take root and flourish and you may shine in a dark light. All that increased illumination an heightened magnetic energy field has to get channeled somewhere, and if you haven’t planned your schedule according to the Moon’s phases, Mother Nature’s orchestrations become distorted. Agitation becomes blown out of proportion and thus we encounter Full Moon madness; the negative manifestations of which are legendary. Bask in the light of achievement or howl uncontrollably, the choice is yours. We also become obsessed with relationships during this time, as the Moon is exactly opposite the Earth. It’s as if the two Lights are pitted against each other in a cosmic game of ping pong and heightened sensations are the ball. The Full Moon marks the end of the waxing phase; she has increased her light to her full capacity and now begins her journey home.
After the emotional feeding frenzy of the Full Moon comes the Disseminating Moon, or what this writer refers to as the “Morning After Moon.” The party’s over, all that high anxiety has passed. Depending on how we reacted during the heightened awareness of the Full Moon, we either cry in our coffee or delight in our results. As the Full Moon represented the plant in full bloom, the Disseminating Moon represents the fruit on the vine. This is the time when we renew where we’ve been, where we are now, and decide our next move. If this process requires deep introspection and painful realization, so be it. Now is the time to hone our skills and demonstrate and distribute. The profit-minded gardener or farmer now harvests his or her crop and heads for the marketplace. The fruit must be picked, or else it will die on the vine. The rest of the population wisely holds it current projects up to the light and troubleshoots for any flaws. This is the sum total of our work and, whether we’re satisfied or not, we must put our name on it and accept it in its final form. Our growing season has ended and we must reap what we have sown. This also the time to reach out and lend a hand to your neighbor who is having trouble harvesting their crop, or bringing projects into their final phase. By doing this, you just may get first pick before it all goes to market. To disseminate means to scatter or disperse widely and, in biblical terms, we must now cast our bread upon the waters and it will return to us a hundredfold.
The Last Quarter Moon represents pay day in terms of consciousness. Our tally sheets are on the cosmic payroll desk and this phase of the Moon will determine our commission and ultimate income. If we completed our tasks and followed through on schedule, we can honestly and humbly expect our just desserts. Are we pleased with our harvest or final result? If so, we can pass “Go,” collect $200. and remain a player. If not, gnawing feelings of inadequacy rise to the surface and we must come to terms with the reality that, in order to remedy our output, then we have to change on the inside in order to improve o the outside. This can result in private disappointment coupled with internal crisis as slowly we turn and head back to the drawing board. Just as the plant that grew from the seed at the New Moon has withered and now died a natural death, so our inner structure may wither to make room for the new season of growth. The lunar cycle is winding down and coming in for the home stretch.
Draw the veil. The Dark Night of the Moon is upon us. This last and final phase is known as the Balsamic, and old English noun with several definitions. One of which is an “aromatic ointment for ceremonial or medicinal use,” another is “any agency that heals, soothes and restores.” (Websters’ unabridged). This is the perfect description of this Dark Night, as this is the time to to retreat, restore, and rejuvenate. It’s the time to let go of the Moon’s magnetic tie on us and be cast adrift in the void so that the soothing energy can filter through and the healing can take place. The field must be weeded and the desk cleared. It’s the time to withdraw and meditate. Psychic energy is at its peak as we let our intuition guide us through the shoals in darkness, by tuning in, inner navigation is successful. By shutting out, we may encounter fog and chaos. Here in the Dark Night we contemplate our higher purpose and clear the path for Destiny to take over. In this midnight of the psyche, Mother Nature tucks us in for a good night’s sleep. She’s come full circle back to the beginning, and she wants us to be well rested for the forthcoming New Moon. We’ll need all our energy for the growing season. Mom always did know best.
Any astrologer worth his or her salt has done the synastry and composite charts for Bill and Monica and interpreted ad infinitum, but here’s yet another look at this nation’s most infamous couple at the end of the current millennium.
The pre-natal eclipse can serve as an indicator of the collective unconscious that your soul chose to incarnate through, with your mother as the vehicle through which you pass through the veil between the worlds. The moment of your birth, otherwise known as your Ascendant, is your own personal window on the world; the Ascendant is you, the pre-natal eclipse is the group collective or, to put it in a more catchy phrase, “the horse you rode in on.” The sign of your prenatal solar eclipse describes the more positive qualities you have to give to others. The sign of your lunar eclipse tells what qualities you didn’t get or use the last time around, so you must find a way for your soul to learn its lesson this time. If either eclipse is in conjunction or other hard aspect to a planet or angle, then the planet or angle can serve as a signpost to working out our K word, better known as our karma.
For example, if your pre-natal solar eclipse is in Taurus, your soul came down this time with an eye for quality, a love of creature comforts and strong instincts in business. You could have the Midas touch in financial acquisitions without being greedy, ensuring that others gain from your ventures. If your pre-natal lunar eclipse is in Gemini, you never developed your communication skills, never traveled far from your local environment and may have had a penchant for gossip and slander. You may have also been a frequent visitor to the seamy side of life, hobnobbing with pickpockets, con artists and forgers.
The houses these eclipses fall in your chart show where these energies will be played out. Someone born with a pre-natal lunar eclipse in Leo in the second house came here this time flaunting their gaudy jewelry in everyone’s face and must spend a fortune on themselves in order to feel worthwhile. A pre-natal solar eclipse in Cancer in the sixth house means you can cook like a chef, or even be one. Or a first-rate pediatrician. You get the idea.
And now to our dynamic duo. Bill Clinton’s data is August 19, 1946, 8:51 AM CST. Hope, AK. 33N40, 93W35. (Source: birth certificate. Reference: Lois Rodden). His pre-natal solar eclipse is 6 degrees of Cancer, exactly conjunct his Midheaven. Thus he was born to be the boss and share his nurturing qualities with the world at large. The Cancer/Capricorn axis rules government and, as goes the family, so goes the nation. His pre-natal lunar eclipse is 23 Sagittarius in his third house. Bill touched down this time with ambiguous religious convictions and he might have had the inclination to preach right and wrong to his neighbors. Sagittarius rules ethics, and the third house rules rumors and lies. I’ll say no more on this particular interpretation. I don’t need to. Pick up the newspaper or turn on your radio or television and observe what everyone else is saying about it.
Monica Lewinsky was born on July 23, 1973, 12:21 PM PDT in San Francisco, CA. 37N46 122W25. (Source: birth certificate. Reference: Lois Rodden). Her pre-natal solar eclipse is is 8 degrees of Cancer conjunct her South Node in her 9th house of lawsuits, ethics and the media. Monica came here to wrap up unfinished business (South Node) by telling the truth concerning government (Cancer/Capricorn axis) in a court of law and have the whole world know about it. Take note that this conjunction matches Clinton’s pre-natal solar eclipse within two degrees, and is thus conjunct his Midheaven!!!! Is this past life pay back or what?????? If this conjunction between charts is not enough to convince you that a divine plan is at work between these two, let’s put the icing on the cake with Monica’s pre-natal lunar eclipse. That’s right, you guessed it! Monica’s pre-natal lunar eclipse is 24 degrees Sagittarius, conjunct Clinton’s pre-natal lunar eclipse!!! Matching pre-natal eclipses between two star-crossed wooers, two peas in a pod. It’s also in her third house of communication and we’re back in the land of rumors again. Wasn’t it a taped conversation that got the word out? Perhaps Monica functioned as a Town Crier the last time around and lacked discretion in divulging delicate points of information to certain individuals. Karma rides again.
The ramifications of the “relationship” between these center stage characters remains to be seen. It’s just mind-boggling to observe how it all falls together in the jigsaw puzzle between Bill and Monica, just another microscopic view of how the heavens work on earth.
Copyright 1998 by Jackie Slevin, M.A., C.A. NCGR All Rights Reserved.
Landfall of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina made landfall at Buras, Louisiana as a category 4 hurricane at 6:15 AM, CDT on August 29, 2005. As the storm traveled north the city of New Orleans, cradled between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River, prepared for the emergency, but what they ended up facing surpassed their deepest fear. Despite typical wind damage of fallen trees and power lines, the city’s horror manifested when the obsolete levees were unable to sustain the 28-foot surges and tragically broke, perilously flooding a city that, in many places, is already below sea level. The catastrophic deluge demolished the Big Easy, marking Hurricane Katrina not only as the most destructive storm, but also the most extensive and expensive natural disaster in American history.
On The Banks of the Mississippi
“The city of New Orleans must be forever associated with the Mississippi River, for the city was built to guard the mouth of this great stream and owes its existence to its geographical location.” (Lyle Saxon, Fabulous New Orleans, Robert L. Crager and Co., New Orleans, 1954, p.73.) Indeed this is true. Location is everything, as any realtor will tell you. And so will any astrologer, providing he or she has done their homework to determine the very planetary locations that aligned the Crescent City with the ferocious winds of Hurricane Katrina.
Incorporation of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans was incorporated on February 17, 1805 at noon (Carolyn Dodson, Horoscopes of the United States and Cities, AFA, 1975, p.66.). Its pre-natal solar eclipse, an indicator of the city’s collective consciousness, occurred almost three weeks prior to the city’s incorporation on January 30, 1805 at 10 Aquarius 32. The position of the progressed Moon on the incorporation chart to August 29, 2005, the date the hurricane struck, was none other than 10 Aquarius 55, exactly conjunct the pre-natal eclipse. This obscure, yet exact conjunction emphasizes the progressed Moon serving as the second hand on the horoscopic clock of destiny. The New Moon on August 5, 2005 at 12 Leo 48 opposes this degree, and the Full Moon on August 19, 2005 at 26 Aquarius 50 conjuncts the Midheaven and the Sun on the chart of incorporation. The triggering of pre-natal eclipses, along with previous lunations in hard aspect to the incorporation chart, are classic techniques of mundane astrology. Their tight orbs in this example clearly illustrate their impact. Angles are the most personal points in a chart, and any planetary contact to them points to increased, if not frenetic levels of activity in mundane interpretation.
Progressions
In the progressed chart of incorporation, progressed Pluto is exactly conjunct the IC, indicating domestic crisis, destruction of housing, evacuation, criminal activity, and death. Progressed Jupiter is conjunct the progressed Ascendant within one degree, with Neptune right behind it, signaling an overabundance, the dissolving of boundaries (levees), and the inclination toward flooding. Moreover, solar arced Neptune to the date of the storm is exactly conjunct the Ascendant of incorporation, serving as yet another powerful indicator of the deluge. One can also characterize this conjunction to the Ascendant in a mundane chart with hysteria, lawlessness and looting, all of which manifested in the storm’s aftermath.
Transits
If the above indications with eclipses, progressions, solar arcs were not enough to foretell disaster, the transits tell their own sad story. Transiting Uranus is conjunct Pluto of the incorporation chart to the minute. The transiting South Node is conjunct Saturn, transiting Saturn opposes Venus, Jupiter is conjunct Uranus, and Chiron is conjunct the North Node. Transiting Saturn just passed a conjunction of Mars and an opposition of Mercury and Venus. These respective transits point to collective trauma, social and political unrest, restrictive delays and the need for medical and educational reform. The lunar eclipse at 4 Scorpio 05 on April 24, 2005 is exactly conjunct the sixth house Placidean cusp of the incorporation chart, showing the depletion of basic food and medical supplies. The servants of the city, namely the police, firefighters and other civil workers, will be tested to their limits, much like the levees. So will social services and civic aid in general. This eclipse degree also squares Mercury in the incorporation chart, emphasizing communication and transportation breakdowns, and Venus, ruler of pleasure. In the city whose motto is “Laissez bon temps rollez” (Let the good times roll), all one has to do is read a headline or watch their television screen to see that the good times are no longer rolling in The Big Easy.
Reconstruction
Despite widespread catastrophe, the “city that care forgot” will definitely rebuild. Astro-relief is on the way. In October of 2005, transiting Jupiter will trine the MC and Sun of the incorporation chart, Pluto will sextile the MC, Saturn will sextile the Ascendant and Neptune will station at 14 Aquarius, trining the natal Saturn. This station of Neptune may well mark successful reconstruction of the levees, so vital to the safety of this water-surrounded city. Overall conditions will clearly improve. The eclipse at 10 Libra 19 on October 3, 2005 has too wide an orb to affect Saturn in the incorporation chart, and the eclipse at 24 Aries 13 on October 17th bypasses this chart altogether, eliminating crisis from the immediate future.
Based upon the coming transits, the city of New Orleans can look forward to clear sailing in the months ahead for its reconstruction. Despite a disaster of biblical proportion, citizens and services will regroup, rebuild, and regain their distinctive joie de vive. The Mardi Gras will again reign as America’s premier street party, tap dancers will entertain, and jazz will fill the air in the city of its birth. The good times will roll again, and when they do, the citizens of America’s most distinctive city will rise from its ashes, grab a go-cup, and sashay down Bourbon Street.
I can smell the gumbo from here.
Copyright 2005 by Jackie Slevin. All rights reserved.
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 at 3:00 AM in Hoboken New Jersey. (Reference: Astrodatabank. Source: Father’s memory).
Long before the Baby Boomers rocked society to its foundations with its pagan worship of raucous musicians, an underweight matinee idol from the Garden State of New Jersey wreaked similar havoc with his singular possession of The Voice. This Voice sent female teenagers shrieking in an unprecedented manner that often bordered on hysteria, it sold out theaters from Boston to Los Angeles and was the star of the Hit Parade. This twentieth century Orpheus with his gifted vocal chords left a hypnotic sound in his wake that left an indelible impression on all who heard it. It invited anyone who would lend an ear to “Come Fly With Me” and, after hearing The Voice, they began to sprout wings. It gave hope to a generation returning from war, a hope that is still heard when you listen to the kitchen radio of anyone over the age of 65. It was a mysterious, sometimes dangerous power that could take root in your soul and envelope your whole being. It held an entire generation in the palm of its hand, and even those iconoclastic Baby Boomers were forced to turn their heads on occasion. How could they not, when they turned on their parent’s television set The Voice was often seen with his magic wand/microphone in his hand or starring in a movie. The Voice was heard and seen everywhere. It gave popular music a first and last name and those names were none other than Frank Sinatra, Chairman of the Board.
Biographies of Sinatra abound, and almost everyone can tell a story or two on his shenanigans from their travels through life. But we as astrologers know where the stories really begin, and that’s why we’re going to take a in-depth look at his chart.
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 at 3:00 AM in Hoboken New Jersey. (Reference: Lois Rodden. Source: Father’s memory).
The Sun in Sagittarius in the second house gives an ability to make money and spread it around. Frank enjoyed millionaire status in his early thirties and spent, gambled and invested is way through life in the style of the show business potentate that he was. Moon in Pisces on the cusp of the fifth gives a strong artistic sense and a need for privacy. It can also give a need to entertain (5th house) through impression (Pisces). Sinatra’s ability in this department was no less than legendary. The sign your Moon is in is how you feel emotionally secure. The house the Moon is in is where you feel emotionally secure. Thus Frank was in his element on a stage, on the set or in the recording studio. He simply took command and held it as his birthright. A Sagittarius Sun with Moon in Pisces gave Frank a double dose of Jupiter as Jupiter co-rules Pisces. Since Jupiter is also in Pisces, this gives Jupiter a triple whammy in Sinatra’s chart. Jupiter rules freedom of thought, expansion, the Truth delivered by slings and arrows and foreign travel, to name just a few. In short, Jupiter has no concept of staying within boundaries, and neither did Sinatra. Keep in mind that Jupiter was the Roman counterpart of the Greek Zeus, the supreme ruler of Olympus, whose power was greater than all other divinities put together. The Chairman of the Board of gods, if you will. Zeus fell in love with goddesses and mortals alike, disguising himself as swans, stars and showers of gold. He was forever sneaking around and would go to no end to hide his infidelities from his jealous wife, Hera. See the pattern? Fits like a glove, doesn’t it? Throw in Mercury in Sagittarius and those verbal slings and arrows hit the bull’s-eye every time.
Mars, co-ruler of the second house of personal income, is conjunct the royal fixed star Regulus in the tenth house. A royal star as the ruler of your talents and personal resources would definitely ensure a bank account with never-ending zeros.
Libra rising gives Venus as Sinatra’s ruling planet. Venus is in Capricorn in the third house of siblings, communication, and your local neighborhood. Try as he might, Sinatra could never shake his Italian, blue-collar roots in Hoboken. The third house is also co-ruled by Saturn and here Venus and Saturn are in opposition. Wherever the planet Saturn is placed in the chart, or the house that Capricorn rules, is where you’ll have your most trials and tribulations followed by reward and achievement, but only if you work on these issues. Frank was denied brothers and sisters in his youth; his mother’s experience with his birth left her unable to have more children. He was also a poor student, (third house), never getting past his freshman year in high school. His father (Saturn), a immigrant from Sicily, was completely illiterate, and education was not a priority in the Sinatra household. Sinatra made up for his lack of education later on in life (Saturn again), by becoming an avid reader. On a lighter note, Venus in the third gave Sinatra the ability of phrasing of his singing in a style that was all his own, often copied but never duplicated. Lest we forget, the third house also rules the press, Sinatra’s all-time nemesis. Venus also rules the twelfth house and suffice it to say that, with Venus opposing Saturn, Sinatra had issues with privacy. He was not above decking reporters and paparazzi in his salad days and as he grew older, he kept an entourage of bodyguards specifically for that purpose when the press got too close for comfort. Yet even the Chairman of the Board himself could not stop author Kitty Kelly from publishing her gossip-ridden unauthorized biography, His Way, the number one bestseller.
Aquarius, co-ruled by Uranus and Saturn, rules Sinatra’s fourth house of family roots, domesticity and conditions in one’s later years. Uranus is in dignity in the fourth conjunct the North Node of destiny. Such a well placed planet describes excellent conditions in fourth house matters, and this case is no exception. Sinatra’a father was an amateur boxer and passed down the love of this sport to his son. Sinatra always held his father in the highest regard and he lived out his later years in the grand style. He helped those in need in the most Aquarian style, donating millions of dollars to needy charities every year, often anonymously.
Probably the most significant astrological factor that contributed to his natural ability to entertain was Jupiter, co-ruler of his fifth house, in dignity in the fifth house. The planet, sign and house are highlighted by this placement in dignity and it was hard to argue that Sinatra was truly gifted. Such a placement gives a profound artistic sense bordering on creative genius. With the aforementioned Moon being conjunct the cusp of the fifth, the Moon could also be a co-ruler of the fifth house. What better placement of the Moon than in Pisces to create moods for creative expression? The Voice was a portal to another world, where the Summer Wind really was blowing. His trademark posture of slouched hat and coat slung over his shoulder beckoned his audience to emulate his insouciance, and emulate they did. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Having conquered music and acting, Sinatra explored painting in his later years.
The fifth house also rules speculation and gambling and, after appearing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, (a hotel he helped finance), Sinatra’s usual routine was to head straight to the casino, parting the Red Sea as he went. The sound of the spinning roulette wheel and the calculating call of the croupiers beckoned Old Blue Eyes like a moth to flame. If the ruler of the fifth house in dignity in the fifth house produces a dyed-in-the-wool artist, it likewise produces a die-hard gambler. Notice that the Sun in the second squares Jupiter in the fifth, an aspect that only exaggerated Sinatra’s lifelong habit of throwing money around, as well as pulling it in.
The sixth house rules one’s work ethic, daily routine, habits and attitudes towards hygiene and diet. Mars rules Sinatra’s sixth and, with Mars so prominently placed in the Midheaven and conjunct THE royal star, Regulus, Sinatra commanded the treatment of a dignitary. Above all, the sixth house rules service and, even though he had his own definition of giving it, Sinatra demanded it everywhere he went. Room Service was his watchword and any hotel in which he stayed had to cater to his every whim and the whims of all of his guests. He once ordered over one hundred martinis to be sent up to his room and, after they arrived on carts, promptly left them all in a corner of the hallway, as the guests of his party had all changed their minds. Woe betide the hotel employee who informed Zeus that his request could not be granted. Out came the thunderbolts and, occasionally, the employee was fired at Sinatra’s insistence. In-between wives he employed a personal valet to attend to his wardrobe, greet guests, prepare his food and, in general, be his personal servant. In the studio, on the stage or on the set, the cameras rolled and the work began when HE SAID it would begin. Once after The Voice spoke, his demanding work ethic was demonstrated in no uncertain terms, and he demanded perfection in every area of his work. He was a gifted artist and he knew it. He then made sure everyone else knew it, too. One does not question or argue with royalty. Needless to say, this imperialistic attitude towards “work” did not win him any popularity contests, and not all who confronted him backed down after the thunderbolts landed. Fist fights often ensued, usually followed by lawsuits. For all his celebrity status, Sinatra was not a king, and these are not medieval times. Yet his primary tool for work, The Voice, truly did rule a kingdom, it commanded more sincere homage from more people than any royal decree ever did.
The effects of Mars and Regulus spilled over into his relationships. Mars also rules the seventh house of relationships so it was only right and fitting that Sinatra court queens, which he invariably did. Notice that the only Ptolemaic aspect that Mars makes is a sextile to the Ascendant, ruler of your beginnings in the world and your overall perceptions. If your beginnings and perceptions are granted an opportunity (sextile) for royal treatment, you would most likely receive said treatment at an early age. As previously mentioned, Sinatra was an only child and thus was the focal point of his parents’ attention. His mother (Mars in the tenth house) particularly doted on her only son by catering to his every whim. His wish was her command. Sinatra unconsciously assumed this style of man-worship onto the women he loved and here was Zeus in all his glory. They were expected to play the role of lovers on hold while he cavorted among the casinos and his colleagues to his heart’s content. His first wife, Nancy, the mother of his three children, played this role quite willingly….for a while. His flagrant philandering became to much to bear, so she granted him a divorce to set him free to marry the love of his life, Ava Gardner. True to form, Ava was a queen of the silver screen and, at the time of their marriage, commanded almost as much adulation as Sinatra. Without consciously knowing it, Ava was a feminist who was way ahead of her time. She had no intention of playing second fiddle to anybody, least of all her husband. Sinatra met his match in Ava. She was phenomenally successful in her own right and maintained her own celebrity status. When her temper flared, she was Chairwoman of the Board in The Department of Verbal Abuse. Sinatra was awed by her, but he could not cope with the fact that he could not control her. He was completely unaccustomed to females not serving his every need. Lack of subservience, however, was nothing compared to the freedom-loving, wisecracking, argumentative condescending treatment he received from her. The tantrums escalated and one night she dramatically marched out of a restaurant never to return, leaving Sinatra broken and humiliated. They loved and fought their way across two continents in a marriage that lasted a grand total of two years. Some say he never got over her. Mars, ruling the seventh house, is conjunct Regulus, the fixed star that does everything in a BIG way, the biggest way possible and, with Mars posited in the tenth house of high visibility, the whole world knew about the break-up. Ava would not play the role of queen on hold. His other two wives, Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx, most certainly did.
Venus rules Sinatra’s eighth house of joint finances, research, psychiatry, death, taxes, secrets and tycoonery. As previously mentioned, Venus is posited in Capricorn (longevity) and opposing Saturn (more longevity). This opposition to Saturn made Sinatra take eighth house matters seriously, which he did. His tycoonery was a very serious business. It required a staff of professionals to allocate donations of minimum one million dollars each to various charities every year, all for tax purposes. Dubious friendships in organized crime and politics enabled him to have knowledge of many secrets. His visits to psychiatrists assured him he was, as he so aptly phrased it, (ruler of the eighth in the third house) “a fourteen karat manic depressive.” No one who knew him well disputed that fact as society sharpened its definition of “difficult people of artistic temperament.” The eighth house ruler signifies how we die. The hard aspect of Venus opposite Saturn (longevity again) aided and abetted Sinatra to live to the ripe old age of eighty-three and pass on in a relatively painless manner.
The ninth house of long-distance travel, higher education, public relations, religion and ethics is ruled by Mercury and the Moon. Both ninth house rulers are in mutable signs ensuring Sinatra would open up his mind to new horizons. Pluto in the ninth signifies how Sinatra transformed himself and others with race relations. Growing up in the Italian section of Hoboken, his neighborhood (third house) gave him a very narrow (Saturn) window on the world. Once he grew into adulthood, he was shocked to see prejudice rear its ugly head. Show business in the 1940’s was segregated; black entertainers traveled in a different bus, ate in separate dining rooms and slept in different hotels. Sinatra would have none of this. He personally saw to it that those rules were broken wherever he sang. If they were broken without fanfare, fine. If hotel management confronted him on this issue, they soon realized their mistake. Down came the thunderbolts again resulting in desk clerks flying and foyers in shambles. Lawsuit? No problem. The ninth house also rules law and Pluto gave Sinatra nuclear power with lawyers because he had The Truth. He made a short film about prejudice in the forties called “The House I Live In” which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Saturn in the ninth often denies higher education; the book from which the script was written for “The House I Live In” was the first book he had ever read from cover to cover. Religion took a back seat in Sinatra’s life; he flew in the face of Catholicism in the early 1950’s when he divorced Nancy and married Ava, a divorced woman. Thus he was a renegade Catholic-until his mother died in a plane crash, his private plane, no less. He then went full circle back to his Catholic roots, befriending Bishops and donating millions to Catholic charities. Glamorous, other- worldly Neptune is also in the ninth house conjunct the Midheaven. This ninth house placement of Neptune increases tolerance, and Sinatra certainly had his own definition of ethics; he showed the world in his own way that the best is in the worst and the worst is in the best. Neptune on the Midheaven gave Sinatra the abililty to blend with Everyman and Everywoman in his singing, reaching the highs and lows of the human condition and expressing the melting pot of everyday life in a popular song. Rushing over the public like the waves of Neptune’s ocean, his career embraced humanity.
The Sun rules his tenth house of career and public image and the house that Leo rules is the house in which you shine. After all, that’s what the Sun does best. To say that Sinatra enjoyed being in the spotlight is like saying Godzilla was a lizard that was above average size. The Midheaven also shows how you relate to authority and what you’re striving to emulate. Since the Sun is the center of the universe and life on earth could not exist without its rays, it was only right and natural that Sinatra would strive to be center of attention, The Chairman of the Board. Neptune casts an aura of mystery and glamour over his singular career and, with Neptune ruling his fifth house of showmanship conjoining the Midheaven within one degree, we’re looking at artistic expression of the highest order projected into the public eye.
Sinatra’s Part of Fortune is also in his tenth house, conjunct his South Node (what you came with) and also conjunct his prenatal solar eclipse at 17 degrees Leo. Combine that with Mars conjunct Regulus in the tenth and we may well be looking at Zeus himself.
Mercury rules the eleventh house of his friends, social circles, and his hopes and wishes. Sinatra’s camaraderie with the Rat Pack is legendary, as he lit up the stage with Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop with discriminating wit. The house that Virgo rules shows where one will be highly selective, critical and willing to serve. With Sinatra’s eleventh house ruler, Mercury in detriment in Sagittarius, squaring Jupiter in Pisces, his friends were loud and boisterous with a tendency to overindulge. Yet, there was nothing Sinatra wouldn’t do for his friends; paying their hospital bills, cooking for them, or procuring them medical treatment.
The last stop before we come full circle, the twelfth house, is ruled by Venus. This house shows how you unwind and spend “down time.” With the ruler of the twelfth in the third Sinatra spent such time in his later years reading, making up for lost time in his youth. Venus’ opposition to Saturn lends not a little profundity to the dynamics of this house. The twelfth house also how one can do themselves in and, ironically enough, many of Sinatra’s most famous hit songs were about self-undoing situations; broken hearts, shattered dreams and soul-wrenching disillusionment. It was almost as though pouring his heart out to a microphone was a psychic healing process for him, and The Voice could reach into our soul memories and make us empathize with him. Sinatra could take his public with him anywhere he wanted with The Voice. We in turn took him into our hearts and our collective unconscious where he left such an indelible impression. We can take comfort in the fact that, although he left this life on May 14, 1998, he’ll always be with us; all we have to do is turn on the radio.
May The Voice be with you.
Copyright 1998 by Jackie Slevin, M.A.
Born November 29, 1832 12:30 AM LMT Germantown, PA 40N02, 75W10. Source: Astrodatabank. Reference: Family bible.
Chick Lit is defined as women’s fiction written for and marketed to young women. This particular literary genre was launched after the Women’s Movement in the 1970s, earned its own category of genre fiction in the 1990s, and is now front and center in 21st century popular culture. Media moguls market the breadth of women’s experiences to captive audiences on film, bookstores, newsstands, and television. It scintillates, it sizzles, and, above all, it sells.
But despite feminism and the repercussions of liberated women in contemporary society, chick lit is nothing new. It was born in the 19th century in Concord, Massachusetts, and its creator was none other than Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women. This tale of the March family, comprised of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, mother Marmee, and absentee Father, holds a precious place in the annals of American Literature, for it was the first American saga that captured the joys and sorrows of adolescent girls who blossom into women. Alcott captured the ethos of these timeless sisters and their neighbors with passion, brevity and wit. Her classic story was an international sensation upon publication in 1868 and has never been out of print. It has been adapted to play, musical, opera, film, and animated feature. Alcott’s photograph has graced a United States postage stamp. Alcott and her March Family Trilogy, comprised of the novels Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys, were the 19th century’s counterpart of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series of the present time. The profits of these novels catapulted Alcott and her family from genteel, and, eventually, dire poverty to financial independence and eventual wealth. But life for Alcott was often far from the domestic bliss she depicted so endearingly. (But don’t tell her pubescent readers that).
Alcott was the second of four daughters of Transcendentalist philosopher Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail Sewall May. After moving to Concord, Massachusetts, her neighbors and social circle consisted of no less than Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Concord, the seat of American Transcendentalism movement, was such a hotbed of civil disobedience, self reliance and literary brilliance that it was dubbed the Mecca of the Mind. After the publication of Little Women, Alcott was lionized as a literary superstar and hobnobbed with the literati in the US and Europe, yet she would never associate with a more eclectic society than the one in which she was raised. Emerson was her idol and helped her select books from his personal library. He employed her as a governess to his daughter Ellen, to whom Alcott read the stories she had written. It was Emerson’s wife Lidian who encouraged Alcott to collect them in one volume and publish them. Thus, in 1854, at age 22, Alcott published Flower Fables, her first book. Thoreau took Alcott and her sisters on his boat on the Concord River and on frequent excursions in the woods. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the Scarlet Letter, was Alcott’s next-door neighbor. But despite the prodigious talent that surrounded her on a daily basis, Alcott is the most widely read author of the nineteenth century, outselling even in her own lifetime her stellar neighbors and colleagues.
In 1942, two rare book dealers discovered that Alcott wrote under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard and published many Gothic potboilers in magazines. Alcott referred to her short stories as “blood and thunder tales,” and wrote in her letters that “I fancy lurid things” as opposed to writing “moral pap for the young,” (The Journals of Louisa May Alcott, edited by Joel Myerson. University of Georgia Press, October, 1997) which ironically made her a fortune and a household name. Her characters in these potboilers were a Grand Canyon leap from Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, and these tales included stories of transvestitism, sadomasochism, incest, opium eaters, hashish smokers, insanity, violence, and, above all, feminism. All were written to pull her impoverished family out of debt, and nearly all preceded her 1868 publication of Little Women.
A Mutable Dilemma
Mercury, ruler of the Virgo Ascendant, is Alcott’s ruling planet. It is also the ruler of her Gemini Midheaven. Mercury is in detriment in Sagittarius in her fourth house of home and family. Mercury is squared by Saturn rising in Virgo in the first house and by Jupiter in Pisces on her descendant. Thus Mercury is at the apex of a T-square that further emphasizes Alcott’s connection to home and family, a connection that served as the cornerstone of her life, and underscored her talent for writing. It is fascinating to note that the three planets in this T-square receive each other in one way receptions. In the same manner of mutual reception, a planet receives another planet when one planet is in the sign that the other planet rules. Thus reading the T-square clockwise, Mercury receives Jupiter in dignity, (Mercury is in Sagittarius, the natural ruler of Jupiter), and Saturn receives Mercury in dignity and exaltation. (Saturn is in the sign of Virgo, a sign Mercury rules and, also in this case, the sign of Mercury’s exaltation). To take this T-square one step further, the Gemini Midheaven can serve as the point opposite the Mercury apex, creating a wide Grand Cross in mutable signs. Alcott also has Mars, Saturn and Neptune in a Grand Trine in earth signs, with Neptune receiving Saturn in dignity and Mars in exaltation. (Neptune is in Capricorn, the sign of Saturn’s rulership, or dignity, and the sign of Mars’ exaltation). Thus the two major configurations in her chart contain one way receptions that aid and abet the action of the aspect. Every planet in her chart is involved in a one-way reception:
- Jupiter receives Neptune
- The Sun receives Jupiter
- The Moon receives Saturn
- Pluto receives Mars
- Venus receives Saturn
- Jupiter receives Venus in exaltation
- Mars receives the Moon in exaltation.
- Venus and Mars are in a mixed mutual reception, with Venus receiving Mars in exaltation and Mars receiving Venus in dignity.
Thus despite the hard angles of the T-square and the ruler of her Ascendant and Midheaven in detriment, the planets in Alcott’s chart flow together so harmoniously that the one-way and mixed mutual receptions entwine around each other like a set of New England contra dancers.
Alcott has two planets conjunct the Cardinal, or World Axis. This axis mirrors the Sun at 0 degrees Aries, the inception point of the zodiac. Using the rubric of the 90 degree square divided by two, the answer is 45 degrees, or a semi-square. Dividing 45 degrees by two equals 22 degrees and 30 minutes, or a semi-semisquare. Using the dividend of 22 degrees and 30 minutes throughout the 360 degrees of the zodiac, these degrees equal 0 Cardinal, 22 degrees 30 minutes Cardinal, 15 degrees of Fixed Signs and 7 degrees 30 minutes of mutable signs. These highly energized degrees have an electrifying impact that catapults them into the public eye for better or worse. Thus any point or planet conjunct these degrees within a one-degree orb warrants a closer look to see how these energies will “go public” and place them in a position of recognition. Alcott has the Sun at 7 degrees Sagittarius, 03, conjunct the Cardinal Axis, in her third house of writing and siblings. Writing about siblings in Little Women placed Alcott in the public eye throughout the world. The Sun rules her twelfth house of solitude, service and the shadow life; Alcott rented rooms in Boston to write her pot boilers for 14 hours a day, isolating herself for months. In her later years, she was an invalid in a rest home.
Uranus, at 15 degrees Aquarius, is also conjunct the Cardinal Axis, in her fifth house of children and creativity. While she never married or had children of her own, Alcott’s literary creativity made her a seminal force in children’s literature. Uranus rules humanitarianism and radical ideas, and these characteristics describe her family circle perfectly. Bronson Alcott was a strict vegetarian and insisted that his family adapt to his dietary principles. For periods of time he permitted neither himself nor his family to wear clothing made of any material other than linen, because linen was made from flax, not from cotton, which exploited slaves. Wool, which, in Bronson’s opinion, exploited sheep, was also forbidden. It is no accident that the Alcott’s home, along with Thoreau’s, was a stop on the Underground Railroad, where young Alcott and her sisters taught escaped slaves how to read. Abigail “Marmee” Alcott was known to give shelter to every stray animal and person she found and treated them as one of her own. Thus the humanitarian streak in the Alcott Family was deep and wide, complete with its adherence to the free-thinking philosophy of Transcendentalism. Alcott was an ardent suffragette. She was the first woman to register to vote in a Concord school board election and signed her personal letters, Yours for reform. Uranus rules her sixth house of illness, and Alcott suffered for 25 years from one which was unknown in her time; the circumstances of which fundamentally changed her life.
In November 1862 Alcott volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War at Union Hospital in Washington, D.C. After her application was accepted on December 11, she arrived in Washington two days later on December 13. A week earlier on December 6, 1862, there was a total lunar eclipse at 14 degrees Gemini, 0 minutes, conjunct Alcott’s Midheaven. Three weeks later, Alcott discovered that one of her stories won first prize in a contest, awarding her $100.00, a sum that would equal nearly $2,000.00 in present times. On January 7, 1863, she was stricken with typhoid pneumonia. At that time medical protocol treated this illness with calomel, or mercurous chloride, a treatment that caused a poisoning effect, though this was not known at the time. During her months of convalescence back in Concord, Alcott wrote the book Hospital Sketches. At this time her progressed Venus was at 15 degrees Aquarius on the Cardinal Axis, and, when Hospital Sketches was published in serialization in May 1863 to critical acclaim, her progressed Moon was at 0 degrees Aries, also on the Cardinal Axis. Thus the eclipse on her Midheaven on December 6, 1862, placed her in the public eye, and caused a watershed of events that changed the course of the rest of her life.
From 1862-1868, Alcott was a voracious writer of potboilers for various mainstream publications and worked as an editor for a children’s magazine in Boston. When her employer noticed the popularity of the Horatio Alger series, he asked Alcott if she could write a story for girls. Writing ferociously, often skipping meals and sleep, she completed her manuscript in an astonishing ten weeks. The result was Little Women, published in October 1868. At this time Alcott’s progressed Moon was at 12 degrees Gemini, reaching her Midheaven four months later, when the book was published internationally. Her progressed Venus was conjunct her Moon (women!), progressed Part of Fortune was exactly conjunct her Ascendant, transiting Jupiter was conjunct her Pluto for financial gain, and transiting Saturn was conjunct her natal Part of Fortune. Solar arced Venus (women) was conjunct her natal IC (home and hearth), and solar arced Jupiter square her natal Neptune, which indicated Alcott’s utter bewilderment with fame.
Success and the pursuit of improved health gave Alcott the urge to travel abroad. In France she consulted a British army doctor who diagnosed her myriad medical problems as mercury poisoning, dosing her with opiates to relieve her chronic symptoms and insomnia. Narcotics would become her constant companion.
Alcott suffered permanent damage from mercury, but modern medical analysis shows that the effects of mercury, in addition to poisoning, caused Alcott’s immune system to attack itself, resulting in Lupus, a disease that ruined her health. On February 11, 1888, a solar eclipse occurred at 22 Aquarius, 44, conjunct Alcott’s Moon in her sixth house of illness within a 5 minute orb. Two weeks later on February 24, Mercury stationed retrograde at 19 Pisces 22, conjunct Alcott’s descendant, ruling open enemies, and Jupiter, ruling her fourth house, or the end of the matter. On March 6, 1888, she slipped into a coma and died just two days after visiting her father on his deathbed.
Alcott’s legacy was her creation of Topsy Turvy Jo March, the first character in American Literature who showed adolescent girls how to run with the wolves. Over 140 years later, her readers are still running.
And they’ve never looked better.
Bibliography
John Matteson, Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Father. Copyright 2008 W.W. Norton and Company, New York City.
Madeleine Stern, Louisa May Alcott, a Biography, copyright 1985 University of Oklahoma Press.
Madeleine Stern, Louisa May Alcott: From Blood and Thunder to Home and Hearth. Copyright May, 1998, Northeastern University Press.
Louisa May Alcott: The Journals of Louisa May Alcott, Edited by Joel Myerson. Copyright 1997, University of Georgia Press.
Norbert Hirschorn and Ian A. Greaves, Louisa May Alcott, Her Mysterious Illness (Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Spring, 2007, Volume 50, number 2.
Copyright 2009 by Jackie Slevin. All rights reserved.
One of the leading ladies of blockbuster hit “Charlie’s Angels,” actress Drew Barrymore possess a wide streak of “star quality.” By the age of ten she had appeared in “E.T.”, “Irreconcilable Differences” and Stephen King’s “Firestarter.” Hosting “Saturday Night Live” at age seven, this modern day Shirley Temple awed directors and movie-goers alike with her effortless ability in front of a camera. Being well connected in Hollywood is a plus for anyone in show business, but Barrymore’s connections are one of a kind, extending back to the nineteenth century. In short, she was born to the breed.
Moon conjunct Saturn: The Ties That Bind
A conjunction is an aspect that occurs when two planets are within a few degrees of each other in the same sign, combining their energies for better or worse. The blend of Moon and Saturn indicates a strong family pattern that is indelibly imprinted on anyone born with it. Drew Barrymore is a fourth generation actor. Descended from a nineteenth century London stage actor Maurice Barrymore, her grandfather was the legendary John Barrymore, accounted as one of the finest English-speaking actors in addition to being a Hollywood matinee idol. Great Aunt Ethel was a leading actress of the American stage along with Great Uncle Lionel, accredited as one of the finest actors on Broadway, who left his profession to study art in Paris only to return to the US and resume acting on the silver screen. Thus Barrymore’s gene pool was an ocean of talent, and she plied its waves with the skill of a mermaid.
Sun in Pisces: Dream Maker and Heart Breaker
Many Thespians are born under this sign. Acting is to make pretend; drama involves the willing suspension of disbelief. Whether an actor lives a life of masquerade or assumes a role with uncanny precision, they stretch their empathy to project a particular image upon the public at large. Pisces is the Fish that swims submerged in an underwater world of incandescent lights, ethereal sounds and strong currents. When trouble lurks, as it often does in the perilous deep, fish either escape to safety or become caught in the nets and hooks of their predators. The same can be said of Pisces people, who must choose their own personal escape route when the going gets too tough. Fish who catch the upstream current escape through the arts, literature and the helping professions. Downstream swimmers escape through drugs, alcohol and delusion. Some Pisceans use both exits simultaneously, and Barrymore was no exception.
Venus conjunct Jupiter: Too Much of a Good Thing
When the Goddess of Beauty and the God of Good Fortune join hands, a party results on a grand scale. This gala event can bring a celebration of good cheer or a debacle of debauchery. Strongly placed in Barrymore’s horoscope, this aspect of abundance is a two edged sword that cuts both ways. The ocean of artistic talent that runs deep in her ancestry holds very murky depths. Grandfather John died a penniless alcoholic. His son, Drew’s father John Drew Barrymore, while not an actor of great renown, also drank to excess. Young Drew’s mother, Ildiko Jaid, and father separated before birth. Fame in Drew’s early childhood and its resultant celebrity status catapulted mother and daughter into life in the fast lane, and it was a lifestyle that was eagerly embraced by both. Drew’s world changed at age nine when she had her first taste of alcohol at actor Rob Lowe’s birthday party and it marked the beginning of her downward spiral. After a suicide attempt at age ten, isolation became her constant companion. By age thirteen she was in rehab for alcohol and cocaine abuse. The following year her autobiography “Little Girl Lost” was a tell-all litany of a childhood characterized by overwhelming bouts of loneliness, depression and delusion. Clean and sober at sixteen but no longer able to play childhood roles, directors wouldn’t take Barrymore seriously until her blossoming sexuality came into view along with her notable streak of independence.
Sun trine Uranus – The Free Spirit
The trine aspect of 120 degrees between two planets imparts a beneficial blend of their energies. With the Sun representing one’s identity and Uranus their originality, this aspect is one that enables someone to hear a different drummer while blazing their own trail. Legally emancipated at age fifteen from her antagonistic manager/mother who had manipulated her career since her breakthrough in E.T., Barrymore’s new found freedom emerged in full bloom. Casting her inhibitions to the wind, she appeared nude on the cover of “Interview” magazine and flashed her breasts in clubs and on “Late Night Letterman.” After establishing her own company “Flower Films” in 1994, her appearance in the 1996 film “Scream” confirmed her career rebirth. Following critically acclaimed performances in “Everybody Says I Love You” and “The Wedding Singer,” she served as Executive Producer in the film “Never Been Kissed.”
Thus the child star that became a little girl lost was ultimately found and rose to be an Angel. To whom much is given, much is expected.
