Mary Shelley: A Woman and Her Frankenstein Monster

Born in England on August 30, 1797, the child named Mary Wollstonecraft Goodwin would grow up to be the author of one of the most famous stories in all of modern media fiction. Having by that time married to romanticist poet Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley comes to us as the author of Frankenstein.

 Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster - the above is a promo

photograph from the movie Bride of Frankenstein

Actually...that wasn't the title as first envisioned by the author. When Mary wrote the original story, she entitled it Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus.

It's an interesting reference, considering who the mythic Prometheus is and how like any writer, Mary Shelley's inspirations drew at least partly - if not greatly from her life.

Part of the basic Greek creation story, Prometheus is a Titan - a primal entity who helped form the world we know. In particular, he's a champion of mankind. As life and humans come into being everything is literally cold and raw on Earth - mankind has not yet acquired fire.

Prometheus steals fire for mankind, and for this is sentenced to be forever bound in chains and left exposed at the 'end of the world' where each day a giant eagle would come and feast on his liver.

  Prometheus Bound by Scott Eaton (c. 1996)

Like all mega Greek myths, there's a whole lot more to Prometheus. But that Prometheus gives the 'spark' of fire (metaphorically: light/knowledge/free will) to mankind is the crux of the Prometheus tale.

In the story Frankenstein (no matter how you parse the title), the creator of the monster is Frankenstein. And when he brings his monster to life, he's attempting to be a modern-day Prometheus. Sin? No sin? Just because we can do something, should we? It's a question still being debated. And probably for good reason.

As for the story of her life, Mary's was a dramatic one, beginning with the death of her mother when Mary was just eleven days old.

 Mary Shelley - natal chart (August 30, 1797) 

Going to the date recorded for this event, the transits to Mary's natal chart are Mars conjunct Sun, Sun square the Nodes, and Sun opposition Sedna, with the Nodes having squared her natal Sedna a couple of days prior. 

The numerical link here is Mary's Nodes and Sedna being both numerically at 18 of respective signs. But that the Sun would 'set off' Nodes and Sedna as the transiting Nodes (which linger in a degree often for a week or more at a time) squares Sedna - that's the classic example of what astrologers call a "trigger transit" where the Sun (life) is acting as a trigger to "fire off" the effects of the larger, 'more major' transit. 

The key here is understanding Sedna as symbolizing the struggle between immature needs to be taken care of (or parented) and the Nodes as how we intersect in our life. Mars/Sun is almost a sidebar, though that this conjunction occurs in the 4th house of family is apt. And there is that the Sun symbolizes not just life or will but men in general: obviously with his wife gone, Mary's dad had to take over parenting.

The combination however, suggests that without her mother (dad didn't remarry for a few years) Mary was both more dependent on men and forced to be independent of them. Or indeed anyone, as her life suggests in the long run.

It's an interesting contribution to our learning about Sedna, a point only discovered in 2004. We know a lot from the myth, but refining our understanding of Sedna through its function in many a chart is ongoing work.

Anyway...so Mary's dad remarries when Mary is four, the effects of which are interestingly visible when we set up a solar return bi-wheel:

Inner chart: Mary's natal chart

Outer wheel: Mary's solar return for when she turned four

With a bi-wheel, what we look to do is compare positions. And here we see the (in yellow - outer ring) Moon at 17 Gemini very much conjunct her natal North Node at 18 Gemini (in black - inner ring).

This is a point of interest to us starting with the idea of what Gemini is and represents. On a  personal and/or psychological level Gemini often means 'from many things we choose one or many' (choice or prioritizing). Against this we have the mundane Gemini of everyday life: the 'more than one' or 'many,' which is apt in this sense as when coupled with the Moon (women) is very much a picture of Mary getting a 'second mother.' 

The woman her father married was also named Mary (obviously no one was taking pity on future biographers) ...Mary Jane Clairmont. Apparently she was the neighbor - another interesting Gemini quotient, since Gemini represents 'things local or within daily reach.'

So dad reached out and married the neighbor and we see it represented in the solar chart as Moon (woman) in Gemini (local to me) conjunct the societal Nodes (marriage as a socially/societally endorsed institution).

In 1814 at the tender age of 16 (on her way to being 17, obviously) Mary began a romance with one of her political father's political followers - one Percy Shelley.

Yes, that Shelley - the famous romantic poet...

Percy Bysshe Shelley

...the fly in the ointment here being that Shelley was already married. In fact, his wife was expecting at the time Mary and Percy met. Nevertheless, the couple eloped on July 28, 1814 amidst the emotional upheaval of eclipses and a shower of transits on Mary's chart suggesting that on one hand she was desperate to escape where she was and get on with "her" life (that independence thing) with an inner sense of 'is this right?' and a little Mercury station at 23 Leo taking place on the 27th atop her natal Hybris ('can I get away with it?').

The combination marks this as a truly fateful moment, one she probably struggled with as over the next couple of years she and Percy struggled not just with debt or criticism, but also with the death of a prematurely-born daughter - oh, echoes of Mary's childhood!

And maybe it is here that we see how Mary's life really works: as she and Percy spent a summer in Switzerland during the latter days of Mary's 18th year she conceived the story which would become that we know as Frankenstein.

 A handwritten page of 'Frankenstein' in first draft

 

This brings us to recalling that the cycle of the lunar nodes (aka the Nodes of the Moon) is 18.6 years long. Remembering that the Nodes are all about Things Social, Societal and Worldly...and that Mary's life was marked from the first by that Node-square-Sedna transit barely after she was born it seems telling that as Mary passes this 18.6 year mark she and Percy take off for the Alps amidst pressure from creditors, scorn about  their relationship and the death of a prematurely-born child.

And there she writes a story about giving life to a monster.

Not that things stopped there; it was a particularly fortuitous if gruesome year. As December is half way along comes news of a suicide. Percy's wife has drowned herself in Hyde Park's famous Serpentine, a body of water which while substantial (28 acres is its current recorded size) is not all that deep - 40 feet maximum.

But apparently that was deep enough.

The death is marked by one global transit - Sedna going direct: internal needs in forward motion or coming to the fore. Added to this is North Node (worldly/societal/social doings) in an effortless trine to Mary's natal Chiron - the need to act in order to heal one's life. So obviously the wife committing suicide was to Mary maybe painful as an event, but also something which cleared the way for her to heal her own pain.

And this Mary did: she and Percy were married on December 30, 1816 with a Jupiter square Mars recalling her early days (mom's death at Mars conjunct Sun) but with Jupiter here strongly poised in Sagittarius (it's primary sign of rulership) if in a bad position (the 6th house) conjunct asteroid Hel, TNO Typhon and opposition Scheherazade.

It's an interesting picture, this...Scheherazade is the telling tales to save your own life and clearly Jupiter's opposition at the marriage speaks to what she probably felt "should" have been a happy ending - a feeling free at last. 

But no. Typhon being both one's most primal, primitive urges and as a TNO something which 'comes upon you' like an erupting volcano, especially conjunct Hel (bad choices) we get a picture of not all being well. Square to Mars in the natal 4th, this may simply have been Mary hating that her wedding was tainted by the first wife's suicide. For all we know she caught 'Hel' from her father. Or maybe she or Percy had own issues with the marriage coming a scant two weeks after the suicide. 

Then of course there are all those noodling thoughts one might have if they were writing a modern TV drama. Did Mary or Percy in any way 'influence' said suicide? 

The solar return going into Mary's 19th year is quite evocative on everything taking place, especially seeing as she would have been in the middle of drafting the still famous Frankenstein...

Mary Shelley - Solar Return 1816

That's a particularly trying Grand Cross - and Grand Crosses are simply never a picnic. As above, the picture is that of a square, the corners of which are in oppositions and squares to each other. What one might try to lightheartedly refer to as 'a cross we are forced to bear' (or confront) generally ends up being an endless set of choices. Or demands from every quadrant, all of which cannot be met without upsetting some other applecart, schedule or personal aim, relationship or need.

This one is either made even more problematic or partially resolved by two of the corners of the cross being intercepted. Interceptions either function 'internal fantasies' (dreams, hopes, escapist designs) or the willingness to subjugate yourself to service. And either way, they're dicey.

But in this situation, what we may well be looking at is a positive. At least to us, if not to Mary. With the present/past tense injury/need to heal (Chiron) in emotional, fantastical Pisces in opposition with Venus (creation), Mercury (thought/ideas/activity) and Mars (motivation, impetus) in work-oriented Virgo, she may well have needed to 'do something!' constructive. And thus what we may well have here is a picture of Mary investing time and effort in that which on the world stage (worldly Nodes across the 'I reach out to others' Asc/Dsc) is unquestionably her lasting authoring masterpiece: Frankenstein.

Not that she had yet survived her the early marking of her chart. Again, the natal...

 

There are two dwarf planets very high in this chart: Pluto (transformation, life/death) and Sedna. Pluto stands in opposition to Mary's badly place Virgo Mars in the house of family and Sedna is technically in Ptolemaic aspect only to the Nodes. With Neptune in a physical degree in the house of children in a tight trine to Saturn (also in a physical degree) poorly placed by sign and house in the 1st, we should not be surprised that while in Italy, Mary's second child also died.

Were it today in fact, we might suspect a physical problem with pregnancy. Or maybe some sort of 'substance use/abuse' - Saturn-Neptune contacts being famous for such.

Looking at this chart it seems possible that Mary Shelley might have even had sort of chronic depression which led to Munchhausen by Proxy Syndrome (a psychological setup which compels the parent to harm the child) either for attention (Munchhausen's) or perhaps because her child psyche never survived the death of her own mother. Not having yet grown into a sense of perspective, children often  internalize things which 'go bad' in early life as having been 'their fault.' So in those days of minimal pre/post natal care, could having her mother die so soon after giving birth have imprinted Mary with mom's death being her fault? And does this make her "the monster"?

Richard Rothwell's portrait of Mary Shelley

 
Fortunately, her third child survived. But Mary had not yet escaped tragedy. On July 8, 1822 - in what seems like an eerie echo of agony past, Percy dies when out sailing. This occurring before Mary's birthday on August 30th, we look at the solar return for 1821 for this event to be imaged. Here is that chart in a bi-wheel.

Again, the inner chart is Mary's natal chart, the outer ring is her solar return for 1821...

Inner wheel: Mary's natal chart

Outer wheel: Mary's solar return chart for 1821

   
The outer ring Neptune at 0 Capricorn sitting directly under the Descendant - one's binding agreements with others and traditionally, the house of marriage as a bond between two people - shows her union with Percy being rather literally 'dissolved.' That the mythic Neptune is ruler of the oceans? Totally apt. That Capricorn is ruled by that Saturn we just described as being unhappily and poorly placed in the first is the sign of her continuing sorrow.

It's also probably the signature of her death. Mary Shelly died at the age of 53 from a brain tumor. Saturn is all about limits, walls and metaphorically the 'hardening' which happens in us literally (cysts, arthritis, tumors) associated with our ceasing to grow.

And yet she left us that one disturbingly wonderful story which in asking us to suspend our belief of what's possible, allows us to all grow a little more...and maybe deal with our own monsters.

Mary Shelley: August 30, 1797 - February 1, 1851

(a miniature by Reginald Easton said to have been taken from her death mask.) 

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Yves St. Laurent: Touching Genius

 

With a strong creative Leo Sun in the societal 11th house, Yves St. Laurant's eyes were always turned towards the world. Conjunct Deucalion, his Sun defines a life about finding one's way. And yet it's curious, this Sun...positioned by sign in shining strength of rulership yet placed squarely in an undermining position (the Sun is not positioned for strength of will in the 11th house), what does that tell us? Was he his own worse social or societal enemy? Was he entirely 'the light behind the idea'? Or was he a man forced into a societal 11th house mold he couldn't fit, making him either enough 'different' to be ostracized...or perhaps just enough different to have perspective on what could be, and be well received?

In St. Laurent's case, the answer may be all these things. For one, his Sun was also conjunct Athena (or Athene, signifying wisdom) conjunct Juno, guiding leadership. So his intelligence, insight and drive were pronounced. And yet perhaps at times, too pronounced.

Another indicator we have of where he would end up is his highly worldly Pisces Saturn; potently placed just below the Descendant, St. Laurent's Saturn pictures someone capable of a career which in 'feeling' the pulse of others (or the world) becomes embodied. And maybe entirely rejected, exacerbating the vulnerability of Pisces in a symbol which might otherwise denote a talent for connecting with others and the public.

Yves St. Laurent

August 1, 1936 - Oran, Algeria

This Saturn also rules Yves St. Laurent's 16 Capricorn Moon, a Moon which stands conjunct charismatic Vega in the 4th house. Taken together, this quartet of symbols (Sun, Saturn, Moon-Vega) describes the man as capable of highly successful Capricorn business enterprises  once St. Laurent could stand for his Moon (et all - including a Moon/Neptune trine) as an asset for reaching out to a reach the mass (4th house) market.

And this, St. Laurent certainly did. When in 1966 a lot of big design houses were thinking of going mass-market (aka ready-to-wear...or in French, 'pret-a-porter')...YSL was first out of the gate. His Rive Gauche store opened in Paris on September 26, 1966 as Pluto (transformation) connected with his nurturing Ceres, which natally placed in Scorpio gave him a knack for knowing where the public values live.

It was a marriage made in heaven. By the time fashion house YSL was sold in 1993, its price was $600,000,000. And that's a lot of connecting with the public!

But Laurent's life was not one without pain. Far from it. Before he learned to use his chart he was a classic example of one who is as if used by the energies depicted in his chart. Many people walk that road; YSL was one of them.

The story of St. Laurent's ascent to fashion fame begins in Algeria where he was born, and to which he would eventually return to live once fashionably well funded. As with all of us, Laurent's home, homeland, family heritage and end-of-life matters are associated first and last with the 4th house - which as we saw contains YSL's Moon.

As for the Moon's trine to a 12th house Neptune, that speaks of his homeland as inspiration. It also is an astrological validation of life-long talent and his homosexual orientation. It suggests that ultimately, royalties could well play a fortunate part in amassing a personal fortune.

It also speaks to drugs and insecurity and emotional instability.

Coming into 1953, change-inciting Uranus provided an oppositional, confronting motivation to that Moon. And it did so as Chiron (the need to do) was just conjuncting (providing impetus to) that Moon as well.

And all this took place as a Lunar Eclipse (the emotional spotlight) lit up YSL's highly societal, creative and contributing 11th house Leo Sun-Juno-Athena-Deucalion complex.

So what did YSL do? A young St. Laurent entered a young fashion designer's competition in Paris. And he placed third. Then, while in Paris to attend the ceremonies awarding winners he met Michel de Brunhoff, the editor-in-chief of Paris Vogue.

Advised to undertake formal training, St. Laurent enrolled at the prestigous Chambre Syndicat de la Couture. But it wasn't a good fit. Undaunted, YSL entered the next round of the young fashion designer competition...and this time he won, defeating (among others) none less than a German fashion student by the name of Karl Lagerfeld.

It's a small and very fashionable world.

Evidently encouraged by his feat and probably totally unaware of who Karl Lagerfeld would eventually be, St. Laurent took his winning self (and some sketches) off to visit Brunhoff at Vogue. And there, fortune and trial came to him all in one: Brunhoff, having just that morning been shown sketches with the same sort of theme by none other than Christian Dior, sensed a match.

YSL's drawings thus went over to Dior and St. Laurent was (voila!) in the door. In fact, he wasn't just in the door...he was about to be made head designer for the entire House of Dior.

Yves St. Laurent

Yet apparently it was just too much, too soon. There were a quartet of transits moving over his chart at the time...Saturn was trining Juno, providing the effortless (trine) connection between career (Saturn) and expressive, creative leadership (Juno); there was Chiron provoking that creative Juno to do something to prove that YSL was indeed worthy of the big break and capable of handling the enormous creative challenge of serving as head designer at Dior.

There was Jupiter - the opportunity - squaring the always societal Nodes speaking of the chance and the need St. Laurent felt to set the world afire and on its ear at the same time! And then there was Uranus, symbols of breakthroughs and change, anarchy and innovation all hooked in by pulsating trine with Eris, goddess symbol of discord.

The combination was indeed all about changing society or being changed by society.

But he was still so young. And with Juno coming from the societal/marketplace Juno, Saturn trine Juno can easily become a rejection of what may be valid creative efforts. And Chiron opposition Juno is easily seen as the enormity of the strain which the 21-year old YSL must have been under as the untested, unseasoned and still fairly innocent head of a major fashion house.

Given YSL's South Node being conjunct Chaldea (the old way) and Niobe (pride), that Jupiter square the Nodes thing was definitely YSL wanting to blow  everyone's socks (or stockings) off with his innovative flair. But would it work? With his natal Jupiter conjunct Kassandra (not being believed) in the not-always-so-friendly-to-Jupiter 3rd house, and Mnemosyne (memory) and Scheherazade (exotic tales) along as accessories complimenting the look of things, YSL could always be seen as the inspiration or the over-the-top 'who would wear that?' sort of designer.

And considering this was Paris in days before fashion had any real sense of mass market at all (it was couture or nothing back then), it was just as likely that his work would be greeted with a 'why do you think we need anything new?' and a hearty 'how dare you, a mere young whippersnapper, think that you can tell us what to wear?'

So would it be fame and public acclaim - or a thorough public trashing? Given the final note on this quartet of transits comes from Uranus/Eris (a whole lot of change-rebellion in one package!) we could be rightly skeptical. (And maybe a bit queasy for our hero-in-fashion-waiting.) With YSL's Uranus colored by the Taurean sense of values in an interactive 8th house where values becomes what's valuable, though the trine to Eris certainly signified his vaulting to the head design position at Dior out of "nowhere" it would also be his coming in with an abrasive suddenness.

So with the good indeed came the bad. YSL became head designer at Dior and just as promptly had his first collections torn apart at the seams by the dismally  unforgiving Paris fashion press and a public wholly inclined to go along with public shaming.

And we're not just talking one collection here. St. Laurent might have weathered that. But after a pair of years in which collection after collection went up in fashionable flames...as Neptune began a not three but five-time transit by challenging, dissolving, disillusioning, weakening square to YSL's Sun, the man's confidence, will, self worth and identity crumbled and totally collapse.

YSL caved - not just as a designer, but as a person. And though he didn't go off and join the Foreign Legion (maybe in coming from Algeria he knew better than that) he did consign himself to becoming a conscript in the French national Army.

That lasted 20 days. Hazed and harassed beyond tolerance, St. Laurent broke under the additional stress and ended up in the military hospital....where he got the news that Dior had fired him.

This is all very in line with and indicative of YSL's Uranus. In a challenging natal square to his Sun in the house of values/being valued, Uranus was at this moment bringing its 'innovate-or-disrupt' energy to bear on St. Laurent's Leo-creative Mercury thought processes ...and YSL's Leo Venus, symbolic of how highly creative he was (on one side) and yet how fused his creative drive and reception by others was to his own self worth.

A dangerous game, you say - hooking self worth to creative success? Maybe so. But some people are just made that way.

At the time where was also that Uranus was also performing an inescapable trine to YSL's Sedna (individuation through maturation). And that may be the final signal we need: what maturity he had crumbled, telling us he had not yet developed sufficient maturity - no matter his age - to withstand what was handed him.

So Yves St. Laurent apparently lost it. That 'losing' part is indicated by two things, the first been Saturn hitting his Moon - a classic signature of 'loss' and often enough, depression. But as this was happening, there was another circuit activated, too. Neptune, the classic 'is it fantasy? Illusion? Inspiration? Ideal? Delusion?' opposing that worth-to-self/worth-to-others Uranus' natal position.

It was literally a bit much. And once Neptune entered the picture the walls, the resistance, his persistence... everything dissolved, including in all likelihood YSL's personal conception of himself. And as that happened, the worldly agents of the moment (the medical staff at Val-de-Grace mental hospital) took up the other side of this whole Neptunian affair, administering courses of sedatives, psycho-active drugs and electro-therapy.

So what YSL didn't lose in one manner became lost to him in another.

As the transits ended, so did St. Laurent stay at Val-de-Grace, though he would continue to site what happened there when fighting through the periodic bouts of mental instability and drug use for the rest of his life. Addictions of various kinds often being seen in connections between Saturn and Neptune, the natal opposition from Saturn as a structural/limiting factor in the house of health posed against Neptune in a weak Neptunian sign (Virgo) but a strong Neptunian house (the 12th) recalls the 'undermining' quality of YSL's Sun. And that the 12th is the house of hospitals and incarceration certainly fits.

But were his mental issues entirely due to hospital treatment? Maybe not; the overly vivid Neptune/Jupiter natal square combined with the boundless emotionality of the Neptune/Moon trine plus possibilities beyond knowing (or maybe sorting) represented by YSL's natal Mercury/Jupiter trine says a lot. As does the fact that the Jupiter which figures so prominently in the 'thought process' third house is itself described by Kassandra -  lack of belief/believability, Mnemosyne (memory) and story teller Scheherazade.

So is it real - or is is Mnemosyne or Scheherazade?

This is the question in some ways - and also an astrological mouthful. And it says many things, among which is that St. Laurent was a mental  work-a-holic who never conceived of the need or ability to stop. Virtually haunted by his creative drive and need to contribute, this was a man who was under the illusion life would crumple if he did stop. And if not life itself, his life for sure. YSL's Neptune natally in an 'ego bruising' semi-sextile to his somewhat (!!) egocentric Mercury with its highly expansive natal trine to Jupiter suggests a need to excel, a need to be 'with it' and a driving force within 'it' (life). There's a bit (?) of grandiose thinking - and yet incredible perception.

It all adds up to a man with a disinclination to recognize limits, splendor of visionary ability and yet an inability to deal with certain realities. Which obviously so far had played against him.

Yet this moment in time may have also marked St. Laurent's metaphorical 'hitting bottom' since once out of Val-de-Grace he never looked back (success-wise). The first thing he did was sue Dior for breach of contract and win. With that under his belt, he teamed up with lover/industrialist Pierre Berge and Atlanta millionaire J Mack Robinson in the founding of his own fashion house.

The Uranus innovate-or-disrupt energy which had marked life's erratic moments in how his values were valued by others he now took in hand. It was the classic astrological turnaround. What had been an energy of rejection he flipped and by updating the known and quirking it just a bit he turned into genius. And from that he not only got wealth and acceptance, but the ultimate Uranian reward: freedom of expression.

It's a huge demonstration of how Aquarian Uranus really is. Yes, you can innovate, but you have to start with  knowns and things which are accepted and understood. That's where you start - that's the Saturn part of Aquarius. And from there...you innovate.

In YSL's case, one of his great forms of fashion innovation was being at the forefront of ready-to-wear in a day when there really was couture and everything else.

For him, it was the democratization of fashion (speaking of Uranus and freedom) and he was certainly on trend. It was the protesting mid-60's when his Rive Gauge shop opened. Pluto Transformer had just moved across natal Neptune (sealing away its past function) and was opening the sextile door of opportunity to St. Laurent's nurturing, people-public-popular taste friendly Ceres.

He wasn't hesitant to walk through. And well he shouldn't have been as Saturn, symbol of career and achievement was at that time making its return to natal position and moving on into the 7th house of 'delivering to the audience.'

And was he ready to deliver or what? From then on, St. Laurent had triumph after triumph, giving to pop fashion culture a diverse collection of lasting images still worn today. The safari jacket - his. The thigh high boot - totally YSL. Tight pants for the ladies (where would men be without them?) and even the famous 'Le Smoking Suit' - the ladies' svelte tuxedo? Pure St. Laurent.

And it wasn't just the clothes. St. Laurent was the first to use black models on the runway. He was the first to use Asian and Pacific island models too. He was one of the first truly modern-minded designers who believed in the individual validity of individual style.

In 1977 came the release of Opium, one of the world's (and this writer's) most opulently treasured scents. Its release came when transformative Pluto and ego-subduing Neptune were in perfect sextile and both focused on YSL's Jupiter-Kassandra-Mnemosyne-Scheherazade.

Here we see transformation (Pluto) and connection to the common chord (Neptune) at their best, eliciting Neptune's mysterious, inspirational and seductive fantasy side through Kassandra as the quintessential 'leave reality behind' which when combined with Scheherazade's exotic story telling quality and Mnemosyne as marker of something very 'memorable' allows even YSL's effusive 3rd house Sagittarian Jupiter to express itself in massive marketplace success.

Ultimately, Yves St. Laurent became the first living designer to be honored by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition in 1983 - reflecting a Solar Eclipse on his Midheaven (achievements, position in society) in combination with his service to and in this world (Vesta) and that difficult if magical symbol we know as Chiron which is all about doing what needs doing - yes, even when we don't know how, or even precisely what the goal is or may be.

Yves St. Laurent had reached that unknown goal - and then some.

When brain cancer took St. Laurent from us on June 1, 2008, his driving creative symbol - Juno - was conjuncting his natal Jupiter. Considering how many people pass when transiting Jupiter aspects their natal Jupiter position, this seems altogether rather fitting.

After all, YSL was nothing if not an innovator. Remember...? His was the genius to take something quite known and accepted...then he'd put his own twist on it.

Like I said...Juno/Jupiter? It's perfect!

Today would have been Yves St. Laurent's 74th birthday. So go out...do something fashionable - and maybe just a little quirky-creative. Maybe the world will thank you for it.

Or maybe you'll just feel a bit freer and more realized as the person you actually are.

A Chip off the ol' Intel Silicon Block...!

Chip maker giant Intel is celebrating a birthday today - it's 42 years old. Having had it's 11th house of marketplace (meaning, income) just eclipsed, we can expect some changes a-comin' around the ol' digital Intel corral.

intel's Corporate Chart

One interesting thing to note about this chart is that its Sun stands conjunct Drakonia and Kallisto. Drakonia is the signature of 'playing,' 'being played' or 'being a player'...and when coupled to Antares and asteroid Child at the Nadir, that suggests a couple of things.

Child is just what you think it is. In a person's chart it can be your kids or you own childhood. But in a corporation's chart, it's far more likely to be 'about children' - either as your market or something you need to be concerned about with regards to exposure to or use of your product. 

Fixed star Antares is a symbol of all you can do/get done providing you don't get obsessed. So add child and the idea of 'player' or 'playing' in the big digital Intel world and a bunch of issues jump to mind. And let's remember - anything posed at the Nadir/IC of any chart is the thing the chart (or life of the entity/person) is 'built on.' 

Voila! This is a perfect image of Intel's importance to everything children grow up using, everything they can run afoul of while growing up, and everything Intel might do to enhance or assist their formative years.

But it's not just children, per se - it's the kid in each one of us. As much as companies like Intel want us to be fascinated with products they have a profitable part in building and bringing to market there is that problem of obsessions. Even addictions. Evidently Intel has to guard against that. Or use its chips to prevent that or provide ways for parents to guard their children against those many adult no-no's.

This last is especially apropos when we consider Kallisto in the mix. Kallisto is all about getting turned into a 'beast' before one is finally reprieved and set amongst the stars. Coming from the 11th house this implies Intel is vulnerable to being made into a 'villain' in the marketplace from time to time - even if someone uses their chips for some nefarious purpose.

Given that the Solar Eclipse of July 11th was at 19 Cancer, it not only hit both the Cancer 11th house cusp which describes Intel's reputation, income and market share (etc.)...this eclipse affects the Sun-Kallisto-Drakonia group simply because they're in this 11th house. Also in the 11th, the eclipse hit Mars (taking action), Orcus (judement for deeds done which cannot be changed) and Eurydike (sacrificing or paying the price) head on, too.

This implies Intel is taking some hit. And that it's going to continue taking a hit; there's also a Leo Venus in this 11th house and it too is connected to Drakonia. That sort of suggests stocks. Players in the market. Maybe a bad marketing ploy or defective products - something.

All and all, this is about Intel's position in the market, it's got a strong line towards the gaming side of things and let's not forget, chips aren't just about computers!

The whole of this 11th house complex being ruled by the a Taurus Moon in the 9th adds to this thought by telling us that the 'source' of whatever is going on is probably overseas. Does this point to some sort of electronic espionage? Maybe, but given this is an eclipse and thus a long-term shift, it's more likely to concern where the company is going and how they're going to profit from and by going there.

With Pluto wending its way back and forth through the 4th house of basics, 'home life' at a point where it's working over servant/servile Hebe ("what I bring to you") and Atlantis (the scary thought of having to abandon something you know) ...and with the 'what I don't really want to contend with' point (asteroid Lilith) going to be  conjuncted by Pluto early next year...that's another sign of change.

Third sign: the January 2011 Solar Eclipse is going to hit Intel's Vega/15 Capricorn 5th house cusp. And because Saturn rules Capricorn and Saturn is the premier symbol of business...well, by jove, I think we've found it.

Intel is about to make a big business move, probably involving something overseas from its US home base. Given the general emphasis on 'play' seen in the income producing 11th at the foundational IC core and the fun, film and theme park oriented 5th house to be eclipsed early next year, like as not Intel is moving ever more towards things having to do with 'entertainment.' The company is probably working behind the scenes right now on some form (or forms) of media we aren't even all that aware of. 

The world is Intel's digital oyster. Either that - or if all goes terribly wrong, Intel may get eaten like an oyster.

Why would I say that? Well, the solar chart suggests Intel is in for a very hard run for it's money. Yes, literally.

Intel - Solar Return 2010

And don't kid yourself - the company is aware of it, too.

The good news is that with Spica on the Ascendant, there is something very new and brilliant brewing. With Eris at the De-scendant, it's going to either disrupt or truly rock our world!

Will they give us even a little hint about what this is all about?

Probably yes - a hint in mid-January (2011) about things which will happen in May (when Jupiter conjuncts the Descendant of this chart).

So keep your digital ears on, and in the meantime, happy birthday to Intel! Let's hear a big digital cheer!

Do you think they're serving chocolate chip ice cream at corporate headquarters today? 

Happy Birthday, Disneyland! Thanks for Keeping Us All Young At Heart!

Map of Disneyland

At 2pm on July 17, 1955 Disneyland's main gates were thrown open to eleven thousand 'invitation only' visitors...which somehow turned out to be just over 28,000 visitors invited and uninvited.They all showed up and they all got in.

And frankly, it apparently turns into a bit of a fiasco. They ran out of food and in a park which at the time only contained twenty attractions, the place got pretty much overrun.Then came a fuss over Pepsi sponsorship of the event. And the sections of the park which had to get shut down. 

In general, it was one of those days most corporate executives would absolutely  shudder at.

But not Disney! In a truly magical display of PR and showmanship, park officials decided that the visitor overrun was something to celebrate. To them it was proof of how much the world needed Disneyland - how wonderful everyone though Disneyland was...and how Disneyland was going to be totally dedicated to doing everything to make the dreams of guests truly come true.

That was the beginning of a tone and trend which has carried Disneyland through five decades and more. So enormous is the public love for this park that it's profits have even at times carried the studio through periods of red ink. And then of course, came all those 'other' Disneylands: Disney World in Orlando, Disney Paris and Disney Tokyo.

But to some, nothing equals the first and original as is proved by Disneyland's ever-increasing attendance. The park which saw a million visitors in 1955 saw some 15.9 million visitors caper in through its gates during 2009. That's a whole lotta cheese to feed one big (and very famous) mouse...Mickey Mouse, of course!

Astrologically, all businesses have two basic and important charts: the date of founding (or incorporation) and the chart for the day that business opens its doors. Those which go public (as Disney did on November 12, 1957) have a third chart worth perusal. 

But who cares about that right now? It's Disneyland's birthday! So let's just have us a peek at the grand opening chart - what does it say?

A few things jump out right away, the most prominent of which is the giant group of planets in the 9th house of adventure, exploration and fantasy. There are so many of them that I'd have to skew the chart drawing to get them all stuffed in there (and that just wouldn't look pretty.

Just take it from me - no less than seven important celestial objects inhabit this house. And four of them are in the sign of family (Cancer). So are we surprised this works as a family destination? Heck no! Certainly not with four being in family prone Cancer and the other three in Leo, sign of kids, fun, entertainment and (yes!) theme parks!

Put it together and this makes Disneyland a great place for families, kids and (my favorite part!)...the kid in each one of us.

And back to that great PR thing...the 9th is also about teaching and advertising. So with all that power there it's no wonder Disneyland turned a stumble into a cupcake on that very first day - AND why it's gone on to be one of the great marketing giants of all time.

There's another side of this 'kid in all of us' thing of course - that's Disney's legendary G-rated attitude. Disneyland (and all films issued under the Disney banner) are  supposed to be squeaky clean wholesome. Yet when we just look at the chart, it has Scorpio on the Ascendant. How could that work, you say? Isn't Scorpio simply all about sex?

Well, yes and no. Scorpio isn't about sex. What Scorpio is about anything which we choose to do which forces us to risk our personal values or self worth. And the secret here in the Disneyland chart is two-fold. 

Part one is that the Disneyland chart has a Scorpio Saturn (in an emotional degree) sitting in the 'what am I?' themed first house of the chart. Saturn being notoriously a 'fear' or 'stoppage' in the first, when we see it in Scorpio we know Disneyland refuses to risk anyone's values. 


Nothing cheesy for Mickey! No sirree...Disneyland doesn't want to leave us with anything of a bad taste in our mouths - that we know because Polyhymnia (the muse of happiness) is exactly conjunct Lachesis (duration) right inside the Ascendant - funnel for action. The simple message is that Disneyland wants to do everything it can to keep us in our (Polyhymnia) 'happy' for however long (Lachesis) we're inside those park gates. It's Disneyland's mission! 

Yet people will be people. With Lust at 5 Taurus exactly conjunct the Descendant there's bound to be the occasional breaking of the rules - especially when we stop to think how many hot summer dates take place at the park all through Anaheim's hot summer season.

But remember, the astrological meaning of lust is "fixation." And since 5 Taurus brings in all sorts of excitement and enthusiasm, that fits what most people feel once they arrive at the park and abandon all the stuffiness of society in the pursuit of fun, rids and fireworks. 

With Pluto (the power of persuasion) in the house of the world, a Libra Neptune in the 12th (fantasies for the masses), an Aries Sedna in the 6th (care for children, young and old) all in aspect to the societal Nodes, this chart is the very picture of the magical place we know and love which charms and entertains folks of all ages.

So with that all said....what's up for Disneyland now that it's turning 55?

Here's the chart...

According to this, our iconic Anaheim theme park is in for some updates.The Cancer Sun (will) conjunct Juno (leadership) in a 6th house of necessity colored by expansion (giving us 'expanding necessity') right at that degree we just talked about representing squeaky-cleanness and the security thing argues both for tightening of the reins and the necessity to let up now and again.

The curious part here is that it's all ruled by a Libra Moon in the 8th. Conjunct Panacea (making peace) this suggests Disneyland is suffering from internal conflicts. It wants to provide families with a place to get away from an increasingly R (and X)-rated world.

But they also know that the times, they are a'changin'.

With the 8th house cusp twisted in tightly with Typhon's primal urges and this matter of 'what to do...oh what to do?' defined by Mercury (thought), Sphinx (patience) and Bali (good times) all positioned at the 'what we offer to the world' Descendant, it's an easy bet that Disneyland feels it has to keep up the shiny image.  

But they're probably also 'waiting' for something - or waiting something out. That Libra Moon looks a whole lot like some sort of business deal. Or maybe a law. We'll just have to see.

And there's also a Saturn at a critical degree of Virgo - the 'I need to get it done but I'm not sure what I have to do' thing. Conjunct asteroid Lilith (the thing I really don't want to know) in a fiscally interactive house, we can bet that internal memos and balance sheets are flying.

Like as not, things can't going as they have been - something's got to give. Since I happen to have an ancient book of Disneyland tickets (yes, I actually have some "E" tickets!) I did the inflation math and the park isn't really any more expensive than it was in 1964 (hard to believe, isn't it?). But what with public tastes changing and public belts tightening, that critical Saturn/Lilith plus the Libra Moon conjunct Panacea (placation) suggests some hard decision. Given the Moon's specific position (8 Libra) there is the indication of a loss - 8 Libra is known as the "widow's degree" and indicates living on after something dear is gone.


Gosh...is something wrong with Mickey and they haven't told us?

More realistically, what may be up for grabs are some of the 'old ways.' Like all other such attractions (and entertainment in general), you're only as good as your latest hit. Disneyland has to keep evolving. Changing. Growing. So...what to do? And what not to do?

Uranus/Jupiter in a 2nd house seems to say that Disney is still devoted to its idea of wholesomeness but having problems with the limitation. At the film studio the solution was pretty simple: R and NC-17 films are made by divisions which don't use the actual "Disney" name. But what to do about a park? How can the park change and yet hold true to form? What should Disney to do continue its to-date highly profitable efforts to tie films to park rides (like the Pirates' series) in this ever more factionalized and rowdy  modern day and age?

This chart poses questions. And given how certain astrological cycles are common to all charts we can assume some new 'thrusts' will arise in a year or so, but not really come to fruition for maybe five or six years.

In the meantime, we have Goofy and Cinderella and Space Mountain and Mickey, Donald and all the rest.

Personally, one of my favorite Disneyland moments was when I went to the park with some friends one fine (hot) summer's day. We had been there for going on twelve hours (hence my personal term "Disneyland feet." when at about closing minus forty that night we split up, each wanting to hit one more ride before heading home.

I can't tell you why, but I headed off to "Small World." Yes, the ride with that maniacal song you can't get out of your head for days and days and days after you hear it.

So I'm pelting towards the back of the park and I arrive at the rows of rails through which lines file politely only to find the place deserted. A boat's just leaving the dock, heading into the exhibit.

Darn! I thought I had absolutely lost my last ride.

But no! Glancing down, the ride operator beckons. I'm not supposed to, but...she glances at her watch. What the heck....she motions me to a boat and tells me to climb in. 

Then I wait. And...wait.

Some minutes later the boat I'd seen go in exits on schedule. It's all yours! The operator grins, pulling back on the lever. I'm going to slow it way down...have a great time!

Away my boat went. And somehow knowing I was all alone made me bold. No sooner was I inside that I started signing along. Then I started playing grand conductor. I talked to various figures and even did the great no-no of momentarily standing up in the boat (to take a bow, I seem to remember - I'm not sure for what).

Yes, I knew they were watching me, but I just didn't care. I was having such a good time and aside from that three-count of being on my feet I mostly just enjoyed the  grand feeling that the whole place - the entire multi-million dollar intricacy which is Small World...it was singing just for me.

It was my Small World. And that was magic.

When I got back to the dock the operator steadied the boat as I happily clambered out, thanking her effusively. 

You have a good evening, she sent me on my way, laughing at my glee.

I'll guess that what she did for me she had done for many others, but in my life that's a very special gift which I have smiled at ever since. For those few minutes she gave me the space and opportunity to simply abandon myself to play.

It was awesome. It was freeing.

And that's my Disneyland story...at least one of them. How about sharing one of yours? I hope you will - just click on the 'comment' link below and type your heart out.

And who knows...maybe if we all get together and open ourselves to sharing our tales the joy of the Magic Kingdom will in all that sharing, become each of ours yet again.

Happy birthday, Disneyland!

The Dalai Lama: Happiness as a Way of Life

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

There are a million places where you can to read about the 14th Dalai Lama. That became obvious when went to Google and typed in his name.

One thing I hadn't (somehow) noticed before is the Dalai Lama's full birth name. It's Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. (Just try getting that on an ID bracelet.)

Like all Dalai Lamas, this one is considered a reincarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. And yes, he lives in exile - his whole government-in-exile is seated in Dharamshala, Himachal Prodesh, India.

Like I said...all that, you can read elsewhere. What you come here for is the astrology, so let us proceed to just that.

Born on July 6, 1935 in Taktser, Quinghai (Tibet) at 4:45 (GMT) gives us the following chart...

...and the beauty of the personality written in this picture of the unfolding universe is told like this:

Just behind the personalizing Ascendant of the Dalai Lama is the symbol 'House'...which here speaks to being comfortable in your own skin. Positioned in early Libra, this tells us the Dalai Lama is a man who people feel comfortable with because he's comfortable with himself - and with whoever you may be.

He's willing to experience who you are (Eurydike), be made happier for his encounter with you (Polyhymnia) and to share the struggle we all have as humans to use our gifts for others when in truth, human instinct instills in us undeniable need and at times, a wonderful, frightening want (Sisyphus) which can lead us to our glory or to self-delusion (Diadem/Drakonia).

Interestingly, just at the far edge of conjunction behind House we also have Ixion - the very embodiment of entitlement born of lack of gratitude. And that would seem to be a really odd description of the Dalai Lama except for a couple of things.

For one, when we accept living in our skin, we have to recognize that with comfort comes a discomfort which by working past, creates in us a sense of peace in feeling we actually are ourselves. That we can master who we are and be who we want ourselves to be. Part of this interpretation comes from Ixion being in the 12th house of limitations. Ixion is in Virgo and the Dalai Lama's actual Ascendant is in Libra, giving us a picture of his 'putting Ixion behind him' in a sense.

And yet we live in all parts of our chart. His 12th house is Virgo and Virgo is an earth sign all about doing service. In Ixion conjunct Lust (fixation), we see the Dalai Lama's rejection of life as a materialistic competition. We see his life in exile. We hear him trying to teach us  not to focus on what we don't have - the ingratitude - but to treasure what is given to us with each breath, each day, each bee buzzing by a flower, each chance to be with each other. 

There's also the fact that Virgo is ruled by Mercury. The Dalai Lama's Mercury is in the 9th house of teaching and religion. At first glance this would seem to be a negative, as Mercury in the 9th is famous for haste, sloppy work and arrogant dogmatism.

But a second look at this Mercury reminds us what it means for any symbol to be positioned in the 3rd decanate. Third decan symbols (anything positioned in degrees 20-29 of any sign) have to do with how others react to what we do. With Mercury being about communication and here positioned with Bellatrix (difficulty in reaching goals), Echo (repeating that you are taught), Industria (industriousness), Betelgeuse (ease of effort) and poetic Sappho (love for everyone) we see the Dalai Lama working against the tide.

The depth of what he would so like to convey is difficult to get across (Bellatrix) in a world where people tend just to repeat what they've heard (Echo) amidst the hustle and bustle of life and all they need to get done (Industria). It takes work to really connect ideas in our minds (Industria). And it takes patience and perseverance (Industria) to reach a point where we understand that loving everyone isn't about definitions, roles and functions in each others' lives, but about the privilege of being in each others presence (Sappho) and enjoying the experience of life as a whole...a great rhythmic poem of which we are but part.

When and to the degree that we fall sort of understanding this idea, we all live in exile - from ourselves most of all. The Dalai Lama probably understands this well...just as he's probably long learned that even exile has its purpose.

This is not to say the man is angelic. With Tantalus (temptation) on one side of his IC and Klotho (beginnings) and Circe (the ability to enchant/reduce others to creatures which simply follow by instinct) it would seem the Dalai Lama is well aware of his appeal and charisma. This is a man who knows what he could do - especially with Tantalus opposition Sappho, sexuality is powerful implied.

But with the chart's public end of the vertical 'who I am in my own mind' axis (a Cancer Midheaven) being ruled by a Virgo Moon positioned not merely in a spiritual and often reclusive 12th but conjunct Neptune? Moon/Neptune is one of the clearest signatures of platonic love a chart can present. Strangely, it can also backfire - we will assume there are those who have misunderstood the Dalai Lama's universal affinity for his fellow humans. And there is here also a potential for great imagination, visionary potency and fantastic imagery....but not in public. At some level, the Dalai Lama feels he is one with mankind, and he will not risk himself for to him, that is to accept a risk to all.

This is not sainthood - rather it is an acceptance of human mortality, the strength of frailty in the human spirit, and how both are completely necessary if anyone is ever to by accepting their vulnerability become impervious to spiritual destruction.

The calculated form of a Virgo Lilith standing with this group underscores this idea of the mortal shadow. And in the opposition to a Pisces Saturn/Eros in the 6th house of responsibility, we know this man grapples with the understanding that even in all we think most ill about ourselves lies a measure of our potential.

Being that astrological planets (Neptune, Saturn and Moon) trump asteroids (Eros) as asteroids trump anything calculated (Lilith) in a chart, this Neptune/Moon opposition Saturn tells us this man will hold to his vows because vows are an expression of one's faith in the necessity of an ideal. That he will hold himself to first and last, even if on occasion his feet stumble as he walks his long road.

Great as he is in the eyes of the world, that the Dalai Lama is so apparently one of us is a huge reason why we accept him. That he admits his human vulnerabilities to us earns him great respect, which is why we venerate him even as we embrace him as our equal.

His humanity and humanness gives us hope in ourselves.

Another really interesting, thought provoking image is presented in his chart by Eris at the Descendant (article on Eris). It's a picture of discord (Eris), which on the Descendant would be what he presents to us, what he sees in the world, and part of the legacy he will leave as social reformer (discord in positive form), as a spiritual head of state in an ever-more secular world...and as teacher to those who would learn, and example to those who won't listen.

Even more information is found when we follow the astrological rule to see how a  chart house works (and often what it's really 'about') by looking to the ruler of the sign on its cusp. Seeing that in this case the Dalai Lama's Descendant is ruled by Aries, that means we look to Mars.

The Dalai Lama's Mars is in the 1st house of 'what I do and who I am.' It is positioned in an emotional degree of Libra, telling us he cares about others, is an emotional man unafraid of expressing his feelings and that when moved by others, he responds.

And what is his Mars set up to respond to and through? That's directly across the chart: Juno and Sedna in the 7th house, conjunct asteroid Child.

Seeing this, we see how this man is willing to embrace his own emotions in being with us. And how he teaches us to be the child we are. This is the signature of his caring for all of Earth's children, no matter what form their existence may take. In this man is both witness and teacher that we are all caretakers and all needy, helpless people in need of protection and love.

Emotionally, we are all those things. And we should be all those things - that's part of being a human being. Maybe even the better part of being a human being.

As you can tell from his birth date, today is the Dalai Lama's birthday. So here is his solar return chart....

Dalai Lama's Solar Return chart 2010 

This is a particularly interesting chart as it occurs a day after a Uranus station, telling us that there are some changes going on with the Dalai Lama himself - and since his birthday comes just after the station, he is evolving out of events rather recently passed.

With Tantalus (temptation) at the Ascendant opposition Algol (responsive power), Kassandra (lack of belief) and Capulus (cutting focus) we are likely to hear much from the Dalai Lama on the subject of the wrongful use of force this year.

Since the Ascendant-Descendant is an axis, it actually pays to look at both sides. Here the rulers are Mars and Venus, immediately giving us a creative...even procreative image.

The return's Mars sits in the 4th house in a proactive degree - yet in 4, Mars exhibits a lack of 'ability to act.' Conjunct the 5th house cusp, the subject is likely to be creative or having to do with children, and with Eris (discord) in an emotional degree just across that 5th house boundary, this would appear to be the Dalai Lama concerned about the plight of kids...not to mention needing a little time for the kid he is to rest and play and relax!

The actual ruler of the Taurus Descendant being a Leo Venus in the 9th house of education, travel and efforts again votes for children and the 'lighter side of life.' Venus and Mars are in aspect by trine (a 'flowing' connection) and yet Venus is opposed by an Aquarian Jupiter in the 3rd. Are people really too focused on the constructs of this world to be happy? Have we become so much the children of society and not humanity that we have lost some of our ability to free ourselves up to avail ourselves of our full potential and value?

It may be all of this and more. With Venus is sitting between imprisoning sorceress Circe and haunting Mnemosyne, this is an image redolent of not just what happens and what we learns during the early years, but how that continues to affect us. And how we continue to all be so easily persuaded throughout life, for the child within us never dies.

Fortunately for us, the youthful wellspring which is in the Dalai Lama is more than fertile: with Pisces Child, Edisonia and Huya (article on Huya) at the foundational position of this chart this is a year in which the Dalai Lama will perceive that beautiful sweetness which no matter how hard or hardened our lives come to be still resides in our hearts.

He knows, because he can feel it in his. And with this configuration at his Pisces Nadir we may be sure his Holiness understands that love is expressed in billions of ways... and each one of us is a unique expression of that love.

Yet, he will face his tests this year - we all do. And with the initiating ruler of Pisces (Jupiter) in the Dalai Lama's 3rd house of thought/communication, he will be thinking about what innocence is, what humanity means, why we have the problems we have as people...and he will tell us to reside in the gifted blessedness of our nativity...

...which comes to think of it, is what astrology teaches too. The fate we encounter, as challenging as i may be, is an opportunity. Sometimes in disguise, yes. And sometimes it is not the easy thing but that which tries our temper, mind and temperament which enriches us most of all.

We are our efforts, not our acquiescence...we are blessed by our patience, and cursed by that fear which causes us to demand. Only in accepting ourselves can we begin to harness our gifts and only by harnessing our gifts for the good of others and the healing of this world in its own terms (not ours) can we be blessed with ecstatic love which surpasses all personal definition.  

Will the world listen to the Dalai Lama this year? With secondary ruler of Pisces (Neptune) positioned in the first with Ceres Nurturer and Juno Protector, if you ask the Dalai Lama he will probably tell you that all ears can hear, but we don't know how many minds and hearts will listen.

But we can watch. And we can hope. And we can encourage each other by learning to love ourselves enough to free the light within our smile.