Category: astrology

Surreal – Salvador Dali: Astrology Musings

women s purple and yellow lips with yellow liquid
Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels.com

Salvador Dali, as we all know, was completely original; a surrealist extraordinaire, eccentric, highly imaginative and also a writer.

So let’s take a look at his birth chart. Cancer rising with Neptune in the house 1 in the whole signs housing system. His ruler, the Moon, is conjunct the midheaven in Aries, square to his house 1 Neptune and also loosely square Uranus on the house 6/7 cusp.

Sensitivity

Here is the high impressionability and sensitivity brought by another prominent Neptune, so often the case in charts of artists of all kinds.

This time Neptune is in challenging aspect, causing such creative tension which can be used outwardly in his career.

Eccentricity

Uranus involved also, will add the original, eccentric, even difficult streak for which he is famous. And the Moon’s close conjunction with the MC is an indication that much of his career was led publicly too.

Like other prominent artists, such as Picasso, there is a strong showing of Taurus, which should be no surprise. Here we have the Sun, Mercury, Mars conjunct in house 11, along with Venus. Taurus is ruled by Venus and is earthy, sensual, practical, very appreciative of beauty and form.

Sensual mentality

His Mercury conjunct Mars in Taurus sharpens and sensualises the mind, and with Mercury also retrograde, this will add a touch of the off beat to his mentality. And it is interesting to note that he was a creative writer too.

Also very important to creatives is the fifth house, which is also ruled by Mars here, bringing all that earthy, sensual energy to bear in this area of his life.

His Sun tightly square Saturn from house 8 (house of death traditionally), may symbolise the difficult circumstances of his early life. He was named after a younger sibling who died aged one. Dali was even given his deceased brother clothes to wear, which may have led later to him believing that he was his sibling’s reincarnation.

And equally interesting in this regard, is his Saturn in house 8 is trine Pluto in house 12, which may be descriptive of a karmic link.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

T. S. Eliot, Born to Write – Astrology Musings

beverage-books-caffeine-904616
Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

I was astonished when I first saw T. S. Eliot’s birth chart, one of the leading modernist poets of the 20th century.

When he was born, the Sun, Mercury and Venus were all in his Libra first house along with Uranus. In fact, the Mercury Venus conjunction closely straddles the ascending degree.

A Lover of words

With all this activity in air, here is a natural thinker, communicator, writer, a lover of the beauty of language and literature, words in all their forms. Here too is natural charm and easy, and probably quite lengthy, conversation.

His Libran Sun forms easy trines to both Neptune and Pluto in Gemini in house 9 of the higher mind and a nice sextile to Jupiter in house 3. He clearly was a very deep thinker with an expansive mind, a lover of spiritual, hidden matters, of foreign culture and philosophy; he did go to great lengths to learn Sanskrit as an aid to his development as a poet and writer, always encouraged by his mentor, Ezra Pound.

Outside of the box

The Gemini Moon in house 9 is trine his first house Uranus. He is quick witted too, with an unusual manner and ability to think outside the box, a prerequisite for a modernist writer.

If we look to his third and ninth houses, indicators of his mental functions more fully, we see that Jupiter not only rules house 3 but is present in it along with Mars. He has a naturally open, well developed and forceful everyday mentality.

However, I also notice that Jupiter forms a close opposition to Neptune in house 9. This difficult aspect, though bringing a certain confusion, possibly between the everyday functioning as a writer and his passion for expansive thinking, was probably actually a spur to greater achievement in the end, being a source of imagination and inspiration, especially as it is part of the configuration with the Sun mentioned above.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Portrait of An Artist, James Joyce – Astrology Musings

close up of hand holding pencil over white background
Photo by Lum3n.com on Pexels.com

James Joyce is the Irish colossus of English literature.

Novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, critic, linguist, singer… he was a man of many parts.

Brought up in a traditionally Catholic household, he rejected much of what that tradition stood for, becoming a leading member of the writing Avant-Garde, yet he never left the old Catholic world completely.

Widely travelled

He spent most of later years abroad, travelling to Italy, France and finally dying Switzerland; he may have left his native Dublin but it continued to dominate his thoughts, strongly influence his writing.

According to the birth data, he had Capricorn rising, an indication of a hard working approach to life. His ruler, Saturn, is in Taurus in house 5 of creativity, which is ruled by and making a difficult square to Venus in Aquarius in house 2 of personal security. He clearly put a lot of effort in to his creative art but it was always, especially early on, a financial struggle.

The Aquarian paradox

James Joyce was a Sun Aquarian, natives who typically have a certain rebellious or unusual streak about them, though who also, paradoxically, often adhere to certain aspects of conservatism all their life.

This may be due to the attribution of the traditional ruling planet of Aquarius, Saturn, in his more positive aspect. Uranus too has become associated with the fixed air sign.

Joyce had Venus conjunct his Sun in house 2. Here is his attraction to the artistic process and beauty in an Aquarian forward thinking manner.

Neptune inspires

His Sun is also closely square Neptune in Taurus, along with Jupiter in house 5. Joyce had a very fine tenor voice, and Neptune’s strong link to the Sun from Taurus, a sign which rules the throat, may be indicative of this, plus his abilities at creative writing and poetry.

His Mercury just into Pisces in house 3 hints at a fine imagination, especially as the ruler of house 3, Jupiter, is in conjunction with Neptune and trine Uranus from house 9.

Here is the extraordinary writing potential, which is at once imaginative, inspirational but also off beat.

Works like ‘Portrait’, ‘Ulysses’ and ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ are testimony to this. Mercury is also the ruler of house 9 of the higher mind, where Uranus is found. He was something of a linguist too.

However, this Mercury is also trine Mars in Gemini. Here is the sharp intellect too, which gave him the ability to be a fine critic.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

D H Lawrence – Astrology Musings on Sex, Death and Regeneration

brown notebook in between of a type writer and gray and black camera
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Few writers and poets have made such an impact as D H Lawrence has over the last century.

Works like ‘Sons and Lovers’ and ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ are groundbreaking in their intimate portrayal and insights in to love, relationships and sex.

His descriptions of nature also, are a revelation to me, as are his feelings on the alienating qualities of industrialisation.

An intense personality

Let’s begin with the basics. According to the birth time given, he has Scorpio rising, perhaps befitting someone who approached life with such a deep and penetrating intensity.

His ruler, Mars, is in emotional and caring Cancer in house 9 of the higher mind and travel. His Mars is also sextile Neptune in house 7, showing an innate sensitivity in relationships.

Spiritual attachment to the feminine

This is underscored by his Moon conjunct Venus in Libra in house 12. Here is the deep, spiritual attachment in relationships, perhaps particularly with women and the mother, which we see written about so beautifully in ‘Sons and Lovers’ and elsewhere.

Here too, probably, is the love of nature, felt so intimately. Just as significant, Venus is also the ruler of house 7 of relationships.

Lawrence had the Sun in Virgo in house 11 conjunct Jupiter. Here is an analytical, critical individual, who is at the same time generous in his service to others and his friends. He stands a very good chance of success in his objectives. As the Sun is the ruler of house 10 and his MC, this also applies to his career, where he made a large impact while he was alive.

An analytical mind

Of course, as with any writer, we need to take a close look at his Mercury, Jupiter and houses 3 and 9.

Mercury is in Virgo, giving him a finely tuned, painstaking mentality, supported by a loose but beneficial aspect to Saturn in house 9, which will increase the capacity for hard work. Saturn is the ruler of house 3 also, and the Moon rules house 9.

Sex, death and regeneration

Most interestingly, his Mercury is closely square Pluto in Gemini in house 8. Although a challenging aspect, this symbolises his fascination with the fundamentals of life – sex, death and regeneration (8th house and Pluto associations), which comes up so often and so graphically in his work. It also relates to the ensuing controversy he created, by writing about such issues, which had hitherto mostly been taboo.

The Moon as we saw above, is beautifully conjunct Venus in Libra in house 12 and it’s interesting to note that he spent much of his later life abroad (house 9), from which he gained so many benefits.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

 

 

 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Astrology Musings

architecture-bar-cafe-building-2130616
Photo by Timea Kadar from Pexels

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s short life is the stuff of legend today.

He was born into an aristocratic family in the south of France, and fought health problems all his life. However, he could draw and paint, and this became his life’s work.

He was not only a painter, but also a printmaker, illustrator, draughtsman and caricaturist. Much of his best known work encapsulates the heady and seedy theatrical world of late 19th century Paris.

Intense, variable energy

According to the known birth data, he was born with Scorpio rising, a testimony to the intense energy he put into his life, despite ongoing health and addiction problems.

His ruler, Mars, was found in Gemini in house 8. Here we see not only the variable and versatile energies but also the ‘darker’, more evocative, imagery of Paris that he was involved with and portrayed in a lot of his work.

The printed word in art

Mars is opposite Mercury and Jupiter in house 2, which, while adding a certain mental agitation, will also encourage the diversification of his talent.

And with his prominent Mercury and ruler in Gemini linked, it is fitting that the printed word is also equally prominent in his work.

Venus in Capricorn (part of a t-square, see below) also points to practical art forms and situated in house 3, we see another link to the mind, communication and words, particularly through illustration, posters and caricature.

Impressionability

Henri was a Sun Sagittarian with Jupiter conjunct in house 2, trine Neptune in house 6 and sextile the Moon in house 12. The strong mutable quality of his chart overall, including his Sun, shows restlessness and diverse talents, which can be put to good use. He and his family were also Anglophiles, and he spent some time in London. Sagittarius is rarely satisfied with sticking to his home patch.

This may also show his aristocratic background and upbringing, with all its ‘benefits’, but also a certain impressionability along with artistic ability.

Neptune, as I’ve come to realise, is often prominent in the charts of artists, connecting the individual with more trans-personal forces, drawing on inspiration.

Sensitivity

There is a fairly tight T-square involving Venus, the Moon and Neptune in cardinal signs, in houses 3, 6 and 12.

Here we see an innate sensitivity in relationships and mentally, and although with Venus and the Moon in Libra hinting involved hinting at a resulting artistic talent, this may also be indicative of his reliance on alcohol, which became a serious health issue in chronic terms later in his life.

Life’s work

Henri’s MC or midheaven in Virgo and Leo 10th house point to his life’s work. The rulers of these parts, Mercury and the Sun, are found together in house 2 of money and security, beneficial Jupiter encouraging him to push this career.

The opposition from Mars in house 8, as mentioned earlier, certainly made it anything but plain sailing, but also acted as a spur to greater achievement.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019