Tag: art

Surreal – Salvador Dali: Astrology Musings

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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.

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Portrait of An Artist, James Joyce – Astrology Musings

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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.

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Astrology Musings

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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.

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Berthe Morisot, the Art of Astrology – Musings

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Often considered one of the three great ladies of impressionism, Berthe Morisot’s works were described as exuding much feminine charm.

Born to a wealthy family, her early style was said to be ‘effleurer’, or of a light touch, though her palette was usually quite restrained in the use of colour.

She had three major periods in her work, watercolour, pastel, and then oil painting, though at times she was not averse to mixing all three mediums together. Even during her lifetime she was considered one of the best impressionists and still has a high reputation today.

Responsive love of balance

What can we see from her chart?

She has Cancer rising, making the Moon her ruler, which is in Libra conjunct Mars in house 4.

She seems to have had very strong feelings, and could probably argue well. The Moon in Libra loves balance and harmony and this is invigorated by the Martian energy. She was clearly very responsive. Mars is also the ruler of house 10 of career and house 5 of creativity, all indicative of an energetic and creative career.

A spur to achievement

Her Capricorn Sun in house 7 along with Mercury, gives her the ability to graft and study seriously, but clearly her marriage to Manet’s brother Eugene was extremely important, as was her relationships to other artists of that period, from whom she gained much inspiration.

However, the Sun’s challenging square to her Moon and Mars, shows that there were some major difficulties in her relationships at home, possibly in her childhood, which could have felt like a cleavage, but a spur to achievement in the long run.

A sea of artistic inspiration

It’s like her own strong feelings being at loggerheads with her sense of duty as a person as she grew.

Most interesting of all to my mind is Venus conjunct the MC in Pisces in house 9. If Venus can represent an aspect of art, then Pisces is like a sea of inspiration, very close to one of the prime indicators of career, or life direction.

This, perhaps, more than any other point in her chart, describes her very soft, subtle signature style of ‘effleurer’ and the ‘feminine charm’ she was known to illustrate in her work.

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Paul Signac and the Art Revolution – Astrology Musings

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Paul Signac had a deep love of the sea. Photo by Pixaby. Pexels.com

Paul Signac is not necessarily the first name that springs to mind when one thinks of the post impressionist period at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nevertheless, a short study of his life reveals how key he was, not only in supporting Georges Seurat, founder of pointillism, and helping Henri Matisse develop and grow beyond Fauvism, but also in establishing ideas in art theory and encouraging communist anarchism, which was very much a supporting philosophy, opening up so-called artistic freedom.

He was also a great collaborator and supporter of fellow artists, and became a long time president of the Société des Artistes Indépendants.

The sea

Although he originally trained as an architect, he began to paint seriously after seeing Monet’s work.

Signac adored the sea, not just painting it, but being on it, a part of it, sailing around the coasts of Europe, drawing and sketching, to bring ideas back to the studio. Eventually he settled by the sea at St. Tropez.

Pointillism

Intrigued by Seurat’s revolutionary pointillism, he became a supporter and developed the technique himself, which in his hands further developed later into larger squares of colour, as opposed to small dots.

In time he became president of the Salon des Independents, an important organisation of the time which set the standards for 20th century exhibitions, allowing more freedom for the artist.

Dominant water element

He also knew Van Gogh and worked with him for a time and wrote extensively on the theory of art, with much of his output remaining unpublished.

So what about his birth chart? Well, he has Aries rising, quite fitting for his pioneering attitude. He also has Neptune quite close to his ascending degree, also appropriate since he was so fond of the sea, almost spiritually attached to it. Neptune is quite often prominent in the charts of artists. The water element is also quite dominant in his chart as a whole.

Strong Scorpio and 8th house

Neptune is in opposition to Venus in Aquarius, another symbol of the feminine, which leads one to feel that this was often a source of unease in his life, particularly in regard to relationships, which might have been quite unusual and prone to mysterious endings.

What is most interesting in his chart though, is a very full house 8 in Scorpio. Here we have his ruler, Mars conjunct Mercury and Jupiter and the Sun and Moon together later in that house.

Penetrating, intense mind

His ruler here will add greater intensive energy; his systematic approach to art, like sailing around the European coasts for the purpose of painting, is an example of this.

Mars close to Mercury and Jupiter, gives him a deeply penetrating, inwardly expansive mentality, which as we have seen, correlates well to his writings about art theory and his strong interest in political movements like anarchistic communism.

Do or die attitude

Indeed, this house 8 activity, including of course his Sun and Moon, suggests a strong interest in and attachment to others and their establishment of security, and in the deeper, more secretive aspects of life, like death, regeneration, existence itself.

It is this ‘do or die’ outlook which could have led to the interest in more fundamental theorising politically and philosophically. It also points to the fact that he was a very loyal friend and collaborator to other artists and helped to steer the movement along a more productive path.

Fundamental

What’s more, there is the opposition of Pluto in Taurus in house 2 to house 8 Mercury, Mars and Jupiter.

Here we can see fully underlined the undermining attitude he had towards the status quo through his interest in anarchistic communism. He wanted to change things for the better, but believed that only fundamental, even drastic political change could bring that about, even at the potential cost of his own security.

A prime mover

Considering all this Scorpio and house 8 activity, it is perhaps not surprising that Paul Signac is not necessarily one of the better known artists of his time. Yet, he was nevertheless a prime mover behind the scenes.

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