Tag: writing

Astrology Musings: JFK born 102 years ago

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Many articles, volumes, films and TV series have been written about the life, and death, of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.

So what, in astrological terms, might be deduced from his birth chart – why is he such an icon, even now?

Potential or fate?

I believe astrology is largely about potential, not necessarily fate. There is freedom of choice. But choices have consequences.

When he was born, Libra was on the ascendant. His ruler, Venus, is in Gemini in the 9th house, along with his Gemini Sun nearby.

So in basic terms, this pretty much describes the man and the President we know. The easy charm, the affability. He is intelligent, sociable, diplomatic, approachable, highly inquisitive and able to relate to a wide range of people. Not bad qualities for America’s first TV President.

Diplomacy

This also correlates with his successes in diplomacy, his liking for peace. Examples of this are the creation of the Peace Corps, his seeking of detente with the Soviet Union following the Cuban Missile Crisis, his willingness to try to accommodate all sides most of the time.

And his Sun and Venus in the 9th house indicates the importance of foreign matters and the world at large to him, as a man and a President.

But of course, he was also known as a great speech maker, a prerequisite for any politician who want to go places.

Great Speech Maker

If we look to his Mercury (speaking/communication) it is conjunct Mars in Taurus (the Bull rules the throat) in the 8th house. Jupiter is nearby too and is ruler of his third house of communication.

Here are the strong, optimistic, expansive, yet ultimately practical mental qualities he was noted for, like, for instance, setting America on course for the Moon.

Here also is the powerful, ‘bullish’ voice we have all heard, one of the most distinctive political voices of the last century.

Few Presidents made as many famous speeches in three short years, such as the one in Berlin in 1963. Here too, is his bravery and generosity; from the 8th house he was willing to speak up about difficult policy decisions that might change the security status quo.

Grasp of Detail

This conjunction is trine the Moon in Virgo in the 12th house. This hints at an inner fastidiousness to the nature, that could be put to good use mentally; a great need for, and grasp of, detail. Again, a perfect quality for a successful politician.

So, we can see that underneath the easy charm, there is a practicality and courage too. He wanted to get things done.

Some have said that if he hadn’t gone into politics, he might have become a famous writer. Well, he did write some books, but had he chosen this other career path, I think one can see he might well have been famous for that too.

Saturn is fairly close to the midheaven (career) in Cancer.

Saturn Weighs Heavy

Saturn is not ‘happy’ in Cancer, hinting at potential for emotional struggles, especially positioned quite prominently high up in the chart. This would tend to bring very hard, demanding difficulties and responsibilities that could expose the individual at times.

This is a difficult position for any well known individual, but here we’re looking at the most powerful man in the world.

Had he lived, assuming he would have gone onto a second term, my bet would be that he would have dedicated himself to writing – quite possibly his first love.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

*If you would like a personal astrological report, please contact me at: leoftanner@gmail.com for details.

Book Review: Musings on ‘A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man’ – James Joyce

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Of course, much has been written about this novel since it was first published in 1916. To call ‘A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man’ (Penguin – this publication) a landmark, would be grossly understating its impact.

So I’m not attempting to go into great depth, all that has already been done. I merely want to convey my own recollections of first reading it, way back in school.

For me, it was this book and D.H. Lawrence’s ‘Sons and Lovers’ that first truly opened my eyes to what we sometimes call serious literature. Both of them are, in their own way, semi-autobiographies and broke the mould of novel writing.

Story Teller

Naturally though, Lawrence and Joyce wrote in very different ways. I think Joyce wrote more intuitively, in a way which conjured up for me a wholly different milieu of imagery. He is a natural narrator, a story teller like many of his countrymen.

For example, when he describes Stephen Dedalus’ childhood, I get drawn into that world through the use of evocative child-like language; I become that child. I can remember endless classroom discussions about this part of the book.

Living Imagery

And the world of Dublin in the late 19th century, was a very different world from that of the industrial Nottingham area, where Lawrence sets his book.

Although Joyce was to reject almost everything about his upbringing, his beliefs, his writing is nevertheless suffused with that imagery, bringing it alive, like new music as some describe.

So what are we to make of the criticism of those who first rejected his manuscript? The book is, when compared to more classic literature, without doubt somewhat formless and unconventional.

Like God

Yet, those of an artistic nature tend to be like this, especially over the last hundred years or so. I think Joyce, whose approach was understood and encouraged by none other than Ezra Pound, was simply bold enough to open up the taps of his creativity. The artist himself almost becomes like God, a creator in his own right, a bit like the Daedalus of legend, who built wings for himself and his son so that they could fly.

Joyce’s upbringing within the strict bounds of Catholicism, his training for the priesthood, was in retrospect the perfect grounding for such free artistry, once it was released from its captivity.

Ironically, Joyce’s world never seems to lose the colour of his Catholic upbringing, even though he ultimately rejected it. With Lawrence, the harsh, English Protestant world, seems altogether more grim, enlightened by the writer’s love of nature.

Native Genius

Joyce’s innate creativity, held back for so long, could only emerge later like a succession of Michelangelo masterpieces, hewn by the craft and intelligence of a native genius.

Unlike his other classics, Finnegan’s Wake and Ulysses, I have successfully completed reading his first great novel.

Even so, one day I intend to finish the former two, although I suspect I will read ‘Portrait’ again before I do that.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Haiku: Gatekeeper 2

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Deceive me, won’t you;
such looks hook the unwary.
Now sliver away…

 

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Poem: ‘Picture’

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There’s a picture
it’s been hanging on my wall
You know it tells a story
the truth of it all

Now it’s time to tell you
with the sun streaming in
After all the silent years
I should begin

For love is like the summer time
in the northern lands
This cold barren soil
through my hands:

And we shall never pass this way

So how long did she stand? I don’t know.
Waiting – those poor women –
for a tall mast to show

Yes, he was a treasure
fresh flowers in the jar
Cap in hand, feet ten and two
like an evening star

Most nights she takes the air
down by the sea
Out there she can feel him
where the ocean sets her free

For love is a precious time
a sacred space
Give into the water
and its healing grace

And we shall always have this day

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Astrological Musings on Mercury – “Stop fidgeting, boy!”

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In astrology Mercury is associated with the signs Gemini, Virgo and the corresponding third and sixth houses of a chart.

Mercury, closely following the sun at all times, is said to represent the mind, how we think, communicate, our nervous system, their strengths and weaknesses depending its conditioning.

Take Luke (not his real name which is protected), a former teacher who’d taken early retirement a while ago. He came to me wanting to know why he’d become so restless and nervous. He explained that he’d always been a bit restless, but especially of late. He knew his birth time to within about five minutes, so I calculated his birth chart.

Raised Eyebrows

Immediately, one of the ‘reasons’ he described himself as restless leapt out at me from the computer screen. His Mercury was closely conjunct a Capricorn ascendant, trine Mars in Taurus, sextile Jupiter in Scorpio. There were no so-called difficult or hard aspects, no squares or oppositions to Mercury. He seemed curious as to why my eyebrows were raised. At the time he came to see me, transiting Pluto had been lurking with intent around his native Mercury for a few months.

Over the years I’ve found it remarkable (a lot of the time) how people ‘speak’ their charts. In Luke’s case Mercury here was doing all the talking!

Mercury in Capricorn represents a practical mind, that likes to spend its time productively; teaching would be one good outlet. Close to the ascending degree and energised by Mars and Jupiter, one might expect the native to be a little fidgety – he was, constantly scratching his head, re-arranging his seating position. He just had to be doing something!

Positive Energy

So with all that positive energy from Mars in Taurus, which only increases the pressure to ‘do something’ practical like making money, and from Jupiter in Scorpio, encouraging him to go deep, plumb the depths of knowledge, it’s probably not surprising that Luke was a bundle of unresolved, nervous energy which now ceased to have a proper outlet or channel.

“Can you write?” I asked, rather glibly, picking at Mercury’s communicative qualities.

He nodded. “Yeah, I do it all the time.”

“Professionally?”

He shook his head and laughed. “Just jot things down and scribble, you know.”

But I could see something opening in his eyes, some kind of realisation.

“Don’t get me wrong,” I said, tentatively, “I can’t advise you to do anything but what might help is to find a project, a writing project, to really get your teeth into, to fill the gap that teaching filled. Something like that.”

Second Career

He seemed interested, but with all that earthy mental energy, I figured that creative writing might not be the best outlet for him. “Serious themes, perhaps,” I continued, “history, religion, psychology, geography…”

“Ha!” he exclaimed, “I taught geography for thirty five years!”

“OK, apart from teaching it, have you written about it, expressed our own ideas, opinions? Have you done research, for instance?”

“Not since university.”

Chance Meeting

It was around six months later when I met up with him again by chance, not in my house, but in the high street outside a butcher’s shop of all places.

“You were right about the writing, by the way?” he said, smiling nonchalantly.

“Really?”

“I’m a regular contributor to a science magazine now… and I’ve started giving talks on geography and geology for adult education locally. In fact, I’ve been invited up to Sheffield next week to give a talk.”

I tried to disguise my own smirk. It would seem that his native Mercury, which may have given him the impetus to become a teacher in the first place, had now inspired a second career in his retirement, as a writer and speaker. Pluto’s close proximity to his native Mercury at the time, may just have done a little prodding from behind the scenes.

Ultimately, I think this example also shows a need to look for the obvious, stand out features of a birth chart first. “Keep it simple, boy!”