Lord and Lady Lucan, back in the day. She was just recently found deceased in the same Belgravia house where the nanny’s murder occurred. Fair use, multiple sources
This an ECLIPSE re-print from 2015 with some new material added, a wee mystery to ponder this weekend. Have a great one! jd
If Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie, and Ian McEwan had each jumped into a time machine, met in a mutually agreed upon cozy writing spot, and together woven a story of a dashing noble who gambles himself deep into debt, is suspected of murder, and the very day following the murder vanishes without a trace, they would’ve written something astonishingly close to the life of Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, a gambler and gadabout who at one point was considered for the movie role of James Bond. Lord Lucan (born 18 December 1934 ntk at Marylebone/ London United Kingdom) took the privilege accorded him due to birth and parlayed that into a miserable marriage and a gambling debt equivalent to half a million dollars in today’s coin.
On the evening of November 7, 1974, the nanny for Lord Lucan’s children was murdered in the basement of the family home. Lucan did not live in the house at the time, but he did come to the house that evening and got into a physical fight with his wife when she came downstairs looking for the nanny, who hadn’t returned with tea, as expected. Both Lucan and his wife were bloodied and bruised, and eventually retreated together to the bathroom to tend their wounds, according to the account of Lucan’s wife, Veronica, and his daughter, who saw them after the fight. Lucan left (presumably before the nanny’s body had been discovered), stopped by a friend’s house in the wee hours of the morning of the 8th, and was never heard from again.
The working theory all these years is that Lucan is the killer; the supposition is that he mistook the nanny, a petite woman with long, strawberry blond hair who bore an uncanny resemblance to wife Veronica, for his alimony-demanding, custody-of-the-kids holding, ex-spouse. There is lots of circumstantial evidence to support this, including the police finding a car he had borrowed that contained his fingerprints, the nanny’s blood, and a lead pipe very similar to the one used to kill his employee. He told the friend he visited that night, who is the last person known to have seen him alive, that he saw someone attacking the nanny through the basement window, and went into the house to help. His wife and son both believe he likely killed himself out of guilt, but no body has been found, and whatever happened, he left without his keys, passport, eyeglasses, and other important small bits, suggesting a certain finality to events, whether he died or changed his identity.
Unfortunately we don’t have a birth time for Lucan, but when we set a transit chart for the early morning hours of the 8th and compare it with the natal placements, we still get some compelling contacts. First we might try to ascertain whether he was of a mind to kill that evening, and especially if he might’ve targeted his spouse. His natal Venus in Capricorn is square his natal Mars in Libra, setting him up to expect conflict in man-woman scenarios, and the midpoint of transiting Ceres-Juno sextiled this Venus, suggesting at that point he could’ve easily seen his wife as a vengeful force of Nature—and with transiting Sedna trine n Venus and Black Moon Lilith sesquiquadrate it natally, he may have been primed to act out, a temporary ‘blind spot’ nicely masking anything about his relationships that would contradict the in-born belief that women were Lilith-like and the carriers of unreasonable rage (as a male-oriented society inevitably characterizes BML energy)—all stoking his resentment of his wife.
We might ask, does Lucan have it in him to kill? Of course, the natal chart can only give clues, not definitive answers, but there are a few interesting things of note. Lucan has a natal Sun-Vesta conjunction, suggesting the potential for him to see himself as sacred, upping the chance he would easily take affront or act out in ways designed to protect himself. His natal Pluto quincunxes his Sun and Saturn, making it apex to a Finger of God, and opposes natal Juno, a recipe for destruction triggered by any threat to what he’s built, especially if it should come from the spouse. His natal Uranus-Pluto square, which may have offered spontaneous, burn-’em-all-down fireworks as a matter of course, was at the time of the murder filled in as a Fist of God by t Neptune, suggesting that those Uranus-Pluto impulses may not have seen clearly their own expression, acted out in defense of an ideal, a fantasy, or a delusion (and see later for more potentials for this config). And there is the way t Uranus is at 29 degrees of Libra, setting up a general atmosphere of strain and sudden action in partnerships of all kinds.
Transiting Mercury was squaring his natal Pluto (difficult messages/ communications/ thoughts that hinted at destruction) and t Jupiter formed apex with these two to a Fist of God. This is a vote for suicide, with Jupiter the planet associated with the leave-taking of death; certainly, dark thoughts could’ve driven him in that direction. That t Merc was also sextile his natal Sun, tying thoughts to his sense of identity and well-being. Too, t BML sextiled his Mercury and both were quincunx t Saturn, forming a Finger of God that implies he might’ve felt enormous mental pressure to do something in the physical world to address things. And, t Sun-Venus were just moving off natal Jupiter, perhaps suggesting to him that suicide might be the most rewarding way out.
Also of note: that in the early morning hours the transiting Leo Moon (the kind we can’t help thinking about ourselves under) squared his (supposed) natal Taurus Moon, while t Uranus had been putting steady pressure on Luna for some time. This argues for emotionally charged tension surrounding the Self, one’s impulses, and the future, while t Saturn squared natal Sedna, suppressing the instincts and perhaps insisting he had no ‘blind spot’, everything was just as he assessed it. t Pallas was also trining that Moon, reinforcing the idea that the emotional reactions were giving him smart guidance, in spite of the results. Should his natal Moon actually be in early Gemini (possible if his birth occurred later in the day), he would still receive a stressful square from the transiting Moon, and we can add one from t Ceres, as well, perhaps making the pressure from females confident and in charge of their own autonomy and domain more than he could bear.
His large gambling debts imply he might’ve been a prime target for a hit, as he’d owed for years and there were no prospects for new income in the future (in fact, his natal Pluto in Cancer square his Uranus-Pallas, clearly spelling out his Self-destructive tendencies, triggered by transiting North Node-Vesta-Neptune, forming a Fist of God—the smack down may have been something he always imagined, and was always headed for—it may even have been something he courted, revering the idea of payback). A 1975 inquest held that he was guilty of the murder and convicted him in absentia, so there’s little incentive for him to ever surface again, if he is alive. Theories of his fate abound, everything from being whisked from the country by MI5 and hidden in a Greek monastery to being fed to the tigers of zoo owner, gambling hall impresario, and close friend (to whom he presumably owed a lot of money) John Aspinall, but my favorite is that he took off for New Zealand, where he lives still with a goat named ‘Camilla’.
So, to review, it’s Lord Lucan, in the basement, with the lead pipe.
If you didn’t like the last post, you’re really not going to like this one, as I ask, When will all the Self-congratulation end? Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for enjoying our triumphs and accomplishments, and there are plenty of people who have trouble recognizing when they have accomplished, when they have created, who fail to see that they have made a difference, and they need to celebrate and be celebrated. No, what I’m talking about is the perpetual Self-talk that honors a desired image, rather than a genuine status achieved.
This is most difficult to sort out when the lauded state is ostensibly framed as a spiritual one; that kind of boast is a ‘humble brag’ with a dual purpose: convince others of our own spiritual purity and elevation, and convince ourselves. I’m speaking of things like confusing spiritual routine and practice (daily meditation, particular kinds of yoga, pilgrimages, sessions with a life coach, spiritual advisor, and yes, astrologer, to name just a few possibilities) with spiritual revelation or enlightenment. One is meant to bring about the other, yes, but it doesn’t guarantee it. Spiritual practice is like eating–it’s meant to sate a temporary hunger, it’s not intended to fill you up for a lifetime. That is, revelation or enlightenments, big or small, can come at any time, in pursuit of or avoidance of any thing–intoning ‘om’ doesn’t prove you’ve earned (and so can claim) a state of enlightenment, any more than eating one proves you’ve earned a hamburger–the two concepts aren’t necessarily causal, aren’t even necessarily connected.
At this point you might be asking, where’s the astrology in all this? Well, we have a duo of aspects for the 4th that, when combined, may exert this kind of pull on the ego, the kind that drives us to let others know just how enlightened (or powerful, or knowing) we are: Mars novile Sedna, and the Sun novile Pluto. The novile is an aspect of brilliance, a flash of momentary genius sparked by the contact of the two bodies. Like two bits of flint, nothing special occurs when they’re on their own, but dash them against the right ‘steel’, and you can start a fire.
In this case, the applying body acts as the crucible to hold the spark–and that means there’s a good chance that the ego, the Will, the role we want to play (with the Sun suggesting idealization at a Soul level), won’t allow the spark to ignite at a deeper level; chances are about even that we’ll see the inner knowing, ‘what we know but don’t (consciously) know’, the instinct or, less frequently, the information that lies in our ‘blind spot’ (Sedna), inform a desire for Power (Pluto), in whatever form that appeals to us–and the siren song of spiritual power can be irresistible, for some.
So, be aware of this potential in yourself, and aware of the potentiality in the world around you. The other influences perfecting right now may make us particularly vulnerable to ego exertions or the need to patch over our vulnerability. The South Node sesquiquadrates Black Moon Lilith, while Mercury quincunxes that calculated spot and squares Ceres–all speak of discomfort with matters we’d rather not deal with, especially a sense of being a victim of the past, or of those who held (or still hold) power over us.
But, there are mitigating influences to be found in Mercury’s parallel to Saturn and trine to Chiron. If we can focus our mind on what’s healed and needs healing (and so how to achieve that healing), and ground this in real-world steps, plans, and decisions that aid these, we don’t have to confront the less savory aspects head-on; we can instead focus on our own and others’ genuine well-being, which isn’t as flashy as a turn around the dance floor with the ego, but is a lot more useful and dare I say, ultimately both honest and soothing.
By the 5th we open the gates to the imagination and to creative energy via relationships and/ or spurred by financial questions, and for some, through a recognized need to live values (Venus trine Neptune). We can find an ideal Love, an ideal Expression, or an ideal financial situation–at least, that’s what it looks like right now–and there’s the potential to gain from taking a spiritual approach to those things we value; that is, vetting material or relationship choices through the lens of what we see as ‘the perfect attitude’.
This may not be immediately easily acted on, though (Venus qnx Mars, Sun semi-square Jupiterand Pallas, Mercury semi-square Zeus), and that’s a good thing, keeping us from over-committing or from an unwise investment. What we can do most effectively, and what we have scads of, is optimism, and possibly a myriad of opportunities to choose from and plan for (Mercury parallel Jupiter). Make efforts theoretical, at this point–‘best laid plans’ are best laid right now.
On the 6th we can draw a gem from the past that offers us a power boost in the present (Pallas nov SN, Sun parallel Pluto). This is available to us if we’re willing to do two things: be flexible in our uniqueness of expression (that is, can we accept an edit?) or our insistence on either being ‘in’ or ‘out’ with ‘the Group’, and willing to question our own values. Remember, it should never be threatening to simply examine what our highest standards really imply–if it is, then those values definitely need examination, as does whatever we’re ‘defending’ by avoiding examination (Mercury qnx Uranus and semi-sq Pluto, Sun sq Vesta).
By the 7th we’re not only feeling strong enough to take those edits suggested yesterday, we can face our own demons and with grace modify our relationships and asset usage to reflect our deepest values. Bonus: this offers healing to what had been a difficult situation (Ceres sextile Black Moon Lilith, Venus qnx NN and sesq Chiron).
Just thought this was pretty–it has nothing to do with Chiron–fungi are very Plutonian! Watercolour depiction of the fly agaric, 1892. Likely painted at an art class near Bristol, England, the writing says “Agaricus muscarius” and “Leigh woods Sept/92” CC BY 4.0
In our ongoing exploration of specific natal aspects Readers have submitted for discussion (submissions are closed), we focus now on Chiron. Though initially considered an asteroid, it’s currently classified as a Centaur (it was in fact the first-discovered, lending its character to the classification itself), which is defined as an object orbiting the Sun between the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt–and yet it behaves a little bit like a comet, so also carries a cometary designation (95P), and some even consider it a dwarf planet. All this variety (or is it confusion?) about how to categorize it hints at one of its most prominent characteristics: that what it designates in our natal charts has layers of meaning, an onion of hurt, experience, skill, and unique perspective, all of which can teach us about ourselves and our place within the world.
There is the Chiron hurt, something so deep and pervasive the individual can often be unaware of it; there is what we learn from the hurt, that we can then utilize, to help both ourselves and others; there is a Chirotic gift (or more than one) related to the sign and to our own processing and experience of it, which before 2012 we could offer only to others (and that we can now access–and so ‘do’–for ourselves); and there is a Transpersonal expression of this energy, one that takes the individual, cumulative Chiron knowledge and applies it to the Collective condition. So, Chiron designates qualities that are highly personalized, highly individual, and that with enough effort at understanding and re-shaping, we may at some point in life lift from the entirely personal, reactionary arena to utilization of the ‘gift within the wound’, to, finally, a transpersonal, Collective expression, one where our gift in some way answers a need found in the Collective or out in the world.
(Birth data redacted) I am interested in my Chiron, in Capricorn. I have had numerous struggles with structures and authority figures. I feel that this recent period has been sort of like a final exam or defending my thesis. I know that the wound doesn’t really go away but I feel stronger just putting all the past struggles into context now instead of feeling as though they are coming at me as a series of random tortures. I wonder what you would have to say about a broad now-moment and a future with Chiron in Capricorn. Thanks for choosing my inquiry–if you do!
You don’t ask about an aspect, but rather an entity, a single body, which is okay when it’s one that in the general astrological world still suffers from a state of too little clarity–that is, it’s difficult to see Chiron’s action in the natal chart when we see it in its most simplistic terms, ‘wound and gift’. That tempts us to want to reduce its effects to a clear-cut negative or positive, and that’s not only unproductive, it dismisses our need to look at how truly personal the manifestations of this energy are, how completely they have been tailored to our character, experience, and responses. Neither of those definitions of Chiron as wound and gift is wrong, but those labels do remove the nuances of what can be a very important, even vital, influence for the individual.
For you, Chiron plays a fundamental role in Self-image, with its location in the 2nd of assets and talents, and in Capricorn, the wound almost certainly involves your relationships to and reactions to both structures in the life and the concept of authority, with the initial reaction almost always presenting in response to those who hold authority in your life. At least part of why you may be responding so strongly and personally to Capricorn life areas is this body’s location in the 2nd of Self-image–it may feel that what hurts you also, inevitably, defines you (and we might want to throw in rules, ways in which your Will or feelings have been thwarted or restricted, and matters where you feel it’s ‘all work and no play’, particularly when this stands in contrast to what others around you seem to enjoy).
Does it feel as if the drudgery always falls to you? Where Chiron sits can often seem to be a difficult place, one where we’re denied joy, and if it does for you, dear Reader, that’s not surprising, especially considering that the closest aspect Chiron makes to a major body is its opposition to Uranus–and that may feel as if every time you try to ‘be yourself’ or act spontaneously or think independently (Uranus rules the 3rd) you get a Capricorn response (which may sound like ‘Control yourself’ or ‘Sit down’ or even ‘You’re not allowed’ or ‘That idea’s crazy!’). Compound this with Uranus in the 8th suggesting that others seem to have all the freedom, are allowed to be as erratic, unpredictable, or unique as they want–and that you may feel you have to clean up after them–it may be the only initially perceived path that allows you to feel good about yourself, by complying with these ‘demands’ (and this is supported by Chiron’s semi-sextile to the Ascendant and its trines to Jupiter and Hygeia in the 6th, all possibly making you feel it’s your duty to serve the larger social order, and to modify yourself in order to do so, that being healthy depends on it–but really, being healthy depends on working out your relationship to Chiron and the social order that surrounds you, rather than just complying with it, as you’ll never find peace by conforming).
And, with Uranus in the 8th but ruling the 3rd (as well as the close assembly of Sun, Mercury, and NN–Whole Sign), you may have the feeling that others are either trying to control your thinking, or that they are assessing your mental processes and reasoning as flighty, unreliable, or ‘out there’–and so, by extension, calling you these things (Sun in Aquarius 3rd), reaching into the mentality and insulting the Capricorn wound, which demands adherence to and observance of the rules, the status quo, and authorities. It may seem you are being insulted, expected to be ashamed, every time you act in ways that feel original or unique to you–but that’s an internal mechanism, one that plays out in you but that is spurred by others, even though the message you may be getting is, ‘Who do you think you are?’
One of the most difficult facets of your placement is that this energy is in a highly personal space (the 2nd, the part of you that judges yourself) but doesn’t contact any of the personal planets. Without contact to the personals (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) one can feel adrift, as if the wider world, even the Universe, is targeting you, inflicting puzzling and unwarranted Capricornian penalties, suppressing your efforts at Self-improvement and earning (2nd)–and unless you can get some perspective, may trap you in ‘Me Against The World’ scenarios that play out over and over in new circumstances, but using old energies. Capricorn Chiron can bring a heavy sense of responsibility, and that’s difficult to fulfill when you feel that authority may consistently be against you (or that authorities have such high expectations or standards for your performance that you feel they’ll never be met).
Born just after a Lunar eclipse, hence the natal Sun and North Node are quite close, and may give a sense that accomplishment is a relentlessly difficult uphill climb, as if the prime moment for presenting what you know and feel has somehow passed. Re-frame this as a sense of completion in terms of being ready to pass things on to others or to cooperate with others in your efforts. A sesquiquadrate of Chiron to Ceres points out how tough the relationship is not just to external authorities but to your own inner sense of being in charge, of granting yourself permission to go forward. Become your own authority, in a sense, and this may offer the freedom you’ve (probably) been seeking.
Though this exercise was about natal aspects, not forecasts, I can suggest this: both personal security about who you are, and about making your way in the world, likely comes from disciplined expression of the talents, especially the creative ones, when applied to achieving specific goals with the cooperation of others (Chiron ruler Saturn conjoined Neptune in Libra in the 11th of goals, wishes, friendship, group involvement); look for others who support your originality and who are accepting of an individuality that’s comfortable for you–and there’s no ‘right’ model for this, that’s what makes it so hard–you have to trust yourself and stay firmly connected to the reality of things, even as you dream and invent. This may be an intense academic stance, may involve the sciences or futurism, may be about creative uniqueness, especially manifesting the imagined in real-world terms, or the way Higher Mind and spirituality are intertwined, and may involve a need to write, speak, or communicate your specific viewpoint to others.
Taking an intellectual approach (Sun and Merc in Aquarius) may initially cause internal conflict as Chiron demands a material response, but seeing that creativity in the current reality (Chiron ruler Saturn conj Neptune) is needed will resolve the tension, without too much conscious effort. Knowing healing is possiblewill go a long way toward repair of the wound; so will seeing the creative or spiritual take material form in the life.
The natal Moon in contact with the natal Ascendant can feel very much as if the individual is constantly interacting with and displaying the emotional nature.’Reaching for the Moon’ By Edward Mason Eggleston 1933 {{PD}}
The 29th is a day when no new aspects perfect, so maybe we should take some time to look at one of those topics I previously asked readers to submit.
“Thank you for your offer. If you choose so, I’d like to hear about my Moon square Asc aspect (birth data redacted for privacy). For the last few years, I’ve been trying to align questions about responsibilities (work, family, relationships, community) with what I consider my free will, independence, identity (I work in artistic field). Maybe it’s a never-ending process. Wish I could feel more decisive/confident with my choices/path.”
I can tell you with confidence that reconciling a natal square is a never-ending process; no matter how well we do at resolving the conflict and expressing the energies, we can always lift the expression of those energies to ever-higher forms–and that translates to a life-long fine-tuning process. So, the individual describes a pull between the Will and identity and those larger responsibilities that involve others–and the first thing we see in the chart is that the Moon rules the 4th of family of origin, which immediately emphasizes the perhaps perpetual conflict between the individual emotional experience and familial expectations. The personality of the individual, and the way that individual interacts with the world, is in some way at odds with the role or expectations within the family, in conflict with the concept of ‘home’ as they understand it, and/ or in basic discord with one or both parental figures. Ironically, though, the Moon is in the Capricorn 10th, suggesting that duty and a close link to one or both parents is actually what makes this Moon comfortable–so it may be that phrasing this square as an identity vs. obligations challenge is a bit of a distraction, at least in terms of emotional expression–it may really be that it’s the manner of reaching out to the world (the Ascendant) that makes this person emotionally uncomfortable.
What we see with the 10th House Moon ruling the 4th House suggests a kind of ‘tag team’ of authority and nurture from the parents, with the individual’s Moon in Capricorn in the 10th ruling the 4th, and Ceres, mother and authority, posited in the 4th in Cancer. These parents work together, and may see imposing rules and boundaries, expectations and goals, as a form of nurture–and a Capricorn Moon clearly sees it that way, too.
But the Ascendant, the way the individual interacts with and presents the Self to the world on first meeting, the persona and personality, is keyed to the energies of Aries–and that’s an energy that says, ‘I can do it myself, I want to do it my way, follow me!’ The Ascendant, in fact, is apex to a Finger of God with a base of Neptune, an almost Cazimi Sun-Mercury, and Venus, all in Scorpio in the 8th, and Uranus in Virgo in the 6th (and we note a close-but-no-cigar Finger combo of Mars and Pluto in Virgo, just outside comfortable quincunx range). This may be why it feels as if the emotions aren’t being served: an enormous amount of creative, identity/ Soul, communication, and relationship energy is interacting with the most original and unique impulses and then funneled out to the world through the personality, with the base placements in 6th and 8th suggesting a reliance on input/ feedback/ cooperation and understanding from others, especially through the course of work and discharge of duties–this individual can’t express things they find meaningful without others–and the individual feels they must be at the head of the line, leading, guiding, doing (Aries apex)–and yet we must remember that the outlet of the Ascendant carries a fundamental discord with the emotional nature via the square, which we might sum up as ‘duty (to parents, career, or convention-Capricorn, on which the feelings depend for a sense of well-being) vs. ‘a need to trail-blaze, express the individual Will, to have one’s say and way as an outlet to so many of the basic energies, including the Soul’s reasons for being here (Sun in aspect to the Aries Ascendant).
Add to this that the Capricorn Moon, which naturally aspects all that the Ascendant aspects, also happens to lie at the rough midpoint of the Sun grouping and the 12th House Chiron-Saturn-Black Moon Lilith in Pisces–which does not aspect the Ascendant. What! What? And now we see/ feel what is pestering the feeling nature that is on its own essentially at ease with the Soul/ communication/ love and creative nature and with the Uranian need for original expression, and with the Martian-Plutonian need to act and feel of consequence within the world. What the Moon is not at ease with is the way all these energies are expressed through the Ascendant–that’s where the conflict lies.
Too, that Uranus-Mars-Pluto grouping, such a dynamic and urgent mixture, requiring action, spontaneity, and a certain amount of power, directly conflicts (opposition) with Chiron-Saturn-Black Moon Lilith. It may be that action, especially spontaneous or unusual action, or action that seeks to create power and impact for the Self, stirs unconscious (12th) anger, resentment, and guilt–and so creates a feedback loop that hides the hurt, even as the emotional nature is highly aware of it (Saturn ruling the Moon)–and these angers and hurts are possibly brought into real-world circumstances periodically, as the unconscious ‘reaches out’ and orchestrates physical reality (Saturn).
The Moon contact to Chiron-Saturn-Black Moon Lilith implies that what’s really, really hidden, ignored, denied, or that enrages has also wounded, and the individual senses this (12th House) through the Moon’s emotional and intuitive faculties. Saturn of this grouping rules the Moon–and though the Soul’s expression is muy simpatico with what’s hurt and hidden (Sun group trine Saturn group), as is the feeling nature (Moon), we see the personality, the part that wants to meet the world head-on, the Martian-ruled Ascendant and the ‘I Am’ energies of Mars-Pluto and respect for uniqueness that is Uranus, is not simpatico.
The conflict, then, is a knotty one, and not easily (or possibly ever) resolvable. There are several things you might try to help make the energies more at ease with one another, with a focus on honoring the choices and career path, which you mention not having as much confidence in as you’d like. First, know that the emotions and emotional feedback will, for you, be much more reliable an indicator of right choice and right career than anything else. You are definitely meant to express your creative nature, to emphasize what you see of beauty and worth; your feelings will also be an excellent guide in responding to responsibilities and obligations, especially those involving the family. Most of your Water placements are in ‘soft’ aspect to the Earth Moon, and they find a great deal of emotional sustenance and nurture through real-world expression of what the emotions and the Soul both need and perceive.
It’s the ego or individual Will that cooks up problems; despite the way Mars-Pluto has found to cooperate with the Soul, it takes constant adjustments (the quincunxes of the Finger) for the creative, Soul, emotional, and action energies to express through the Arian personality–and that automatically means that the Martian ‘doing’ energies and the sheer Will have too big a say in choices and actions. The ego-power-individuality is also ‘against’ conscious awareness of hurt, vulnerabilities, and deep anger, especially when they’re observed in the real world–and that kind of denial can cripple creativity and relationships, as the ego insists on not looking at the negative, on powering through. So, honor the feeling nature more, and give it more trust–it’s best placed to handle, negotiate among, and facilitate the other charts energies, and can guide you in a much more perceptive way than the Will or ego can do.
I hope this helps, dear Seeker! Back to ‘Good Day To . . . ‘ tomorrow!
This weekend reading is an ECLIPSE re-print, edited, augmented, and with completely new sections added on Uranus and Neptune.
‘A Double Portrait’ By Abraham de Vries c1630 {{PD}}
The internalized voices of the mother and father (or the caretakers) are something everyone absorbs in childhood and carries for life. We know how a parent would likely respond to most everything we do, and often as not that assumed parental assessment floats through the mind as we make choices. But, as we age, we’re meant to compartmentalize those particular voices, and replace them with a central one belonging to ourselves, with ones belonging to our idealized Archetypes—the Mother and Father of our dreams, so to speak—as secondary, as a set of counselors. These have the benefit of being all-loving and totally supportive; they tell us what we need to hear to assure our choices are healthy for us and supportive of our Soul’s needs, and best of all, these Archetypal voices support the adult that we are, rather than commenting on the child we were. We can if we’re so inclined characterize these as God’s voice, the voice of our incorporeal guardians or angels, the Higher Self, or of the sexless but living Universe—whatever fits your belief system. The internal Parents will speak to what’s most productive for us as individuals—and this ‘feedback’ varies from that of the actual mother and father in situations where they were truly supportive to a kind of neutral, responsible common sense advice meant to aid.
Have your internal voices (at least the directly real-life parental ones) evolved from the personal voices of the actual caretakers into an Archetypal energy that ‘speaks’ in your best interests, or is the voice you hear still the one of the actual parent, with all the encouragement, judgment, and limitations of their life imposed on yours? And do you get that confused—or more likely, allow it to sidetrack you—when you’re in the midst of decision-making? We get some clues in the chart on how to deal with the parental influence by examining contact between the personal planets and lights (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) and other bodies, some that are specific to the personal chart and some that are universal. Here’s a quick look at the info, cookbook-style. Remember, of course, that these are not the only meanings these contacts have–we’re just concentrating on particular manifestations and concepts.
Jupiter in contact with the personals seems to have two main early expressions: seeing the individual or subject represented by the contacted energy as god-like, or seeing the contacted energy as something we always need ‘more’ of. We tend to relate this attitude to, or draw it from, whichever parent seemed god-like at the time—so not necessarily the parent who held the most authority, but the one to whom it seemed nothing was denied. When this takes on an Archetypal maturity, we see the opportunities we’ve had related to the contacted energy, and we access direct knowledge of the related concepts. Natal Venus in Scorpio trine Jupiter in Cancer may suggest we had a female caretaker who ‘had it all’ emotionally, and that she was either provided this by a god-like figure or that she herself was that figure. She was cared for emotionally, at least (Cancer), and sex and mystery (Scorpio) may have seemed to be her province, denied to the individual with the aspect, as was a sense of truly being nurtured, with that reserved for the caretaker as well—and this may have resulted in over-the-top sexual experimentation, emotional spending, or having 15 children, trying to claim Venus-Jupiter for oneself. With maturity and an Archetypal Jupiter in place, one is not only able to claim the energies for the Self, but also to see how they may be best used. In this case, knowledge of what it takes to nurture (Cancer) combines with the worth of Truth, deep and intense relationships, and yes, sexuality, to inform the life choices and open the Self to the wider world and its worth.
As the Old Man of the chart, Saturn in contact to any of the personals can describe the permanent influence of an authority figure, usually the parent perceived as ‘in charge’. Typically this is a sense of suppression of the characteristics of the contacted planet, with maturity bringing a change that incorporates Self-discipline in place of external restrictions. For instance, the natal Moon in Aries square Saturn in Capricorn, with Saturn repping the father, may suggest the individual observed suppression of the mother’s (Moon) independence, autonomy, or leadership potential and incorporated this into the emotional make-up, or that the individual directly experienced it her or himself, possibly through a denial of the intuition or even the emotions themselves. Every time this person makes a move on his or her own, he or she may experience that sense of paternal suppression, and so may show temper, aggression, or insist on the ‘I want’ in response. With maturity and the Archetypal response, though, the individual may shift from seeing Saturn as conflict and potential negation of the feelings to support of these through following the ‘rules’ and through sufficient Self-restraint. This is just one possibility, of course. When we’re still hearing the voice of one or the other parent, we will tend to refuse or at least resent complying with Saturn’s requirements; by the time we form an Archetypal version, we will frame it as the inner voice of caution and common sense—and likely have attracted one or two ‘real-life’ versions, people exhibiting extraordinary maturity no matter their age, on which to model our approach.
Uranus related to the inner parent concept may stand for one or both as erratic, unreliable, Self-involved, and if it applies to both maternal and paternal authority figures (for instance, by ruling or being posited in the 10th) the parents may have presented as a ‘group’, sticking together so that there was no way for the child to make an end run around one parent to appeal to the other. The home life may have been perceived as chaotic, no matter the surface appearance of things, and the sense that accidents could happen anytime, or that the parent could simply disappear, could breed hyper-vigilance in the child that becomes an uneasy sense of distrust of all others, or the world itself, in the adult. Relationships may innately seem precarious, and if there’s a denial of this influence, the individual could be repressive and controlling themselves, unconsciously seeking to keep potential chaos at bay.
In my upcoming Moon book I discuss the personal effects of Uranus using the chart of singer Karen Carpenter; here are a couple of excerpts:
“She has a 00 Cancer 34 Ascendant, with Uranus retrograde at 00 Cancer 57–this shouts naturally wired, high strung, nervous, and in Cancer the likely conduit for the nerves is the stomach, and possibly in motherhood (or the rejection of it–Carpenter had no children). Uranus rules the Whole Sign 8th, which holds Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury. We can see anorexia, the disease from which she suffered and from which she died, in at least one sense as rebellion: from control of others, from norms, from forced sharing (8th House) in an attempt to create one ‘private’ thing in the life, one thing completely, irrevocably under the individual’s sole control—and these planetary and point relationships describe this to a ‘T’.
Uranus can be seen as a kind of co-Ascendant, so closely and thoroughly is it tied to Karen’s connection point with the world. It suffers significant isolation from the other chart energies, with only a semi-square to Pluto (which touches Uranus’ ruler, the Moon) and a square to Juno. These aspects suggest intense control issues, a known component of the equation that prompts anorexia. But, though the two bodies Uranus touches are control-oriented, the involvement of Uranus suggests a fear of losing control, a dread of the chaotic and the unanticipated. She may have identified herself as potentially always on the verge of personal chaos (Uranus closely conjoined the Ascendant)—and that easily could’ve driven her to be constantly vigilant, and to clamp down on anything and everything within her reach.”
Neptune to the personals and linked to the parental figures can make for a number of intensely disorienting experiences for a child: the parent may seem to (or even tell the child that) they hold all the creative ‘cards’, making the child feel they can never live up to the parental creativity (this is not uncommon in the charts of children of successful artists or celebrities). The suggestion in the mind of the child is that the parent presents an ideal that can never be reached, convincing the child he or she is drab and untalented by comparison, even if the parent has never implied this. Or the child may suffer from a sense of nebulous or incomplete identity, taking their cues about who they are and how they feel from the parent. There may be a lack of boundaries that, if carried into adulthood, can bring gullibility, unrealistic creative attempts, and co-dependent relationships until the individual learns to set boundaries and clearly differentiates the Self and the Self’s responsibilities from those of others. The child being persuaded they’re someone they’re not is a distinct danger. Learning they’re not responsible for those around them (and especially for the feelings of those around them) can be a significant milestone.
The sense that it’s natural for the individual to feel they are just a small part of something larger can bring perpetual uncertainty, and may be the foundation of a spiritual search in adulthood; a good parent will recognize the fears and inability of the child to know where he or she ends and everyone else begins, and can assist them in channeling that Cosmic awareness into appropriate expression–a not-so-good parent may use the child like a battery, absconding with the child’s creative and life energies, insisting the child exists as an adjunct of them. This can be a tough enmeshment to recognize, as it may present as the parent deeply concerned with fostering the child (the modern ‘helicopter parent’ comes to mind) which can easily smother or disorient the child’s creative and imaginative urges. Most difficult contact for the native within their own chart? Neptune and the Moon, no question.
‘Abduction of Persephone and Pluto on Horseback’ By Giuseppe Scolari c1595 {{PD}}
Pluto is symbolic of what’s commonly known as ‘The Devouring Mother’, but that’s too narrow a definition by far; this is really a designator of a power figure, male or female, who overwhelmed the individual, and likely persuaded them that, whatever energy Pluto contacted was not to be theirs. The typical indoctrination involves framing the energy as destructive, as likely to obliterate the individual if she or he engages with it. Who would tell (or imply) something like this to a mere child? Sometimes it’s done out of fear, in an attempt to protect, but just as often it arises from rage, an attitude that says, ‘If I can’t have this, neither can you!’ When this is the voice we carry in our minds, we are likely forbidden to even think about the energy too much; we have been so conditioned to see it as, essentially, death, that we avoid it actively.
As we see others access that power, though, this leads (at least at first) not to accessing it ourselves, but to rage of our own at being denied something we see others have: we in essence become, attitudinally, the mirror of our caretaker in regard to this subject. The classic example is Venus square Pluto, which traditional literature calls a denial of Love for the individual until they learn to be loving. I find this a misunderstanding of the dynamic at work: the individual appears to not understand Love and to behave badly because of it, but they are actually reacting to the denial of Love for themselves, in that they are raging at being denied what they see everyone else have. They are not devoid of Love themselves, but so afraid of it (and in some cases this applies to money/ assets, too) that they dare not approach it. Remedy begins when the individual first tastes genuine Love (not romance) and finds they don’t die; dramatic as it seems, that’s what it takes to show them they can not only have it, that they are worthy of it—and that is the essence of the Plutonian Archetypal form, the ability to be powerful and unafraid, and so abandon the need to rage and destroy.
I often see Ceres described as a kind of ‘Earth Mother’ figure, but that paints her as entirely too passive (and with far too little power of her own). She is an active energy, Nature itself, and though she nurtures, her mothering role is this: she cares for and carefully tends the welfare of her offspring, as long as they do precisely what she wants. I contend that the story we know of Persephone/ Proserpina’s abduction by Pluto/ Hades is told from Ceres’/ Demeter’s point-of-view; that’s why it’s an abduction, not an elopement, and imprisonment in the Underworld rather than the voluntary experience of sexual maturity, which in itself requires the individual to separate from the maternal figure. Ceres’ grief at her daughter’s escape to the Underworld in many ways resembles a fit by a too-controlling parent: I will withhold the very essence of life to all that grows on the planet (creating autumn and winter, which hadn’t existed–before that it was perpetual summer) until my daughter returns to me. The daughter is treated like a possession, and the negotiation for her partial return is carried out not with her but with Pluto—she is never asked what she wants!
With Ceres in contact to the personals, then, we may see someone who was required to conform to the caretaker’s expectations to the letter in the areas of life signified by the contacted energy. Getting free from that all-encompassing hold means acting, not necessarily in ways we want to, but in ways that take us outside the parental reach. That means early attempts to break free of Ceres’ hold can be very bad choices, indeed—but they serve to make the individual more autonomous, at the very least, and that may set them on their way with a determination not to return to a Ceres-approved life. When we bring the Archetypal version of Ceres into being, we connect directly with what we might refer to as the ‘Voice of Nature’; this energy makes us highly aware of and respectful of all living things (and even that life essence found in inanimate objects, invested by the Being who created them) and in its fullest form makes it very difficult for us to stand by and allow damage to the Earth. Natal Ceres conjunct the Sun, for instance, may start out with the individual placing a Solar entity (the father, or the person about whom their internal Solar system orbits) in the center of the life, which is really a position each of us should hold in our own lives—it’s inappropriate for another to be in that place. You can imagine the drama that would unfold as this individual struggles to claim the Solar energy for their own—and the life-or-death tinged threats that may be made if the individual withdraws from the temporary Sun/ Ceres individual’s compass. Eventually, though, withdraw they will—because in the end, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
‘Demeter Mourning for Persephone’ By Evelyn De Morgan 1906 {{PD}}
Bonus knowledge on Ceres: When one person’s Ceres makes cross-chart contact to particular natal bodies of the mate, a super anti-romantic energy can ensue. For example, a woman’s Ceres conjunct a man’s Mars may start out okay (he may like the sense of nurture and acceptance he feels from her) but quickly devolves into something akin to a repelling energy: she soon starts to feel like Mom to him, and only if he’s into sex with Mom do things work out! It may not be that blatant (or icky) but he will likely come to see her every interaction with him as emasculating, in a sense—the funny thing is couples with this cross-chart interaction can end up staying together for a long time, as he becomes a serial adulterer (for sex) then returns to the mate for comfort and a sense of home.
The Cinderella Point is really nothing more than finding a course, role, or identity in life that both fulfills the main needs of the Soul and allows the individual expression to soar—and as we know from previous descriptions, there’s no set formula by which to delineate this. To make it even tougher, it’s nearly impossible to describe much in a definitive way before the life is in progress; there are so many potentials for any given combination of placements, and so much added through experience that shapes personal tastes and inclinations, not to mention the variety of possible preferences (for instance, choosing to see oneself through the Sun, and so possibly more directly aligned with the Soul’s intents, perhaps, than one who chooses a primary identification through the role and experiences as a woman—Venus, or man–Mars). In real life we have to be satisfied with potentials, with seeing possibilities—so it’s almost cheating to use someone as an example whose life has already been lived, laid before us with outcomes already available—but it’s what we must do, just so we can see how it works.
We start with scientist Marie Curie (7 November 1867 12 PM LMT Warsaw Poland—her daughter Eve is quoted as giving her mother’s birth time as “soon after sunrise”, but noon is on the baptismal certificate—and since angles and Houses aren’t crucial to this process—because we are talking about an inner view, the orientation of the individual toward the energies, rather than an external view (as seen by others) or externals that act upon the individual to prompt–or force–choices–we won’t worry about angles or Houses—on their own, the planets speak loudly!) Ms. Curie had a Scorpio Sun, suggesting a Soul-deep interest in research, what isn’t readily apparent on the surface, on the way things change at a fundamental level. Her Venus is in Scorpio as well, implying that her identity as a woman may have been inextricably bound with the Soul purpose, likely to find the same things exciting, attractive, and worthy. And then we reach an interesting directional signal: her 29 degree Mars in Scorpio, considered a secondary ruler of the sign and indicator of the individual ‘I Am’, the impetus forward, the Will, the assertive energies. At such a late and very tense degree, this placement may indicate drive that permeates the Beingness—and through connection to Scorpio’s rulership, pushed that drive out through actions expressive of the Soul needs. This all suits her work, the painstaking discovery of radium and polonium, achieved by sifting through mounds of pitchblende, a uranium ore, to distill small quantities of the highly radioactive substance.
Her Pisces Moon is trine her Sun, is loosely conjoined her South Node, and is part of a Water Grand Trine, the third leg of which is her Uranus-Vesta conjunction in Cancer. This suggests her past supports her identity—she wasn’t just allowed to study as a girl, she was encouraged—that the emotional perceptions are in harmony with the Soul’s needs, and that Uranus, as the individuality, the uniqueness and inventive/ innovative spirit, is aligned with her God-concept or those things she finds sacred, that she honors (Vesta). All together this implies a highly focused outlook, one that has emotional impetus behind the drive to express the Soul’s intents, and by so doing to honor life itself (Sun-Moon-Vesta).
Do we find this in Curie’s chart using the (very loose) ‘Cinderella formula’? Yes, as the entire Cinderella concept is about the Soul (Sun) finding optimal expression, with all the other placements helping or hindering—and in this case, that Scorpio Sun is very much aided by the other energies, even when they might have less positive applications in other areas, such as the Self-generated stress, tension, and compulsion that likely accompanies the 29 degree Mars that as well drives efforts such as research (Scorpio) forward—and that may also speak of a close but sometimes strained spousal relationship with Pierre (as the Mars/ man in her life), as she had to juggle family and societal expectations while he did what men have always done, putting himself and his work first. It also may point to the stress of a later affair, the impact of which I’ll explain in a moment.
A look at those societal expectations: Jupiter sits in Aquarius, suggesting a forward-thinking, group-oriented, intellectual, and Higher Mind approach to the social scene on her part (also suggesting that she may see the social sphere as one of intellectual testing, or a test of one’s ability to invent or engineer, or where one’s ability to fit in or lead the group or be original is assessed), but this is also square her Mars. This pairing to me suggests the struggle against a male establishment that Curie underwent at the Sorbonne (only receiving her husband’s chair after his death, almost as a consolation prize for her loss rather than recognition of her accomplishments), and in her application to the French Academy of Sciences—where she was turned down, in 1911, and this even after winning her first of two Nobel prizes in 1903, with the second, in Chemistry, coming in the same year she was rebuffed by the Academy. Transits at the time around awarding of the second prize include transiting Neptune (chemistry) trine natal Chiron in Pisces, with a Water Grand Trine filled in by her natal Venus-Saturn conjunction=suppression of herself as a woman (that is, presenting as a scientist first) has led to status and rewards (Venus-Saturn) but also injury by the Collective (Chiron in Pisces). Despite her accomplishments, Curie was suffering, as she was not only refused by the French Academy, but was asked not to attend the Nobel ceremony, as her affair with a married scientist, Paul Langevin (recall that 29 degree Mars and its squares), had become fodder for the gossip mill—and, likely as not, this was also instrumental in nixing her Academy bid, though accolades weren’t withheld from male scientists who engaged in similar behaviors.
In fact, the square of Mars to Jupiter is base to a Fist of God with Uranus in Cancer as apex, describing efforts (Mars) involving fact (Jupiter, with an emphasis on Higher Mind, Aquarius) resulting (the apex) in discovery and experimentation within the sciences (Uranus). And, Uranus seems to me to be the natural ruler of radiation itself, the bottom line to the discoveries all her efforts were pointed toward. But this configuration can also describe the conflict Curie’s action and choices (Mars) caused with society (Jupiter), resulting in the choice of rebellion (Uranus).
Eve Curie quotes her mother in a 1937 biography: “It isn’t necessary to lead such an anti-natural existence as mine. I have given a great deal of time to science because I wanted to, because I loved research. What I want for women and young girls is a simple family life and some work that will interest them.” Spoken like a true Venus-Saturn-Mars conjunction in Scorpio plus Scorpio Sun (and Juno, at 11 Scorpio, hinting at a need in this lifetime to find the limits of both status and empowerment, what’s possible through association and what must be earned and exercised by the Self)—and this statement is especially applicable to one who also has Ceres square Chiron, perpetually pitting personal power as a woman and an authority in her field against the wounding attitude she feels from the Collective (Chiron in Pisces).
We see a worst-case scenario for the Cinderella Point in the chart of miraculous cancer survivor and now disgraced cycling phenom Lance Armstrong (18 September 1971 ntk—I used a noon chart–Plano Texas USA). Once again we have no angles, but the planets speak eloquently. Armstrong has Sun in Virgo, conjoined both Hygeia and Pluto, suggesting a Soul-centered desire to be an example of both disciplined, healthful expression and Power with a capital ‘P’—and it’s likely that Power drive that allowed him to overcome an extreme and extended bout with cancer and that drove him to common athletic doping practices year after year—always denying any malfeasance, in fact indignant and insulted when his integrity was questioned—and yet eventually the evidence proved that for all his holding himself up as an example of ‘purity’ (a prime symbol of Virgo ‘the Virgin’) he was discovered to be highly flawed, indeed. Pluto-Sun is a crucible within which the individual must live up to the sign’s highest forms, or plunge to their lowest; it’s easy to see the course Armstrong took. Pluto-Sun might also suggest that the extremely tough cancer scenario was also Soul-testing, perhaps meant to shape him in that same crucible as one who could rise like a phoenix from the devastation of the disease—and so be an example for others. This also places his Earth in Pisces, suggesting a potential for escapism from the material plane, drugs being a prime facilitator for that, a need to excel within the Collective, a desire for the material reality to reflect the ideal—no matter the Self’s actual make-up.
Armstrong also definitely has a Virgo Moon—so the emotional nature supports (and justifies) actions and choices inspired by the Sun, and ‘doubles up’ on primary energies in the sign, making it that much more prominent in the Beingness (and that much more likely to help rationalize the negative expressions, as well as the positive ones). The compulsion toward Self-justification also shows with his Black Moon Lilith and Uranus closely conjoined in Libra, opposed Chiron. This suggests that every unacknowledged anger, resentment, or sense of injustice is indistinguishable from the sense of the Self as unique, and so likely powers radical, rebellious, or outside-the-norm behaviors—and all of it justified by a sense of a wounded ‘I Am” (Chiron in Aries), as if he alone has been martyred—and now we look to Neptune, for information on both potential actual martyrdom in some form, and drugs, fulfillment of dreams and the capacity to lie (which, remember, can also be the capacity to tell a story or spin a vision, not just deceive).
Sounds, in fact, like Neptune may play the role of Fairy Godmother in this chart, not necessarily a helpful one, but one that equips the individual to fully meet their fate, with their response purely up to them. We find Lance’s Jupiter-Neptune very closely (only 18 minutes apart) conjoined, and opposed Pallas and Saturn, the latter body stationary direct at the chosen noon birth time but poised to retrograde at the same degree and minute—but, not having a birth time brings the status of Saturn as technically direct or retrograde into question, though here I should point out, it really doesn’t matter, as the planet’s actual status in either case is ‘stationary’—so imparting a ‘most stubborn, most grounded’ status to Saturn.
Back to Neptune: closely wed Jupiter, both in 00 degrees in Sagittarius, suggests that conventional establishments (such as the sport world) embraced Armstrong because he was able to project exactly the image they found ideal. In a way it’s a bit of a trap, this ability to appear in ways the social order admires or finds worthy of words like ‘miraculous’ or ‘perfect’: does the expectation for the ideal come first from the individual, or does the individual quickly realize (and then exploit) the fact that he is a screen upon which the social order projects its expectations? This is the scenario that Armstrong’s Fairy Godmother, in the form of Neptune, offered.
And, aside from the oppositions to Pallas and Saturn, Jupiter-Neptune is also sextile Venus, forming the base to a Finger of God with apex Sedna. The scenario suggests resistance to what’s wise, to the boundaries and restrictions the real world requires/ asks for, with money and Love (Venus) taking what otherwise might’ve been minor transgressions or moral impasses and turning the Saturn-Pallas avoidance toward blind spot material (Sedna)—in effect, completely hiding his own pandering (and so Truth-avoiding) behaviors and reasoning (Jupiter-Neptune) from himself! He was so convincing for so many years with his avowals of never-transgressing precisely because he hid it so well from himself.
Juno-Mercury, closely conjoined and also in Virgo=status is a big thing in the mind, and to admit one’s status was not as claimed could’ve felt like disempowerment—so, to tell the Truth may have been highly threatening, while hiding the Truth may have seemed justified, after reality had been so hard on him (the experience of such a virulent cancer so young). Thinking may have always been employed to empower the Self, with the Virgoan critical faculties deployed to examine and pick apart what he doesn’t agree with or want to admit—again, we see a trigger for adamant denial, and an inability (or maybe just unwillingness) to confront his own darkest corners of the psyche. A sextile between Mars and Chiron acts as base to a Finger with apex Zeus=ambition and desire fulfillment, driven by a combination of hurt and skills, were the goals
As in any case, we could go on, but we see the essence of the Cinderella Point here. It’s merely a way of classifying the particular combinations in the chart that either facilitate one’s highest expression, or that lead one toward one’s weaknesses. They seem to set up circumstances and reactions within the individual that entirely leave expression up to the individual; one must choose one’s frequency, so to speak, and pour the Soul/ identity out from there. When seeking the complex of Cinderella energies, always start with the Sun or other major identity energies.
Remember too, one’s internal response is vital in pinpointing (or at least finding the neighborhood of) your Cinderella point. Be careful to distinguish this gut feeling, this flutter of recognition or knowing, from the lens through which we may be tempted to look: that’s a mental image we would like to fit, and is itself a response to that inner ‘not good enough as we are’ belief. If we’re not looking for the genuine, Soul-oriented information the chart can disclose, it won’t matter what picture we cobble together from placements—they’ll be hollow, likely prompting a string of failures as we doggedly pursue something, an image or role, that doesn’t ‘belong’ to us.
A little Saturday night reading, from a 2013 ECLIPSE, though it seems just as timely today. I’ll return in a few days with an example of the Cinderella Point; the original article used someone not widely seen, anymore, so didn’t seem relevant for now.
Considering all that’s going on in the world, you may wonder why I came up with this topic, as if we’re all sitting around, idly wondering about our spiritual ‘G’ spot! It’s precisely at times crowded with outrageous and inexplicable events and confusing outcomes that we can really use a little something that will cut through the clutter and be both rewarding and purposeful–and something I will, for now, call your Cinderella point, is just that kind of answer to an unasked question.
The Cinderella fable, more or less as we know it today, serves as a template for this exploration, in large part because this story connects the dots between experiential energies in the natal chart–and this is so for men or women–and shows us a point or set of energy interactions that may catapult us to the next level. It also has the benefit of re-focusing our attention at a personal level–my sense is that many of us have been so distracted by events outside ourselves that we’ve lost an appropriate personal focus, one that keeps us aware of ourselves within the context of the world, rather than leaving us feeling we’re at the mercy of it, or making us so defensively Self-focused that we fuss and demand and end up unsatisfied, grabbing the wrong things in an attempt to assuage the bombardment of hurt we seem perpetually to be under.
The story goes like so: the central character, Cinderella (the Soul) lives in squalor in the confines of a splendid house (our earthly circumstances, and the surrounding nature/ the world), having ‘lost’ her father/ protector (awareness of our connection to the Divine, and our difficulty accepting that the connection is vital and alive, no matter how separated we seem to be-this can also be our connection to ourselves as part of Nature, or as part of the Cosmos) and under the auspices of a stepmother (mundane matters). The stepsisters are all those things we serve, those things that keep us running but that don’t replenish us; they represent the demands of our existence, the ones we believe are essential, but that really aren’t. The fairy godmother can be the Universe/ God, or something more prosaic, like ‘luck’ (but then we don’t really believe in luck, do we? We can call it synchronicity or timing or Providence, if we like that better), or the helping hand of another, especially of someone who is in a position to provide something you can’t. The ball is opportunity, showing ourselves and our talents to our best advantage, on whatever stage life affords us. The Prince is the opportunity that is just right for us; he does not represent an actual human or circumstance that will ‘rescue’ us from our current life, but is instead a chance for us to elevate ourselves and our expression, a chance to take the place only the Soul can adequately conceptualize (it’s the old idea that the Universe can have much more or much better in store for us than we are capable of imagining ourselves!)
So why does Cinderella run from the ball? She doesn’t want the Prince to know who she really is; she doesn’t believe she is ‘enough’, just as she exists. She doesn’t really have a clear Self-identity. She’s not a person in her own right, but always seen in a role in connection to others: servant, step-relation, critical target. She is aware that her fancy facade lasts for a limited time. Her appearance will lose its enhanced trappings and return to its modest origins on the stroke of midnight. She puts too much value on appearances, and shows a lack of faith in the Universe by believing that she will be rejected for the ‘new role’ if she is seen for who she is–she is projecting her own beliefs, making the assumption that the world shares her standard of judgment. This perfectly describes our own typical response to opportunity that will bring us to the next level, that will allow us to shine: we present ourselves in what we think is our best guise, secretly believing we are not up to the challenge, in fact believing that we will be rejected if we don’t pretend to be other than we are.
You’ll recall, though, that unlike the rest of her clothing, Cinderella’s glass slippers don’t change back; she loses one on the steps as she flees, and it doesn’t turn back into her sensible loafer, but retains its magical substance. This suggests two things: that even the experience of presenting ourselves under an idealized guise changes us, and in particular changes the foundation on which we stand (behaving as if what we want is already true); and, the way the glass slippers remain says that this is the right role–otherwise, the shoe wouldn’t fit. So, the glass slippers act as a direct message both to the Prince, who finds the shoe, recognizes it as Cinderella’s, and knows to seek the person for whom this is exactly right, and to Cinderella, that the elevated experience is indeed both real and attainable, perfect for her, that in fact this experience is actually seeking her out–she’s attracting what she’s meant to do.
So what in the chart can lead us to that Cinderella moment of realization, a knowing about the direction our life must take and the role we must play? What combination leads us to our own elevation, and so inevitably to the purpose of our Soul’s incarnation in the first place? We start with the Sun, of course, as the Soul Purpose and also principle identity indicator–however, not everyone sees themselves chiefly in the Sun–a male may identify more with Mars and a female with Venus, particularly if that male is an Aries Sun, or that female is a Taurus or Libra Sun, or Sun conjunct Mars or Venus, respectively, in any sign–but there are also those who center their identity in the Moon (those who see themselves in the main as sensitives, before anything else, or those who see themselves mainly in nurturing or mothering roles), and there are those who identify with their Ascendant–these are typically very outgoing individuals who are all about how they meet the world–it’s a little bit like a constant collision for them, so they may focus their viewpoint strongest through the sign on the Ascendant degree. A very few may take to Jupiter (teacher) or Chiron (healer), but neither of these should be worn full-time as a main identity (when looking from the inside out, back at yourself), so if that’s where you are drawn I would ask that you consider there is probably another of the already-mentioned bodies that is actually more suitable–of course, there will be exceptions to this, too.
Though it may seem like we’re all over the map with identity matters, we can’t underestimate the importance of allowing individuals to Self-identify when it comes to what energies they resonate with, despite my above warning. It would be naive to believe that everyone identifies most strongly with their Sun; instead, we allow for the idea that individuals may ‘live through’ various portions of the chart at different stages of life–or that for some, another energy will just beckon more strongly,such as in the instance of response to the Sun’s ruler, rather than the Sun itself. This process in general of finding the Cinderella point is quite loose; don’t expect a cut-and-dried formula–that would deny the great variety within human nature, and make things pretty boring, to boot!
Once we determine where our identity lies in the chart, we will want to locate the other ideas, players, or concepts, and see how they relate to our principal identity indicator. The earthly circumstances are centered in the Earth itself, always directly opposite the Sun, and secondarily in Saturn, which generally stands for all mundane matters, as well as things that control us (the stepmother), including our fears. The God/ Universe concept and our separation may be outlined by Vesta, or may, especially for those who identify with bodies other than the Sun, be found in the Sun, suggesting that for these individuals, the Cinderella moment involves moving back toward the Soul Purpose, as defined by our Solar placement.
The ball may be represented by Jupiter, as the expanded personal stage found on the social scene, or Uranus, if we are drawn to a role within a group, or conversely, if we find a big part of our identity in isolation or rebellion. The Prince is opportunity tailor-made for us–and likely is indicated by transit, Secondary Progression, or Solar Arc of featured energies in the chart, i.e. those that are prominent and obviously rule important life matters. The character of these may also be suggested by the 8th House, both the state of the ruler of the sign on the cusp and anything posited therein, because the 8th shows us the support we can expect from others, and by the 10th, which can suggest those authorities who may be significant to our career or status, and the glass slipper–oh yes, even this can be found in the chart!–is likely related to matters of the House with Pisces on the cusp (the sign of feet!) or is described by Mercury (he of winged feet). Those things blocking our direct understanding of our Divine connection, and so our Divine mission, may be signified by Chiron, Saturn, or possibly Neptune, if he is in a position that suggests he’s more about obscuring the view than inspiring the individual, or could be suggested by any hard aspects of bodies to the Sun or to the chosen identity indicator.
You may feel hopelessly lost at this point, drowning in details. We’ll walk through an examples here. You’ll see that we must be flexible, and also a bit unconventional, in forming ideas about what might offer us true opportunity to what we’re meant to do, and so re-connect us with the Divine. We musn’t be afraid to edit concepts to fit reality, and to turn on a dime, should we find a theory unworkable–otherwise, how useful would astrology be? We must remember that the Cinderella point will for some be found in a role, for some in action, for some in acceptance of who they really are by others, and for still others it could entail taking a completely unexpected turn, but for every single person, it starts with Self-acceptance–remembering our Divine connection means we will be willing to appear at the ball as we are–only then will efforts be meaningful, and fulfillment a real possibility.
