ASTROLOGY – THE LANGUAGE OF LIFE
I like to call astrology “The Language of Life” when describing it to people. In describing astrology this way, I am speaking about how useful the interweaving symbols that are used in the astrological language are for describing and working with individual life issues. Of course, these symbols also work for other situations, like horary events, financial or locational astrology being a few examples. More importantly, they work well in their use in the individual natal horoscope where they describe one’s inner wiring, how the various urges and energies are put together and experienced initially by the individual. The symbols and their interrelationship also work well in describing the opportunities and options available as one makes their way through life. This is especially true when those same symbols are used in progression methods including transits, secondary progressions, solar arc methods and solar return charts.
I find it interesting to weave the above concepts together with what I call the Three Circles, which is a concept I discuss in another article. Basically, the three circles are used to describe three interlocking circles representing Genetics, the Environment & Astrology. The individual is found in the center area shared by all three circles.
We cannot say that astrology creates or dictates one’s makeup or sets the path of one’s life. One’s life is determined by a combination of their genetics, their cultural environment and their structural, physical, mental and emotional makeup, both separate from and including its impacts due to genetics and environment. Astrology, however, can be said to describe how one’s life is structured in terms of the physical, mental and emotional realms as well as how that life path is experienced.
Let me use the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as an example.
The short life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who died at the age of 36, was one that was full of physical and emotional suffering and also full of influential artistic creations. For me this is an example of how astrology is only one of three elements that together create one’s life. I call this the Three Circles where you visualize three interlocking circles representing Genetics, the Environment & Astrology. The individual is found in the center area shared by all three circles. Toulouse-Lautrec was born into an aristocratic family, with much potential offered in his astrological snapshot, but was never afforded the luxury of easy access to the inherent possibilities due to the inbreeding within his family. Henri and his cousins suffered chronic illnesses and related physical ailments which contributed to his diminished height and the emotional suffering that led to his early death from alcohol and syphilis. Though presenting himself as a witty, fun man about town, Toulouse-Lautrec suffered greatly due to his physical ailments as well as past family trauma. His father never accepted his son’s decision to become a professional artist. Toulouse-Lautrec turned to alcohol to deal with his pain and would ultimately drink himself into oblivion. He had a nervous breakdown in 1899 after his mother, whom he was close to, decided to leave Paris, and the artist was committed to a sanitarium for several months.
What we can see in the Inner Chart is a horizontal orientation where relationships were very important. He was mocked heavily while growing up due to stunted height reaching less than five feet, having a full-length torso with shortened legs and having to use a cane. Yet he found solace in the world of art. He took up sketching very early and honed his craft during long periods of recuperation. He studied under various artists and became a celebrated fixture of Montmartre’s bohemian culture where he befriended other artists. The importance of relationships and his health are clear from the placement of the planets and oppositions in his chart.
The tension between the focus on my own sense of self and how I present myself with how I see your projection of me (or the shadow side) is highlighted by the Sun/Jupiter/Mercury Stellium in Sagittarius opposed Mars in Gemini on the I-YOU Encounter axis. The blue aspects to the Moon linked this opposition speaks to his seeking to use the Moon as a rest point where he was able to use his energy working on his art and find comfort in both the art and those people who he surrounded himself with. His paintings were personal and humanistic, picturing the celebrities and others he knew as friends. His art was inseparable from his life. It coincided with two major developments in his time: the birth of modern printmaking and the explosion of nightlife culture. It was natural that he would use the extensive talent found in his hands, with Mercury as Mars’ ruler, to depict elements central to his life. That Mars energy directed to those around him was blended with that Stellium where he used his mental senses to visualize his world in a way that was transformed to become the paintings of his vision. The bigger than life gregarious and fun-loving Sun Stellium certainly did not provide any moderation in his responses to his life situation.
The Pluto is in Taurus conjunct the South Node opposed the North Node in Scorpio along the existence axis. He dealt with a lack of control over his body, which transformed him into a freak as seen and mocked by others. Pluto on the You side of that existence axis speaks to the personal conflicts that were so powerful and out of his control both in terms of his physical health and the plutonian workspaces that he found himself in. That Pluto is also conjunct his South Node; he seemed to accept his lot in life by finding ways to escape. The North Node is asking him to confront his personal demons, to rise above life’s limitations, to overcome karma, to come to a final understanding and acceptance of the “I” in the world but to do so required that he go through the Scorpio gauntlet. There were no blue aspect release points tied directly to either Pluto or the North Node.
We are focusing on the Irritation Rectangle here but the T-Square involving Moon opposed Neptune, both square to Venus is also important. Venus represents the concept of art and it was the apex planet of the T-Square. His very imaginative and creative Neptune, that was both bold and idealistic, was constantly attempting to work with his reigning emotional need with the Libra Moon to find harmony and beauty. This T-Square has a fourth point linked to it at the Sun Stellium which adds two Learning Triangle to this T-Square. This helps to take that T-Square energy and find ways to use it to create lasting structures. The result was the art that he left the world. This four-sided “Animated Figure” will be discussed later under that topic, but here it is also attached to the Irritation Rectangle at the point of the Stellium. This combination, as well as the opportunities to learn and grow shown in the Outer Chart, leaves me with sadness in seeing how the deep pain and suffering, which led to bad decisions of how to deal with those negative emotions, ended his life so early, leaving all of us with fewer of his creations to honor and savor.
Here is the Outer Chart for Toulouse-Lautrec:
The charts for both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are provided in other posts on the site. You can see with those charts also, the unmet possibilities that were thwarted by each person’s use of drugs and alcohol, which were their ways to escape the unmet needs and feelings of lack of rootedness with family and the collective.