"...the dream afraid of waking..."

The title of this post is the beginning of a lyric sung by Bette Midler in the film The Rose, based loosely on the life of Janis Joplin.

"It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance..."

Yet Janis took every chance she could lay her heart on and became a rocking, waking dream...

But there was a piece of her heart that resisted becoming fully awake; the place that had been shunned and ridiculed because of her uniqueness. She took that uniqueness into the rarified atmosphere of the 60s Rock-scene, became a superstar, and died of a drug overdose at the age of 27...

We'll look at her Sun and Moon combination in this post and look more deeply into her chart in later posts.

For those of you not familiar with her music or life, read this biography, listen to this song, or watch this interview...

Janis' chart (which opens in a new window so you can switch back and forth) shows her Sun in Capricorm in the 12th House and her Moon in Cancer in the 5th House.

In our last two posts, we played a bit with the interpretive system I introduced in my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. You can read about how to use the system in the book or this abbreviated Word .doc. I recommend you at least download the Word .doc so you can easily follow along as well as stimulating your own intrepretations of the chart factors we explore.

Now, let's do some Serious Play with Janis' Sun/Moon combination...

I'm going to use the words and phrases from the system that I feel best express her Spirit, yet you may find other combinations that work better for you (and, if you do, please share them in the Comments!).

Sun in Capricorn in the 12th House:

Vitalizing (Sun) Structural Innovations (Capricorn) in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self (12th House).

Janis was extremely Vital, she Innovated constantly with the Structures of Blues and Rock, and it seems her whole short life was a journey to go Beyond her Self...

We could (by consulting a synonym dictionary) replace Vitalizing with Invigorating, Structural with Performance, Innovations with Creations, Value with Pricelessness, Transcendence with Going Above and Beyond, and Self with Consciousness.

Playing with the meanings that way produces this Symbolic Sentence:

Invigorating Performance Creations in order to Explore the Pricelessness of Going Above and Beyond Consciousness.

Ever thought of Sun in Capricorn in the 12th House that way? If you've come close to thinking that way, please let me know in the Comments since we're more than likely Mind Mates!

For all these decades, while reading more books then I can remember, during all the consultations I've shared in, I've had one constantly swelling Dream—Stop Giving People Fish and Teach Them How To Fish For Themselves...

Each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 possible Symbolic Sentences in my system, without going looking for synonyms. The whole point of the system is to show you how to fish for unique, creative meanings; unless, of course, you're the type that wants to keep handing out the same old smelly fish you got handed...

Let's look at Janis' Moon in Cancer in the 5th House:

Enfolding Emotional Security in order to Dramatize her Concerns.

I'll soon be sharing the basic meanings for aspects from the system (from Book Three) but for now consider this for the Quadnovile (Book Nine) that separates Janis' Sun and Moon: striving toward a moment of truth.

Now let's combine the first sentence I constructed for the Sun and the one for the Moon with their aspect phrase:

Vitalizing Structural Innovations in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self

Strives Toward A Moment of Truth by

Enfolding Emotional Security in order to Dramatize her Concerns.

To make meaningful interpretations of a chart, you have to "know" the person, usually by sharing an open, honest consultation. I didn't get to meet Janis Joplin but that last interpretation of her Sun/Moon resonates with me. If it means nothing to you, get to know her through those links at the top of the post to Biography, Song, and Interview...

A Positive Interpretation of Hitler's Chart ?

Click Image To Enlarge

Overheard at the Café:

Susan: "Well, of course he was evil. His Venus was retrograde in the 7th House. And, his Moon and Jupiter were both in Capricorn—cold man..."

John: "Yes, and Neptune and Pluto in the 8th, my God what a bad position!"

Andy: "Then there's his will-to-power with Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th..."

Really? Is everyone with Venus retrograde in the 7th and Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn cold?

Know anyone with Neptune and Pluto in the 8th? You do!? Hm... Trick question: they were conjunct back in the late 1800s and won't be again till the 2060s... Do you think they thought or will think that was or will be a bad position?

Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th... Let's kill 'em all before they breed!

Far too many astrologers are working their craft backwards. They learn a bunch of good/bad "indications" and use them like a bludgeon—beating people with good clubs or bad clubs so they'll fit into the mold—the predetermined "meaning" of the chart factors. No room, it seems, for free will; no time for grace; no patience with positivity...

I've known people to attend a class on positive thinking, leave with malice in their hearts, then claim the methods didn't work.

I've also known people who had all the "bad" aspects and all the "afflicted" positions in their charts who turned out pretty well. In fact, if you look at my chart, you'll understand the utter unfairness of a student of mine, asked to analyze the chart (not knowing it was mine) and tell me who they thought it was. They said, "Charles Manson"...

Naturally, trying to guess who belongs to a chart is a hapless profession but I did the experiment to prove a point—back-reading a laundry-list of "indications" into a chart is exactly the wrong way to do astrology.

Certainly, if someone, due to their own free-will or the oppression of another's free-will, becomes evil, astrology can see the factors that were warped. Try reading this biography of Hitler while keeping in mind what those folks in the Café were saying and you can see some of the places in Hitler's chart where the wrong external or internal pressure was applied. This still does not justify reading a chart and attributing negatives automatically...

It's my very carefully considered opinion, after forty years of study and counseling, that astrology must be used to help foster the positive development and/or help heal the negative experiences of fellow members of our human family.

That's why I took 20 years to create a system of interpretation that was as honestly positive as I could make it—a system that gives people the best possible chance to use the blueprint of their chart to help them develop their latent potential toward constructive and affirmative ends.

This system is available in The Instructions of my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. In fact, I'm going to use the system to reinterpret those claims made by my imaginary Susan, John, and Andy. 

Since each combination of Planet, Sign, and House can have 64 interpretations in the system, I'm purposely going to choose the ones that emphasize Adolf's challenges. Even though the symbolic sentences produced by the system are positive, I think you'll see where he needed more encouragement at a young age, more positive nurturing, more constructive use of his free-will, more support for the soul inside that was abused and frightened...

Venus retrograde in Taurus in the 7th: (retrogradation demands that the factor be interpreted as highly unique and internalized, capable of development in ways that challenge the norm.)
Valuing Individual Worth in order to Be Aware of the Other Person’s Perspective.
He was not given enough support for his individual worth...

Moon conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn in the 3rd:
Nourishing and Expanding an Objective Attitude in order to Be Aware of his Immediate Environment.
His immediate environment was ill-equipped to help him be objective...

Neptune conjunct Pluto in Gemini in the 8th:
Being Idealistic about and Regenerating Intellectual Freedom in order to Merge With Others.
He got the intellectual freedom part but was impeded in his efforts to merge with others... (the activity in the 8th is a consequence of the activity in the 7th—see Venus and Mars)

Mars in Taurus in the 7th:
Being Driven by Individual Worth in order to Find a Compensating Viewpoint.
The close conjunction with Venus here, and not having had enough support for his individual worth, made the compensation come from his unconscious—the shaky and defensive soul that he didn't feel he could unburden...

Saturn in Leo in the 10th:
Organizing Dramatic Concern in order to Express his Social Role.
He had the drama and could definitely organize it yet his other challenges and his lack of self-worth warped his sense of his social role...

O.K., now it's your turn; to add some feedback or argument in the comments. Or, at least go away from this post considering how you can help support the development of another member of our human family...

Transpersonal Awareness

Were up to Chapter 5 (for the first time since I'm sure we'll be jumping back to discuss previous chapters quite a bit) in my freely downloadable book, Astrological Repair Manual. This chapter is the book's first pause to consider what's gone before—Xena and her Horde of deeply unconscious astrological functions, Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus. We're headed toward Saturn but that journey demands a huge transition in consciousness. I'm including most of Chapter 5 in this post and do hope it spawns a discussion in the comments!

"Our world has been and is full of some very oppressive and negative people and institutions. Our world has also been evolving toward being, slowly and steadily, a freer and more creative place. If you doubt that last statement, I urge you to look further than you have and to take a small but important piece of advice: what may look bad on the surface or at the beginning can be the most powerful indication of something good. One example that may be close to home for some of you: A child at two years old is always getting into trouble. They’re almost totally unruly by ten and their teen years are full of crime and filth. Then, they hit their personal brick wall, they come up short on luck, and end up behind bars. True, many people like this stay bad and end their lives still in jail or dead in the street. For most of humanity’s existence this has been the general rule. 'Lately', though, there have been more and more examples of folks starting out headed down, coming to a radical turning point, and being given some help at that point that turns their lives around and permits them to grow to become exemplary citizens.

"Why is this happening more now than ever before? What could be happening that has such power to turn lives around?

"I feel it’s the steady growth in society of the awareness that we are not just passive cogs in the wheel or just a bunch of angry individuals. We are both individuals and social beings and we have a need to nurture both sides of our being.

"This is where a knowledge of the cycles of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and their symbolic meanings, can be of immense aid in speeding the development of a safe and sane society. It's important to consider the lengthy durations of these cycles that apply to the slow yet steady transformation, elevation, and regeneration of our world.

"It’s only been a little over 300 years since Uranus was discovered and humanity had a conscious symbol for a method of getting at the ultimate truths with more to show for it than a collection of fables and myths. And, the conscious awareness of ways and means to raise the level of our dreams and visions (Neptune) and to find the proper ways to purge and regenerate society (Pluto) have been available for even shorter times. Let’s give ourselves a break and stop being pessimistic about the future. If you look closely enough at recent history and compare it with the eons of time humans have been struggling on this earth, you’ll come away totally amazed at the glorious potential we hold in common! I used the word 'Transpersonal' in the title of this chapter for very conscious reasons. '-Personal' because humanity’s growth ultimately depends on more and more individuals getting it right. 'Trans-' because it means to go beyond or through or across. If our personal awareness of life can go beyond the personal while not letting our individual views disappear; if we can see through the merely personal to what lies beyond and is so important for a full life; if we can get across the bridge of the personal and see that it leads to wonderful vistas of creativity and freedom; if each of us does these things, we will be bringing what many see as the dark forces of the unconscious into the bright light of day and using them, very consciously, to accelerate human evolution beyond the hatreds and terrors that are still too much with us. The Instructions [in my freely downloadable book] have suggestions for where to go to get your own birth chart as well as a method for beginning to interpret your chart factors. If you feel adventurous, go there now and find the house and sign for your Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Realize that this first step in using the knowledge from this Repair Manual is only that, a first step, even though it may be one of the most important first steps you’ve ever taken!

"As you ponder the meanings of these factors in your life, don’t forget to look at them as a three-step process of Transpersonal Awareness and also consider them as a sequence from Pluto to Uranus and also from Uranus to Pluto—the first direction is the one that brings large-scale social factors into your personal life and the other direction is you injecting yourself into the flux of society's largest concerns.

"If you do this exercise and end up totally confused, you can count on the fact that your unconscious mind is very happy with your ego. In fact, without you knowing it, your unconscious can arrange to give you dreams that help you understand, or 'mysteriously' lead you to find another individual that helps you understand. Or, you may be the type of person who just stands there and charges against the wall till it falls down and lets you build a bridge. Whatever happens, we still have a ways to go till we reach the Earth and find out what this astrology stuff is all about...

"I'll let you in on a secret here: what you’ve read so far and what you can gain from trying to interpret you own Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto is far and away more knowledge of True Astrology than many practicing astrologers have! Believe it..."

The River of Death...

Not many comments here yet but I'll begin to forge ahead, slowly, more deeply, into our solar system—my book, Astrological Repair Manual (which is a free download), is structured as a flight back into the solar system from the depths of space...

To gain the most from this and the next few posts, I recommend you backtrack and read the posts about Xena and the Hordes...

Pluto, discovered in 1930 (near the beginning of the Great Depression), with a spacecraft due to arrive in 2015, has been a great challenge for the understanding of astrologers.

From the second chapter of the book:

"Did Pluto cause the Great Depression? How loud can I holler, "NO!"?

"Right here, we're at one of the most crucial Repairs of Perception I hope to offer. The planets and their cycles do not cause events. The best that can be said is that humans are born into the solar system and all of its interlocking cycles and, because whatever is included within something else participates in the rhythms of the larger structure, we have cycles in our lives that mirror the cycles of the planets. It's as simple as that. No horrible fates, no in-bred bad traits, no mumbo-jumbo."

And, further:

"...while we're still out here where the meanings are so deep, the important thing to remember is that we all have these nearly-unfathomable meanings in our lives and it can take most of a lifetime to gain even a small amount of understanding. Still and all, knowing about them can often be enough to help us weather the changes they can induce in our lives. And, again, I'm not saying the planets are causing these changes. It's the synchronistic and mirroring cycles in our deeper minds that bring these ponderable changes."

From deeper in the book, here are some basic, positive meanings for the Plutonian cycle:

Getting to the Depths of
Transcending
Purging
Regenerating

Now it's your turn! Comment to your heart's content...