A Glamorous Dance Duo: Fred Astaire and Cyd Charise

Dramatizing and Glamorizing Underworld Crime - via Choreography

by Jude Cowell

Arjan1982 Cyd Charisse GIFfrom Arjan1982 GIFs

In the famous dance routine The Girl Hunt Ballet (11m58s; from Band Wagon 1953: gif shown, above, via tenor) we see Hollywood legends Fred Astaire and the enticing-in-red Cyd Charise dancing a dramatic portrayal of Underworld Crime activities involving glamorous ladies.

Now as you know, Underworld Crime elements and perpetrators are on a deep level represented in Astrology by the Neptune-Pluto combination. Their current cycle began with three Great Conjunction/s in 1891 and 1892 in the degree-range of 7 to 9 Gemini. These conjunctions snug around America's natal Uranus (8Gem55) and this creates a midpoint picture of potentials for 'peculiar discoveries; hypersensitive nerves'; 'a flair for adventurous, unusual, mystical, supernatural experinces', and/or 'unusual catastrophes' (R. Ebertin). With radical Uranus involved, astrologer Michael Munkasey adds: 'unusual means to escape from or change reality; rebellion against artificial pursuits; impersonal attitudes about any destructive or antisocial activities'; and/or 'going to extremes with drugs'. Now since the Neptune-Pluto cycle lasts approximately 492 years, the entire world is stuck with the current cycle until around the year 2384 or so.

Oh and what does Noel Tyl say? Neptune-Pluto = Uranus: 'possibly aberrant behavior; adventurous ego thrust; courage; disruption to gain recognition; making waves to get to shore'.

Hollywood Horoscopes: Astaire and Charise

Now if you take a look at the natal horoscope of Fred Astaire (RR: AA) you'll see his birth name: Frederick Austerlitz, and his data: May 10, 1899 9:16 pm CST Omaha, Nebraska about 7 years after the Neptune-Pluto Conjunction/s. Also follow the link for a few bio details about Fred such as his death from pneumonia on June 22, 1987 4:25 am PDT Century City, California, and his later-in-life second marriage.

And here's the natal horoscope of Cyd Charise (nee Tula Ellice Finklea March 8, 1922 4:30 am CST Amarillo, Texas; RR: AA; brief bio details included) with her Sun @17Pis05, Moon @7Can35 (in 6th house closely conjunct her intense Pluto Rx @7Can58: a bottomless pit of creativity and sex appeal!). Rising is 23Cap03 which makes Saturn her chart-ruler and Mercury @20AQ01 rising in 1st house of Physical Body. As you know, Mercury rules limbs and movement. Notably, Cyd beat a youthful case of polio and rejuvenated herself through dance.

Then Cyd's Midheaven (The Goal and Career Point) @13Scorpio brings in influences from the forceful, even violent planetary pair of Mars and Pluto so we might appreciate her strong performance in The Girl Hunt Ballet even more as a positive expression of Mars-Pluto influences!

Meanwhile, a comparison of Astaire's natal chart with that of Cyd Charise shows their dancing rehearsals were aided by the fact that natal Mars in both charts formed a helpful trine aspect of talent. Other indications of their work activities include Cyd's natal Mars @8Sag34 conjunct Fred's 6th house (of Work) Sun-Mercury combination; her Moon-Pluto Conjunction lands near Fred's 1st house Moon @4Can07 (with the Moon a marker for publicity!), and (as we perhaps see in the crime-riddled dance routine, linked above) Cyd's natal Midheaven ('MC') sports Fred's Mars-Pluto conjunction @8-12Scorpio upon it forming a midpoint picture suggesting that between the two dancers existed 'unusual capabilities of advancement in life' which particularly involved the career and public status (MC) of the very beautiful Cyd Charise.

And one more factor in relation to music and dancing: Fred's asteroid Terpsichore (the orchestrator) in late Gemini denotes his Mercurial lightness and the speediness of his feet while dancing, while Cyd's Terpsichore benefits from its placement in the highly creative, imaginative sign of undulating Pisces, sign of the Two Fishes.

Now obviously, there are other planetary contacts between them for those curious enough to check out their natal charts - some positive, some not so positive - but hopefully this post gives the reader a brief astro-portrait of two legendary dancers shown in their prime by the video segment linked above!