Legendary Actor Marlon Brando: Aries Aries Aries!

Brando: Edward Cronenweth (1903-1990) [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the natal horoscope (RR: AA) of the bold and innovative actor Marlon Brando the fiery sign of Aries, ruled by Mars, is the primary focus with his Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Ascendant in the me-first, pioneering sign. And curiously, his Chiron, the wounded healer centaur, @20Ari06 precisely conjuncts America's Chiron of July 1776 with a descriptive Sabian Symbol for its rounded-up degree, "A Pugilist Entering the Ring." During Brando's difficult childhood, this Symbol relates to his alcoholic, abusive father and later to some of the screen roles he took on in his career which probably aided him in working out his inner demons (a typical exercise used by thespians). Note his plaintive "I coulda been a contender!", regretfully spoken like a wounded creature in On the Waterfront (1954) for which he won his first Oscar.

However, the socially conscious Brando was arrested and not allowed in when he went to Wounded Knee (aka, an occupation) and, on March 27, 1973, he declined the Academy Award for his performance in The Godfather to make a point. Sacheen Littlefeather attended in his place and is remembered for her 'inconvenient' speech that night which I watched on TV and was annoyed by how they ushered her off the stage before she finished speaking. This controversy is discussed by Brando in the video linked, below. And of course, you know about the Wounded Knee Massacre, a crime against humanity, perpetrated on the morning of December 29, 1890, when the US Army massacred nearly 300 members of the Lakota tribe of South Dakota.

Before he became an activist, Marlon Brando sizzled across Neptune's Silver Screen

Besides the heat (Mars) he gave off from the silver screen (and in his personal life, 'tis said), one of Brando's more famous quotes may best describe his Mars-infused personality,

"An actor's a guy who, if you ain't talkin' about him, ain't listening."

Well, today I'm typing about him in an attempt to pay tribute to a thespian (may he R.I.P) who changed the way the world looked at acting and actors. Was it for the best? That would be a matter of personal opinion for there were many changes in society during the years of his celluoid appearances. Yet I must fall upon the side of Yes! to his pioneering ability and raw talent as he expressed every human emotion on full display. Plus, I believe that Brando channeled America's 'wounded' energies via our shared Chiron in Mars-ruled Aries, a hint that one's sense of self has been wounded (when Chiron is in Aries).

Yes, his strong Mars influences resonate well with his second Oscar for Tennesee Wiliams' A Streetcar Named Desire for as you know, desire falls directly within the province of astrological Mars!

So in closing, dear reader, I've curated for you several YouTube videos with Brando as subject and my favorite to recommend is his June 12, 1973 interview on The Dick Cavett Show, soon after he rejected the Oscar for The Godfather. Mr. Brando had flown in from Tahiti for the interview during which they discussed American Indian issues and concerns, the controversy of the day in 1973, and, "what the motion picture industry had done to the American Indian, as a matter of fact, all ethic groups, all minorities, all non-whites."

So perhaps you'll agree that Marlon Brando was ahead of this time in the social conscience department - and in the acting department, too. Impulsive Mars likes to act and emote, and it isn't rare that a person under the strong influence of Mars turns out to be an activist, one who is interested in Politics, Government, and Law which fall under the purview of Saturn-ruled Capricorn, the sign of Brando's natal Mars. This placement gave him with maturity (Saturn) the ability to control, channel, and direct his Martian energies most efficiently while his worldwide fame provided opportunities to speak out on the causes in which he believed.

And so as many people have admitted through the years, Marlon Brando, with his quadruple Mars influences and pioneering acting talent, was most definitely a contender.