Super Star Errol Flynn: Australian-American Sun Gemini!

User Roisterer on en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

An Astro-Tribute to Errol Flynn

by Jude Cowell

In the A-rated natal horoscope of Errol Flynn we find an ethereal Air-Water Sun Gemini-Moon Cancer blend with Mars-ruled Aries rising. Born June 20, 1909 at 2:25 am AEST in Hobart, Tasmania as Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn, the swashbuckling actor remains today one of Hollywood's legendary thespians of the Silver Screen, a charismatic heart throb in his time whose considerable magnetism can still be seen dripping from celluloid, his filmography linked, below.

For a comprehensive biographical video you may wish to try Errol Flynn, 50, (1909-1959) Australian actor which goes into his unfortunate early life, flight at age 18 in search of gold, and several unsavory events. However, once Flynn made it to Hollywood at age 25, his dark past was hidden and he was groomed for success as a handsome leading man. His natural charm, charisma, way with the ladies (especially young ladies), and his physical prowess (Aries rising!) greatly aided his successful onscreen career. Fated for Hollywood, his lifelong Neptunian ability for bragging, pretending, and scamming others aided him as well for his public image was never as genuine as he'd have folks believe. In fact, relationship and legal troubles marred his life through the years as his risk-taking character overtook common sense. And yet later in his career, his good looks hid multiple health problems so that eventually, a story about a 'heart murmur' was floated if not credited by the press.

Love and Romance: Venus attraction trine Mars Desire

Flynn's natal Venus in Moon-ruled Cancer trined his Mars in Pisces and the two planets denote a romantic who felt love deeply, appreciated home and family, and loved art and music, although a life of immoderate eating and drinking would have been difficult to restrain or turn from, and would have negatively affected his digestive tract. Meanwhile, Mars in Pisces indicates his drive toward recognition, lack of reliability in love relationships, a craving for substances such as alcohol, enthusiasm for social activities, and possibly an interest in occult subjects. He may even have joined a secret society or two with Pisces a secretive sign and Mars the planet of action and motivation.

Of course, one major controversy still of note was Flynn's sojourn in Spain during the country's Civil War of 1936 with a pal who turned out to have been a "card-carrying Nazi." Even so, Flynn has never been determined to have had such leanings himself. A frustrated writer who wanted to be taken seriously, he attempted publishing as a war correspondent (his Sun in Gemini, sign of the writer); after Flynn's death, some people would use his friendship with a Nazi agent to slur his reputation.

Errol Flynn Filmography 1933 to 1959.

Now, how about a few details concerning the Sun Gemini-Moon Cancer personality blend of Errol Flynn, who, as we all do, deserves to R.I.P.:

This Air-Water combination of conscious-unconscious energies suggests a chatty fellow and quick learner who isn't always certain which is in control of his decisions: head or heart. A poetic and artistic romantic who fell in love easily, Flynn possessed a nervous charm and was adept at communicating emotions. In fact, this adaptable blend tends to reflect back to the world whatever it receives, a useful quality for an actor. Even though a playboy, he was a devoted father to 4 children (with 3 wives), and through the years his adult children have spoken highly of him as their Dad (Gemini, sign of the child, loves to play).

Unable to sign up to serve in WWII due to his underlying tuberculosis, 'macho-man' Flynn wanted his weakening health condition kept secret from the public for it would undercut, even topple, his swashbuckling image and this would have affected his and film studios' bottom lines.

How tragic that cases of TB and malaria, a lack of moderation, little if any self-control or restraint, alcohol and other drug dependencies, and an urge toward self-destruction would eventually lead to what such qualities tend to lead to: an early demise, age 50, of a heart attack, his heart enlarged from years of abuse, and his body discovered by his 17-year-old girlfriend. You see, Errol Flynn didn't have to chase young girls - they chased him.

Now in closing, here's another video (58-minutes) which may be of interest as well: Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn.

Hollywood Legend Ida Lupino: Sun AQ-Moon Scorpio

Ida Lupino Trailer screenshot [Public domain]; The Hard Way

For the curious, why not check out a full view of the natal horoscope of classic film star Ida Lupino born February 4, 1918 11:00 GMT London, England with Sun @15AQ21, Moon @22Sco32, and Ascendant in Venus-ruled Libra (20:30), sign of relationships, the arts, and beauty. With her Midheaven ('MC' = The Goal Point) in Moon-ruled Cancer (22:04), Ms. Lupino's ambitions included publicity and fame bwo the lunar influence. This is understandable as a member of an acting dynasty that stretched as far back as the Renaissance!

Biography aired an excellent 44-minute feature on the life and decades-long career--over 60 films--of Ida Lupino if you'd care to have a look!

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!

Ready for Her Astro-Close-Up: Miss Gloria Swanson

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:For_better,_for_worse_-_Gloria_Swanson.jpg; For Better, For Worse; Paramount Pictures (1919)

As we see in the natal horoscope of Gloria Swanson, a Sun Aries-Moon Libra personality blend with its passionate Venus-Mars vibes describes a woman for whom relationships, attraction, and desire were all-important. Her publicity-seeking Moon in lovely Venus-ruled Libra conjoined her Midheaven, the most visible point of aspiration in any horoscope, aka, the Career and Public Status Point. Plus, there's another love indicator for asteroid Cupido (Cupid's 'cousin'!) rises with her Ascendant @20Sag14 and can also represent creativity and The Arts.

Yet nowadays most people only know Gloria Swanson for her "stunning" 1949 comeback at age 50 (and still beautiful!) in the film Sunset Boulevard but for years previously she had been a popular, top-paid actress in the early days of Hollywood, beginning her film career in silent movies at age 14.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on March 27, 1899 @12:20 am CST (RR: A, from memory) as Gloria May Josephine Svensson, Gloria Swanson originally studied opera having a beautiful singing voice but soon became enticed by the burgeoning film industry.

During her lifetime Swanson made and lost wealth and husbands (six!) and was abandoned and decimated by a certain lover (and father of a US president), Joseph P. Kennedy, who stole from her--ruined her, in fact (see video link, below). Then in 1980 she published an autobiography Swanson on Swanson which is still available through Amazon from third-party sellers.

Then on April 4, 1983, Gloria Swanson passed away, age 84, following heart surgery in New York City yet her magnetic image of beauty and glamour jumps from Neptune's Silver Screen as if from another world for those who care to have a look at a genuine Hollywood legend (see The Take video, linked, below). Age 84 suggests that during the year of her death, she experienced only the first of her three-fer Uranus Return/s (to 7Sag56) but didn't make it until the second or third returns which occurred on: 1. January 21, 1983; (her death); 2. May 8, 1983; and 3. November 8, 1983. Curiously, all three Return horoscopes show a YOD planetary pattern which is a health indicator and denotes a crisis or a critical turning point. As you know, Uranus is a planet of separation and detachment and of course, death is the final separation. So if I had to hazard a guess about her health based on this cosmic condition, I'd say that Miss Swanson had been ill for an extended period of time and unfortunately heart surgeries weren't always as successful as they tend to be today.

Curious for more details about the life and loves of Gloria? Check out Smithsonian Channel's 4-min-38-sec segment The Affair That Financially Ruined Gloria Swanson. And if you have 13 minutes or so to spare, don't miss The Take's intriguing feature Sunset Boulevard Explained: The Hollywood Nightmare about the making of this noir film classic.

And now to close this astro-tribute to screen legend Gloria Swanson I sincerely wish to say, May the beautiful and unique lady R.I.P.

Watch a free screening of Gone With The Wind! (Venus in Libra!)

By Fawcett Publications (page 41 middle photo Hollywood (magazine)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Just discovered: a free screening of Margaret Mitchell's classic film Gone With The Wind is available! Casting Old South prejudices aside, it's a gripping tale even so.

My first viewing of the movie was my older sister taking me to a local theater in Athens, Georgia to see it when I was six years old and of course, as Georgians, the novel hung around our house for decades. I must have read it all the way through at least twice, and once again later on. Okay, and maybe parts of it during my 30s, plus, some film watching as well.

But the reason I stumbled across the free viewing of GWTW (linked above) is through a wonderful article by Atlanta astrologer Patricia Lantz, Libra: Astrological Symbolism of "Gone With The Wind" about how author Margaret Mitchell, born with Venus in Libra, was an astrologer before she was a writer and the characters in the novel were based on the signs of the Zodiac. How cool is that?

So if you have nearly 4 hours to watch a classic film you might never do better than Gone With the Wind.

**Astro-Notes and Horoscopes**

Check out the natal horoscopes of 'Scarlet O'Hara' Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier.

And here's a previous post on the film's leading male personage 'Rhett Butler' played by Clarke Gable including his natal horoscope with details--quite a bit of fatherly Capricorn there but Aquarius, too. Of course, his tragically short-lived marriage to Carole Lombard is part of Gable's life story.

Last but definitely not least, the natal horoscope of astrologer-writer Margaret Mitchell is a fascinating study even though no birth time is known (RR: X for date w/o time). Born November 8, 1900 in Atlanta, Georgia her chart overflows with planets in adventurous Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius--even Jupiter is placed in its own sign conjunct Uranus. This is the lucky break planetary pair yet after the ten years it took her to write GWTW, selling the movie right to David O. Selznick for $50,000 was a wonderful break but not exactly an overnight one!

And perhaps the money was just in time since the themes of her Prenatal Eclipse Saros Series (PE), the 10 South, suggest difficulties that are somehow wiggled out of: 'breaking out of a very negative situation where no hope can be seen to a space with plenty of options; a worry suddenly lifts and the Cosmos (or Astrology?!) shows the solution which can be quickly acted upon' (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology).

Note that the last manifestation of 10 South is what I termed the "Beijing Olympics Eclipse" of August 1, 2008 @10Leo--you know, the eclipse that negatively affected the Chinese people and we saw George W. Bush on TV enjoying the Games--in China. Oh, and presidential candidate John McCain suspended his 2008 campaign and breathlessly rushed back to the Capitol to meet in secret over what to do about the Financial Collapse, thespians as politicians are. Actually, 10 South is Senator McCain's PE as well and the PE of the New York Stock Exchange (May 17, 1792).

Well, Margaret Mitchell is known to have been seriously accident-prone and hard-living (smoking, drinking, cursing, and such). And when a car hit her in August 1949 as she and her husband crossed Atlanta's Peachtree Street and she subsequently died from skull and pelvic injuries at 11:59 am on August 16, 1949 as reported on the day by The New York Times, the Sun @23Leo shone upon her natal Mars (23Leo) which denotes a day when hot-headedness or impatience were very bad ideas and head injuries were a distinct possibility. Plus, transit Pluto, the destroyer, was crossing an angle of the the death chart, the MC. If you have a chance, perhaps you'll set up the chart and take a look.

Margaret Mitchell's (Water-Air) Sun Scorpio-Moon Gemini = brooding passion + laughter

Now since we know that for the 24-hour period of her day of birth the Moon remained in Mercurial Gemini, the writer's sign, and the Sun was at mid-Scorpio (Mars-Pluto), we can say that Ms. Mitchell possessed an endless curiosity about people's emotions (and her own) along with a writer's gift for expressing and evoking the entire range of human experience. Sun Scorpio-Moon Gemini suggests that she was especially fascinated with the darker aspects of life including the sexual and destructive elements. Profound seriousness and an extremely amusing wittiness were hers simultaneously as she moved from the tragic to the light-hearted with ease--rather like Scarlett flirting, pouting, then smiling to get her way.

And so my suspicion is that the ability to make light of disaster and hardship and vow to "think about it tomorrow" was a winning talent displayed by both Margaret and her creation Miss Scarlett and I wonder--did the writer put off thinking about the tale of Scarlett's tribulations until 'tomorrow' and such procrastination was the reason it took her 10 years to write Gone With The Wind? Just wonderin'!

~:~

For more Scorpio-Gemini notes see Sun Sign-Moon Sign, by Charles and Suzi Harvey

MGM Official Movie Trailer: Greta Garbo as 'Mata Hari'

After just publishing a post on the confession of the killer of Marilyn Monroe (which lead into mention of WWI spy Mata Hari), I became curious to see if I could locate an MGM trailer for Greta Garbo in her famous role as Mata Hari. And here it is in all its mysterious splender but in Neptunian fashion you might want to cover the eyes of the children before watching!

~:~

And you may also wish to be alone with A Most Magical and Mysterious Lilith: Greta Garbo which includes Astrology notes and more.