"Good stuff!" And an Astro-Portrait of Cary Grant

Cary Grant, Suspicion {public domain}

A happy Cary Grant often exclaimed, "good stuff!," proving that a positive attitude makes all the difference.

Here is a screen crop of two of the film industry's most enduring film legends Marilyn Monroe (to be astro-profiled in a later post) and Cary Grant appearing together in Monkey Business (1952):

There are no copyright notices (Monkey Business trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Here you can view the full film: Monkey Business.

And now, let's focus on Cary. Here are 2 minutes 36 seconds of Cary Grant: A Gentleman's Gentleman (Trailer):

Source: The Orchard Movies {Public domain}

And now it's time to place the gentlemanly Mr. Grant under an astrological lens:

Astro-Notes: Cary Grant and his New Moon in Capricorn

The natal horoscope of Cary Grant reveals attractive Venus as chart-ruler since late Libra rises. Tap or click for a brief bio including his filmography details and a view of his natal chart which is rated B for Biography. Born Archibald Leach on January 18, 1904 (1:00 am UT) in Bristol, England, the yet-to-be Cary Grant had a tough beginning--some gossips said he was an illegitimate child though that isn't obvious in his natal chart for mysterious Neptune is not posited in the 4th house of Roots and Family as is often the case of unknown parentage. Baby Archie's Neptune in Cancer is in the 9th house of Philosophy, Religion, Higher Education, and Foreign Travel (denoting trips across water--his first was to NYC as a teen). Still, Neptune in Cancer, sign of mother and family shrouds his birth with a sense of loss and this suggests the death of his older sibling John, a tragedy his mother never recovered from emotionally. Baby Archie was produced in an attempt to console his parents for the loss of their first child and to 'save their marriage', a typical if misguided solution in those days. Needless to say, this put huge pressure on little Archie Leach who escaped through an early interest in a variety of entertainments which included movie-going with his Dad.

Please enlarge his natal chart for closer viewing:

Hour of Saturn; the element of Air (mental) is strong. With Sun in Saturn-ruled Capricorn (26:31) and Moon @00Aquarius (4 degrees 12 minutes past a New Moon) we find the actor with an Earth-Air personality blend denoting the skeptical intelligence of a practical idealist. Here is one with a mixture of order vs change, social yet solitary, conservative yet progressive. Earth-Air types prefer to take an extremely rational approach to matters and can bring abstract thought together with real issues to find solutions. "Applied knowledge" can be an Earth-Air descrption. (See conflicting indicators of unconscious obsessions, below.)

Now much has been written about Grant's difficult childhood (Saturn in Aquarius rules 4th house; Hour of Saturn) and his mother's overbearing nature which may be seen by his natal Moon (mother) in aloof, detached Aquarius (but just barely--if the birth time is off by much his Moon could be in status quo Capricorn). Ruled by Saturn and co-ruled by Uranus, an Aquarian Moon placement may support all or some of the prevalent theories and rumors--including the one about his mother Elsie not actually being his birth mother. However, one key clue is that Mr. Grant was not born with the Moon out-of-bounds of the earthly plane and therefore, separation or a distant relationship with his birth mother is not in evidence, at least not immediately after birth. However, her sense of isolation as she grieved over her first child is indicated. Read on...

His birth at a New Moon phase (26Cap01) shows an impulsive and spontaneous nature but under control of inhibited Capricorn's ruler, Saturn. While he was away at school his father Elias institutionalized his mother and told Archie she had died--and when dad remarried there was no room for Archie. There be deep scars here and it isn't unusual for a talented individual with such scars to strive toward fame and fortune in order to fill a deep emotional void--this Archie fellow certainly achieved the success he aimed for! Plus, a New Moon phase at birth also indicates confusion and a lifelong journey to discover who one really is. His later use of LSD (under guidance of his therapist) was a part of that journey and an attempt to make peace with the past. He eventually discovered that his mother was living and managed to have a relationship with her which must have been a relief.

Yes, there is restrictive, cold, controlling Saturn 9 degrees from his Moon and both snugged around the IC of Home and suggesting a seriously depressed mother who had lost her first child and was married to a philandering husband, Elias Leach. Mercury (young people; the thinking process) is present as well, retrograde in Capricorn (sign of the father), and affecting him psychologically so this depressive indicator adds to his emotional issues of Moon-Saturn-IC and may certainly describe his later control issues with women. And on a sad note, it is reported that Grant made at least one attempt to commit suicide after his marriage in 1934 broke up by overdosing with alcohol and sleeping pills. His enjoyment of alcohol is supported by overindulging Jupiter in Pisces, sign of negative escapism (as in, 'drink like a fish')--and Jupiter is apex planet of an opposition between Venus and Pluto (see below) which means that the planet of actors in creative Pisces is squared by both Venus (women; romance) and Pluto (manipulation, control, sex, wealth) so that dynamic tension results in all things relating to the three planets.

Perhaps he tended to overreact to every nuance in romantic relationships and probably tended to fall in love at first sight but fall out of love just as easily. Playing "Mommy" and "Daddy" may have appealed, too. How curious that onscreen he played the role of a man who was a little afraid of women (ex: Monkey Business) for that is just what his Venus-Jupiter square with its mother/anima issues reveals with the sign of Jupiter denoting how he related to others--as a compassionate, sympathetic, creative Pisces--or, as an evasive, deceitful, slippery fish? My guess is that he alternated these reactions as most people might do in similar circumstances and with similar obsessions.

(Yes, Grant is known to have had a longstanding homosexual relationship with actor Randolph Scott and others but that's beyond the scope of this portrait.)

In their gender-bending films Hollywood studios and directors made good use of Grant's comedic talents honed during his vaudeville and New York theater days. A very popular 'heart throb' for women, he was seen as non-threatening by men who enjoyed his portrayals in 'screwball comedies' where equality between the sexes was heavily and subtly promoted with humor, style, and elegance.

Now on the deeper level of obsessions, add in the powerful energies of his Jupiter-Pluto square and the plot thickens including in the financial realm. With this square the relating principle of Jupiter is blocked in some deep way by images from the Collective Unconscious (Pluto) which results in--you guessed it--control issues. Early childhood memories affect motivations in relationships and confusion over what relating is gums up the proceedings with others. This condition describes one who confuses relating and sharing with being in control and manipulating partners and he obsesses over any relationship that doesn't go his way. "Control games" and "role-playing" are used as substitutes for the genuine give-and-take a successful relationship requires and this negates the emotional security one should feel within a true partnership. Actually, an apt motto for a Jupiter-Pluto square is: "a law unto himself" which for Cary Grant is well supported by his Saturn-ruled Sun ("Daddy" the authority).

But project his handsome face on to Neptune's Silver Screen and it's a different story!

For here stars his attractive, artful, charming Venus in happy-go-lucky Sagittarius ("good stuff!") playing lead planet in a Locomotive pattern as she attracts money and beautiful possessions (2nd house) and sexy partners (Pluto in 8th house of Sexual Unions and Shared Resources)! In Astrology, a Locomotive pattern promises high-powered success and with his Venus-Pluto opposition across the 2/8 money axis, it's small wonder that Cary Grant was able to use his creative talents and sex appeal to build a very successful worldwide career in the Neptunian film industry of Hollywood even though he turned his back on the movie studio system, a maverick move that probably cost him an Oscar or two.

And although his passionate Venus-Pluto opposition aided his career it was not as beneficial for him in personal relationships. With this opposition we find the controlling mother again having a deep and profound psychological effect on her son and there may have been a particularly difficult event just prior to his 4th birthday (Venus-Pluto 3A50 = 3 years 10 months, if his birth time is reasonably accurate). In addition, Venus rules the 12th house of the Unconscious so there are shame and guilt issues involved as well (mother Elsie was on the puritanical side), issues he may never have been able to consciously recognize without benefit of therapy. Yet there is dramatic Leo on his Career Cusp (Midheaven/MC) to gloss over any sadness or feelings of inferiority by entertaining the public via glamour, sophistication, elegance, and a studied self-deprecating manner--and being highly paid for it as royal Leo would expect to be.

A wide conjunction between Venus (relationships; romance) and quirky Uranus (separation; freedom) suggests entering and ending relationships quickly though they may crackle with erotic energy while new.

As for his gender-bending, equality of the sexes film roles, Grant's 4th house Mars, planet of desire, is in detached yet friendly Aquarius conjoined with two asteroids: Lilith the glamorous woman archetype (or harlot) and Hera, the legal wife who keeps the accounts. Perhaps confused gender roles and cross-dressing for the camera are suggested by his Mars-Lilith-Hera trio.

Uranus and Neptune and his Solar Eclipse in Virgo

Though in dissociate signs in 1904, Grant was born during the Great Opposition between generational planets Uranus (science; reason) and Neptune (faith; imagination), Cary Grant's North Node @29Vir27 of public contacts (near his Pre-Natal Eclipse degree of 27Virgo in the 14 North Saros Series with themes of unexpected happenings in relationships and finances, unrequited love and despair, and confusion/delusion - Brady) is involved with the opposition through a double square: Uranus square the Nodal axis denotes nonconformist leanings that conflict with societal standards; Neptune square the Nodal axis reveals mystical tendencies, visionary pursuits (and with Urania rising--see chart), and an interest in the occult, psychism, and/or possibly Astrology. With Uranus also in opposition with powerful Pluto, we see a revolutionary soul with the capacity to unsettle the status quo of society. Putting on an apron in a screwball comedy might do it!

Well, there's my astro-portrait of Cary Grant though of course there is much more to say about this complex man. His childhood memorabilia burned during World War II which was a loss for him and is now a loss for us. He never penned his autobiography so in its place I highly recommended his daughter's revealing book about her father who retired from the film industry in 1966 in order to take care of her and who turned out to be a very good and doting father indeed!

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant was published in 2011 and is available on Kindle or in print.

Now let's close on the topic of his shiny Leo Midheaven of Career and Public Status (which happens to conjoin America's natal North Node @6Leo!) for you may wish to check out an October 6, 1984 NYT article announcing that MGM Turns 75--Toasts Cary Grant, a ceremony during which they presented him with 'a 10-inch gold lion with diamond eyes', a symbol of the studio's roaring Leo the Lion (and the mega-bucks he made for the studio with films like Hitchcock's North by Northwest). In response, an 80-year-old self-deprecating Cary Grant "read what he called a prayer on the technical difficulties of growing old."

And I'll wager he was very amusing, wouldn't you?

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Related post: Christmas Dinner with Cary Grant 1934 and then-wife Virginia Cherrill.

Premiere of Neptune's Silver Screen! starring John Barrymore

What brighter star to open Neptune's Silver Screen than The Great Profile John Barrymore?

image: SchroCat {Public domain} via Wikimedia Commons

To begin here's a 2-part presentation of the thespian's life, loves, and career from Dee Barrymore's YouTube Channel which is highly recommended for classic film fans (linked below):

Part 1:

Part 2:

For more excellent film star videos visit the Dee Barrymore Channel and please search for this presentation (Parts 1 and 2, above) if it is subsequently removed herewith.

~:~

And now, Neptune's Silver Screen presents the Natal Horoscope of John Barrymore, nee John Sidney Blythe, born February 14, 1882 12:10 am LMT Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (RR: C for accuracy in question) with his Sun (essence; personality) @25Aquarius conjoined by asteroids Amor (intimacy) and Lilith (glamour)! Note that 25AQ is within range of America's natal Moon of 1776 (the people; the public) and relates to his extreme popularity with the American public.

Even with starry Vega rising at his birth and adding magnetism and charisma to his popular appeal, we also find intense, brooding, sexy Scorpio rising which is seen in his Great Profile photo, above, for he has what some might call a "Scorpio nose": sharp and prominent, rather eagle-like, with a concentrated stare. This makes Mars and co-ruler Pluto, a forceful pair, important planets and any aspects to them must be considered. However, the closest applying aspect to his Sun melds with his personality and ego and it is a conjunction with Venus, planet of The Arts (see below for more on the Sun-Venus pairing.)

Chart-ruler Mars does not apply to a major (Ptolemaic) aspect in the chart though there is a minor *semi-square to glamorous Neptune @13Taurus in the midst of a heavy line-up of Saturn, Chiron, Jupiter, and powerful Pluto, all in Venus-ruled Taurus, sign of the throat and voice.These are snugged around the Descendant angle of Partnerships and of those he had many. And there are no planets opposite to provide balance for the Taurean energies though the Sun @25AQ and Venus @23AQ do square transformative Pluto and sextile (60 degrees; helpful) Saturn, planet of hard work and concentration.

Ponderous depression and a sense of loss and abandonment (whether justified or not) are some of the difficulties constellated within the Taurus line-up and via the frustration of the square (90 degrees), we feel his solar shininess to be quite aloof, even icy, in Aquarius. Venus and Sun are so close, however, this denotes one who can be whatever present company wants him to be with great charm (an actor!) and his intuitive Aquarian personality (Sun) is made even more attractive (Venus) and seductive by the very elusiveness and intelligence of Aquarius--plus, larger than life on the Silver Screen we see intimate Amor and glamorous Lilith conjoining his natal Sun, as noted, above.

And since the Sun-Venus pair squares natal Pluto (with Pluto's great urge to acquire when in possessive, stubborn Taurus) we have two ego-affecting aspects: Sun square Pluto, the willful 'might makes right' influence that can be destructive in an 'own worst enemy' kind of way. An enigma to those who knew him, this explosive square is not conducive to harmony in relationships though moderation and compromise would go a long way--if they were achieved. In addition, the planet that loves beauty and harmony, Venus, also squares manipulative Pluto adding tendencies such as using sex to gain financial security, professing love in order to seduce someone into marriage, a preoccupation with physical relationships, and a 'poor loser' attitude that interferes with all types of relationships. Add years of chronic drinking to slur speech and skew perspectives and you've got a difficult if talented cuss on your hands!

And he was plagued by a superiority complex (Jupiter conjunct Chiron--Clow) and did not listen to others! (Mercury sextile Saturn--Epstein). With the abundance of stubborn Taurus, plus the willful indicators, he must have been quite a fellow--perhaps the forgetful husband who had never listened to you in the first place? Being prone to unfaithfulness and indulging in illicit affairs had to complicate matters, one imagines (Neptune-NN = Venus) and his natal Sun AQ-Moon Cap combination is not the easiest personality blend to manage with its aloofness, self-containment, and uptight attitude (--the Harveys.)

Yet early on, these solar dynamics played quite well in career realms with dramatic Leo (notice me!) on Barrymore's Career-Aspirations Midheaven (MC = the World Stage). And there is lusty Mars in the 8th house of Sexual Unions and Shared Resources! Multiple partners are implied with Mars in Gemini, sign of multiplicity, duplicity, evasiveness, and communications. Stars Betelgeuse and Polaris conjoin natal Mars and add their themes to the mix such as success and leading the way.

Now with North Node (destiny) in the 1st house of Self, John Barrymore's life involved a quest for identity which seems perfect for an actor playing a multitude of different roles though it isn't unusual that an actor could become confused as to who he really is--a fantasy vs reality paradox, life as charade. And with Mercury, planet of thinking processes, the senses, and intelligence in secretive, confused, or confusing Pisces (and stationary Rx, thus emphasized) we see the man who changed his name to 'John Barrymore' having a high level of brilliant creativity yet clinging to Piscean escapism such as alcohol or other drugs as the Two Fish swim up to the heights or down to the depths. (His cause of death is given as pneumonia--Mercury = lungs--and cirrhosis of the liver, a Piscean illness via overindulgence and subsequent toxic overload; 4th house is the house of Endings.)

At his death on May 29, 1944 there were two transits that were precise to the degree--transit Mercury to natal Neptune @13Taurus, and transit Saturn to natal Mars @27Gemini (in the 8th house of Death). Chronic inflammations (ex: liver), if any, kick up when Saturn (loss; restriction; stoppage) hits natal Mars (energy; activity) and the general health suffers. If the native is already ill (Gemini = lungs; breathing) this transit coming along is not good news. Sadly, airy Mercury to soused Neptune speaks for itself. (These two spot-on transits apply by degree no matter the exact time of his passing, and if his birth time of 12:10 am is correct, natal Vertex (fated encounters; endings) precisely conjoined natal Mars and thus 1944 Saturn @27Gem44.)

And finally, a word about Barrymore's natal Moon @1Capricorn in the 2nd house of Earning Ability and Values. First, Saturn-ruled Capricorn is a difficult sign for the Moon which represents mother, home, family, nurturing, emotional security, childhood, and the unconscious. It has a moody, depressive Moon-Saturn signature which may have darkened his philosophical outlook (Cancer on 9th cusp) on life though it simultaneously gave him much ambition for success to fill the empty emotional spaces. Wherever the Moon is in a chart there are fluctuations, changes, and a potential for disruption so since the 2nd house is a money house (fluctuating fortunes) and Capricorn's natural house is the 10th house of Career, we find anxiety concerning achievement and adequate income for needs. His reigning need (--Tyl) involves the sign of natal Moon and in his case, Capricorn denotes authority, security, and authenticity in the world.

Imagine how that might have gone for this talented genius if he had managed to moderate the negative escapism tendencies and other addictions!

Well, there you have it. There's more to say about the very complex John Barrymore but this will do for now. Kudos if you've read this far and please Follow or Subscribe if you wish for I promise that not all my articles on Celebrity Horoscopes will be this detailed so I hope you'll dare to return soon to see what actor or actress next appears on Neptune's Silver Screen!

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*Though minor, a semi-square is a nagging health-related aspect.