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

Now Starring! Clark Gable and Carole Lombard

Image: Clark and Carole with Mrs Peters, her mother; March 31, 1939 {Public domain}

Watch as Clark romances his future wife Carole Lombard in this 4-minute clip from the 1932 thriller No Man of Her Own, their one film together. This clip has no dialogue, only very distracting music, so I recommend that you mute the sound and watch the lovebirds in action:

Astro-Notes on the Life and Loves of Clark Gable (February 1, 1901--November 16, 1960)

by Jude Cowell

First I should say that astro.com mentions alternate birth times and more bio details concerning Carole Lombard (nee, Jane Alice Peters) and a brief bio on 'The King of Hollywood' Clark Gable if you're curious. Gable's birth hour is based on a published newspaper clipping showing the delivery doctor's receipt ($10) for baby Gable's entry into the world. Sadly, his mother died during his infancy but dad remarried a lady who treated the future actor kindly.

If you're looking for more details, the TV show Biography did a 45-minute documentary on the life of Clark Gable which you might find interesting. In it there's a photo of Clark before his teeth were repaired and his smile looks really rather awful. Good thing his first wife, acting coach Josephine Dillon, had his teeth "improved" as he began his acting career! Josephine was 14 years his senior, wealthy 2nd wife Mrs. Ria Langham was 17 years his senior, and here we see Gable's rising Venus in Capricorn describing his early attraction (Venus) to mature, established (Capricorn) women:

Horoscope: William Clark Gable Feb 1, 1901 5:30 am CST Cadiz, Ohio; Solar Fire software v9.1

Hour of the Sun; Gibbous Moon phase (153 degr); chart-ruler Saturn strong in Capricorn denoting a formidable will and a self-centered personality; an abundance of Saturnian Capricorn energy is evident and only balanced opposite by Moon (reigning need) in her own sign of Cancer; Cancer-Capricorn = Mom and Dad; Chiron in Capricorn denotes a survivor against all odds to whom power, success, and social status are very important (Nolle); the critical degrees of 20Cancer/20Capricorn are on the Ascendant-Descendant axis emphasizing Relationships as a driving motivation in life, and a Moon-Saturn opposition hints at loss of a mother's love causing a tendency toward emotional depression.

And with Saturn-ruled Capricorn rising there is often hardship at birth and/or in early childhood--and never knowing one's birth mother is certainly that. This sense of loss is also seen in his Moon-Saturn opposition via his Cancer Moon (mother; family) in the 6th house of Health. Cancer-Capricorn (mother-father) is the security and parental axis of the horoscope and Saturn is a karmic planet with a potential for bringing loss and separation if conditions are right.

And since Saturn rules bones and teeth, dental problems are typical. However, it isn't only Venus in Capricorn, as you see. For Saturn, the old man himself, is strong in his own sign and rising just before Venus as do Jupiter @2Cap43 and Wounded Healer Chiron @1Cap53! That's a huge bunch of Saturnian vibes for anyone yet Capricorn is a musical sign and Clark showed early promise there.

Now his 1st house Sun in Aquarius (Saturn-Uranus) is in a stressful aspect (inconjunct, 150 degrees) with natal Moon and this has a health connotation. Actually, Clark Gable may have abused his own health with this Sun-Moon aspect and may have found it difficult to leave old relationships behind. Great sympathy for others is denoted and of course you know that Aquarius is the sign of the humanitarian (also, the mad scientist and more but those roles don't relate to the man unless it applies to some of his acting roles.) The Sun-Moon pair also signifies marriage (husband and wife), and you see that his Venus-Mars midpoint has been added to Midheaven (MC), a midpoint picture of a desire for marriage. Gable's passionate nature is on display for all to see at the most public point in a horoscope, the MC.

However, more loss of women from his life is shown by a Scorpio Midheaven (parental axis, 4th and 10th houses) with Scorpio ruled and co-ruled by forceful Mars and underworld Pluto. Plus, there's the fact that Gable's North Node (of the Moon) is at a critical-crisis 29th degree--of brooding, moody Scorpio. North Node (NN) relates to mother on one level, and to contacts with the public and in his 10th house of Career and Public Status, Gable certainly received lots of attention and public adoration.

Now as you see, Clark Gable was born under a difficult opposition between shocking, upsetting Uranus in mid-Sagittarius and Pluto, planet of death, the occult, and transformation. These two generational planets have a cycle of 127 years and Clark didn't live to experience their next conjunction in mid-Virgo in the mid-1960s for he died of a heart attack on the evening of November 16, 1960. Mid-Virgo falls in his 8th house so their Great Conjunction, which spurred things in the Collective such as war, anti-war protests, and Civil Rights legislation, would miss his natal Mars @10Virgo Rx by about 6 degrees. Yet an 8th house Mars is good placement for a lover of romance even though Virgo denotes that critical remarks may have been spoken at times.

As for asteroids such as seductive Lilith, look to his 7th house of Partnerships for there she is @25Leo15. (On the chart you see in green that I've noted his death occurred with transit Uranus @25Leo42 conjunct natal Lilith 24Leo15--and natal Vertex 25Leo53, a fated point of encounter that is associated with 'an appointment with death').

Now sexy Vestal Virgin Vesta graces his 7th house as well, also in romantic Leo, while his 6th house of Work and Daily Rounds contains his Moon (in her own sign of Cancer, as previously noted) and Cupido, an archetype that can act in similar fashion to Cupid with his bow and arrow of love. In other words, Gable tended to meet his ladies while at work or through work. And if you enlarge the chart, you'll see his Part of Marriage precisely atop his Descendant, the Partnership angle. Erotic Eros conjoins his South Node (SN), a point of inherited talent and of old habits we tend to fall back on--and his Eros at 29 Scorpio is in Nodal Degree (29Tau-Sco), a fated or karmic implication. This is the sort of thing that can inspire that "we were meant for each other" feeling!

For after his initial unions, Clark married for love when he wed talented actress Carole Lombard. Yet their marital bliss didn't quite make it to their 3rd wedding anniversary due to her death in a plane crash on January 16, 1942. Because of this personal tragedy, Gable joined and served in the US Air Force in order to deal with his deep grief over the loss of Carole (to which loss of mother must have been added). Actually, some say he never got over Carole's loss, and you know what? I believe them.

For one thing, his 'loss of Lilith' was a shock (Uranus) to his heart from which he never recovered--not helped by the fact that he tended to idolize the women he cared for, and as noted, found it difficult to let go of relationships, a trait made extreme by an unconscious reaction due to the loss of his mother, one assumes. Freedom-closeness issues were one result. And there's loss-bringer Neptune, very creative in versatile Gemini (an Air sign linked to flight), in 5th house of Creativity, Children, and Romantic Partners (along with karmic Pluto, ruler of the Underworld), so my suspicion is that Gable's outer success in Hollywood films never really made up for such extreme personal loss when he was alone with himself and no camera bulbs were flashing.

Yet finally, Clark Gable did marry again in 1955 to Kay Spreckles and it is reported that before passing away he did have a chance to listen to baby John Clark Gable's heartbeat. So for all Mr. Gable's worldly success and public acclaim, his basic life issues of loss, separation, dependency, relationship problems, mommy and health issues were significant obstacles on the life path for The King of Hollywood...just as they can be for you and me.

Clark Gable R.I.P. (1901--1960)

~:~

Related Links:

Clark Gable Filmography;

Judy Lewis, his daughter with Loretta Young.

Blog Note: no, I embed here no clips of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind with Vivian Leigh because certain people are very jealous of their copyright control of this classic film! jc