Artful Counsel for Modern Times - Aries, Taurus, Gemini

by William Sebrans

© William Sebrans - published by The Evolving Astrologer, March 2024 / 23.04.2024

Treat everyone you meet like they're God in drag.
 — Ram Dass

Welcome to the third installment of Artful Counsel for Modern Times. Here, we turn to a zodiacal council of savvy elders and young wizards for pithy revelation, punchy wit, and inspired art that can make you happier and wiser when all else fails.

For this Spring-Summer season, let’s meet nine ambassadors from the Aries, Taurus, and Gemini tribes, letting their bon mots and creative offerings raise us up. During our tour, I’ll share three representative horoscopes with commentary on the astrological underpinning of their inspired gifts.

Treat what follows as an Astro-cultural smorgasbord. Sample and savor, according to your taste, as you would any fine spread.

ARIES

Ram Dass

If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.

Ram Dass
Source: Joan Halifax (Santa Fe, New Mexico), CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

These unflinching words from Ram Dass never get old; they speak truth to false empowerment.

Ram was born in Boston as Richard Alpert to an upper-class Jewish family on April 6, 1931. In a life of serial transformation, he cycled through academia as a Harvard professor, was booted out of that venue for his renegade LSD explorations, and then, as the quintessential seeker in India, found unwavering truth in the presence of his guru, Neem Karoli Baba.

The academic-turned-spiritual seeker’s destiny notably pivoted in 1971 when publishing the now-classic, then-revolutionary Be Here Now, a departure in content and style about the liberation game. This lively reference manual to presence served as and remains a cheerlead for those already on the mystical path and as an initiation for those just beginning.

ASTRO-NOTES

Ram/Richard was destined for a life of transformative cycles outside the norms of mainstream consciousness. We find epic torque and talent everywhere we look in the chart; transpersonal influence ricochets throughout.

Ram Dass, 6 April 1931 at 10:40 AM, Boston, Massachusetts
Source: Astrodatabank

His 10th House Aries Sun conjunct Uranus and North Node are in the crosshairs of a T-square with a 7th House Capricorn Saturn and a Cancer-Pluto-Jupiter Ascendant. That mouthful is tiring to read but imagine how exhausting it would be to live out!

The entire mix spells dynamism and originality, compassion and restrictions, and destiny-altering forces beyond his control that would define his life's trajectory.

There's sweetness and longing in his Pisces Venus–Neptune opposition. A tango between surrender and unbridled exploration of the unknown (LSD) plays out in the Venus–Neptune opposition in T-square to the Sagittarius Moon. His thoughts were cosmic with Mercury trine Neptune and expressed with an edge via Mars square Mercury.

It follows from all of the above that he bestowed on us distilled universal truths, clothed in street market banter, like that opening quote: “Treat everyone you meet as if they are God in drag.”

Maya Angelou

I've learned that people will forget what you said and what you did, but never how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou in 1983
Source: Clinton Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Maya Angelou let loose a smile no one could forget.

She was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. Ms. Angelou published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry. The recipient of numerous awards and more than 50 honorary degrees, she is credited with notable plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Before the widespread acclaim of her first autobiography, Why the Caged Bird Sings, published at age 41 and documenting her early life, she transitioned through a string of odd jobs during young adulthood, including—fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa.

When she found her stride, Ms. Angelou was an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs.

ASTRO-NOTES

Such a spacious capacity announces itself clearly in her chart. She debuted on April 4, 1928, with an Aries Sun conjunct Jupiter, spelling irrepressible ebullience, infused with artful grace, via the Libra Moon's opposition. Saturn trine Sun–Jupiter confers discipline, poise, and the ability to go the distance. Pluto square the Sun–Jupiter pair signifies an indomitable will (for better or worse), as well as her traumatic intersection with dominant power reflected in childhood sexual abuse and the restrictions on black people from society at large.

Magic and creative vision percolate with the Leo Ascendant conjunct Neptune; Mars and Ceres opposing presage both the opposition she encountered in life and her indomitable natural moxie to meet it.

I’ll close out Maya with this sage counsel:

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

Dane Rudhyar

When you don't follow your nature, there is a hole in the universe where you were meant to be.

Dane Rudhyar
Source: Public domain

Daniel Chennevière was born in France on March 23, 1895; once arrived in America in his early twenties, he changed his name to Rudhyar, after the Sanskrit word Rudra, signifying the red sky-God Mars who rules Aries.

Music composition was his first passion, but his horizons expanded beyond its already impressive range under the tutelage of innovative humanistic astrologer Mark Edmund Jones. From his revelations with MEJ, Rudhyar foresaw that astrology could bridge numerous disciplines, including music and Jungian psychology, all informing the soul's trajectory.

"The essential purpose of astrology is not so much to tell us what we will meet on our road, as it is to suggest how to meet it—and the basic reason for the meeting."

ASTRO-NOTES

His horoscope foretold inspired innovation and revelation without reservation to express it. A dynamic Fire-Air trio of Aries Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Sag Ascendant set the stage.

The visionary action came via the transcendental Pluto–Mars–Neptune conjunction in Gemini opposing the Ascendant and trines the Libra Midheaven, foretelling an inspired, zeitgeist-altering incarnation.

Uranus squared his Aquarius Moon, restlessly generating genius emotional insight; Jupiter–Gemini trines the Moon, ever expanding its horizons and publishing its realizations.

Astrology is a language. If you understand this language, the sky speaks to you.

Other Notable Arians

Jane Goodall, Charlie Chaplin, Joseph Campbell, Anne Lamott, Lady Gaga, Rachel Maddow, Ravi Shankar, Emma Thompson, Ra Uru Hu, Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Sondheim, Harry Houdini, Leonard Nimoy.

TAURUS

Barbra Streisand

I arrived in Hollywood without having my nose fixed, my teeth capped, or my name changed. That is very gratifying to me.

Barbra Streisand in 1962
Source: Al Ravenna, World Telegram staff photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the all-time best-selling vocalists, Barbra Streisand is also a multiple award-winning actress, producer, and writer. An arts pioneer, she was the first woman to combine all three talents in a film feature (Yentl).

Babs, as she has been affectionately called, is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). In addition, she received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in the humanities.

Streisand’s unapologetically Jewish facial features, vaguely crossed eyes, and intermittently brash style (Aries rising) redefined notions of "star" beauty during the 1960s and paved the way for other women to be as they are, not as industry moguls would define it.

Despite her apparent ease in front of the crowd, she confesses to decades of stage fright and a streak of sensitivity to how her typically gobsmacked audiences might receive her:

I wish I could be like [George Bernard] Shaw, who once read a bad review of one of his plays, called the critic, and said: 'I have your review in front of me, and soon it will be behind me.’

ASTRO-NOTES

By her own admission, Barbra is a paradoxical creature:

I was a personality before I became a person—I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy, and driven.

Her horoscope validates the complexity. A Taurus Sun, Leo Moon, an Aries Ascendant, and a Capricorn Midheaven are the keynotes. Her earthy, security-driven Taurus nature is in constant negotiation with the self-projecting Aries and Leo fire. A tenderhearted 12th House Pisces Venus assuages and complements the earthiness and marks the place from where her philanthropic efforts flow.

Like many of her 1942 colleagues (e.g. Paul McCartney), she came in blessed with creative vision and innovative agency via the zeitgeist-altering Neptune trine to late-degree Saturn–Uranus in Taurus.

Compelling Babs factoids:

1. Besides her performance and writing talent, Ms. Streisand is also a gifted interior designer.
2. Apple maverick Steve Jobs and Streisand had a chummy relationship; she called him whenever her devices had techno-hiccups, while the temperamental wizard apparently delighted in her company and was on his uncharacteristically best behavior.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

Jiddu Krishnamurti in the 1920s
Source: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

At age 8, a frail, dreamy, lice-ridden, and open-mouthed Jiddu Krishnamurti was discovered on a beach in India by the Theosophical Society elders. The shy lad was groomed and heralded to take on the mantle of the “20th Century World Teacher.” By his Saturn return at age 29, the now sophisticated guru-to-be would have none of it and went rogue, throwing seekers back on themselves, insisting that Truth is a pathless land and no authority can take you there.

And so he became the un-guru Guru.

Born on May 12, 1895, he was part of a zeitgeist-changing crew from 1893-95, including Paramhansa Yogananda, J.R. Tolkien, Aldous Huxley, and Dane Rudhyar. They were all born with that rare Neptune-Pluto conjunction in Gemini that spawned consciousness-expanding ways of perceiving the world and impactfully communicated them.

His angular Taurus Sun spoke for the peace-loving Earth in him.

The body has its own intelligence; it requires a great deal of intelligence to observe the body's intelligence.

Uranus opposed the Sun, evoking an anti-authority, revolutionary spirit, and creative genius. Sag Moon drove the inquiry into the big questions, never shying from a philosophical adventure. Innovative, challenging, and transcendental, his Aquarius Ascendant received a square from Uranus and a trine from Neptune.

To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.

Stephen Colbert

Folks, I don't trust children. They're here to replace us.

Stephen Colbert
Source: Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

For much of the country (and the world), comedian, writer, and producer Stephen Colbert functions as the U.S. court jester, town crier, and holy fool, though he suffers no fools nor rarely sounds foolish.

To wit, Colbert is diabolically articulate and on-point, yet relaxed. When you realize it might be best to surrender to his mighty Mars–Mercury mind, you discover that he is incorrigibly warm and decent.

ASTRO-NOTES

Colbert's May 13, 1964, rectified chart has him as Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon, and Sag Ascendant, with a Virgo or Libra Midheaven. There are two rectifications, one early Sag and the other the later Sag version represented here, which I prefer for conveying his uber-relatability. So, it’s not certified organic, but worth munching on.

His bold, flawless, and confident communication style is one of the most distinctive things about him. That's reflected definitively in the Mercury–Mars–Jupiter conjunction in steady Taurus that enables the clean, unfettered delivery with a Carpe Diem! flourish.

Stephen Colbert, 13 May 1964, Washington, District of Columbia
Source: Astrodatabank

Colbert’s playful Gemini Moon in the 7th House and opposed the Sag Ascendant is always ready to engage partners in lively dialogue. Sagittarius is generally primed to express opinions; his Sag Ascendant is ready for that task, while the comedic edge comes from the renegade Uranus trine Sun–Mars–Mercury.

Kindness and relationship commitment run firm with a Venus in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces; his enduring love for his wife Edie is a frequent theme in his Late Show appearances.

Steve is an unapologetic Catholic (yet with a sailor's Sagittarius gutter-mouth) and stands for core Christian values of compassion, fealty, and love of neighbor. He doesn't let off the hook his allegedly Christian brethren, who seem astonishingly oblivious to the original program.

Other notable Taureans

William Shakespeare, John Muir, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Joel, Ella Fitzgerald, Gal Gadot, Alice Waters, Al Pacino, Duke Ellington, Gary Snyder, Enya, Cate Blanchett, Brian Eno, David Byrne.

GEMINI

Walt Whitman

Henceforth, I seek not good fortune; I am myself good fortune!

Walt Whitman in 1887
Source: Photo taken by George C. Cox: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Poet and inveterate celebrator Walt Whitman matriculated May 31, 1819, and graduated with distinction in 1893. Walt never hesitated to speak his mind, as in:

God is a mean-spirited, pugnacious bully bent on revenge against His children for failing to live up to his impossible standards.

Walt refers to the God of conventional religion, not the Universal Spirit he embodied—the One that embraces everything.

It's telling that in conventional 20th-century American and world history classes, more focus had been given to Andrew Jackson and the doctrine of Manifest Destiny than the transformative influence of Walt Whitman. Fortunately, Walt’s reputation for reliably delivering a unique brand of American uplift has gotten a deserved second wind during the past few decades.

From this hour, I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines
 Going where I list, my own master total and absolute...

ASTRO NOTES

Whitman’s, larger-than-life character with a chart to match, featuring a Gemini Sun, Leo Moon, and Aries Ascendant. His visionary, radical exuberance and ribald sensuality—singing the body electric—lies in the Moon–Mars–Uranus/Neptune double Grand Fire Trine. A softer sensuality eases through him via a Taurus Venus trine the Capricorn Midheaven.

But there's no rest for the weary in the wounded 12th House Saturn–Pluto–Chiron conjunction. His tormenting Civil War hospital service and ongoing identification with the disenfranchised was the basso continuo that played under his upbeat melodies.

Isabella Rossellini

True elegance for me is the manifestation of an independent mind.

Isabella Rosselini, Cannes 2015
Source: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Consummate actress Isabella Rossellini…

• ...is the out-of-wedlock daughter of icon Ingrid Bergman and film director Roberto Rossellini,
• ...models the face of smart elegance, refusing to be defined by age,
• ...is the originator of the docuseries Green Porno which investigates how insects screw,
• ...is a conversation activist and philanthropist,
• ...raises chickens and is always believably authentic in a fake celebrity world.

A few of her excellent films include Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Fearless, Big Night, The Saddest Music in the World, Late Bloomers (with William Hurt), and numerous documentary and animation narrations.

ASTRO-NOTES

Ms. Rossellini debuted on June 18, 1952, with a late Gemini Sun in trine to an early Scorpio Mars, which accounts, in part, for her bold, refreshing directness. Sun is conjunct Venus in Gemini, a combo associated with beauty and personal magnetism. A Sag Ascendant promises an outgoing, freedom-seeking, and outspoken nature, and she delivers on all three.

She's ebullient, creative, and generous, marked by Jupiter's conjunction with the Moon in Taurus, which spawns the creative life and la dolce vita.

The beauty icon endears by uttering disarming pronouncements, like:

I live in New York, and the only live animals you see are cockroaches, rats, and pigeons, which I admire immensely. When I see an animal that thrives in the garbage, I feel relief; in our urban environment, other animals are dying out.

Aurora Asknes

I think we all need something to remind us of the good that there is in the world. And why we exist at all.

Aurora Asknes in 2023
Source: Parkenfestivalen in Bode, Norway: Hogne B. Pettersen, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Norwegian singer-songwriter and alt-pop performance artist Aurora Asknes is stardust embodied. Her growing international fan base regards her as some otherworldly force delivered to ground level by spirits from another realm.

She’s part pixie, warrior, dreamer, kind-heart, and magic-weaver. A rare blend of charm, power, grace, and unsullied innocence, she represents (to me) the best from the Millennial and Gen Z universes.

A tell-tale sign that something’s working, judging from her many international live performances from Beijing to the Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, is that everyone around her seems happy, collaborative, and grateful.

ASTRO-NOTES

Her chart is a marvelous representation of her personality and destiny arc. Born on June 15, 1996, there’s pixie power in a Gemini array that includes the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Neptune squaring the Sun is an imaginative ticket out of this world.

Aurora Asknes, 15 June 1996
Stavanger, Norway
Source: provided by the author, birthtime unknown, rectified by William Sebrans

Verbally and physically agile, Aurora appeared on the scene with Mercury and Mars joined in a tight conjunction, rendered into a superpower by a trine from Uranus in Aquarius and an opposition from Pluto in Sagittarius. Appropriately, Aurora has self-identified as a weirdo and a warrior since childhood.

Venus and the Moon team up to deliver an artful storyteller with feminine grace. A Taurus Ascendant ensures she won’t just up and pixie away, marking, as well, her committed relationship to the Earth and the cause of its salvation.

Yes, music for me is not about my own pain, relationships, or breakups, I write about the world around me. I want the music to be a nature force big like a mountain, ocean, or hurricane. I want people to be reminded of their inner warrior.

While there is no water in the chart, she readily and warmly connects with the world’s people via the Jupiter–Taurus Ascendant trine. Jupiter’s placement in Capricorn at the Midheaven ensures vocational success and public recognition despite her avowed introverted ways.

I am hoping entry-level angels stay on their good behavior and protect Aurora’s fertile stay in our shared neighborhood.

Other eleven notable Geminis

Paul McCartney, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gangaji, Bob Dylan, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Peter Dinklage, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp, Rachel Carson, Cole Porter, Nicole Kidman

In the sections above we have it—nine eminent zodiacal ambassadors from this season, offering counsel for living our most artful, engaged, and humored life. Make them part of your Council of Elders, if not already, and be sure to share your own favorites!

Published in: The Evolving Astrologer, March 2024.

Author:
William Sebrans is a man of many paths and talents. He is into astrology, lots of culture, human design, life coaching and creative renewal. He is currently Director of Publications for the OPA Journal The Evolving Astrologer. Find out more about him on his website: https://www.otherwiseworld.com/

© 2024 - William Sebrans - The Evolving Astrologer

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