Aspects for the week beginning 16 October 2016

Bob Dylan

“Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An’ for each an’ ev’ry underdog soldier in the night
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing”

~ Bob Dylan

What took them so long to award Bob Dylan the Nobel prize for literature?  It happened finally, this week on Thursday 13th October.  The expanse of his work is so large, that I will have to look at it with a personal eye in order to confine it into the nutshell of a Sunday morning blog.  His songs are poetic, and in turn political, philosophical and romantic.

In the dime stores and bus stations
People talk of situations
Read books, repeat quotations
Draw conclusions on the wall

Both myself and hubby Mike were teenagers in the 1960s when Dylan began as a recording artist, and we both went through the same process: we liked his songs, then loved some of the cover versions by Joan Baez, Judy Collins and The Byrds which unlocked the beautiful melodies, then came back to appreciate his own raw voice.

Birth Chart

For many years I avoided working with Bob Dylan’s chart, as I once knew an Astrologer who vehemently used to query his date of birth.  He is generally accepted now as being born on 24th May 1941 at 9.05 pm in Duluth, Minnesota.

The majority of his planets are clustered around Taurus (song) and Gemini (writing) and so his work is revealed, a natural expression of the art of songwriting.  And five (half) his planets are in his 6th House of work, describing the prolific nature of his output.

He has Mars in 3rd House (Protesting communication) square his Sun, expressing his anger and activism.

North Node conjunct Neptune (spiritual leadership) in Virgo in 10th House of Reputation is an interesting feature of his chart.  In the late 1970s he was heard to say, after his conversion to Christianity:

“Years ago they … said I was a prophet. I used to say, “No I’m not a prophet” they say “Yes you are, you’re a prophet.” I said, “No it’s not me.” They used to say “You sure are a prophet.” They used to convince me I was a prophet. Now I come out and say Jesus Christ is the answer. They say, “Bob Dylan’s no prophet.” They just can’t handle it.

There’s no doubt he has always had a huge following, but he handles the potential illusion of the Neptune/North Node with realism and self-effacement.  He has 0 planets in Cardinal signs, his Mars is in Pisces, and he has no desire to lead anyone.  He is a commentator, a communicator (Sun in Gemini, Mercury in Gemini in the 7th House of Relationship close to the cusp).

He has Venus in Gemini, a mark of the Troubadour:

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you

(although, apparently, he meant something completely different).

His Midheaven (Careerpoint) is in the musical sign of Libra.  There is also a romantic theme in many of his songs:

My love, she speaks like silence
Without ideals or violence
She doesn’t have to say she’s faithful
Yet she’s true like ice, like fire

and the lovely

There’s beauty in the silver, singin’ river
There’s beauty in the sunrise in the sky
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love’s eyes

Chronicles

“Blowin’ in the Wind” was the first sound of his voice that registered.  This was on his 2nd album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963).

Someone interviewed this week observed that while the Beatles were writing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, Bob Dylan was writing “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” (on the Freewheelin’ album):

“Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
And where have you been my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains…
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.”

“The Times they are A Changin’ ” (1964) also alerted us to his wider vision.  But I remember so vividly when his unique combination of phraseology and distinctive emotion hit me, as I walked into a coffee bar as a teenager after school one day in 1965.  But I will forever debate what the song was.  It was either “It ain’t me Babe”, “Just like a Woman” or “She belongs to Me”.  I have the date (10th May) and the name of the coffee bar (Sally’s, in St. Albans) in my diary, but the song remains elusive.

In our 6th Form Common Room, there was always a Bob Dylan album blaring, mainly I think “Highway 61 Revisited”.  I was part of the “heater set”, permanently draped round the radiator, while others were out serving as Prefects.

Hubby particularly likes the covers of his songs by The Byrds, and different generations will have their favourite covers:  Adele first came to my notice, when she sang “To make you feel my love” on her first album 19.

Joan Baez

It is probably Joan Baez, more than anybody, who has brought his songs to life, and revealed the melody and emotion underneath the lyrics to such an intuitive degree.  They were equally passionate about the causes they took up, and looking at their charts, they are a true brother and sister (her Moon conjuncts his Sun exactly).  They lend power to each other, with her Mars exactly trine his Pluto, and they have karmic ties (her Neptune exactly conjunct his North Node, her Descendant exactly conjunct his North Node).

She says: “The Nobel Prize for Literature is yet another step towards immortality for Bob Dylan. The rebellious, reclusive, unpredictable artist/composer is exactly where the Nobel Prize for Literature needs to be. His gift with words is unsurpassable. Out of my repertoire spanning 60 years, no songs have been more moving and worthy in their depth, darkness, fury, mystery, beauty, and humour than Bob’s. None has been more of a pleasure to sing. None will come again.”

Award

His award comes as Jupiter establishes itself in his 10th House of Career and Reputation.  But also, Uranus sextiles his natal Mercury (Ruling Planet) in Gemini in his 7th House.

Some of the lines in “The Times they are A-Changin'” read like today’s papers on politics and climate change, and are as relevant today as when he wrote them in the 1960s.

 

Aspects

This week’s aspects are challenging, so I will try and show any possible upside if I can.  If you are reading this today (Sunday 16th) you may already have dealt with two of them, so that is a plus.

It could be that while you slept (in the U.K.), you processed the Pluto square to Mercury and the Full Moon in Aries conjunct Uranus, so all well and good.  Others of us were having the customary night of insomnia which often accompanies a Full Moon.  Pluto square to Mercury will have meant you had much on your mind, and the Full Moon will have brought a full flood of emotion.

Tuesday (18th) to be fair does not constitute a challenge, so could represent a bright spot in the week.  For Venus enters Sagittarius that day, after a period of intensity in Scorpio.  Feelings become more expansive, and sociability comes more easily.  Philanthropy and benefaction may come through, e.g. we may see the declaration of more generosity from the wealthier at the top trickling down.  They need not all rush at once, because they have until 12th November when Venus moves into Capricorn to make their donation.

On Wednesday (19th) Mars conjuncts Pluto at 15 degrees Capricorn, and that of course means conflict. There may be skirmishes between Russia and the U.S. over Syria for instance.  In your own life, try to keep any loose cannons in your life under restraint, harmlessly redeployed, or distracted.  On the world stage, Donald Trump or Boris Johnson may say something offensive towards another nation.  Hopefully the peacemakers, the diplomats,  the negotiators, mediators, healers and lightworkers can step up their efforts.  They may be inspired to raise their game.

On Thursday (20th) Uranus opposes Mercury, which can bring a war of words, perhaps slightly less physical than the fisticuffs of Wednesday.  It may still be very tense, and make uncomfortable listening, privately or on the world stage.  You yourself may feel like a spot of unvarnished truth telling.  If so, I recommend listening to the whole speech on You Tube of Michelle Obama, talking about Donald Trump’s treatment of women.  It is the definitive speech on the treatment of women, a positive manifesto.  And her delivery is superb and polished.  If you need to make a speech that day, you could do no better than to study it.

Finally, on Saturday (22nd), and very late in the day, the Sun moves into the sign of Scorpio, from Libra.  Again, a change of sign is no bad thing.  But last ditch attempts at diplomacy are best attempted during the day itself, for when the Sun is in Scorpio the bargaining does get tougher.  You start to realize the consequences of your actions more clearly, and more intransigent lines are drawn in the transaction.  On the plus side, there is more sincerity and often more integrity on the table, whatever your enterprise.

To finish, a line of hope from Bob:

“I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released.”

The week in bullet points:

• Today – simmering down from high emotion and intense ideas
• Tuesday – feelings expand
• Wednesday – conflict
• Thursday – controversy
• Saturday – a state of flux