Aspects for the week beginning 9 October 2022

Loretta Lynn (1932 – 2022)

“Well, I was borned a coal miner’s daughter
In a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor but we had love
That’s the one thing that daddy made sure of”

~ Loretta Lynn

Country singer Loretta Lynn died peacefully in her sleep in Tennessee at the age of 90 this week.  Together with her friend and mentor Patsy Cline who was born in the same year, she was a pioneer of the genre.  The drama of her life was set out in her autobiography, which was then made into a film starring Sissy Spacek.

Birth Chart

Loretta had over half her planets (6) in Fire signs.  You would expect a high rating of Water signs for the passion of a Country singer, but she only had one planet in Water (Pluto in Cancer, the placing of her generation).  So the passion in her songwriting and delivery lay in the spiritedness of Fire.  She had the chart of a leader: half her planets (5) in Cardinal signs, and the Sun in Aries (the Pioneer, she certainly led a movement).  In a tribute, Carrie Underwood said that Loretta was “never afraid to be herself and speak her mind”.  Drama was her middle name, with the Sun/Uranus square to Pluto, the Uranus/Pluto square being exact.  Her trademark title was that of being a “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (the title of a song, a book and a film), which reflects her Sun/Pluto square, where the Sun (father) squares Pluto (coal-mining).  With the Moon trine Mars, she was able to project emotion (in her case through singing).  However, the difficulty of her early years is depicted by the Moon exactly opposite Saturn.  Astrologer Alex Trenoweth describes this aspect in “Mirror Mirror, The Astrology of Famous People and the Actors who Portrayed them”: “Saturn brings heaviness, responsibility and hard work and with its connection to the Moon, the emotions and memories of the past can be very serious”.  Mercury/Uranus trine Jupiter brought a great deal of travel in her life, and a brilliant mind firing on all cylinders, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit.  The square between Mercury and Pluto brought various health difficulties, including pneumonia (Mercury rules the lungs).  Her Venus (love and music) had several aspects: its close sextile to Mars was good for writing passionate tunes about philandering husbands.  Venus also sextile Jupiter indicated a very sociable individual with a love for humanity.  Venus trine Saturn gave the quality of loyalty (she stuck by her man).  Venus square Neptune left her susceptible to deception in relationships (the philandering husband); and last but not least, Venus conjunct the Midheaven marked her out for singing as a career.  Energy allied to enthusiasm was shown in Mars trine Jupiter, while the Midheaven (Careerpoint) sextile Jupiter bestowed lucky breaks in her career path.

Life and Career

Loretta was born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.  She was the oldest daughter and second child in a large family of eight children, with Cherokee heritage on her mother’s side.  The youngest daughter was Crystal Gayle, she of the record-breakingly long hair, whose music was more mainstream.  Loretta married Oliver Lynn when she was 15, and they began a large family of their own, comprising six children. At her death she counted more than 20 grandchildren. She used the ups and downs of marriage as material for her songwriting.  She taught herself to play the guitar, and formed a band, releasing her first single in 1960, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl”.  At the end of the year, she was named No. 4 in the category of Most Promising Country Female Artist, in Billboard magazine.  That was also the year she began appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.  Another high in her career was in 1967, when she reached No. 1 in the charts with “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)”.  She released her successful song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in 1970, and published her autobiography of the same name in 1976, detailing her impoverished childhood.  The Oscar-winning biopic of the same name followed in 1980.  Philandering husbands were not the only subjects of her songs, for she began to write more political songs, e.g. about female emancipation (“The Pill”), and on wider politics about Vietnam.  In the 1970s she formed a duetting partnership with singer Conway Twitty.  Her husband died in 1996, from diabetes, after a life marred by alcoholism.  She continued performing until late in life, but suffered a stroke in 2017, and broke her hip in 2018, which curtailed her activities.

A few years ago, hubby and I trotted off to the Corn Exchange in King’s Lynn (a rare thing) to attend a Crystal Gayle concert, and we were fortunate enough to see the legend that was Loretta Lynn, as she came on stage later to support her sister, together with Peggy Sue, another sister, so were treated to a flavour of that sisterhood.

“Yeah, I’m proud to be a coal miner’s daughter
I remember well, the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard
At night we’d sleep ’cause we were tired”

~ Loretta Lynn

Aspects

We are working our way up to a Full Moon this evening at 16 degrees Aries.  The Full Moon in Aries (emotional needs) opposes the Sun in Libra (balancing your own interests with that of the other) so it is a tussle, as it always is with a Full Moon.  This Full Moon is about Selfhood and Relationship, and bringing the two into balance.  So if you feel emotional tension increasing into the evening, it should subside after 8.55 p.m. (U.K. time).  That’s after the results show for Strictly Come Dancing, and hopefully you will breathe a sigh of relief that your favourite hasn’t been eliminated.

Tomorrow (Monday 10th) there is a different kind of tension, that stemming from an opposition between Venus and Chiron.  But again, it underlines the need for healing in relationships.  Minor health conditions may be caused by stress, and reducing stress may help to ease the conditions.  Music and meditation may be the way forward.  The issues may be connected with one’s inner female, or one’s relationships.  It may be an artistic conundrum.

The evening brings information which may be helpful to relationships, for Mercury enters the sign of Libra, re-entering after its retrograde period.  This brings a new mental focus on cultural themes, which could bring more pure enjoyment: art and music being fundamental areas for Libra, and decision-making. Mercury in Libra is slightly more relaxed than Mercury in Virgo, and it stays  only until 29th October, so it will be fast-moving.  Geminis and Virgoans may feel as though life is moving at a super-fast pace!

A comfortable trine occurs in the early hours of Wednesday (12th), between the Sun and Saturn.  This is a more down to earth aspect, but solid and productive.  If you are asleep at the time, you should sleep soundly!  If you are engaged in creativity, it can help ensure that it works on a practical level.  Simplifying your plans, or making economies, may make them more workable. This is especially useful to bear in mind if you own a business, and are considering staffing and resources.  One solid step at a time, and one day at a time.  By the end of the day, you may feel that you have honoured more than one area of your life.

Just before we reach dawn, Mars squares Neptune, which again may occur during sleep, and could produce a more bizarre dreaming phase than early in the night (check your fitbit for REM states!).  Confusion may reign, so take that time for thinking things through, if you have insomnia, to create a smoother ride for the day time. Meditation and activities which combine meditation and movement, can be helpful for centring, during the day itself, if you sense that this aspect is still operating on your consciousness.

By breakfast time, another influence altogether is operational, that of Mercury opposite Jupiter, again a different type of tension.  This may bring about communication and travel complexity.  You may feel you need to be in two places at once, and be summoned hither and thither.  Geminis and Virgos may need to factor in some extra relaxation time.  However, it is very mind-broadening, if not mind-stretching, if not information-overloading.  But you may feel heady with new ideas.  With so much going on first thing, you might want to provide a light schedule for the rest of the day, if possible, to digest your experiences.

An early breakfast aspect occurs on Friday (14th), comprising of Venus trine Saturn.  This brings hope, of people coming together with more commitment and loyalty.  Venus can provide a softening role to a hard line stance.  It is conciliatory, which may be just what is needed.  Relationships may need serious resolving, and this aspect can help, whether on a personal level, or between the North and South.  Liz Truss may U-turn on a previous hard line policy.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – emotional high tide
• Tomorrow – need for healing in relationships; harmonious information
• Wednesday – the early bird catches the worm: sound features; then a bizarre phase; information overload
• Friday – hope of commitment and loyalty.  Stand by your man.