{"id":7842,"date":"2024-03-10T16:28:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-10T16:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=7842"},"modified":"2024-03-10T17:53:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T17:53:12","slug":"aspects-for-the-week-beginning-10-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=7842","title":{"rendered":"Aspects for the week beginning 10 March 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) and Taylor Swift<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson\u2019s great-grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that\u2019s me writing in the Quill genre.”<\/em><\/p>\n

~ <\/em>Taylor Swift<\/p>\n

A genealogical link was reported this week between America’s currently most popular singer Taylor Swift, and its most popular female poet, Emily Dickinson.\u00a0 Popular genealogy site Ancestry\u00a0 revealed that they are sixth cousins thrice removed.\u00a0 Is it possible also that Taylor Swift may be a reincarnation of Emily Dickinson?<\/p>\n

Part 1<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Emily Dickinson<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Some keep the Sabbath going to Church<\/em><\/p>\n

I keep it, staying at Home”<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Emily Dickinson<\/p>\n

Birth chart<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The two have birthdays within three days of each other, Taylor 13th December, and Emily 10th December (Sagittarians, both).\u00a0 They were both born in the same early segment of the morning, within an hour of each other, 4.40 a.m. (Emily) and 5.17 a.m. (Taylor).\u00a0 Consequently, they both have Scorpio Ascendants (Scorpio Rising).\u00a0 They are both high in Cardinal signs: 6 out of 10 for Taylor, and 5 out of 10 for Emily.<\/p>\n

Emily has a supremely literary triple conjunction in Sagittarius of the Sun with Mercury and Venus.\u00a0 Mercury and Venus together depict the Writer’s Archetype.\u00a0 Much of Emily’s poetry is described as transcendent, and she has the mystical conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune exact in her 3rd House of Poetry in Capricorn, the poignancy of which is shown by the trine of Chiron to that conjunction.\u00a0 Chiron itself bears a poignant position in her birth chart, appearing exactly on her Descendant (relationship point).\u00a0 Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation, and this is clearly shown in her having the Moon (day-to-day lifestyle) in the 12th House of Isolation.\u00a0 Much of her poetry was also concerned with death and dark romanticism (she was hit hard by the many deaths of loved ones in her life), and that is shown by Venus loosely trine Pluto (the planet of death):<\/p>\n

Because I could not stop for Death –<\/em><\/p>\n

He kindly stopped for me –<\/em><\/p>\n

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –<\/em><\/p>\n

And Immortality.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Her passion, too, is shown by the conjunction of Mars and Pluto.\u00a0 Saturn being conjunct the Midheaven (Career Point) points to the fact that she was not known about in her lifetime, occurring in the 10th House of Reputation.\u00a0 This is also part of a triple conjunction, with the North Node (karmic mission), indicating that it was her destiny to plough that anonymous path.<\/p>\n

Life and Career<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachussetts.\u00a0 Her father was a lawyer, and she was one of three siblings, having a brother Austin and a sister Lavinia, to whom she always remained close.\u00a0 As a child, she developed her musicality and played the piano well.\u00a0 She was educated at Amherst Academy, then stayed for a while at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.<\/p>\n

At the age of 14, she experienced her first traumatizing death, and its accompanying melancholy, that of her second cousin Sophia from typhus.\u00a0 Pluto was transiting opposite her natal Moon at the time, death of a close female.<\/p>\n

She was especially emotionally close to her brother’s wife Susan, whom she first met in Boston while recovering from the death of cousin Sophia, long before Susan married Emily’s brother Austin.\u00a0 Susan was born only 9 days after Emily in the same year, so shared close ties in their birthcharts, and may have been soul mates.\u00a0 Because of the mystery and ambiguity in her writings and her isolated lifestyle, Emily’s relationships have been a cause of intrigue, and she did have a number of close relationships, often alluded to in her writings.<\/p>\n

One of these was Samuel Bowles, a married man, who published a few of her poems in his newspaper The Springfield Republican\u00a0 He was close to her until he died in 1873. \u00a0\u00a0She met him in her brother’s home, and they often discussed their shared interests of politics, and reform.\u00a0 During the course of her life, she wrote him many letters and poems.\u00a0 Their synastry indicates a constraint in their relationship (his Saturn opposite her Venus), as well as a complexity (his Uranus on her Neptune).<\/p>\n

She became increasingly withdrawn and isolated in her life, by choice, taking to wear white and hardly leaving her home.\u00a0 She did, however, continue to correspond to friends, sending flowers and snatches of poetry. \u00a0She suffered from Bright’s disease, a condition of the adrenals, which exacerbated her withdrawal. \u00a0\u00a0She died on 16 May 1886, at 6:00 p.m., in the same house she was born in. \u00a0The prolific extent of her poetry was only discovered after her death in 1886, with the discovery of over 1000 poems by her sister Lavinia.\u00a0 Some of these were published posthumously in 1890.\u00a0 Among her letters that remained (Lavinia burned some of them in accordance with Emily’s wishes) were three letters, known as “The Master Letters”, to an unknown love, or composite loves, which have been a source of conjecture about the various identities of her male friendships.<\/p>\n

Literary Output<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Early influences in her writing were William Wordsworth and Ralph Waldo Emerson.\u00a0 She also came to love the work of Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte and William Blake.\u00a0 Her style was succinct, with idiosyncratic punctuation and unconventional capitalization.\u00a0 Her use of punctuation gained effect from pauses and silences.\u00a0 There is a great sense of ambiguity in her work, so that her poems repay revisiting in order to subsequently glean more meaning.<\/p>\n

“The Soul has Bandaged moments –<\/em><\/p>\n

When too appalled to stir –<\/em><\/p>\n

She feels some ghastly Fright come up<\/em><\/p>\n

And stop to look at her – “<\/em><\/p>\n

Her poetry has been compared to that of W.B. Yeats.\u00a0 Early publications of her work were distorted by alterations made by the Victorian sensibilities of the time according to traditional poetic forms and punctuation.\u00a0 She may have been ahead of her time, in her more streamlined style.<\/p>\n

Hope\u201d is the thing with feathers \u2013
\nThat perches in the soul \u2013
\nAnd sings the tune without the words \u2013
\nAnd never stops \u2013 at all \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n

Part 2<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor Swift<\/span> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“If my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the quill genre.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Regular readers of my blog who have good short-term memory, will realize that I only just wrote about Taylor Swift on 11th February!\u00a0 Here is some re-cap:<\/p>\n

Birth Chart<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Taylor has over half (6) of her planets in the Cardinal signs, marking her out as a leader, which she is in many ways.\u00a0 She has the Sun in Sagittarius, but unaspected, making her very Individualistic, and Venus. An exception is a karmic sextile to her Sun from the North Node, so she may be driven by destiny.\u00a0 She has a fascination for storytelling, and one of the Archetypes for Sagittarius is The Storyteller.\u00a0 Venus is also unaspected, making her a free spirit in terms of relationship…”<\/p>\n

Life and Career<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Swift’s parents were very supportive of her ambition (Saturn trine her natal Midheaven), and she began song-writing professionally at the age of 14.\u00a0 By 2005 she had signed with a record label, Big Machine Records.\u00a0 She was heavily influenced by the country music genre (Shania Twain being a favourite), and her first album “Taylor Swift” was released in 2006, but by 2014 (the year when she moved to New York after living in Nashville) she had departed from this genre with her fifth album “1989” (which was her birth year)…Harvard University has her lyrics as part of their curriculum, entitled “Taylor Swift and her World”, acknowledging the phenomenon that she is.”<\/p>\n

Relationships<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Relationships are all good fodder for songwriting, and Taylor Swift has had a stream of boyfriends, including Joe Jonas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, Matt Healy and Joe Alwyn.\u00a0 Most of the relationships were short lived, except for the six year relationship with Joe Alwyn.\u00a0 And so to Travis Kelce..”.<\/p>\n

Part 3<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Comparisons<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Physically, there is some resemblance, particularly around the mouth area.<\/p>\n

Astrologically, they have extraordinary “coincidences” in common: close birthdays, the same rising signs, similar birth times.<\/p>\n

Both have had problematic relationships.<\/p>\n

They are both highly popular in their country as wordsmiths.<\/p>\n

However, their lifestyles are completely different: one reclusive, and the other seeking the limelight.\u00a0 Their natures may be different, but sometimes souls choose a completely different type of life for balancing purposes.<\/p>\n

It’s also interesting that although she rarely ventured from her home at Amherst, Massachussetts, she did once, uncharacteristically, undertaking a long journey to Pennsylvania – the place where later her descendant Taylor Swift was born.<\/p>\n

So, are they merely<\/em> related, or is Taylor Swift a reincarnation of Emily Dickinson?\u00a0 The astrology is compelling (and I have looked at many such pairs over the years, including Kate Bush and Emily Bronte).\u00a0 A particular detail which could indicate a reincarnated soul is in their synastry, where Taylor Swift’s Pluto (Rebirth) is exactly<\/em> conjunct Emily Dickinson’s Ascendant. But the jury is still out, not quite there.<\/p>\n

Aspects<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day!<\/p>\n

The day’s aspects started in the early hours with the ingress of Mercury into Aries.\u00a0 You might need to be prepared for plain speaking today, whether your own (perhaps without engaging the brain!), candid words from others, or unpalatable government announcements. You will need to get to the point much more directly in your communications, and there is more sense of urgency about paperwork.\u00a0 So, more direct communication is on the cards.<\/p>\n

At breakfast time, we were treated to a New Moon in Pisces, which is the most sensitive manifestation of the New Moon, and a time to set intentions, make affirmations, and creatively visualize along the lines of peace in your own environment, and the plight of war-torn nations around the world.\u00a0 Lessons we have recently learned can be put to good use.\u00a0 It may be time to soothe old wounds and move on.<\/p>\n

This evening Mercury is sextile with Pluto, a harmony which can produce profound thought and communication, honouring the gravity of a situation if necessary, and enabling meaningful debate to occur.\u00a0 It is a good space for reading something profound, such as the poetry of Emily Dickinson.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, Monday 11th, Venus enters Pisces, bringing in a greater component of compassion.\u00a0 You may have been looking at things in a mental or practical way, and may be able to relax a little and allow the heart greater expression.\u00a0 The trend towards tenderness lasts until her entry into Aries on 5th April.\u00a0 Charities can be honoured and prioritized, and the Arts can be especially inspired during this period.<\/p>\n

We’ll have to be content with a Fixed Star for the rest of the week, in the absence of aspects.\u00a0 Wednesday 13th has an alignment between our Sun and Markab, the alpha star of the constellation of Pegasus. “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld reveals of this star’s influence:<\/p>\n

“<\/strong>Markab can strengthen the ability to share psychic gifts such as telepathy in a loving way.\u00a0 The characteristics of individuals who have struggled with telepathy will come into greater focus and consciousness so that they can resolve the deeper issues.\u00a0 There is an enhanced ability to travel to remote locations with the astral body and exchange information easily with others at such a location.\u00a0 This is a form of telepathy.”<\/p>\n

The week in bullet points:<\/p>\n