A Genuine Gemini

 

May 27, 2005 (with chart)

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/may27.html

 

Dear Readers:

 

I am writing on Bob Dylan's 64th birthday, and after mentioning him in my introduction last week, I could not resist taking a look at his chart and asking myself a few questions. Both the work of Bob Dylan, and the path of his musical career, are truly prodigious. Consider that he left rural Minnesota and arrived in New York City in 1960, braying his new folk songs at the age of 19, and then by 20 had played Carnegie Hall.

 

By 21, he was world famous, but with more the feeling of T.S. Eliot than Britney Spears. In his early performances, including many at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village (there is an excellent CD available), he was sounding vivid warnings about the Vietnam War long before the war had even 'officially' begun in 1964. He was tackling civil rights issues and challenging the conventional wisdom of religion. And he had one of the strongest, most original voices in rock history.

 

Have a look at his chart, data provided by Astrodatabank.com, with an AA rating (the highest):

 

Now, how do we account for a raging iconoclast who literally reinvented folk music and contributed greatly to rock music, and whose name is known on every continent, but who has no major planets in his 10th house (career) and none in Aquarius (invention, rebellion)?

 

Hmmm. We have been thrown a bit of a curve, haven't we? This chart provides us with a bit of a lesson to those who ask about 'missing houses' and also 'what do I do if all my planets are concentrated in one place?'

 

I can offer a couple of theories, and they focus on hard work, creativity and the lunar nodes. Notice the concentration of planets across his 5th, 6th and 7th houses. These houses represent creativity, work and relationships, respectively. They are internally focused. The suggestion is that he was, in essence, writing 'for himself' and not for his audience.

 

Let's consider some of the placements. In his 5th house, the house of artistic talent and taking risks (interesting combination of themes, yes?) he has a conjunction of Saturn and the Moon. This, most astrology books will tell you is 'bad': heavy, debilitating, oppressive, karmic, blah blah blah. Perhaps so. Yet in Dylan's case, it has provided him with a solid foundation and a strong focus on his creative process. And as an artist he is uncompromising in his truth -- but frankly, we need him for just that.

 

Yet this is not merely self-serving. He reaches people. Plus, his music is impeccable, and stands up to thousands of playings. He is one of the truly excellent guitarists in history. His lyrics could be the subject of a graduate English seminar (and probably are somewhere). And everything he does is driven by values: Taurus. Notice that he has four major planets in Taurus, Saturn, the Moon, Uranus and Jupiter. In the 5th, that's a lot of creative energy.

 

In the 6th house, he has the Sun and Venus. The old joke, 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!', is the story of Dylan's career. I heard that during the 1987 tour in which the Grateful Dead played as his backup band, he had them rehearse 100 songs for seven shows. Anybody but the Dead would have collapsed in a heap on the floor. He is a taskmaster. With Venus in his 6th, we know that his first love is his work.

 

Then on the 7th cusp, we have Mercury, the ruler of Gemini, perched like a beacon. This is what we see when we see the man: he incarnates before our eyes as a messenger, shape-shifter, and magician -- and with incredible power. For us listening to Dylan today, it's difficult to imagine what shocking force he came through with in the Sixties, challenging the older generation to get out of the way: "The times they are a-changin."

 

Hard work and a strong message is not enough to account for such fame, however. Here's where aspects to his lunar nodes come in. He has all those Taurus planets trine the North Node and Neptune in Virgo. Strong aspects to the nodes can make you a household word, and they can support the mission you have in life with great energy. Look at the charts of people who make an impact and you'll see this over and over.

 

Last, note that he has late Sagittarius rising. His ascendant is pointed directly between the Galactic Core (at 27 Sagg) and the Great Attractor (at 14 Sagg, a massive object far outside our galaxy). This portrays him as a cultural force to be reckoned with, a teacher, and someone truly able to have massive impact and work on the level of global consciousness.

 

Thank you Bob, and happy 64. "May you build a ladder to the stars / climb on every rung / and may you stay forever young" (from the 1974 'Planet Waves' album).

 

Here is Lois Rodden's write-up on Bob's chart.

NOTE that she uses a different house system (equal) that presents a different chart than you have above.

 

Here is a great site with lots to offer.

 

By the way -- today's edition of Astrology Secrets Revealed is the first anniversary of this project (hmm, it's a Gemini -- I never thought of that!). Thank you Jonathan for the bytes and hits, thank you to everyone who has written in, and I offer an ocean of appreciation to everyone who helps out (wow, it's a lot of people, in four time zones!): Vanessa, Deirdre, Michele, Rachael, Pam, Tracy, Chelsea and Greg. And thanks to Melanie and Joe for your wisdom and support.

 

Please tune into PlanetWaves.net and PlanetWavesWeekly.com for lots more about the current stars. Your subscriptions to my weekly news service sponsor this Q & A column -- thanks to the many happy readers who have subscribed. Here are a few of your questions for the week.