Rosanne Cash is about to come out with her memoir, titled Composed. Published by Viking, it will be in stores Tuesday. The book tells the story of her evolution as an artist and songwriter, and fulfills her lifelong desire to write and publish. In my experience, musicians write slowly and thoughtfully. The 240-page project took her 10 years, during most of which Uranus was transiting her house of writing. Her charts suggest that this is a lot more than a book coming out — it’s the birth of a new phase of her career and indeed her life work.
Rosanne is a Planet Waves subscriber, and generously offered to do an audio interview for our readers. And, with her blessings, we have her chart for you to consider. As you might expect, this is an Aries Point chart — take a look at the 4th and 10th house cusps, those dark, nearly vertical lines. They go right through the Aries Point, which illustrates her connection to something much larger than herself.
These angles are getting lots of action right now — in particular, she has Saturn going right across her midheaven in early Libra. Remembering that what we call the ‘Aries’ Point covers the early degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, that means that she’s picking up energy from all four of those directions (many planets involved — you know them all by now, Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn and others), and due to Saturn’s presence, it’s focused on her career angle — the 10th house.
Saturn loves the 10th house; it has a Midas touch there. And Saturn is a very happy camper in Libra. I’m sure you’ve never heard anyone describe Saturn as a happy camper anywhere, but there you go, I just did. And over the next few days, Venus goes right over her midheaven (10th house cusp) and will still be strong and active when the book is officially released Tuesday.
One fascinating thing about Rosanne’s work right now — as you will hear in the audio segment — is that she’s delving into the preservation of historical American music. These are her worldly origins, as she grew up in the epicenter of the musical scene in the 50s and 60s — but she’s going deeper, into the roots of American musical traditions. This reminds me of Pluto in Capricorn, which I’ve characterized as everything old being new again.
While most of what the United States is known for is marketing culture, we have fermenting in the woods and fields and in the valleys and in revival halls and churches and in our trailers and cabins a living, amazing tradition of music — and Roseanne is one of its curators, its keepers, its high priestesses.
We see this in her 8th house — she’s the heir to a legacy, and Moon-Vesta in the 8th illustrates her priestess quality; Jupiter and Uranus offer a line into innovation and genius, and all of that stuff in the sign Cancer is about a homespun tradition. On one level, it’s come to her. On another, she’s taken her inheritance for herself, and made it into something new.
In our conversation, I describe her as the living embodiment of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I say that (besides from understanding her story) because she has the Great Attractor rising — this is an intergalactic point in mid-Sagittarius that is like a huge energy magnifier. (Her Gemini planets and her lunar nodes are, as well, in a conversation with the Galactic Center in late Sagg as well). So with all this Sagittarius, we’re looking at the chart of someone with a vision, and with a direct contact to what is bold and true.
But we already knew that. And man can she sing.
Here is her genuine official website. Here is her Wikipedia page. And here is the recording of our conversation from earlier this afternoon. (At the end I reference part two — that is off-mic.)
Re the nodes — the sign of the node in question tells you the ruling planet, which is one of the most meaningful ways to discern the node. The ruling planet’s house sign and aspects describes the experience of the node.
However, the house position of the node tells you more than the sign position, in terms of the aspect of life indicated by that position.
Now with Rose, the degree of the sign of the North Node gives a special condition — close to the Galactic Center. That is an unbelievably powerful grounding in a large, cosmic, incomprehensible reality, but the node is something we express on Earth. Jupiter, the N Node ruler, is conjunct Uranus in the 8th, suggesting that she was as a child constantly thrust into group environments, that she was constantly in the midst of an experience of other peoples’ values and arrangements — and that she has to be mindful of this now. North Node on the GC is about an experience of life that is larger than life. But it is still…life.
Mercury, the S Node ruler, is also in a special condition, in its ruling sign (Gemini) conjunct the South Node; there is a powerful emphasis on the past. She has come in with a distinct memory of who she is and of her message. Mars is right there. That tells me she came in wanting what she wants, irrespective of anything else. Mars is in the last degree of Gemini — a “do or die” placement, as in get hold of what you want as a life or death matter, and that may be how she feels.
The thing to watch is that her nodes go across 1/7 — self/other — suggesting that whatever else may happen in this lifetime, she is here to discover the fact of her own existence, and that dominates everything. There is a ‘side story’ to this and that is Pallas Athene lingering around the North Node. The planets gathered around a node help describe the experience of that node.
Pallas can contain a story of wanting to please one’s father. A Pallas woman is her father’s daughter true and true (the myth involves being born in full armor, from her father’s head), and Rose has this in her 1st house, in a big sign, Sagittarius. Note in this myth the theme of absence of mother, akin to Chiron.)
Living in the shadow of the monument known as Johnny Cash is as difficult as trying to get out of it, to regard oneself in one’s own light. It’s like being the only child of the Beatles. No matter what a person accomplishes, she runs the risk of being eclipsed by her dad’s achievements, which are incomparable; even Frank Sinatra had a hard time keeping up with Johnny Cash, in music sales and legend and adulation.
So now imagine a small child being born into this ecology. Imagine the limbic system and the ego forming in its midst. She runs the risk of feeling like her existence is an afterthought, and that is going to take some sorting out and an undeniable, even especially challenging, journey of self-realization, which is, I think, what she is writing about in her book.
I write about this all the time in the context of more ‘ordinary’ lives — we all have to overthrow our parents, our vision of them, our perception of their expectations of us. And this is rarely easy. I think that Rose has incredible guts to pursue a life in music (though it seems inevitable) because it’s probably easier to take a different route — an actor or writer, avoiding the comparisons. Can anyone imagine Meriel Hemingway writing novels?
The thing about the N Node is that it’s unavoidable. If you’re growing, you’re going to encounter that node and its whole story, and part of that story is everything associated with Pallas. On one level, it may be a curse. On another level, it provides essential grounding on the physical plane. I have been told by a Vedic astrologer I trust (Presanan, astrologer to Amma) that the Vedic tradition does not regard the North Node as ‘benefic’ because it describes what ties you down to the physical plane. I prefer to think of it as a sense of connection that, like everything else in astrology, we identify and claim fully and make our own — and do what we want with it.
To clarify:I of course was referring to her north lunar node. I have the same exact lunar node axis so it’s inspiring to see what someone else has done with it. It’s like the Gemini cluster is the surface level of American music and once you’ve heard enough of the pieces Sagittarius can put together a puzzle and form a much deeper picture of the roots of American music.
thanks, shebear! 🙂
i was momentarily shocked by the short, straight hair (i was always crazy about his long curls) and his face is a touch fuller, but still has that that stunning smile.
i’ll be sure to check out the interview…
Sagittarius 28:
A splendidly built bridge, a heritage of unknown ages, still spans the beautiful and wildly primitive stream.
Rose found her bridge.
Amanda:
Jian is still very much a MAJOR cutie-petootie!
Check out his smiling visage the “Q” website and drool some.
http://www.cbc.ca/q/
His interview with Roseanne is worth checking out. January 28th, 2010 is the date of the podcast — just click on the “listen” button in the cbc link above.
random tangent:
jian ghomeshi!!! back in the mid- to late-90s he & his band were friends with friends of mine in a band from western MA.
talk about a hottie! (is he still hot? please tell me he’s still hot!)
Wow — what a lovely afternoon surprise. Thank you Eric for this delightful interview with the lovely Roseanne Cash. I am a big fan! It’s especially sweet Roseanne, to know that you’re a member of the PW community! I also loved your interview a few months back with Jian Ghomeshi from Toronto’s radio show “Q”. It seems we have a few things in common too; Aries Point influences, Sagittarius rising, a DEEP love of music and Celtic roots. No wonder I’ve been a fan of your for ages!
Here’s to a very successful book launch on Tuesday. I’m definitely adding “Composed” to my summer reading list.
I look forward to reading rosannes memoirs! Truly a gifted artist and beautiful person. Music being a universal message that crosses all barriers and boundries. I often wonder where would my life be without it. No matter where I have been in my life, a song can bring back such an influx of memories. I am thankful for rosanne and her contribution to our rich musical roots. Thank you Eric for a great piece.
Peace and love
Patricia