Daily Astrology and Adventure is taking a 24-hour break from reporting financial news, barring any major developments. We will return to the topic on Monday.В
Dear Friend and Reader,
What’s the story with nudity these days? Pole dancers are wearing tracksuits and vying for the 2012 Olympics, and the Metropolitan Opera in NYC wants less heavy costuming, and more “take it off!”
Last weekend,the WPDF (World Pole Dancing Federation) held its sixth-annual European Championship competition in Amsterdam, where 14 finalists from nine countries competed for the title. Galina Troschenko from Spain came in first, and if you’re wondering why, take a look at the photo below — she’s touching her head with her toes!
Now, for any of you who’ve had to climb up a rope in Phys Ed, you can imagine how difficult pole dancing is: there is no question that these girls are serious gymnasts. And, on top of that, many of them are wearing sky-high heels and thongs while they perform: show me the last floor routine where that was a clothing requirement.
The buzz around the competition this year is all about qualifying as an Olympic sport, and in all likelihood, that’s why the headlines are focused on taking the sex out of pole dancing.
“Everything which we do requires so much strength. You train your legs and your muscles. It has nothing to do with eroticism. You have no time to think of that!” Jeannine Wikering, third place winner of the European championships, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, as I took a sneaky coffee break on Thursday morning, I opened up The Arts section of The New York Times and you know what the headline was? “Take It Off BrГјnnhilde: On Opera and Nudity.”
This month, both the Met’s production of “Salome” and “The Fly” will involve nude scenes for the main characters. (The production of “Salome” is returning after a four-year hiatus, which also included soprano Karita Mattila in the flesh, and not much else.)
I feel like I’ve stepped onto the set of 10 Things I Hate About You, that Heath Ledger/Julia Styles remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Basically, the uptight older sister (The Metropolitan Opera House) experiences a sexual awakening and learns to live a little, while the out-of-control little sister (pole dancers) finds a nice guy, buttons up her shirt and settles down.
While it seems inevitable that the Opera would join other stage arts (dance, plays) by including nudity, it keeps jarring with me that pole dancing — a sport/artistic medium that is almost solely practiced in strip clubs — is trying to deny its connection to sex. I can’t help but wonder: why do we have to erase all signs of sex before we can take something seriously?
Of course, being taken seriously is a major challenge for younger people, especially younger women. And,В when vying for legitimacy these days, wiping out the sex seems most important: ask any woman what her main objective was while dressing for a job interview.В We do this because it’s true: manipulating our physical appearance works sometimes, whether you receive your pole-dancing medal in a tracksuit and want to be part of the Olympics, or change your hairstyle 50 timesВ to look professional enough to be Vice President.В
Sex education in schoolsВ has becomeВ about avoiding sex through abstinence, and virginity is too-often connected to piety and trustworthiness. Juxtaposed to that, we are innundated by sex imagery on the market and the scandals of our government which involve sex and its secrecy. That seems to be what this whole thing is all about. The line however, of appropriate and inappropriate is about as straight as, well, Galina’s legs in that picture above.
What does this have to do with astrology? Where are actor’s from the (debatably) stuffiestВ medium on earthВ getting the inspiration to showВ the full monty at the MetropolitanВ Opera House? Why areВ women athletes lookingВ to a once-salatious entertainment as a new way to compete?В The answer lies inВ Uranus and Eris.
Now, for a bit of background, Uranus has been in Pisces since 2003 and it will cross into Aries in 2010. Traditionally, Uranus has been called the radical planet because transits involving this planet have to do with sudden, irreplaceable change of attitude, body or direction. Rebellion is a big part of Uranus, as is the shattering of former thought. Think electricity: soon after Uranus was discovered, inventions began improving communication and technology by leaps and bounds.
Pisces is the sign of compassion, dissolution and most importantly: art in all its forms. Uranus in Pisces therefore is a time when art communicates in a whole new way. Dots on canvas and giant “what-r-those” sculpted in steel have taken on a whole new definition of abstract. But also, entertainment has taken on new trends never before experienced such as reality T.V. shows, and that dancing guy named Matt.
Now, for a bit of background, Uranus has been in Pisces since 2003 and it will cross into Aries in 2010. Traditionally, Uranus has been called the radical planet because transits involving this planet have to do with sudden, irreplaceable change of attitude, body or direction. Rebellion is a big part of Uranus, as is the shattering of former thought.В Think electricity:В soon after Uranus was discovered,В inventionsВ began improving communication and technology by leaps and bounds.
Pisces is the sign of compassion, dissolution and most importantly: art in all its forms. Uranus in Pisces therefore is a time when art communicates in a whole new way. Dots on canvas and giant “what-r-those” sculpted in steel have taken on a whole new definition of abstract. But also, entertainment has taken on new trends never before experienced such as reality T.V. shows, and that dancing guy named Matt.
 |
|
From the performance of Manon in the Berlin State Opera. Opera has become increasingly racy in recent years, and the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC now includes nudity.
|
Most interestingly, Uranus in Pisces is opposite the natal Uranus of the Metropolitan Opera House, signifying a new revolution of expression on its stages. The Met’s moon is in Cancer, signifying a need to have attention. It also has Mars in Leo which means that when it needs to be, it can be brave and daring. Sounds a lot like a young actress baring all in the name of success, doesn’t it?
This same Uranus-energy could be applied to pole dancing, which has suddenly taken a turn towards athleticism. Are you surprised? That’s what Uranus is all about. Here in this example, it’s about finding new meaning in an old entertainment. But what about the competition facet?
Here we have a predominantly female group of gymnasts locked in competition that takes strength, endurance, and training. Sounds a lot like Mars, which is traditionally the planet of warriors and athletes. That these women are using a notoriously seductive form of dance forВ a more athletic pursuit bringsВ about a certain loss of words.
Women athletes, up until very recently, have not been viewed as sexual figures. And pole-dancing is an erotic artform. The fact is, women athletes are finding the boundaries of what is appropriate and inappropriate skill to be pretty flexible.В Yet the boundaries that are being crossed place them at the far back of the list of sportsВ on the list ofВ officialВ sports.В In our society, not only should women, but especially women athletes, shouldВ not seduce anyone but their lovers. What’s going on here is another manifestation of Eris in Aries.
Eris is the outcast in all of us. She is the bitch, the slut who likes it, the dyke. Eris refuses to fit in, and forces us to come face-to-face with whatever it is we would rather keep hidden.
All in all, these two planets combined provide us with the impetus to take sex to whole new levels and art to whole new meaning.
Yours & truly,
Genevieve Salerno andВ Rachel Asher