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Modern Mythology
Several years ago I put together an interesting radio show
with two compelling but seemingly unrelated guests: Mythic
Astrologer Wendy Ashley, and screenwriter Norman Wexler. (Mr.
Wexler penned “Joe”, “Serpico”, “Mandingo”,
and “Saturday Night Fever”). Though the two never
met, Norman was in the studio with me in New York, and Wendy
was at her home in Maine, it was a fascinating hour that covered
the role of myth in our psyches and in our lives. Wendy Ashley,
one of astrology’s finest, began by explaining the vastness
of mythic astrology and it’s complex tapestry by way
of Mark Twain. She recited Mark Twain’s response to the
question, “How is it that you became a writer?”
He said, “it starts at the beginning of time”, segueing
to Caesar crossing the Rubicon, he somehow gets to the measles
epidemic that occurred during his boyhood in…” Wendy
blanked on the name of the town. Ever the scholar, Norman,
though in the middle of a manic episode and with his deep
voice-from-Hades, offered the word: “Hannibal”.
“Hannibal, Missouri”.
For a moment, I thought, how interesting. Mark Twain’s
reference to Caesar, Hannibal’s label “Rome’s
Greatest Enemy,” and Norman’s core energetic resemblance
in those manic moments to Anthony Hopkins’ career-defining
portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It’s all so connected.
In the 2oth century the movies became our myths. No one understood
this better than Norman. He adored myths. His favorite was
Beauty and the Beast. He was enthralled by the miracle of
redemption through love.
The Silver Screen-Cosmic Casting
One of my astrology teachers taught me to listen carefully
as “people talk their charts”. How true. Along those
lines, it can also be said that actors act their charts. The
more tortured the chart, the more the native is compelled
to find creative release for the unbearable tension. In the
late 1970’s, Viveca Lindfors, the late-great Scandinavian
actress, was viciously attacked on the street by a young slasher.
On the news, she said “How passionate that young man
is. What a shame that passion is unfocused. If he’d channel
that rage into something creative, he’d be magnificent”.
With that in mind, let’s discuss the phenomenon of “Silence
of The Lambs”, and the sequel “Hannibal”.
Movies are that which is projected on to “the Silver
Screen”. Silver is ruled by the Moon. Neptune is the
esoteric ruler of Cancer. This establishes a traditional/esoteric
link between the Moon and Neptune. Screens are Neptunian.
The moon speaks of lunacy. The Planet opposite the moon on
the astrological wheel is Saturn. Bi-polar conditions can
be described as someone who jetties between the moon and Saturn
(lunacy and depression). We can also say that when we give
in to our moon, and behave illegally, Saturn ensues (prison).
The glyph for Saturn is a crossed moon (the cross we bare
for our moon). The silver screen is a creative place to learn
all about our less civilized selves. Good drama is a balance
between both. The actor has to be free enough to explore the
insanity, and disciplined enough to contain it take after
take.
When a film (Neptune) achieves “hit” status and
captures the collective’s fascination, there’s good
reason for it. “Silence of The Lambs” was released
in 1991. The planet Neptune was midway through Capricorn.
Many of the movies of the 1980’s and 90’s dealt
with Neptune in Capricorn themes. Neptune, rules film, fantasy,
dreams, the unconscious, and the glorification of whatever
sign it’s in. Capricorn rules ambition, material success,
lust for status and power, and the bestial side of man (and
woman). In the Tarot, Capricorn is symbolized by card # 15:
The Devil. (Anyone had a good look at the red-eyed Anthony
Hopkins Hannibal poster?). Films like Wall Street, Working
Girl, and The Fisher King mirrored various aspects of Neptune
in Capricorn back to us.
The sign of Capricorn and its ruler Saturn deals with karma
(the law of cause and effect); he forces us to learn humility
and demands accountability for ones actions. Saturn’s
style is formal. He rules deprivation, institutions, quarantines,
prisons, prisoners, pits, (animal) pens, captivity, and covetousness.
All of the above images and conditions describe Dr. Lecter’s
circumstances and his words to budding FBI Agent Clarise Starling
(played by Jodie Foster in “Silence…”, and
a more experienced Agent Starling by Julianne Moore in “Hannibal”).
Even in prison, Lecter’s carriage is noble, his class
undeniably aristocratic. In the charts of Capricorns, we look
to the placement of Saturn for clues. In Sir Anthony’s
chart Saturn is at 29 degrees of Pisces and 7 minutes; the
very last degree of the Zodiac, trine Pluto at 29 Cancer.
Can you imagine the internal pressure to achieve spiritual
enlightenment and earthly success in perfect balance for Capricorns
with Saturn at 29 Pisces? It’s impossible. Sir Anthony’s
been plagued by deep depression and problems with addiction,
all indicated by the glaring Neptunian symbolism in his chart
(his Capricorn planets are in or close to his 12th house).
Furthermore, his Moon in Sagittarius is in a T Square to both
Saturn and Neptune. Cheery! This T Square is anchored by the
asteroid Chiron (The Wounded Healer) at 27 degrees of Gemini
in his 5th house, implying that he heals through the creative
use of words. Strong ties between Saturn and Neptune are commonly
found in the charts of many great (tortured) artists, composers,
and actors. The need that accompanies that combination to
make dreams real; to blend the mystical with matter, soul
with status,is a life long compulsion. It drives many to drink,
including Sir Anthony. He was an alcoholic for many years
until he joined AA. He continues in sobriety programs to this
very day.
The Myth of Saturn Meets Beauty and The Beast
But what would enable Sir Anthony to comprehend the roots
of Dr. Lecter’s cannibalism, well enough to take the
part and play it with such mastery? According to Wendy Ashley,
we cannot help but embody our myths. Hopkins continues to
depict his. He portrayed Capricorn Richard Nixon a few years
back, and he will star in The Devil and Daniel Webster later
this year. Are all casting people, screenwriters and film
directors versed in astrology and mythology? Probably not.
But in the case of the genius involved with Sir Anthony as
Dr. Lecter, I’d swear to it!
Perhaps Sir Anthony’s deep inner knowing is connected
to the myth and glyph of his ruling planet, Saturn. In the
myth we learn about Saturn’s ritual eating of his newborn
children. Saturn was the father of Jupiter, Pluto, Vesta,
Ceres, and Neptune. He didn’t want his children (patients,
in this case?) to grow because of the prophecy that one of
his children would seize his powers and overthrow him. Can
Saturn’s devouring behavior also be interpreted as an
all-consuming love? Many of us have heard our parents say
to us as children, “I love you so much, I could eat you
up!” In the Greek myth, Saturn’s (Kronos) wife Rhea
substituted baby Zeus with a stone, which Kronos swallowed.
Zeus was shipped to Crete, but when grown, returned as his
father’s cupbearer. Zeus slipped dad a mickey, forcing
Saturn to throw up his siblings, now grown. After a long struggle,
Zeus and his siblings prevailed. Saturn was banished to Rome
(In the film, it’s Florence), with a sickle. He became
the God of agriculture who presided over ceremonial rites
and reaped the harvest of corn and grain with that sickle.
This Hannibal has a way with a knife; he knows his way around
the kitchen, the operating room, and Williams Sonoma.
Saturn Speak
In Silence of the Lambs, the initial exchanges between Dr.
Lecter and Agent Starling are classic. Jodie Foster is a Scorpio
with her Sun on Sir Anthony’s Midheaven/Juno. Juno has
to do with fascination and possession. In synastry it is one
of the marriage connections. Her Jupiter is conjunct his Ceres
(food) and Mars. Ms Foster also has an interesting line-up
of planets and asteroids in Virgo including the Moon, Uranus,
Ceres, Pluto, Vesta, and Juno. With the exception of the Moon
and Uranus, all were former meals of Saturn, but not Agent
Starling. Upon entering Satan’s Lair, he provokes her,
“Look at you, with your good bag and your cheap shoes”.
He taunts her about her humble “white trash West Virginia”
beginnings and adds “you’ve made it all the way
up to the FBI”. He’s about to dismiss her and send
her back to school for good, but is enraged by the ultimate
humiliation she suffers at the “hand” of his cell-mate
(rent the movie, it’s too gross even for me with mercury
in Scorpio to describe here). He shouts: “Agent Starling,
come back agent Starling, that discourtesy is unspeakable,
I’ll give you a chance for what you love most!”
“What’s that?” she replies. “Advancement,
of course”, “look deep within yourself…..”
We later learn that “Yourself” is not a suggestion
for self- examination, but the name of a storage facility
that Dr. Lecter has kept for many years that holds the bottled
head of a victim who will be useful in Agent Starling’s
current case. In a subsequent visit he seems like an incarcerated
Professor Higgins to Ms Foster’s Eliza. Evoking “The
Rain in Spain”, and knowing the answer in advance, he
badgers her to pinpoint the motivation of the latest serial
killer. He asks: “What does he do?” “He covets,
that is his nature”. “What do we covet?” “We
covet what we see”. Pure brilliance. Pure Saturn. Ever
the teacher he is, even in a prison cell. He cannot resist
coaching this earnest student, nee paramour-protégé,
on her way up the ladder, even if she works for his captors.
Is this is the true parental love of Saturn gone awry?
With detail inspired by the Gods, Hopkins first appears in
Florence, sporting a hat with a rim tilted at about the same
angle as Saturn’s rings. Here, as curator of a museum,
Hannibal encounters the greedy (dark Capricorn) detective
(Giancarlo Giannini) with a family curse “hanging”
over his head. The Hanged Man in the Tarot symbolizes Neptune/Pisces.
He doesn’t stand a chance. The juxtaposition of class
distinction suggested by the scenery is intoxicating, from
the bowels of a Baltimore drug-infested suburb, to the magic
of the opera in Florence, and through a montage chase in Union
Station in Washington, DC, including a merry-go-round (the
karmic wheel?) we are reminded of the meaning behind the world’s
structures and what they represent. The synastry between Hopkins
and Moore sizzles. Though we have no birth time for Ms. Moore,
her Jupiter and Juno are precisely on his Sun, with Saturn
close by. Her Venus is on his ascendant, her mercury conjunct
his MC. Their paths cross after 10 years when he is elevated
to The FBI’s 10 most wanted (hey, it’s still status),
and she’s in trouble professionally. He’s inside
her head all right, this time, he taunts her with “People
don’t tell you what they’re thinking, they just
see to it that you don’t advance in life”. These
two really know how to get to each other. The combination
of wisdom, grace, culture, carriage, commitment, and culinary
skill in one celluloid demon is too much to take!
Later, at “dinner” Hannibal’s need to escape
the law in a hurry conflicts with his unwillingness to harm
Clarise. Instantly choosing between his life and hers, he
gives her a choice: “above or below the wrist”.
His is the ultimate sacrifice (12th house) for love. What
a guy! What a planet! And we thought Saturn was all-bad. How
magnificently Sir Anthony bares the cross for our collective
moon. Thrilling.
Post Script:
The aforementioned radio show aired Aug. 23, 1997. Norman
Wexler died 2 years later to the day.
Data: Sir Anthony Hopkins: Dec 31, 1937 @ 9:15 AM Port Talbot,
Wales
Source: Lois Rodden quotes Dave Hayward as quoting Sir Anthony
Jodie Foster: Nov 19, 1962 @ 8:10 AM Los Angeles (Astrozine)
Julianne Moore: Dec 3, 1960, Fayetteville, NC (double check
this) Star IQ
All charts are Placidus, Geotropic.
Bibliography:
The Astrology Sourcebook by Shirley Soffer
The Rulership Book, by Rex E. Bills
Mythic Astrology by Ariel Guttman & Kenneth Johnson
"Hannibalism" is published in the April/May NCGR
(National Council for Geocosmic Research) Member Letter
NCGR
Shelley Ackerman is a New York based astrologer and frequent
on air commentator. She heads the NY affiliate of the American
Federation of Astrologers. Her website is www.KarmicRelief.com.
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