Astrological Aesthetics #1 - The Case for a Scientific Astrology, with a Demonstration of Zodiacal Influence in Art
Do you believe in gravity? It’s a silly question. Gravity is not quite something to ‘believe’ nor ‘disbelieve in’ - rather, it is something to observe. Would you deny gravity was real simply because you didn’t know where it came from?
The facts come first. “Why?” comes later. This truth addresses most questions you will have about astrology: Why does the Tropical Zodiac work when it doesn’t line up with the constellations? Well, it’s enough to say that it observably does - and why did you assume it needed to line up?
You read a book of astrology which said something about you which wasn’t true? Then it’s a flawed book. Most are trash. You got a reading which was so vague as to be unfalsifiable? Then you encountered an incompetent astrologer. Most are.
But I ask: Does malpractice invalidate surgery? Would you fail to go to hospital with a broken arm just because some doctors are incompetent? No. There are good and bad doctors, as there are good and bad astrologers. Astrology’s integrity as a science is not troubled by the incompetence of individuals.
What is science? It is firstly the application of reason to evidence; Secondly, the acquisition of evidence by means which control adequately for confounding factors; And thirdly, the delineation of those means so that others can attain identical evidence. All of this is possible within astrology. Let’s do it now.
Demonstration: Zodiacal Influence in Art
Here I will demonstrate clear correlations between the features of various artists’ work and the position of the planets at their birth. I will focus on the influence of three Zodiac Signs: Virgo, Libra and Gemini.
I wish to show only that each Sign leaves its characteristic mark on the artist’s work. This does not mean that every feature of each work can be explained by that Sign, nor do we wish to completely account for each artist’s aesthetic. Our aim is solely to demonstrate the consistent influence of Virgo, Libra and Gemini in artists of radically different origins.
Factors
We will here define every factor integral to our demonstration.
Venus
The planet most intimately associated with our sense of beauty. Its placement in the Zodiac at one’s time of birth indicates their aesthetic tastes. This is its symbol: ♀
Signs
The Zodiac Signs. There are four elements:
Fire in red, Earth in Green, Air in yellow and Water in blue.
Houses
Depending on when a person is born, different Signs will form different Houses. These different Houses indicate the condition of different domains of the person’s life. The 1st House or Ascendant is the Sign rising on the Eastern horizon at the time of birth.
The 5th House is integral to our demonstration as it’s the house of artistic expression. The 5th House is the 5th Sign from the Ascendant, counting counter-clockwise.
(eg. If Aquarius is Ascending, then Gemini is the 5th House;
if Taurus is Ascending, then Virgo is the 5th House.)
Rulers
Every Sign is ruled by a planet.
If Venus is in a Sign, it’s ruled by that Sign’s ruler. The condition of Venus’ ruler affects an individual’s aesthetic.
(e.g. If Venus is in Virgo, Venus is ruled by Mercury.)
The Ruler of the 5th House also has a significant impact on a person’s aesthetic.
(eg. If Leo is the 5th House, the 5th House is ruled by the Sun.)
Aspect
Planets are in aspect by
Conjunction if in the same Sign within 5 degrees of separation,
Sextile if two Signs apart and within 60 ± 3 degrees of separation,
Square if three Signs apart and within 90 ± 5 degrees of separation,
Trine if four Signs apart and within 120 ± 5 degrees of separation,
Opposition if six Signs apart and within 180 ± 5 degrees of separation.
This is relevant because a person’s aesthetic tastes are influenced by aspects to Venus, its ruler, any planet in the 5th House, and the ruler of the 5th House.
(eg. A planet in Capricorn could make a sextile to planets in Scorpio and Pisces, a square to planets in Libra and Aries, and so on.)
Defining Zodical Influence
We have eight criteria for saying a given Zodiac Sign figures into an artist’s aesthetic. These are:
Venus in [Sign].
(eg. Venus in Virgo)5th House [Sign]
(eg. With Taurus Rising, 5th House Virgo)Venus Lord in [Sign].
(eg. With Venus Pisces, Jupiter in Virgo)5th House Lord in [Sign].
(eg. With 5th House Pisces, Jupiter in Virgo)
Aspects from Venus to [Sign] by any planet.
(eg. Venus Pisces opposite Mars Virgo)Aspects from planets in the 5th House to [Sign].
(eg. Sun in 5th House Pisces opposite Mars Virgo)Aspects from Venus Lord to [Sign]
(eg. With Venus Pisces, Jupiter in Sagittarius square Mars Virgo)Aspects from 5th House Lord to [Sign]
(eg. With 5th House Pisces, Jupiter in Sagittarius square Mars Virgo)
When a given artist meets one or more of these criteria, it will be listed in brackets next to the Sign in question, in bold.
(eg. For indicating the influence of Virgo via Criterion 5:
Auguste Rodin, Venus Sagittarius square Mars Virgo (5).)
Isolating Zodiacal Influence
In order to clearly isolate the effects of each Sign we’re studying, we will list the influence of every Sign (amongst Virgo, Libra & Gemini) whose criteria the artist meets. If the artist’s exact time of birth is known and a Sign’s influence is not listed, we will know the Sign is absent from their work.
If an artist’s exact time of birth is unknown and we cannot rule out the influence of a given sign (say, Aquarius Rising giving 5th House Gemini), we will place an asterisk (*) next to their name and list all the Zodiacal influences of which we are certain, in the usual way.
(eg. Yasushi Nirasawa*, Venus Virgo (1).)
An unknown time of birth also allows for the possibility that planets will move in or out of aspect over the course of that day; as the Moon moves around 13.2 degrees through its orbit each day, it can easily move in or out of aspect to another planet. In cases like that, we’ll annotate the relevant criteria with an asterisk.
(eg. Gerald Brom*, Venus Pisces opposing Uranus & Pluto Virgo (5);
Venus potentially square Moon Gemini (5)*.)
Part 1 - Venus in Virgo
To start, we’ll constrain our scope and work only with the first criterion: All of the works in Part 1 are by artists with Venus in Virgo. Its aesthetic tendencies will be made clear.
Virgo’s aesthetic is granular, pointillist, clean, precise. Wherever the eye goes, it finds something to catch it and hold it.
David Gerry Partridge*, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Libra (3). The simplest expression of Virgo is the clearly defined point; the nail, the stud. See his Sculpture #237 (1969) above, and his mural Metropolis (1977) for Toronto City Hall below.
Libra’s influence provides symmetry & smoothness without compromising on Virgo’s desire for discreteness.
Marcel Duchamp, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Leo sextile Pluto Gemini (7) and Uranus Libra (7); 5th House Pisces ruled by Jupiter Libra (4). His Fountain (1917) is Virgoan both in the use of an everyday object and in the tactile hollows of the urinal. Libran influence is present in its flowing, symmetrical silhouette.
Raimo Utriainen, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Libra (3); 5th House Aquarius ruled by Saturn Sagittarius sextile to Sun Libra (8). Another case of Virgo and Libra producing work which flows whilst its components remain clearly, cleanly distinguishable. See Kuin viuhka (1979) above, and Rytmitellen (1976) below.
Theo van Doesburg, 5th House Taurus ruled by Venus Virgo (1, 4) square Pluto Gemini (5); Venus ruled by Mercury Libra (3) trine Pluto Gemini (7). Libra is present in all symmetries & doublings, Gemini is present in all short strokes & sharp turns, but the overwhelming impression is Virgoan: A heaping of granular bits, like fragments of seashell amongst the sand. See Composition IX, opus 18 (1917).
Aubrey Beardsley, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Virgo (3). More discrete points and sharp, clear penstrokes in The Beale Isoud at Joyous Gard (1894). Virgo can flow, in a sense, but one intuits he could trace his finger slowly down each line and feel everything. There are no ‘gaps;’ there is nothing implicit.
Oskar Schlemmer, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Virgo (3); 5th House Gemini (2). Much as above in Schlemmer’s Kopf (1919), but Gemini lends a ‘flick’ to each line, something bright & mobile.
Peter Max, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Libra (3); 5th House Capricorn ruled by Saturn Pisces opposite Venus Virgo (8). Libra adds its smooth & flowing lines, its symmetry; note how Max’s Cosmic Music City lacks the Geminian tightness & dexterity of the work above.
Olga Frobe-Kapteyn*, Venus Virgo (1). The Light of the Soul (1930) evinces the ‘A = A’ simplicity of Virgo’s lines.
Paul Laffoley, Venus Virgo (1). Virgo’s clarity & precision is naturally amenable to depictions of machinery, such as his Geochronmechane (1990).
Mamoru Oshii*, Venus Virgo (1) ruled by Mercury Virgo (3). More mechanical precision in this still from Ghost in the Shell (1995).
This is the first in a weekly series examining how aesthetics and astrology interface. See you next week.