Category Archives: horoscope interpretation

Beethoven Lives

Ludwig von Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He had the Sun, Moon and Mercury all in Sagittarius. Beethoven’s music is immediately recognizable for its drama and liveliness, which convey a feeling of vitality – it always moves forward. (Mozart also had the Moon in Sagittarius and his music exhibits a similar vital energy.)

Astrodatabank lists several possible times of birth for Beethoven, and I prefer the chart for 1:29 pm. This puts the Moon and Mercury in the 8th house of the metaphysical world and the Sun conjunct Jupiter in the 9th house of international acclaim. Beethoven lives on through his music across both time and place.

The composer’s success took some time to achieve, however, and even much of Europe did not appreciate his work until after his death in 1927. While Jupiter conjoins the Sun, it’s in its detriment in the sign of Capricorn. Success would therefore take time and effort, but could be long-lasting. Saturn in the 5th house trines Beethoven’s Sun, Moon and Mercury, giving a similar indication for the longevity of his creative work.

Our popular image of Beethoven is with a striking head of long hair. Astrologically, hair is ruled by both Capricorn and Saturn, and its abundance is indicated by Jupiter. Several locks of Beethoven’s hair which still exist were taken after his death (a customary memento in the 19th century).

A fascinating book called Beethoven’s Hair documents the travels of a lock of the composer’s hair and its recent journey to the U.S. Medical tests revealed conclusively that the composer suffered from lead poisoning, also ruled by Capricorn and Saturn. Since Jupiter in Capricorn conjoins the Sun in the 9th house in Beethoven’s horoscope, we’ve learned more about his journey through life from his hair’s travels after his death!
<br />

Barbara Walters and Saturn

TV journalist Barbara Walters is probably one of the best known women in her field. With the Sun, Mercury, Mars and Ascendant in Libra, she became known not only for presenting the news, but also for her relationships with the great, near-great, famous and infamous people she interviewed. Typically Libra, she projected a cool and classy image that attracted others to her.

On May 16, 2014, Barbara appeared for the final time on her show The View, where she’d had success since 1997. Born on September 29, 1929 at 6:50 AM in Boston, Massachusetts, Walters turned 84 towards the end of 2013 and experienced her Uranus return from 2013 to early 2014, a transit that typically occurs in the 84th year. This transit is a major one for those who live to experience it. For Barbara, with natal Uranus in the 6th house, the return marks the end of a major part of her working life in the Uranian field of television broadcasting.

But it is Saturn, who so reliably marks periods of life change, that pinpoints the timing of Walters’ career transition. Transiting her second house of income and exactly trining her Pluto conjunct the 10th house of status and reputation at her last appearance, Saturn has allowed her to gracefully sign off from a fabulous career.

Taurus Singers

Each generation has its own Taurus singers. Why? Taurus rules the throat and is associated with Venus, the planet of grace, beauty and soothing sounds. Taureans are known for their relaxed manner, so crucial to a strong voice. The Moon expresses our emotions and is exalted in this sign. Planets in Taurus in a horoscope are ruled by the Moon through exaltation. This highlights the singer’s ability to express emotion and share their feelings.

Taurus is also a fixed sign, and many Taurean singers have staying power – both in terms of their careers and their ability to retain a stable, youthful-sounding voice. Consider these well-known and popular stars:

Kelly Clarkson has the Sun, Moon and Mercury in Taurus. She’s extremely grounded and stable. Taurus is not generally a fan of excess movement, and Kelly usually stands and sings – nothing distracts us from her beautiful voice!

Adele has the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus. No one can deny that she not only has strong feelings but also – almost a literal translation of Jupiter in Taurus – a big voice.

Enrico Iglesias only has the Sun in Taurus, but as a hugely successful singer in the Spanish language market, he must have a tremendous bank account (ruled by Taurus – presumably most of the Taureans named here also do). The influence of Venus is evident – he’s been the spokesman for several fragrances and his most recent album is called Sex and Love.

Janet Jackson has the Sun, Mercury and Mars all in Taurus and Mars gives her the ability to move! The fixed sign shows why she’s been recording for over 40 years and has the status of an icon. Her musicality and taste, also Taurus traits, may be more significant than her voice itself.

Bono has the Sun, Mercury and Venus all in Taurus. He’s earnest and sincere, committed to his marriage and kids, U2 and philanthropic ventures. He’s raised tremendous amounts of money for worthwhile causes and remains politically active. And check out that classic Taurus neck!

Billy Joel, with the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars in Taurus combined pop singing with a rock edge. (He also owns a motorcycle shop.) He has tremendous staying power and continues to tour.

Cher, with the Sun and Mercury in Taurus, continues to belt them out. In the midst of her 8th solo tour in 2014, she still looks fabulous.

Stevie Wonder’s Sun and Mercury in Taurus remind us of his lovely mellifluous voice. He recorded his first record at 12 and had a hit single by 13. A peaceful person, he has remained a force in the industry for over 50 years.

Frankie Valli’s Sun, Mercury and Mars rocketed him to stardom but he certainly has an unusual Taurean voice! Jersey Boys, the Broadway show about his group The Four Seasons, has been going strong since 2005.

Who could forget the sound of Barbara Streisand, who has the Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Uranus all in Taurus, with both a lovely and unique voice. While her vocal range may not be quite as wide as it once was, she recently returned to her hometown of Brooklyn for a bravura concert at 70+. She’s always enjoyed the sure, stable voice so typical of many Taureans.

Roy Orbison, with the Sun, Mercury, Mars and Uranus all in Taurus was an innovator and used his voice in extraordinary ways. While I don’t think a falsetto is particularly Taurean, he shares that talent with Frankie Valli. He also shares dark sunglasses with Bono – more research is needed to figure that one out! He was another master of the “stand and sing” technique – it’s all about the voice!

Ella Fitzgerald could take run-of-the-mill songs and turn them into gorgeous, romantic music. With the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter all in Taurus she not only had an incredible instrument, but consummate taste and a tremendous voice that remained strong well into her senior years.

Bing Crosby is best remembered for his round, unmistakable tones (still heard in Christmas songs and old movies). With the Sun and Mercury in Taurus, they’re still listened to today.

And let’s not forget actresses Ann Margaret (Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus in Taurus), who couldn’t resist singing in Tommy and Bye-Bye Birdie, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer (Sun in Taurus) and her lounge act in The Fabulous Baker Boys.

There must be many more, such as Elton John, an Aries with the Moon in Taurus, whose vibrant voice continues to please after more than four decades.

Earth Day Astrologically

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 and is now an annual event drawing attention to sustainability and the environment. The horoscope for Earth Day features the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Saturn all in the sign of Taurus, perhaps the most grounded of the earth signs. Taurus gives Earth Day its practical agenda and highlights the peace and beauty of the earth.

The chart also contains Pluto in the earth sign of Virgo, which suggests the essentials of growth and conservation as well as clean energy. In addition, the Moon and Jupiter are both in Scorpio, ruling recycling and the regenerative forces of nature.

The horoscope for Earth Day meshes very nicely with New York City’s Sun and Mercury in earth sign Capricorn, as well as the U.S. chart, which has the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in the home-oriented sign of Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn. I don’t expect that the people who originated Earth Day were astrologers, but as so often happens, the appropriate significance of a horoscope cannot be denied!

Flight 370 Disappearance and Neptune

News reports about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 are full of keywords for Neptune. The missing plane presents a mystery, having simply vanished from the radar. Due to fragmentary and conflicting clues, there have been false leads and confusion, with initial speculation that the plane fell into the sea. Millions of volunteers around the world have been conducting a virtual search by scanning satellite images online.

When we have such a strong thematic emphasis, it’s a good bet that Neptune is strong in the horoscope for the flight’s take-off. It left Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 AM and it’s no surprise that Neptune is exactly conjunct the angular 4th house and creates a grand cross with the Moon in Gemini on the Descendant, along with the Ascendant and the Midheaven.

The other angular planet in the chart, the Moon in Gemini, also highlights themes relating to communications issues. Pinging signals were picked up from the plane for several hours after it disappeared. In addition, The Data Link System and Transponders used to communicate location with air traffic controllers were shut down, quite an unusual situation. The plane now appears to have flown for a number of hours after being redirected from its original route.

Time will reveal what the Neptunian deception in this matter is, and whether the passengers and crew have been taken prisoner or may have fallen into the sea.

Welcome!

Hello! I’m Karen Christino, an astrologer and writer. I became addicted to astrology when I was 15 and I’m still hooked. And while I’ve written humorous essays and self-help pieces, what I mostly end up writing about is astrology. I find astrology endlessly fascinating since it can illuminate any facet of our lives. That’s why I love doing horoscope interpretations and personal forecasts for the future. We can anticipate what’s next in our lives.

But to look forward we also need to look back and understand past cycles and our multifaceted astrological tradition. So I’ve written books about the famous astrologer Evangeline Adams and edited a book of the incorrigible Al H. Morrison’s work, and done hundreds of articles about astrology and astrological techniques for astrology journals.

I’ve had a lot of fun with astrology, too, writing horoscope columns for such terrific magazines as Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Life & Style Weekly, along with features and forecasts for numerous other mainstream publications.

I believe that astrology can help us better understand ourselves, live our lives more fully, and begin to see the workings of the Cosmos. That’s why I tend to be something of a traditionalist. I see the psychological side of astrology, too, but I feel that astrology can help us more when we take the time to do a thorough study of an issue and make a definitive judgment. It can be done – it just takes time, and effort, and the acceptance that there are answers to our questions out there if we’ll look for them.

I hope you enjoy the thoughts that that I’ve collected on these pages!

Karen Christino is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com