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Jacques-Louis DAVID: astrology and birth chart |
Jacques-Louis DAVID,
born August 30, 1748 at 4:00 AM in Paris (France)
Moon in 17°49 Scorpio, MC in 11°12 Taurus
Astrology: 34,549 birth charts
Biography of Jacques-Louis DAVID
Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the prominent painter of the era. In the 1780s his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, chiming with the moral climate of the final years of the ancien régime.
David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre, and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, that of Napoleon I. It was at this time that he developed his 'Empire style', notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. David had a huge number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the 19th century, especially academic Salon painting.
Early life
Jacques-Louis David was born into a prosperous family in Paris on August 30, 1748. When he was about nine his father was killed in a duel and his mother left him with his prosperous architect uncles. They saw to it that he received an excellent education at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, but he was never a good student: he had a facial tumor that impeded his speech, and he was always preoccupied with drawing. He covered his notebooks with drawings, and he once said, "I was always hiding behind the instructor’s chair, drawing for the duration of the class". Soon, he desired to be a painter, but his uncles and mother wanted him to be an architect. He overcame the opposition, and went to learn from François Boucher, the leading painter of the time, who was also a distant relative. Boucher was a Rococo painter, but tastes were changing, and the fashion for Rococo was giving way to a more classical style. Boucher decided that instead of taking over David’s tutelage, he would send David to his friend Joseph-Marie Vien, painter who embraced the classical reaction to Rococo. There David attended the Royal Academy, based in what is now the Louvre.
David attempted to win the Prix de Rome, an art scholarship to the French Academy in Rome, four times between 1770 and 1774; once, he lost according to legend because he had not consulted Vien, one of the judges. Another time, he lost because a few other students had been competing for years, and Vien felt David's education could wait for these other mediocre painters. In protest, he attempted to starve himself to death. Finally, in 1774, David won the Prix de Rome. Normally, he would have had to attend another school before attending the Academy in Rome, but Vien's influence kept him out of it. He went to Italy with Vien in 1775, as Vien had been appointed director of the French Academy at Rome. While in Italy, David observed the Italian masterpieces and the ruins of ancient Rome. David filled twelve sketchbooks with material that he would derive from for the rest of his life. While in Rome, he studied great masters, and came to favor above all others Raphael. In 1779, David was able to see the ruins of Pompeii, and was filled with wonder. After this, he sought to revolutionize the art world with the "eternal" concepts of classicism.
Early work
David's fellow students at the academy found him difficult to get along with, but they recognized his genius. David was allowed to stay at the French Academy in Rome for an extra year, but after 5 years in Rome, he returned to Paris. There, he found people ready to use their influence for him, and he was made a member of the Royal Academy. He sent the Academy two paintings, and both were included in the Salon of 1781, a high honor. He was praised by his famous contemporary painters, but the administration of the Royal Academy was very hostile to this young upstart. After the Salon, the King granted David lodging in the Louvre, an ancient and much desired privilege of great artists. When the contractor of the King's buildings, M. Pecol, was arranging with David, he asked the artist to marry his daughter, Marguerite Charlotte. This marriage brought him money and eventually four children. David had his own pupils, about 40 to 50, and was commissioned by the government to paint "Horace defended by his Father", but Jacques soon decided, "Only in Rome can I paint Romans." His father in law provided the money he needed for the trip, and David headed for Rome with his wife and three of his students, one of whom, Jean-Germain Drouais, was the Prix de Rome winner of that year.
In Rome, David painted his famous Oath of the Horatii, 1784. In this piece, the artist references Enlightenment values while alluding to Rousseau’s social contract. The republican ideal of the general will becomes the focus of the painting with all three sons positioned in compliance with the father. The Oath between the characters can be read as an act of unification of men to the binding of the state. The issue of gender roles also becomes apparent in this piece, as the women in Horatii greatly contrast the group of brothers. David depicts the father with his back to the women, shutting them out of the oath making ritual; they also appear to be smaller in scale than the male figures. The masculine virility and discipline displayed by the men’s rigid and confident stances is also severely contrasted to the slouching, swooning female softness created in the other half of the composition. Here we see the clear division of male-female attributes which confined the sexes to specific roles, under Rousseau’s popular doctrines.
These themes and motifs would carry on into his later works Oath of the Tennis Court,1791. This piece, although remaining unfinished, was to commemorate the National Assembly’s resolve to take a solemn oath never to disband until the constitution was established and protected; the commitment to self-sacrifice for the republic. Commissioned by the Society of Friends of the Constitution, David set out in 1790, to transform the contemporary event into a major historical picture, which would appear at the Salon of 1791 as a large pen and ink drawing. As in the Oath of the Horatii, David represents the unity of men in the service of a patriotic ideal. What was essentially an act of intellect and reason, David creates with great drama in this work. The very power of the people appears to be “blowing” through the scene with the stormy weather, in a sense alluding to the storm that would be the revolution.
These revolutionary ideals are also apparentin the Distribution of Eagles. While Oath of the Horatii and Oath of the Tennis Court stress the importance of masculine self-sacrifice for one's country and patriotism, the Distribution of Eagles would ask for self-sacrifice for one's Emperor (Napoleon) and the importance of battlefield glory.
In 1787, David did not become the Director of the French Academy in Rome, which was a position he wanted dearly. The Count in charge of the appointments said David was too young, but said he would support him in 6 to 12 years. This situation would be one of many that would cause him to lash out at the Academy in years to come.
For the salon of 1787, David exhibited his famous Death of Socrates. "Condemned to death, Socrates, strong, calm and at peace, discusses the immortality of the soul. Surrounded by Crito, his grieving friends and students, he is teaching, philosophizing, and in fact, thanking the God of Health, Asclepius, for the hemlock brew which will ensure a peaceful death… The wife of Socrates can be seen grieving alone outside the chamber, dismissed for her weakness. Plato is depicted as an old man seated at the end of the bed." Critics compared the Socrates with Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling and Raphael's Stanze, and one, after ten visits to the Salon, described it as "in every sense perfect". Denis Diderot said it looked like he copied it from some ancient bas-relief. The painting was very much in tune with the political climate at the time. For this painting, David was not honored by a royal "works of encouragement".
For his next painting, David created The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons. The work had tremendous appeal for the time. Before the opening of the Salon, the French Revolution had begun. The National Assembly had been established, and the Bastille had fallen. The royal court did not want propaganda agitating the people, so all paintings had to be checked before being hung. David’s portrait of Lavoisier, who was a chemist and physicist as well as an active member of the Jacobin party, was banned by the authorities for such reasons. When the newspapers reported that the government had not allowed the showing of The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, the people were outraged, and the royals were forced to give in. The painting was hung in the exhibition, protected by art students. The painting depicts Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman leader, grieving for his sons. Brutus's sons had attempted to overthrow the government and restore the monarchy, so the father ordered their death to maintain the republic. Thus, Brutus was the heroic defender of the republic, at the cost of his own family. On the right, the Mother holds her two daughters, and the grandmother is seen on the far right, in anguish. Brutus sits on the left, alone, brooding, but knowing what he did was best for his country. The whole painting was a Republican symbol, and obviously had immense meaning during these times in France.
The Revolution
In the beginning, David was a supporter of the Revolution, a friend of Robespierre and a member of the Jacobin Club. While others were leaving the country for new and greater opportunities, David stayed to help destroy the old order; he was a regicide who voted in the National Convention for the Execution of Louis XVI. It is uncertain why he did this, as there were many more opportunities for him under the King than the new order; some people suggest David's love for the classical made him embrace everything about that period, including a republican government.
Others believed that they found the key to the artist's revolutionary career in his personality. Undoubtedly, David's artistic sensibility, mercurial temperament, volatile emotions, ardent enthusiasm, and fierce independence might have been expected to help turn him against the established order but they did not fully explain his devotion to the republican regime. Nor did the vague statements of those who insisted upon his "powerful ambition. . . and unusual energy of will” actually account for his revolutionary connections. Those who knew him maintained that "generous ardor", high-minded idealism and well meaning, though sometimes fanatical, enthusiasm rather than selfishness and jealousy, motivated his activities during this period.
Soon, David turned his critical sights on Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. This attack was probably caused primarily by the hypocrisy of the organization and their personal opposition against his work, as seen in previous episodes in David’s life. The Royal Academy was chock full of royalists, and David’s attempt to reform it did not go over well with the members. However, the deck was stacked against this symbol of the old regime, and the National Assembly ordered it to make changes to conform to the new constitution.
David then began work on something that would later hound him: propaganda for the new republic. David’s painting of Brutus was shown during the play Brutus, by the famous Frenchman, Voltaire. The people responded in an uproar of approval. On June 20, 1790, the anniversary of the first act of defiance against the King, the oath of the tennis court was celebrated. David was there wanting to commemorate the event in a painting, the Jacobins, revolutionaries that had taken to meeting in the Jacobin Monastery, decided that they would choose the painter whose "genius anticipated the revolution". David accepted, and began work on a mammoth canvas. The picture was never fully completed, because of its immense size (35ft. by 36ft.) and because people that needed to sit for it disappeared in the Reign of Terror, but several finished drawings exist and parts of the original canvas also exist showing nude figures with fully painted heads.
When Voltaire died in 1778, the church denied him a church burial, and his body was interred near a monastery. A year later, Voltaire’s old friends began a campaign to have his body buried in the Panthéon, as church property had been confiscated by the French Government. In 1791 David was appointed to head the organizing committee for the ceremony, a parade through the streets of Paris to the Panthéon. Despite rain, and opposition from conservatives based on the amount of money that was being spent, the procession went ahead. Up to 100,000 people watched the "Father of the Revolution" be carried to his resting place. This was the first of many large festivals organized by David for the republic. He went on to organize festivals for martyrs that died fighting royalists. These funerals echoed the religious festivals of the pagan Greeks and Romans and are seen by many as Saturnalian.
David incorporated many revolutionary symbols into these theatrical performances and orchestrated ceremonial rituals; in effect radicalizing the applied arts, themselves. The most popular symbol David was responsible for as propaganda minister, was drawn from classical Greek images; changing and transforming them with contemporary politics. In an elaborate festival held on the anniversary of the revolt that brought the monarchy to its knees, David’s Hercules figure was revealed in a procession following the lady Liberty (Marianne). Liberty, the symbol of Enlightenment ideals was here being overturned by the Hercules symbol; that of strength and passion for the protection of the Republic against disunity and factionalism. In his speech during the procession, David “explicitly emphasized the opposition between people and monarchy; Hercules was chosen, after all, to make this opposition more evident”. It was the ideals that David linked to his Hercules that single-handedly transformed the figure from a sign of the old regime into a powerful new symbol of revolution. “David turned him into the representation of a collective, popular power. He took one of the favorite signs of monarchy and reproduced, elevated, and monumentalized it into the sign of its opposite.” Hercules, the image, became to the revolutionaries, something to rally around.
In 1791, the King attempted to flee the country and was within 30 miles (48 km) of the Swiss border when he had a hunger attack that led to his arrest and eventual execution. Louis XVI had made secret requests to Emperor Joseph II of Austria, Marie-Antoinette's brother, to restore him to his throne. This was granted and Austria threatened France if the royal couple were hurt. In reaction, the people arrested the King. This lead to an Invasion after the trials and execution of Louis and Marie-Antoinette. The Bourbon monarchy was destroyed by the French people in 1792—it would be restored after Napoleon, then destroyed again with the Restoration of the House of Bonaparte. When the new National Convention held its first meeting, David was sitting with his friends Jean-Paul Marat and Robespierre. In the Convention, David soon earned a nickname "ferocious terrorist". Soon, Robespierre’s agents discovered a secret vault of the king’s proving he was trying to overthrow the government, and demanded his execution. The National Convention held the trial of Louis XVI and David voted for the death of the King, which caused his wife, a royalist, to divorce him.
When Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793, another man had already died as well — Louis Michel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. Le Peletier was killed on the preceding day by a royal bodyguard, in revenge for having voted the death of the King. David was called upon to organize a funeral, and he painted Le Peletier Assassinated. In it the assassin’s sword was seen hanging by a single strand of horsehair above Le Peletier's body, a concept inspired by the proverbial ancient tale of the sword of Damocles, which illustrated the insecurity of power and position. This underscored the courage displayed by Le Peletier and his companions in routing an oppressive king. The sword pierces a piece of paper on which is written ‘I vote the death of the tyrant’, and as a tribute at the bottom right of the picture David placed the inscription ‘David to Le Peletier. 20 January 1793’. The painting was later destroyed by Le Peletier's royalist daughter, and is known only by a drawing, an engraving, and contemporary accounts. Nevertheless, this work was important in David's career, because it was the first completed painting of the French Revolution, made in less than three months, and a work through which he initiated the regeneration process that would continue with The Death of Marat, David's masterpiece.
On the 13th of July 1793, David's friend Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday with a knife she had hidden in her clothing. She gained entrance to Marat's house on the pretense of presenting him a list of people who should be executed as enemies of France. Marat thanked her and said that they would be guillotined next week upon which Corday immediately fatally stabbed him. She was guillotined shortly thereafter. Corday was of an opposing political party, whose name can be seen in the note Marat holds in David's subsequent painting, The Death of Marat. Marat, a member of the National Assembly and a journalist, had a skin disease that caused him to itch horribly. The only relief he could get was in his bath over which he improvised a desk to write his list of suspect counter-revolutionaries who were to be quickly tried and, if convicted, guillotined. David once again organized a spectacular funeral, and Marat was buried in the Panthéon. Because Marat died in the bathtub, writing, David wanted to have his body submerged in the bathtub during the funeral procession. This did not play out because the body had begun to putrefy. Instead, Marat’s body was periodically sprinkled with water as the people came to see his corpse, complete with gaping wound. The Death of Marat, perhaps David's most famous painting, has been called the Pietà of the revolution. Upon presenting the painting to the convention, he said "Citizens, the people were again calling for their friend; their desolate voice was heard: David, take up your brushes.., avenge Marat... I heard the voice of the people. I obeyed." David had to work quickly, but the result was a simple and powerful image.
The Death of Marat, 1793, became the leading image of the Terror and immortalized both Marat, and David in the world of the revolution. This piece stands today as “a moving testimony to what can be achieved when an artist’s political convictions are directly manifested in his work". A political martyr was instantly created as David portrayed Marat with all the marks of the real murder, in a fashion which greatly resembles that of Christ or his disciples. The subject although realistically depicted remains lifeless in a rather supernatural composition. With the surrogate tombstone placed in front of him and the almost holy light cast upon the whole scene; alluding to an out of this world existence. “Atheists though they were, David and Marat, like so many other fervent social reformers of the modern world, seem to have created a new kind of religion.” At the very center of these beliefs, there stood the republic.
After executing the King, war broke out between the new Republic and virtually every major power in Europe. David, as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, which was headed by Robespierre, contributed directly to the reign of Terror. The committee was severe. Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine; an event recorded in a famous sketch by David. Portable guillotines killed failed generals, aristocrats, priests and perceived enemies. David organized his last festival: the festival of the Supreme Being. Robespierre had realized what a tremendous propaganda tool these festivals were, and he decided to create a new religion, mixing moral ideas with the republic, based on the ideas of Rousseau, with Robespierre as the new high priest. This process had already begun by confiscating church lands and requiring priests to take an oath to the state. The festivals, called fêtes, would be the method of indoctrination. On the appointed day, 20 Prairial by the revolutionary calendar, Robespierre spoke, descended steps, and with a torch presented to him by David, incinerated a cardboard image symbolizing atheism, revealing an image of wisdom underneath. The festival hastened the "Incorruptible's" downfall. Later, some see David’s methods as being taken up by Lenin, Mussolini and Hitler. These massive propaganda events brought the people together.
Soon, the war began to go well; French troops marched across the southern half of the Netherlands (which would later becomeBelgium), and the emergency that had placed the Committee of Public Safety in control was no more. Then plotters seized Robespierre at the National Convention and he was later guillotined, in effect ending the reign of terror. As Robespierre was arrested, David yelled to his friend "if you drink hemlock, I shall drink it with you." After this, he supposedly fell ill, and did not attend the evening session because of "stomach pain", which saved him from being guillotined along with Robespierre. David was arrested and placed in prison. There he painted his own portrait, showing him much younger than he actually was, as well as that of his jailer.
Post Revolution
After David’s wife visited him in jail, he conceived the idea of telling the story of the Sabine Women. The Sabine Women Enforcing Peace by Running between the Combatants, also called The Intervention of the Sabine Women is said to have been painted to honor his wife, with the theme being love prevailing over conflict. The painting was also seen as a plea for the people to reunite after the bloodshed of the revolution.
This work also brought him to the attention of Napoleon. The story for the painting is as follows: "The Romans have abducted the daughters of their neighbors, the Sabines. To avenge this abduction, the Sabines attacked Rome, although not immediately—since Hersilia, the daughter of Tatius, the leader of the Sabines, had been married to Romulus, the Roman leader, and then had two children by him in the interim. Here we see Hersilia between her father and husband as she adjures the warriors on both sides not to take wives away from their husbands or mothers away from their children. The other Sabine Women join in her exhortations." During this time, the martyrs of the revolution were taken from the Pantheon and buried in common ground, and revolutionary statues were destroyed. When he was finally released to the country, France had changed. His wife managed to get David released from prison, and he wrote letters to his former wife, and told her he never ceased loving her. He remarried her in 1796. Finally, wholly restored to his position, he retreated to his studio, took pupils and retired from politics.
Napoleon
In one of history's great coincidences, David's close association with the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror resulted in his signing of the death warrant for one Alexandre de Beauharnais, a minor noble. De Beauharnais's widow, Rose-Marie Josèphe de Tascher de Beauharnais would later be known to the world as Joséphine Bonaparte, Empress of the French. It was her coronation by her husband, Napoleon I, that David depicted so memorably in the Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine, 2 December 1804.
David had been an admirer of Napoleon from their first meeting, struck by the then-General Bonaparte's classical features. Requesting a sitting from the busy and impatient general, David was able to sketch Napoleon in 1797. David recorded the conqueror of Italy's face, but the full composition of General Bonaparte holding the peace treaty with Austria remains unfinished. Napoleon had high esteem for David, and asked him to accompany him to Egypt in 1798, but David refused, claiming he was too old for adventuring and sending instead his student, Antoine-Jean Gros.
After Napoleon's successful coup d'etat in 1799, as First Consul he commissioned David to commemorate his daring crossing of the Alps. The crossing of the St. Bernard Pass had allowed the French to surprise the Austrian army and win victory at the Battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800. Although Napoleon had crossed the Alps on a mule, he requested that he be portrayed "calm upon a fiery steed". David complied with Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard. After the proclamation of the Empire in 1804, David became the official court painter of the regime.
One of the works David was commissioned for was The Coronation of Napoleon in Notre Dame. David was permitted to watch the event. He had plans of Notre Dame delivered and participants in the coronation came to his studio to pose individually, though never the Emperor (the only time David obtained a sitting from Napoleon had been in 1797). David did manage to get a private sitting with the Empress Josephine and Napoleon's sister, Caroline Murat, through the intervention of erstwhile art patron, Marshal Joachim Murat, the Emperor's brother-in-law. For his background, David had the choir of Notre Dame act as his fill-in characters. The Pope came to sit for the painting, and actually blessed David. Napoleon came to see the painter, stared at the canvas for an hour and said "David, I salute you". David had to redo several parts of the painting because of Napoleon's various whims, and for this painting, David received only 24,000 Francs.
Exile and Death
On the Bourbons returning to power, David figured in the list of proscribed former revolutionaries and Bonapartists — for having voted execution for the deposed King Louis XVI; and for participating in the death of Louis XVII. Mistreated and starved, the imprisoned Louis XVII was forced to confess to incest with his mother, Queen Marie-Antoinette, (untrue; separated early, son and mother were disallowed communication, nevertheless, the allegation helped earn her the guillotine). The new Bourbon King, Louis XVIII, however, granted amnesty to David and even offered him the position of court painter. David refused, preferring self-exile in Brussels. There, he painted Cupid and Psyche and quietly lived the remainder of his life with his wife (to whom he had remarried). In that time, he painted smaller-scale mythological scenes, and portraits of citizens of Brussels and Napoleonic émigrés, such as the Baron Gerard.
His last, great work, Mars Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces, he began in 1822 and completed the year before his death. In December 1823, he wrote: "This is the last picture I want to paint, but I want to surpass myself in it. I will put the date of my seventy-five years on it and afterwards I will never again pick up my brush." The finished painting — evoking painted porcelain because of its limpid coloration — was exhibited first in Brussels, then in Paris — where his former students flocked to view it. The exhibition was profitable — 13,000 francs, after deducting operating costs, thus, more than 10,000 people visited and viewed the painting.
When David was leaving a theatre, a carriage struck him, and he later died, on the 29th of December of 1825. At his death, some portraits were auctioned in Paris, they sold for little; the famous Death of Marat was exhibited in a secluded room, to avoid outraging public sensibilities. Disallowed return to France for burial, for having been a regicide of King Louis XVI, the body of the painter Jacques-Louis David was buried at Evere Cemetery, Brussels, while his heart was buried at Père Lachaise, Paris.
References
Bordes, Philippe, David, éd. Hazan, Paris (1988)
Brookner, Anita, Jacques-Louis David, Chatto & Windus (1980)
Chodorow, Stanley, et al. The Mainstream of Civilization. New York: The Harcourt Press (1994) pg. 594
Crow, Thomas, Emulation. Making artists for Revolutionary France, ed. Yale University Press, New Haven London (1995)
Delécluze, E., Louis David, son école et son temps, Paris, (1855) re-edition Macula (1983)
Dowd, David, Pageant-Master of the Republic, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, (1948)
Johnson, Dorothy,Jacques-Louis David. New Perspectives, Newark (2006)
Lajer-Burcharth, Ewa, Necklines. The art of Jacques-Louis David after the Terror, ed. Yale University Press, New Haven London (1999)
Lee, Simon, David, ed. Phaidon, London (1999)
Lévêque, Jean-Jacques, Jacques-Louis David édition Acr Paris (1989)
Leymarie, Jean, French Painting, the 19th century, Cleveland (1962)
Lindsay, Jack, Death of the Hero, London, Studio Books (1960)
Malvone, Laura, L'Évènement politique en peinture. A propos du Marat de David in Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée 106, 1 (1994)
Michel, R. (ed), David contre David, actes du colloque au Louvre du 6-10 décembre 1989, Paris (1993)
Monneret, Sophie Monneret, David et le néoclassicisme, ed. Terrail, Paris (1998)
Noël, Bernard, David, éd. Flammarion, Paris (1989)
Rosenberg, Pierre, Prat, Louis-Antoine, Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825. Catalogue raisonné des dessins, 2 volumes, éd. Leonardo Arte, Milan (2002)
Rosenberg, Pierre, Peronnet, Benjamin, Un album inédit de David in Revue de l'art, n°142 (2003-4), pp.45-83 (complete the previous reference)
Sahut, Marie-Catherine & Régis Michel, David, l'art et le politique éditions Gallimard-Découvertes et RMN Paris (1988)
Sainte-Fare Garnot, N., Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825, Paris, Ed. Chaudun (2005)
Schnapper, Antoine, David témoin de son temps, Office du Livre, Fribourg, (1980)
Thévoz, Michel, Le théâtre du crime. Essai sur la peinture de David, éd. de Minuit, Paris (1989)
Vanden Berghe, Marc, Plesca, Ioana, Nouvelles perspectives sur la Mort de Marat: entre modèle jésuite et références mythologiques, Bruxelles (2004) / New Perspectives on David's Death of Marat, Brussels (2004)
Vanden Berghe, Marc, Plesca, Ioana, Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau sur son lit de mort par Jacques Louis-David: saint Sébastien révolutionnaire, miroir multiréférencé de Rome, Brussels (2005)
Vaughan, William and Weston, Helen (eds),Jacques-Louis David’s Marat, Cambridge (2000)
Source : Wikipedia
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March 21 - April 20
1st Fire sign - 1st Cardinal sign (spring equinox) - Masculine
In analogy with Mars, his ruler, and the 1st House
Aries governs the head.
His colour is red, his stone is the heliotrope, his day is Tuesday, and his professions are businessman, policeman, sportsman, surgeon...
If your sign is Aries or your Ascendant is Aries: you are courageous, frank, enthusiastic, dynamic, fast, bold, expansive, warm, impulsive, adventurous, intrepid, warlike, competitive, but also naive, domineering, self-centred, impatient, rash, thoughtless, blundering, childish, quick-tempered, daring or primitive.
Some traditional associations with Aries: Countries: England, France, Germany, Denmark. Cities: Marseille, Florence, Naples, Birmingham, Wroclaw, Leicester, Capua, Verona. Animals: Rams and sheeps. Food: Leeks, hops, onions, shallots, spices. Herbs and aromatics: mustard, capers, Cayenne pepper, chilli peppers. Flowers and plants: thistles, mint, bryonies, honeysuckles. Trees: hawthorns, thorny trees and bushes. Stones, Metals and Salts: diamonds, iron, potassium phosphate.
April 21 - May 20
1st Earth sign - 1st Fixed sign - Feminine
In analogy with Venus, his ruler, and the 2nd House
Taurus governs the neck and the throat.
Her colour is green or brown, her stone is the emerald, her day is Friday, her professions are cook, artist, estate agent, banker, singer...
If your sign is Taurus or your Ascendant is Taurus: you are faithful, constant, sturdy, patient, tough, persevering, strong, focused, sensual, stable, concrete, realistic, steady, loyal, robust, constructive, tenacious. You need security, but you are also stubborn, rigid, possessive, spiteful, materialistic, fixed or slow.
Some traditional associations with Taurus: Countries: Switzerland, Greek islands, Ireland, Cyprus, Iran. Cities: Dublin, Palermo, Parma, Luzern, Mantua, Leipzig, Saint Louis, Ischia, Capri. Animals: bovines. Food: apples, pears, berries, corn and other cereals, grapes, artichokes, asparagus, beans. Herbs and aromatics: sorrels, spearmint, cloves. Flowers and plants: poppies, roses, digitales, violets, primroses, aquilegia, daisies. Trees: apple trees, pear trees, fig-trees, cypresses, ash trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: copper, calcium and potassium sulphate, emeralds.
May 21 - June 21
1st Air sign - 1st Mutable sign - Masculine
In analogy with Mercury, his ruler, and the 3rd House
Gemini governs the arms, the lungs and the thorax.
His colour is green or silver, his stone is the crystal, his day is Wednesday, his professions are journalist, lawyer, presenter, dancer, salesman, travel agent, teacher...
If your sign is Gemini or if your Ascendant is Gemini: you are expressive, lively, adaptable, quick-witted, humorous, sparkling, playful, sociable, clever, curious, whimsical, independent, polyvalent, brainy, flexible, ingenious, imaginative, charming, fanciful but also capricious, scattered, moody, shallow, inquisitive, opportunistic, unconcerned, selfish, fragile, ironical or changeable.
Some traditional associations with Gemini: Countries: Belgium, Wales, United-States, Lower Egypt, Sardinia, Armenia. Cities: London, Plymouth, Cardiff, Melbourne, San Francisco, Nuremberg, Bruges, Versailles. Animals: monkeys, butterflies, parrots, budgerigars. Food: dried fruits, chestnuts, ground-level vegetables: peas, broad beans, etc. Herbs and aromatics: aniseed, marjoram, lemon balm, cumin. Flowers and plants: lilies of the valley, lavenders, myrtle, ferns, Venus-hair-ferns, bittersweets. Trees: nut trees such as chestnut trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: agates, mercury, silicas and potashes.
June 22 - July 22
1st Water sign - 2nd Cardinal sign (summer solstice) - Feminine
In analogy with the Moon, her ruler, and the 4th House
Cancer governs the stomach and the breast.
Her colour is white or black, her stone is the moonstone, her day is Monday, her professions are catering, the hotel trade, property, antique dealer, archaeologist...
If your sign is Cancer or your Ascendant is Cancer: you are emotional, sentimental, peaceful, imaginative, sensitive, faithful, resistant, protective, vulnerable, generous, romantic, nostalgic, tender, poetic-minded, motherly or fatherly, dreamy, indolent, greedy, devoted but also timorous, unrealistic, evasive, passive, anxious, dependent, stubborn, moody, passive, lazy, touchy, stay-at-home or inaccessible.
Some traditional associations with Cancer: Countries: Holland, Scotland, North and West Africa, New-Zealand, Paraguay, Algeria. Cities: Amsterdam, Manchester, Tokyo, New York, Istanbul, Stockholm, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Cadix, Alger, Tunis, Bern, Magdeburg. Animals: crabs, animals with shells. Food: milk, fishes, watery fruits and vegetables, turnips, white and red cabbages. Herbs and aromatics: tarragon, verbena, saxifrage. Flowers and plants: geraniums, white roses and white flowers in general, water lilies, morning glory, bear's breeches, and lilies. Trees: all trees full of sap. Stones, Metals and Salts: pearls, silver, lime and calcium phosphate.
July 23 - August 22
2nd Fire sign - 2nd Fixed sign - Masculine
In analogy with the Sun, his ruler, and the 5th House
Leo governs the heart and the spine, and the eyes, according to some authors.
His colour is gold or orange, his stone is the diamond, his day is Sunday, his professions are actor, manager, jeweller, fashion and arts, and action (e.g. fireman)...
If your sign is Leo or your Ascendant is Leo: you are proud, determined, strong-willed, loyal, solemn, generous, ambitious, courageous, heroic, conquering, creative, confident, seductive, happy, daring, fiery, majestic, honest, magnanimous, charismatic, responsible, noble, dramatic but also domineering, vain, susceptible, bossy, stubborn, intolerant, self-centred, violent, quick-tempered, nonchalant.
Some traditional associations with Leo: Countries: Italy, Romania, Sicily, Czechoslovakia, Iraq, Lebanon, Southern France. Cities: Rome, Prague, Bombay, Madrid, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Bath, Bristol, Portsmouth, Syracuse, Damas. Animals: lions and felines in general. Food: meat and especially red meat, rice, honey, cereals, grapes, iron-rich vegetables: watercress, spinach etc. Herbs and aromatics: saffron, mint, rosemary, common rue (Ruta graveolens). Flowers and plants: marigolds, sunflowers, celandines, passion flowers. Trees: palm trees, laurel, walnuts, olive trees, lemon and orange trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: gold, rubies, magnesium and sodium phosphate.
August 23 - September 22
2nd Earth sign - 2nd Mutable sign - Feminine
In analogy with Mercury, her ruler, and the 6th house
Virgo governs the intestine.
Her colour is green or yellow, her stone is the agate, her day is Wednesday, her professions are accountant, secretary, writer, computer scientist, nurse, doctor...
If your sign is Virgo or your Ascendant is Virgo: you are brainy, perspicacious, attentive to detail and numbers, analytical, serious, competent, scrupulous, sensible, modest, logical, tidy, well-organized, clean, hard-working, provident, honest, faithful, reserved, shy, helpful, a perfectionist, but also narrow-minded, calculating, irritating, petty, anxious, cold, repressed or caustic.
Some traditional associations with Virgo: Countries: Brazil, Greece, Turkey, West Indies, United-States (the same as Gemini), Yugoslavia, Crete, Mesopotamia, Lower Silesia, State of Virginia. Cities: Paris, Boston, Athens, Lyon, Corinthia, Heidelberg, spa towns in general. Animals: dogs, cats and all pets. Food: root vegetables: carrots, celeriac, kohlrabies, potatoes etc... Also dried fruits such as chestnuts. Herbs and aromatics: the same as Gemini whose ruler is Mercury too, lilies of the valley, lavenders, myrtles, ferns, Venus-hair-ferns, bittersweets, clovers. Flowers and plants: small bright-coloured flowers, especially blue and yellow, such as dandelions, buttercups, yellow dead-nettles, buglosses, forget-me-nots ; cardamoms, oak leaves, acorns. Trees: all nut trees, e.g. the hazelnut tree... Stones, Metals and Salts: sards (red agate), mercury, nickel, potassium sulphate and iron phosphate.
September 23 - October 22
2nd Air sign - 3rd Cardinal sign (autumn equinox) - Masculine
In analogy with Venus, his ruler and the 7th House
Libra governs the kidneys and the bladder.
His colour is blue or red (not too bright), his stone is the opal, his day is Friday, his professions are in the beauty, luxury or fashion industry, musician, artistic creator, lawyer, mediator...
If your sign is Libra or your Ascendant is Libra: you are sentimental, charming, polite, refined, loyal, a pacifist, fair, distinguished, light-hearted, romantic, learned, ethereal, nice, well-groomed, a perfectionist, calm, sweet, tolerant, sociable, elegant, considerate, seductive, aesthetic, indulgent, but also hesitant, weak, indecisive, selfish, fragile, fearful, indolent, cool or even insensitive.
Some traditional associations with Libra: Countries: Japan, Canada, Indo-China, South Pacific Islands, Burma, Argentina, Upper Egypt, Tibet. Cities: Lisbon, Vienna, Frankfurt, Leeds, Nottingham, Johannesburg, Antwerp, Fribourg. Animals: lizards and small reptiles. Food: berries, apples, pears, grapes, artichokes, asparagus, beans, spices, corn and other cereals. Herbs and aromatics: mint, Cayenne pepper. Flowers and plants: hydrangea, big roses, blue flowers and those associated with Taurus also ruled by Venus, namely, poppies, digitales, violets, primroses, aquilegia, and daisies. Trees: ash trees, poplars, apple trees, pear trees, fig-trees, cypresses. Stones, Metals and Salts: sapphires, jade, copper, potassium and sodium phosphate.
October 23 - November 21
2nd Water sign - 3rd Fixed sign - Feminine
In analogy with Pluto, her ruler with Mars, and the 8th House
Scorpio governs the sexual organs and the anus.
Her colour is black or dark red, her stone is the malachite, her day is Tuesday, her professions are gynaecologist, psychiatrist, detective, the military, army, stockbroker, asset managemer...
If your sign is Scorpio or your Ascendant is Scorpio: you are secretive, powerful, domineering, resistant, intuitive, asserted, charismatic, magnetic, strong-willed, perspicacious, passionate, creative, independent, vigorous, generous, loyal, hard-working, persevering, untameable, possessive, cunning, ambitious, sexual, proud, intense, competitive but also aggressive, destructive, stubborn, anxious, tyrannical, perverse, sadistic, violent, self-centred, complex, jealous.
Some traditional associations with Scorpio: Countries: Morocco, Norway, Algeria, Syria, Korea, Uruguay, Transvaal. Cities: Washington, New Orleans, Valencia, Liverpool, Milwaukee, Fes, Halifax, Hull, Cincinnati. Animals: insects and other invertebrates. Food: the same strong tasting food as for Aries: red meat, garlic, onions, leeks, spices. Herbs and aromatics: aloes, witch hazels, nepeta, mustard, capers, peppers. Flowers and plants: geraniums, rhododendrons, thistles, mint, honeysuckles. Trees: blackthorns, bushes. Stones, Metals and Salts: opals, steel and iron, calcium and sodium sulphate.
November 22 - December 20
3rd Fire sign - 3rd Mutable sign - Masculine
In analogy with Jupiter, his ruler, and the 9th House
Sagittarius governs the thighs and the liver.
His colour is indigo, orange or red, his stone is the carbuncle, his day is Thursday, his professions are explorer, commercial traveller, pilot, philosopher, writer, clergyman...
If your sign is Sagittarius or your Ascendant is Sagittarius: you are charismatic, fiery, energetic, likeable, benevolent, tidy, jovial, optimistic, extraverted, amusing, straightforward, demonstrative, charming, independent, adventurous, straightforward, bold, exuberant, freedom-loving.
Some traditional associations with Sagittarius: Countries: Spain, Australia, Hungary, South Africa, Arabia, Yugoslavia. Cities: Stuttgart, Toledo, Budapest, Cologne, Avignon, Sheffield, Naples, Toronto. Animals: fallow deers, hinds, and all games. Food: grapefruits, raisins, onions, leeks, bulb vegetables. Herbs and aromatics: aniseeds, sage, bilberries, cinnamon, borage, mosses, sage, blueberry, patience, balsam. Flowers and plants: dandelions, carnations, thistles. Trees: mulberry trees, chestnut trees, ash trees, lemon trees, oaks. Stones, Metals and Salts: topaz, tin, silica, potassium chloride.
December 21 - January 19
3rd Earth sign - 4th Cardinal sign (winter solstice) - Feminine
In analogy with Saturn, her ruler, and the 10th House
Capricorn governs the knees, the bones and the skin.
Her colour is black, or grey, green or brown, her stone is the jade, her day is Saturday, her professions are politician, researcher, jurist, scientist, engineer, administrator...
If your sign is Capricorn or your Ascendant is Capricorn: you are serious, cold, disciplined, patient, focused, thoughtful, ambitious, indomitable, cautious, lucid, persistent, provident, steady, introverted, stern, wilful, hard-working, responsible, persevering, honest, realistic, loyal, reserved, resolute, moralistic, quiet, rigorous, attached and reliable. But you may also be curt, withdrawn, calculating, petty, cruel, unpleasant, ruthless, selfish, dull, rigid, slow or sceptical.
Some traditional associations with Capricorn: Countries: India, Mexico, Afghanistan, Macedonia, Thrace, the Yugoslavian coast, the Orkneys and Shetland Islands, Albania, Bulgaria, Saxony. Cities: Delhi, Oxford, Brussels, Mexico, Port-Saïd, Gent, Constance, Mecklenburg, all the administrative centres of capital cities. Animals: goats, pigs and animals with split hooves. Food: meat, potatoes, barley, beets, spinach, medlars, onions, quinces, flour and starchy food in general. Herbs and aromatics: indian hemp, comfreys, centaureas, hemlocks, henbanes. Flowers and plants: ivies, wild pansies, amaranths, pansies. Trees: pines, willows, flowering ashes, aspens, poplars, alders. Stones, Metals and Salts: turquoises, amethysts, silver, lead, calcium phosphate, calcium fluorine.
January 20 - February 18
3rd Air sign - 4th Fixed sign - Masculine
In analogy with Uranus his ruler, with Saturn, and the 11th House
Aquarius governs the ankles and the legs.
His colour is navy blue or indigo, his stone is the sapphire, his day is Saturday, his professions are astrologer, high technologies, scientist, astronaut, psychiatrist, actor, electrician...
If your sign is Aquarius or your Ascendant is Aquarius: you are idealistic, altruistic, detached, independent, original, surprising, gifted, contradictory, innovative, humanistic, likeable, friendly, self-confident, impassive, quiet, intuitive, creative, charitable, elusive, disconcerting, generous, tolerant, paradoxical, and you cannot stand any kind of constraint. But you may also be marginal, resigned, distant, utopian, maladjusted, eccentric and cold.
Some traditional associations with Aquarius: Countries: Russia, Sweden, Poland, Israel, Iran, Abyssinia. Cities: Moscow, Salzburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Saint Petersburg. Animals: long distance big birds such as the albatross. Food: citrus fruits, apples, limes, dried fruits and easily preserved food. Herbs and aromatics: peppers, hot red peppers, star-fruits, and generally herbs that are spicy or with an unusual flavour. Flowers and plants: orchids, dancing ladies, polygonatum. Trees: fruit trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: aquamarines, aluminium, sodium chloride and magnesium phosphate.
February 19 - March 20
3rd Water sign - 4th Mutable sign - Feminine
In analogy with Neptune her ruler with Jupiter, and the 12th House
Pisces governs the feet and the blood circulation.
Her colour is green or purple or turquoise blue, her stone is the amethyst, her day is Thursday, her professions are seamanship and and faraway travels, musician, social and emergency worker, doctor, writer and jobs in remote places...
If your sign is Pisces or your Ascendant is Pisces: you are emotional, sensitive, dedicated, adaptable, nice, wild, compassionate, romantic, imaginative, flexible, opportunist, intuitive, impossible to categorized, irrational, seductive, placid, secretive, introverted, pleasant, artistic, and charming. But you may also be indecisive, moody, confused, wavering, lazy, scatterbrained, vulnerable, unpredictable and gullible.
Some traditional associations with Pisces: Countries: Portugal, Scandinavia, small Mediterranean islands, Gobi desert, Sahara. Cities: Jerusalem, Warsaw, Alexandria, Seville, Santiago de Compostela. Animals: fishes, aquatic mammals and all animals living in the water. Food: melons, cucumbers, lettuces, vegemite sugar, pumpkins. Herbs and aromatics: lemon, chicory, limes, mosses. Flowers and plants: water lilies, willows, aquatic plants. Trees: fig-trees, willows, aquatic trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: heliotropes, moonstone, platinum, tin, iron phosphate and potassium sulphate.
Sun Aspects
Sun sextile Saturn orb -2°35'
Sun quintile Moon orb -1°13'
The Sun represents vitality, individuality, will-power and creative energy and honours. For a woman, it also represents her father, and later her husband. The Sun is one of the most important symbols in the birth chart, as much as the Ascendant, then the Moon (a bit less for a man), the ruler of the Ascendant and the fast-moving planets.
It's element is fire; it is hot and dry, it governs Leo, is in exaltation in Aries and is in analogy with the heart. It represents the boss, authority, beside the father and the husband ; the age of the Sun goes from 20 years old to about 40, following the Venus age when one is aware of his seductive power.
Temperament : Bilious
Characterology : Emotive, Active, Secondary, passionate type.
Moon Aspects
Moon square Mercury orb -1°07'
Moon square Uranus orb -3°15'
Moon square Mars orb -2°28'
Moon square Venus orb -3°22'
Moon square Jupiter orb -3°04'
Moon conjunction Pluto orb +8°54'
Moon trine Neptune orb -6°41'
Sun quintile Moon orb -1°13'
The Moon represents instinctive reaction, unconscious predestination, everyday mood, sensitivity, emotions, the feminine side of the personality, intuition, imagination. For a man, she represents his mother and later his wife, and his relationship with women in general. For a woman, the Moon is almost as important as the Sun and the Ascendant. Her element is water, she is cold and moist, she rules Cancer, is in exaltation in Taurus and is in analogy with the stomach.
She symbolizes the mother, wife, the crowd, the Moon is associated with birth and childhood. Tradition also matches her with the end of life, after Saturn the old age, it is thus customary to go back to one's place of birth to die: the end of life meets the very beginning.
Temperament : Lymphatic
Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Non-Emotive, non Active and Primary, Nervous or Amorphous type.
Mercury Aspects
Mercury conjunction Venus orb +2°14'
Mercury conjunction Mars orb +1°21'
Moon square Mercury orb -1°07'
Mercury opposite Uranus orb -4°23'
Mercury opposite Jupiter orb -4°11'
Mercury square Pluto orb +7°46'
Mercury represents communication, logical and rational mind, intellectual skills. Earth is its element, it is cold and dry, and it rules Virgo and Gemini, is in exaltation in Virgo and is in analogy with the arms, hands, nervous system.
It represents tradesmen, lawyers, messengers; the age of Mercury goes from 8 or10 years old to about 15..
Temperament : Nervous
Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Non-Emotive, Active and Primary, Nervous or Sanguine type.
Venus Aspects
Mercury conjunction Venus orb +2°14'
Venus conjunction Mars orb +0°53'
Moon square Venus orb -3°22'
Venus opposite Uranus orb -6°37'
Venus square Pluto orb +5°31'
Venus opposite Jupiter orb -6°26'
Venus represents the way one loves, relationships, sharing, affectivity, seductive ability. For men, she also corresponds to the kind of woman he's attracted to (but not especially in marriage which is more symbolized by the Moon, Venus is the lover and not the wife). Her element is the Air, she is moist, rules Taurus and Libra, is in exaltation in Pisces and is in analogy with the kidneys, the venous system, the bladder, the neck.
She represents the artists, tradesmen, occupations linked to beauty and charm; the age of Venus goes from 15 to about 25 years old.
Temperament : Sanguine and Lymphatic
Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Emotive, non Active and Secondary type.
Mars Aspects
Venus conjunction Mars orb +0°53'
Mercury conjunction Mars orb +1°21'
Moon square Mars orb -2°28'
Mars opposite Uranus orb -5°44'
Mars opposite Jupiter orb -5°33'
Mars square Pluto orb +6°25'
Mars represents the desire for action and physical energy, sexuality, strength. For a woman, Mars corresponds to the kind of man she's attracted to (but not especially in marriage which is rather symbolized by the Sun, Mars is the lover, not the husband). Fire is its element, it is hot and dry, and it rules Aries and Scorpio (along with Pluto), is in exaltation with Capricorn and is in analogy with the muscles and the spleen.
It represents the soldiers, sportsmen, warriors, surgeons, blacksmiths... ; the age of Mars goes from 42 to 50 years old.
Temperament : Bilious
Characterology : Emotive, Active, Primary type. It is a Choleric.
Jupiter Aspects
Jupiter conjunction Uranus orb +0°11'
Moon square Jupiter orb -3°04'
Mercury opposite Jupiter orb -4°11'
Mars opposite Jupiter orb -5°33'
Venus opposite Jupiter orb -6°26'
Jupiter represents expansion and power, benevolence, large vision and generosity. Its element is Air, it is hot and moist, and it rules Sagittarius and Pisces (along with Neptune), is in exaltation with Cancer and is in analogy with the hips and endocrinal system.
It represents the governors, magistrates, professors, religious men too; the age of Jupiter goes from 50 to 55 or even 70 years old.
Temperament : Sanguine
Characterology : Emotive, Active, Primary type; it is an extrovert Choleric. Actually the humid version of Mars, inclined to action like him.
Saturn Aspects
Sun sextile Saturn orb -2°35'
Saturn represents concentration, effort, perseverance, time, the hard reality, inevitable consequences. Earth is its element, it is cold and dry, and it rules Capricorn and Aquarius (along with Uranus), is in exaltation in Libra and is in analogy with the bones (skeleton) and the skin.
It represents the grandparents, old people, scientists, knowledgeable men, Saturn corresponds to old age; it goes from 70 years old until death.
Temperament : Nervous
Characterology : Non-Emotive, Active and Secondary type or Emotive, non Active and Secondary type or sometimes Non-Emotive, non Active and Secondary type; it is a Phlegmatic, a Sentimental or an Empathic type
Uranus Aspects
Jupiter conjunction Uranus orb +0°11'
Moon square Uranus orb -3°15'
Mercury opposite Uranus orb -4°23'
Mars opposite Uranus orb -5°44'
Venus opposite Uranus orb -6°37'
Uranus represents individual freedom, originality, independence, marginality, avant guard inspiration, ultra modernism. Fire is its element, it is dry, and it rules Aquarius, is in exaltation with Scorpio and is in analogy with the brain and the nerves.
It represents inventors, odd characters, revolutionaries.
Temperament : Nervous to the extreme
Characterology : Emotive, Active, Secondary type; it is a Passionate type.
Neptune Aspects
Neptune trine Pluto orb +2°12'
Moon trine Neptune orb -6°41'
Neptune represents escapism, impressionability, daydreaming, delusions, carelessness, deception or intuition, dishonesty or inspiration, telepathy. Water is its element, it is moist, it rules Pisces, is in exaltation in Cancer, though some authors say it is Leo, and is in analogy with the vegetative system.
It represents dreamers, mediums, magicians, merchants of illusion, drug addicts.
Temperament : rather Lymphatic
Characterology : Emotive, non Active, Primary or Secondary type; it is a Sentimental, or sometimes Amorphous type.
Pluto Aspects
Neptune trine Pluto orb +2°12'
Moon conjunction Pluto orb +8°54'
Venus square Pluto orb +5°31'
Mars square Pluto orb +6°25'
Mercury square Pluto orb +7°46'
Pluto represents deep transformations, mutations and eliminations, sexuality and magnetism, power and secrets, destruction with a view to regeneration, the phoenix rising from the ashes. Its element is indefinite; burning (like lava in fusion ?), it rules Scorpio, is in exaltation in Pisces and is in analogy with the sexual organs and excretion.
It represents dictators, sadistic people, violent characters, is instinctive and powerful but also mysterious with hidden strengths.
Temperament : rather Bilious
Characterology : Emotive or non-Emotive, Active, Primary type; it is a Passionate Choleri typec.
Chiron is almost renowned and used everywhere. Most astrologers consider it as a kind of "mediator" between Saturn and outer planets. Consequently, Chiron is of Saturn's nature and at the same time is influenced by Uranus, the first slow-moving planet. Astrologically, it symbolizes wisdom, patience and the faculty to reduce others' sufferings: it is said to be the "great healer" of the zodiac. Like all the secondary bodies, it must be in close conjunction with planets or angles in order to fully express its action.
Ceres, the biggest of the four minor asteroids used besides Chiron, is associated with the mythological goddess of growing plants and harvest and also symbolizes physical constitution, vitality and fertility. She's also known as Demeter, according to the astrologer Zipporah Dobyns, linked to the symbolism of the mother but in a less emotive and more physical way than the Moon. Ceres is thought to be the ruler of Virgo, in exaltation in Gemini, in exile in Pisces and in fall in Sagittarius. Keywords associated with Ceres could be order, practical sense, worry, precision, modesty, method, sobriety, motherhood, fertility, the Earth: a kind of a more cerebral Moon...
Pallas is sometimes used in modern Astrology: she represents intelligence, abstract and global thinking talents. It is usually considered to be a determining element in political strategy.
Juno is the asteroid corresponding to the adaptation to the marital partner and to the defence of individual rights; it is thus used in the field of marriage.
Vesta is rarely used and brings the ability to efficiently devote oneself to a cause.
The North Node represents the goals that must be achieved during life, in the karmic sense according to some traditions. Its position in house indicates in what field an effort is necessary in order to evolve. The North Node is often called the Dragon's head, it is usually considered beneficial, a bit like Jupiter with the planets. The Lunar nodes are fictional points and not actual heavenly bodies: they are the intersections of the Moon with the Ecliptic (the path made by the Sun in its orbit as seen from the Earth). The axis of the Lunar nodes moves 19 degrees each year, namely a bit more than three minutes each day.
The South Node is diametrically opposed to the North Node, therefore it faces it (it's not drawn here, it's the same symbol but upside down). It symbolizes what has already been achieved or acquired, in a karmic sense: it's the past from which it's advised to move on in order to progress. The South Node is rather negative, of a Saturnian nature: the experience through suffering.
Lilith or the Dark Moon represents the uncrossable threshold, taboos, the individual's provocative and fascinating side, including on a sexual level. She symbolizes violence and "untameability", the radical and deep-seated refusal to submit. The keywords for Lilith can be sterility, sadism, perversity, castration, sadomasochism, eroticism, orgasm, forbidden fantasies, marginality, cruelty; redemption, illumination, rebelliousness... Lilith's opposite point is called Priapus; it is the Lunar perigee, the position where the Moon is closest to the Earth. It symbolizes man's primitive nature, the horror hidden in our deepest self; masochism, extreme sensuality, impulsiveness, irrationality and excess. Physically speaking, the Dark Moon is the focal point unoccupied by the Earth: it is not a concrete body but a mathematical point.
The Part of Fortune is an ancient concept, used by Ptolemy and other astrologers before him. Firstly, it has nothing to do with fortune! In modern astrology, it is actually used to enhance a planet or angle when in close conjunction with it: it thus amplifies the meaning associated to the point affected by its presence. It is calculated in the following way:
Part of Fortune = AS + Moon - Sun (it is the Moons position when the Sun rises)
The classical Part of Fortune, of which the calculus method is unchanged whether in a diurnal or nocturnal chart, is usually distinguished from the diurnal/nocturnal Part of Fortune which is calculated by the formula AS + Sun - Moon for a nocturnal chart, and AS + Moon - Sun in a diurnal chart.
We currently use the latter formula for our astrological programmes.
The First House or Ascendant represents one's behaviour in the eyes of others, and also one's health. It corresponds to the way the individual acts in the world. It is the image of the personality seen by others and the person's visible behaviour expressed outwardly. The 1st House is in analogy with Aries and thus Mars too, and then the Sun. It is an angular house, the most important one with the Midheaven, maybe even more so due to its link with the body and health.
The Tenth House still called the Midheaven, is the highest point amidst the houses, at the top of the chart, in the South, and relates to destiny in general and career (and not daily work as meant by the Sixth House). The Midheaven represents our achievements and goals in the social sphere, our social position in society, and becomes more and more important as we get older. It is in analogy with Capricorn and Saturn. The Tenth House is the most important angular house along with the Ascendant.
The First House or Ascendant represents one's behaviour in the eyes of others and also one's health. It corresponds to the way the individual acts in the world. It is the image of the personality as seen by others and the person's visible behaviour expressed outwardly. The 1st House is in analogy with Aries and thus Mars too and then the Sun. It is an angular house, the most important one with the Midheaven, maybe even more so due to its link with the body and health; the Ascendant is as important as the Sun in a natal chart.
The Second House is the sphere of material security, the money we earn, our possessions, also in a symbolic meaning (close people etc). It is in analogy with Taurus and Venus. It is a succedent house, quite important.
The Third House is the sphere of social and intellectual apprenticeship, studies, relationships with close people and surroundings, short trips, light-hearted and quick contacts, correspondences. It is in analogy with Gemini and Mercury. It's a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones.
The Fourth House also called Immum Coeli is the sphere of inner emotions, family, the father, home and roots, but also the home one creates. It's Home Sweet Home, security and cocoon. It is in analogy with Cancer and the Moon. It's an angular and important house.
The Fifth House is the sphere of pleasures and love affairs (but not commitment or marriage), creations and entertainments, children, arts and game. It is in analogy with Leo and the Sun. It's a succedent and quite important house.
The Sixth House is the sphere of apprenticeship and effort in the work environment, daily life, health on a daily basis and not operations or long-term diseases, relationships with co-workers or subordinates, desire for improvement, analysis and detail. It is in analogy with Virgo and Mercury. It is a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones.
The Seventh House also called the Descendant (in front of the Ascendant) is the sphere of partnership, marriage, contracts, relationships with others, the outer world. It is in analogy with Libra and Venus, and Saturn to a lesser extent. It is an angular and important house.
The Eighth House is the sphere of emotional security, the depths of the self, secrets and paranormal, transcendence, sexuality, mysteries, upheavals, surgical operations, others' money (investments, inheritances), crises, transformation after evolution, death. It is in analogy with Scorpio and Pluto, and Mars to a lesser extent. It is a succedent and quite important house.
The Ninth House is the sphere of high studies, both physical and mental journeys (philosophy, spirituality), rebelliousness, changes of scenery, desire for dealing with the unknown. It is in analogy with Sagittarius and Jupiter. It is a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones.
The Tenth House still called the Midheaven, is the highest point amidst the houses, at the top of the chart, in the South, and relates to destiny in general and career (and not daily work as meant by the Sixth House). The Midheaven represents our achievements and goals in the social sphere, our social position in society, and becomes more and more important as we get older. It is in analogy with Capricorn and Saturn. The Tenth House is the most important angular house along with the Ascendant.
The Eleventh House is the sphere of friendship and protection, projects, search for social acceptance and security, collective and humanitarian actions. It is in analogy with Aquarius and Uranus, and Saturn to a lesser extent. It's a succedent and quite important house.