Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Who Would Play Your Planets?



© 2009 by Joyce Mason

I’ve been having fun with my friend and fellow astrologer Claudia from
Starcats Astrology. We both love the program House and Hugh Laurie (swoon!). We pretend we’re scriptwriters for the show and keep coming up with plot ideas for next season, complete with guest actors we think would best play the parts.

I have a theory about ideas. As the saying goes, there’s nothing new under the Sun. I think scraps of ideas are like colorful bits in a kaleidoscope. Our ideas are like the glass pieces and with a twist of the wrist—actually some kind of brain mechanism that scrambles them, maybe like Bingo balls—a whole new picture comes into view. Sometimes it spells Bingo, another name for “got it.” Ideas are a new throw of the mental dice.

When I was driving home today, I was trying to imagine new ways to make my astrology chart come alive for me. That’s when it hit me: I could choose an actor or celebrity I like to play each of my planets. It must have emerged out of my conversations with Claudia “playing House.”

Let’s Try It, I’ll Go First

Since I have been so moved by doing
Soul Collage work, my first thought was to identify these characters, then find photos of them and create a giant poster of my chart displaying the actors, singers, or other celebrities playing my planets. I decided it wouldn’t be important that they actually have my own “assignment.” In other words, the person who plays my Sun doesn’t have to be a Sun Virgo, although she could be; something in him or her or a role s/he plays would simply remind me of how I express my Sun. I figured after following my instincts to a particular character, it would be interesting—only afterwards— to see if they actually have a planet in that sign or an affinity to other parts of my chart.

I knew I wouldn’t come up with my cast of planetary characters in a heartbeat. I change; so will my players over time. Here is my first draft with some examples of the Joyce Mason Chart Players, subject to further edit. (I didn’t want to bore you with my whole chart, although I ended up doing almost the whole thing.)

Taurus Ascendant - I was looking for a pretty, pudgy earth mother with a lot of stick-to-itiveness who had the gift of voice in some form. The late, great Mama
Cass Elliott fits the bill. Saturn is in Taurus in her chart within two degrees of her early Gemini Ascendant. We also share our Suns in late Virgo. I was surprised to see so many chart contacts between us, and I particularly remember her unrequited love for band mate, Denny Doherty. I also was hung up on someone in my distant past that took me years to get over. Some of the worst of my pain in that relationship was during the heyday of The Mamas & Papas. My Venus-ruled chart, however, forces me to note; I’m skinny compared to Cass whose weight topped out at 300 lbs. I have also, so far, lived nearly twice as long as she did—thank God.

Uranus in Gemini, 2nd House:
Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame. Mame’s my heroine and role model. I value everything about her, especially her “live, live, live!” approach to life, her progressive thinking, and the way she values friendship and family. Her near nightly cocktail parties were the 1920s version of the bar scene in the original Star Wars—one character after another. Of course, Roz could just as easily be my Chiron, Mame was so one-of-a-kind. I looked at Rosalind’s chart and discovered her Ascendant is exactly conjunct my Chiron—for Chiron out loud!

Mars in Cancer, 4th House Cusp:
Sally Field as Nora Walker in Brothers & Sisters. Sally’s Sun may be in Scorpio, but Nora is a cub-clutching, interfering Cancer mother to the core. She’s vulnerable, but her power lies in her vulnerability and oozing feelings. Nora is a force to be reckoned with, a matriarch and mother hen who quite simply runs the Walker family show.

Virgo Sun - You wouldn’t think The Radical Virgo would have such a hard time assigning the role of her Sun. Truth to be told, I wasn’t sure just one character could do it. I’m part Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards—unsure of myself at times, too wed to routine and a writer by trade. I’m Hercule Poirot for my overly busy “little gray cells” and passion for mystery—which also makes me part Miss Marple, so observant my eyeballs ache. OK, throw in Angela Lansbury (who also played Mame on stage) in Murder She Wrote. Last but not least, it would have to be someone who had all kinds of fun and pun with language. That would be Richard Lederer, who writes books with titles like “Anguished English,” “Get Thee to a Punnery,” and “The Cunning Linguist.”

In the end, I decided that if my Mercury in Libra really must make just one choice, it’d have to be
Lily Tomlin. I see a little bit of myself, past or present, in every character she’s ever played from Ernestine the snorting telephone operator, to bratty Edith Anne, and the entire entourage of her one-woman show, The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe. Read the original Radical Virgo article for more reasons why she belongs in the Virgo Hall of Fame and why I’d be lucky to emulate such a funny, bright, and witty woman with a pulse on all of life’s real issues. As I say on my other blog, Hot Flashbacks, Cool Insights, Lily “insights a riot.”

Venus in Libra ­–
Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson in The Closer. How this woman can be so polite, pretty, and ditzy while running a Special Crimes Unit in LA with the fierceness of a warrior puzzles and entertains me week after week. On the other hand, I think Brenda’s husband, FBI agent Fritz Howard, may express my Venus in Libra even more than Brenda does. My husband thinks Fritz is a saint and has no idea how he puts up with Brenda. Why would I be surprised that my Venus in Libra would be a couple? Or that in real life, Kyra and I have Venus within a few degrees? Besides, she loves (Kevin) Bacon—and so do I!

Chiron in Scorpio
Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Scorpio Sun in real life and a person who has dealt with both pain and power, I greatly admire Hillary as a First Lady, Presidential candidate, and Secretary of State. We were both born in Chicago a little more than a month apart, so our Chirons are conjunct in Scorpio. She knows the power of forgiveness (Bill’s affairs) and played her Chiron as healer role in her bid to reform health care, an issue of great passion and importance to me.

Jupiter in Scorpio
The Naked Archeologist, Simcha Jacobovici, is a Canadian who travels the world and “strips away the myths and exposes Biblical history.” The series sadly ended in January 2009; we love it so much at our house, we watch reruns. The show is described on its website as “fast, funny and irreverent (think Ali G. meets Indiana Jones).” Every word of it is true. While Simcha is an Israeli-born Jew, I love the fact that his show is religiously neutral and gives equal press to the New and Old Testaments and explores thorny religious questions regardless of creed. Could this guy be any more Jupiter in Scorpio?

Moon in Capricorn
Dolly Parton. A Sun Capricorn, Dolly weighs everything she does and has that delightful Capricornball sense of humor. A walking, talking parody of herself, over-the-top and over-done: I should only live so long to have half of her business moxie and talent in my own field. Big surprise—more chart contacts! Her Moon is in my Sun sign and mine in hers; our planets Mars are conjunct in Cancer.


Come On, You Can Do It!

I won’t lie to you; this exercise was challenging. Hard, but fun—and worth it. Now I have a whole new angle on my chart through Central Casting. I can go onto imagine how my aspects work—with a lot of humor.

For example, with my Venus square Moon, I can just imagine Brenda Leigh Johnson (Venus) getting into Dolly Parton’s face, Dolly representing my Moon. Brenda tries to get Dolly to confess to some dalliance in her private life, wrenching confessions being Brenda’s specialty. Dolly has been known to keep her personal affairs under lock and swallowed key. Dolly tells Brenda where to go in such a fluffy-nice way; she enjoys the trip to the hot place. However, Brenda’s in trouble, because she’ll be eating a lot of chocolate over the stress of an unextracted confession. It’ll be melting all over her. She goos to hell more than goes there.

Then there’s my tight Chiron/Moon sextile, an aspect of opportunity. I can see Hillary developing Dolly (though she’s already well developed enough) into America’s new goodwill ambassador. With missiles like hers and always a well-belted song in her heart, she’s bound to either blonde bombshell ‘em or love ‘em to death! Be our friend—or enemy beware!

Lastly, I can’t help but wonder about my Mars trine Jupiter. What would Nora Walker (Mars) do with Naked Archeologist Simcha Jacobovici (Jupiter) on one of his trips to the Holy Land? Besides insisting on running the expedition? (Can she bring her five grown children?) It’s a natural (trine). Nora’s literally a Jewish mother, and he gets so much dust on his boots in all those caves and ruins. Oy!

I Showed Mine, You Show Yours?

If you conjure up even one or two of your cast of characters, I’m sure the Radical Virgo readers would love to hear about it as much as The Radical Virgo herself. Please comment—and tell us what you think of this new Astrodrama game, Home Version.

~~~

Photo Credit: COLORFUL ACTORS ©
Demonike Dreamstime.com


5 comments:

Susannah said...

What an absolutely brilliant idea.

Years ago I read an excellent book called "What we may be" by Pierro Ferrucci (psychosynthesis)http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-May-Techniques-Psychological-Spiritual/dp/0874772621 - where he explored subpersonalities, which I always associated with different chart placements.

Now to go one step forward and see who would play them!

Oooh, may be tricky for me as I don't watch much TV or many films but I am going to have a good think and come back with at least a couple of cast members!

I suspect I may have the whole cast of friends in there somewhere! lol!

Great idea Joyce.
:-)

Joyce Mason said...

Susannah, so glad you like this idea. I'm having fun with it! The characters don't have to be from TV or movies--they can be literary, public figures--any personality that captures your fancy as a planetary player.

Wish I could hire a troupe to play may chart where I could just sit back, relax, and watch what they come up with. Wouldn't that be an eye-opener? And probably some belly laughs as I'd watche my foibles come to life along side my more sterling qualities, LOL!

Thank you for commenting and sharing the book resource. I'll look forward to your return with a couple of characters in tow. :)

Susannah said...

Well, this has proved more difficult than I thought!!

I can help friends with great suggestions for their cast.

One person has Pollyanna, the characted Monica from friends (for her Mars/pluto/uranus in virgo)and Mother Teresa (8th house cancer moon)on board.

I just don't seem to be able to do me. . .yet! :-)

As I said in my first comment about the cast of friends, I could definitely have Chandler play my Gemini/Mars rising and it has been unanymous that the character of Phoebe should be in there too, but who will she play - she isn't quite right for my Sun Uranus in Leo, or is she? Moon opposite Neptune ?? traces of her there too maybe.

I am still thinking and if I have any more characters appear I will be back.

I look forward to reading other peoples answers!

Joyce Mason said...

Excellent idea to do this for friends or consult friends about yours, Susannah. I did that in an exercise about "Who do your friends think you should dress up as for Halloween?" It was quite revealing!

Keep up the good work, at least at the back of your mind. More characters are bound to bubble up ... and I hope others jump in and share, too.

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