Preface: If your birthday does not fall during the Cancer timeframe for the year
you were born, this DOES NOT mean that you do not experience the energy of Cancer,
because somewhere in your natal birth chart, it is present. All twelve signs of
the zodiac are expressed in your being, although some signs, and therefore
their corresponding energies, may be more emphasized than others.
The Sun sign is about your essence, your vitality (what makes you feel
alive), and your self-image. Whatever
your Sun sign, you are on a life-long journey to discover and fully embrace
this sign’s energy. You may be tested in life to experience the meaning of your
Sun sign’s energy.
The Sun transits the sign of Cancer beginning June 20, 2012 at 4:09 pm PDT.
CANCERIANS
SPEAK!
I include quotations from individuals of the
sun sign I profile because these individuals will often “speak their sign.”
“I'm still very connected to my family, to the world I
grew up in. I understand what it means to be afraid that you can't pay a
doctor's bill. Or to have to make the choice between buying a band uniform for
a seventh-grader and making the insurance payment on time. That will never
leave me. It was how I lived until I was well into my adult years.”[i]
Cancerian Senatorial Candidate in
Massachusetts and former Special Advisor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Born June 22, 1949
“True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.”[ii]
Robert Reich
Cancerian Economist and former U.S.
Secretary of Labor
Born June 24, 1946
“There can be no
keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its
children.”[iii]
Nelson Mandela
Cancerian President of South Africa
Born July 18, 1918
“In the true sense, one's native land, with its
background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear
to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”[iv]
Emma Goldman
Cancerian Social Activist
Born June 27, 1869
“A week in the hospital she had told us. A hysterectomy,
she had said. It had seemed unremarkable to me in a woman of forty-six long
finished with childbearing, although every day that I grow older I realize
there is never anything unremarkable about losing any part of what makes you
female - a breast, a womb, a child, a man.” (From her book, One True
Thing)[v]
Cancerian Writer and Newspaper
Columnist
Born July 15, 1952
CANCERIAN
SYMBOLISM AND RULERSHIPS
According to the research conducted by astrologer Deborah
Houlding, the symbolism for the zodiac sign of Cancer has its origins in
ancient Babylonia and Greece. More widely known from its Greek origins, the
crab came to represent the sign’s characteristics of loyalty, persistence, and
determination. As the mythological tale goes, the goddess Hera had intentions
to kill the mighty Hercules. Hera managed to manipulate Hercules into committing
a great crime, for which he was “sentenced’ to performing various labors in
order to be forgiven. One of his tasks was to kill the nine-headed water
serpent, Hydra. While he was engaged in a contest with the Hydra, Hera sent a
crab to assist Hydra. The crab successfully bit Hercules’s toes, but because of
the hero’s strength, he smashed the crab’s shell and killed it. As a reward,
Hera placed the image of the crab in the heavens. Another version of the story
has Hercules kicking the crab into the night sky.[vi] and [vii]
 |
| GLYPH FOR CANCER |
Above is the glyph for the zodiac sign
of Cancer. The glyph drawing resembles pincers extending themselves from the
shell of the crab. Astrologer Bruce Nevin says the image also looks like female
breasts and the stomach, parts of the anatomy ruled by Cancer. Alternatively,
Nevin states, the glyph also resembles a nest with two eggs in it.[viii] Whatever the representations, clearly they are
associated with nurturing, emotional security, and protection.
In astrology’s system of rulerships, the Moon rules the sign of
Cancer. According to Nevin, the Moon’s psychological associations include
memory, the subconscious mind, the development and release of habits, one’s
conditioning, one’s insecurities, and how you nurture and reassure others.[ix]
The Moon’s territory is the instinctual and subliminal mind.
Do you recall the passage from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, when the female
protagonist begs her lover,
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
Juliet’s response to
Romeo, Capulet’s Orchard[x]
««««««««««
In the above passage, Juliet aptly captures the qualities of the
moon, the luminary in astrology that symbolizes changeability, emotionality,
sensitivity, moodiness, nurturance, protection and ties to the past. It is a
yin energy that females understand at a deep level, since the cycle of the
female menses coincides roughly with the cycle of the moon. In artful language,
Juliet is telling Romeo that she wants their love relationship to be an emotional
tie that she can count on— one that is NOT like the moon. Perhaps this
represents an inherent contradiction in the nature of the sign of Cancer, ruled
by the inconstant moon. Cancer, with changeability in its nature, craves
emotional security. Interestingly enough, Cancer does get a “monogamous
commitment” from its ruler, the Moon. Unlike most of the other planets in both
traditional and modern astrology, the Moon only rules Cancer.
Cancer begins the season of summer at the solstice, and it is
associated with the cardinal principle. As the season initiators, Cardinal
signs are pivots or turning points of the year. This classification of signs
represent a new energy to propel the movement forward.
As the fourth sign of the zodiac, Cancer rules the fourth house
of the natal chart. Nevin notes that the fourth house begins the quadrant of
the dependent family experience whose influence affects your conduct and
direction of your life. This familial experience affects your personal sense of
security and your ability to nurture others. It can serve as a rich source of
strength and purpose as your navigate your life.[xi]
HOW
CANCER ENERGY MANIFESTS IN THE PERSONALITY
After the intellectual
whirlwind adventures of the preceding sign of Gemini, the succeeding sign of
Cancer wants to go inward into its home and focus on the subjective world of
feelings. Gemini represents externalized,
outwardly focused male energy (although some say this sign is
androgynous). At the summer solstice,
the cycle precipitates a change to the female energy of Cancer. This is a completely
new realm of exploration, and it suits the Cancerian just fine to burrow in
this challenging, but comfortable world of caring for others and forging
bonds.
A primary concern for those
with a heavy emphasis of Cancer energy is the need to be taken care of, or
conversely, to be the nurturer and the one others depend on. Cancerians are the quintessential mothers. It
can in fact be their reason for existence.
In order to fulfill their mission at a competent level, Cancerians need
to build an appropriate home or nest of some type. This is a facet of their need for a secure
environment, a place that is personal, where people important to the sign are
nourished.
In her usual eloquent style,
astrologer Dana Gerhardt elaborates on the nature of the sign by observing the
life of the crab. Gerhardt asks why the
crab didn’t evolve to swim full-time in the sea, or why it did not evolve to
live on land’s hard surface. Gerhardt
says that crabs must have a love or need for both form (land) and formlessness
(the ocean). The crab lives between the
rhythmic sea and the surfaces of cliffs and sand. This astrologer says that this
unstable living environment explains the protected shell, the sideways
movement, and the clawing pincers. Cancerians, as represented by the crab, seek
security because the watery world of feelings is constantly shifting.[xii]
Cancer has natural instincts about
other people’s needs. While all people vary in their need for domesticity, each
of us has a “minimum daily requirement” for a home, a reliable place where we
rest and surrounded ourselves with items we value and people we cherish. This
is where we nourish our bodies and our souls.
Some sayings must have been derived from the innate wisdom of a
Cancerian, like “there is no place like home.” Or perhaps a Cancerian first
uttered the adage, “the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
This sign extends its protective tendencies to its love of country, and it
wouldn’t be surprising to hear patriotic utterances from those who have
Cancerian energy highlighted in their natal charts.
When I think of motherhood
and its association with Cancerians, I am reminded of the story of Evelyn Ryan,
captured in a book authored by her daughter Terry Ryan, who entitled this
memoir The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio:
How My Mother Raised 10 Children on 25 Words
or Less. A movie was later made
based on the book, which included a perfectly cast Julianne Moore as mother
Evelyn Ryan. Evelyn is married to an
alcoholic who often spends his paychecks on liquor rather than on the family’s
necessities. When Evelyn seeks guidance from the parish priest about her
husband’s problem and its impact on the family, her concerns are essentially
minimized by the priest, who is quick to excuse the alcoholic father. To bring
stability to the family’s finances during the 1950’s and 1960’s, Evelyn enters
contests that challenge participants to devise jingles for various consumer
products. Clearly, Evelyn has
communication and marketing talents, and she becomes successful in winning
contests, securing both valuable items for the family, as well as prizes that
are more amusing conversation pieces. Despite overwhelming challenges, Evelyn
makes the best of her difficult situation with an upbeat attitude and deep
affection for her children, meanwhile contending with an envious and abusive
husband, and no moral support from her religion’s institution. Regardless of what any mother’s sun sign may
be, if she is “doing” motherhood, she is activating the Cancer energy in her
being. Like Evelyn, many mothers operate
on the octane of “love” to overcome enormous obstacles while raising their
families.[xiii]
Like the other water signs,
Cancer’s personal boundaries are fluid and therefore encourage the expression
of the emotions and ties to others. In
astrological terms, the element of water is passive and receptive. When you envision water, you know that it can
take on many forms, from a hot vaporized steam to an extremely cold slab of
ice. Similarly, the nature of Cancer
takes on many personalities, from a moody, weepy, plotting personality, to the
native’s state of soothing, protective warmth.
Like other cardinal signs, Cancer does not tend to give up ground, but
rather will persist with a goal she believes is worthy of pursuit. This is not the aggressive pursuit of an
Aries, or the duty bound plodding of a Capricorn. Cancer maintains her power with
resistance. Think of the many years
Cancerian Nelson Mandela spent imprisoned with the vision of a South Africa
free of apartheid. Another Cancerian,
the fourteenth Dalai Lama, the exiled Buddhist leader, has also utilized peaceful
resistance to gain support for a free Tibet. On a less political note, Cancerian
Princess Diana (“shy Di”) won the hearts of the British public with her averted
gazes and her low-key utterances about the stifling environment created by the
Royal family. I read that Diana, in addition to her devotion for providing care
to children, loved to do housework. What a Cancerian!
The human being’s journey
around the zodiac is a process of incorporating various aspects of our
humanness. In each zodiac sector, we
have the potential to learn how to assimilate the lessons of that way of being.
Astrologer Dana Gerhardt helps readers of The
Mountain Astrologer learn the zodiac sign archetypes at a deeper level by
telling the mythical story of the twelve labors of Hercules, the lessons that
are analogous to those experienced by each of the signs. Gerhardt says that in Cancer we must learn to
put intellect (Gemini) aside to listen to our inner self, our emotional
self. This requires learning the quality
of receptivity. This process involves vulnerability and opening ourselves to
our pain, which then opens the heart, and ultimately the healing process. From
this process, the qualities of empathy and compassion emerge, and these are the
real treasures of mastery for the sign of Cancer.[ixv]
SNAPSHOT PROFILES OF
PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS WITH SUN SIGN CANCER
The individuals I chose to profile may not seem like
mainstream Cancerians; nevertheless, notice how the themes of this sign appear
prominently in their lives.
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Frida Kahlo
Cancerian Artist
Born July 6,
1907
Known for her graphic surrealist art and bohemian
lifestyle, Frida Kahlo earned the distinction of being one of Mexico’s most
prominent artists. In actuality, Frida never classified herself as a
surrealist, but she claimed this classification came from the pioneer of the
surrealist movement, Andre Breton. To Frida, her artistic categorization was
unimportant compared with the motivations for her creations: "Really I do
not know whether my paintings are surrealist or not, but I do know that they
are frankest expression of myself. Since my subjects have always been my
sensations, my states of mind and the profound reactions that life has been
producing in me, I have frequently objectified all this in figures of myself,
which were the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express
what I felt inside and outside of myself."
Frida Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y
Calderón on July 6, 1907 in the Coyocoán section of Mexico City, in the family
home known as La Casa Azul (the blue house). Her father, Carl Wilhelm Kahlo was
an immigrant from Germany who met and married Frida’s mother, Matilde Calderon
y Gonzalez. At the age of seven, Frida contracted polio, which led to her right
leg being thinner than her left. Because of her frail health, her father
encouraged her to participate in sports not traditional to women, like boxing.
Frida attended one of the top schools in Mexico City, and she was only one of
thirty-five girls enrolled in the educational institution.
At the age of 18 Frida experienced a life-changing
event that would affect her health and lifestyle for the rest of her life.
Traveling with her boyfriend on a bus, a trolley collided with the bus, which
caused a handrail to enter Frida’s pelvis and exit through her vagina. Some of
her artwork recreates this painful accident, in what many observers might
assume was a surrealistic representation, but is in fact a reflection of a very
real incident. In this accident, she suffered many broken bones in her legs,
pelvis, spine, and collarbone. The piercing of her uterus compromised the
normal functioning of her reproductive system. Frida spent many months
recuperating from this accident, and throughout her life, she suffered relapses
of severe pain.
During her period of healing, Frida took up painting.
Her mother requisitioned a specially built easel so Frida could paint in bed,
and her father gave her some of his art supplies. She became the subject of her
paintings, often showing herself in situations of great pain. When she was no
longer bed-bound, she sought the professional opinion of her art from famed
Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera. He became a frequent dinner guest at her home,
and soon the young Frida and the middle-aged Rivera became involved in an
affair. The two married in 1929. Despite a certain level of acceptance that
both sought relationships outside of their marriage, certain liaisons caused
both of them great discomfort. The bisexual Kahlo purportedly had affairs with
such well-known personages as Josephine Baker and Leon Trotsky. Over the course
of their marriage, the two separated, divorced, and remarried. On the other
hand, Rivera had an affair with Frida’s sister. Beyond their personal feelings,
the two had great professional respect for each other’s artistic talent.
During the 1930s, Kahlo spent much time traveling with
Diego Rivera, during which time he garnered commissions to paint in the United
States. The couple lived temporarily in San Francisco, New York, and Detroit.
The politically left-leaning couple caused a great stir in the U.S., and
Rivera’s project was halted when his New York mural included a representation
of Lenin.
Apart from Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo experienced
success in exhibiting some of her body of work, which amounted to 55 pieces.
Kahlo displayed her painting “Frieda and Diego Rivera” at the Sixth
Annual Exhibition of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists in
1930. In 1938, a New York gallery exhibited 25 of her paintings, of which
half were sold. The following year, she left for Paris, where she formed
friendships with the great painters of the time, including Pablo Picasso and
Marcel Duchamp. At the invitation of Andre Breton, Kahlo exhibited her works.
The Louvre purchased one of her exhibited paintings entitled “The Frame,” the
first work by a 20th century Mexican artist purchased by this
museum.
Born during the month of Cancer, Frida Kahlo also died
during the Sun’s transit of Cancer in 1954, with Diego Rivera by her side.
After his death, the famed Caza Azul became a museum that holds many of her
works as well as mementos of her life in her beloved home.
As the 20th century progressed, Frida Kahlo
became a prominent symbol of feminism, of Mexican art, and of revolutionary
thinking. Kahlo reflected the pride in her Mexican background with her
indigenous dress, jewelry, and other adornments. She reportedly changed her
birthday to coincide with the start of the Mexican revolution in 1910 (as opposed
to 1907), believing that her spirit coincided with a transformed Mexico.
Kahlo displayed patriotism, cultural pride, and a
strong identification with her family roots. Kahlo loved her “Caza Azul,” the
home where she lived all her life. She purportedly loved making a comfortable
home life for Diego Rivera, often calling him her “baby.” Although Kahlo was
rebellious and nontraditional in many respects, she still manifested many
qualities associated with home loving Cancer.
Judy Chicago
Cancerian
Artist
Born July
20, 1939
A leading figure in feminist art, Judy Chicago is an
American sculptor, painter, teacher, and writer. Known for using female
reproductive organs as artistic motifs, Judy Chicago has incorporated
controversial and innovative themes in her creative projects. Her large
collaborative art installation works explore the roles of women in history and
society.
This artist was born Judith Sylvia Cohen in Chicago,
Illinois on July 20, 1939 to May and Arthur Cohen. Mr. Cohen descended from a
long line (23 generations!) of rabbis. However, Arthur Cohen broke the family
mold, and instead became a labor activist. Judy’s parents shared caregiving
responsibilities for their two children. While Arthur Cohen worked at night at
the post office, May Cohen applied her skills as a medical secretary during the
day.
With a great passion for the arts, May Cohen
encouraged her children to undertake artistic activities. Judy Cohen began to
draw at a very young age, and her mother enrolled her in classes at the Art
Institute of Chicago. Judy knew at a young age that she wanted to pursue a
career in art.
A member of the Communist Party, Arthur Cohen suffered
persecution during the redbaiting era of the 1940s and 1950s. The FBI
investigated Mr. Cohen, which led to his inability to maintain and find new
employment. Mr. Cohen’s predicament led to considerable family turmoil. After a
period of declining health, Arthur Cohen died of peritonitis in 1953. May Cohen
refused to let her children attend his funeral, nor did she ever discuss his
death.
The Art Institute of Chicago rejected Judy Cohen’s
application, but she gained entrance to UCLA with a scholarship. She became
politically active in the UCLA chapter of the NAACP, for which she designed
posters. In 1959, she began a relationship with Jerry Gerowitz, and left school
to move in with him. The two decided to hitchhike to New York, where they lived
for a while in Greenwich Village. The couple returned to Los Angeles in 1960 so
that Cohen could resume her studies. Cohen and Gerowitz married in 1961. The
following year, Judy Gerowitz graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from UCLA,
and she became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later earned her Master of Fine
Arts at UCLA in 1964.
In 1963, Judy Gerowitz suffered enormous emotional
pain when Jerry Gerowitz was killed in an automobile accident. Devastated by
her loss, she underwent an identity crisis throughout the 1960s. While still in
graduate school, Judy Gerowitz began exploring her own sexuality, frequently
using representations of female genitalia in her abstract artwork, much to the
dismay of her male professors. After her husband’s death, she explored various
themes around this topic. Expanding beyond painting, she experimented with ice
sculpture as well acrylic plastic dome structures. She also ventured into
performance art, using fireworks and pyrotechnics to create atmospheres, geared
to “softening” and “feminizing” the landscape. Her Pasadena Lifesavers consisted of acrylic paint on plexiglass that
created the illusions of movement, analogous to multiple orgasms. She later
credited the Pasadena Lifesavers works as a defining turning point in artwork.
In 1965, Judy Gerowitz wed sculptor Lloyd Hamrol, but
she wanted a last name that was independent of marriage or a heritage. Gallery
owner Rolf Nelson had called her “Judy Chicago” because of her prominent
Chicago accent and strong personality. Liking this name, she took legal action
to change her name to Judy Chicago. In an exhibit of her works in 1970, she
posted a banner that read: "Judy Gerowitz hereby divests herself of all
names imposed upon her through male social dominance and chooses her own name,
Judy Chicago."
Judy Chicago became a college art instructor in the
early 1970s, first at Fresno State and then the California Institute for the
Arts, where she coined the term “feminist art.” During this decade, Chicago
became more and more invested in the need for women to know their history.
Inspired to teach feminine history, Judy Chicago initiated The Dinner Party project, which was to become her most recognized
masterpiece. Taking five years to complete, the Dinner Party consisted of 39
place settings at a table, where each setting commemorated a major female
historical figure. The project involved over 400 individuals, mainly women, who
performed various tasks for the project, like crocheting, quilting, or other
crafts for this artistic installation work. Ready for exhibition in 1979, the
project traveled to 3 continents, and 16 venues within six countries, with a
viewing audience totaling 15 million. The Brooklyn Museum acquired The Dinner Party for its permanent
collection in 2007.
Judy Chicago embarked on another major installation
piece from 1980 to 1985 called The Birth
Project. This artwork focused on honoring women as mothers through various
images of childbirth. Chicago strived to reconstruct the creation myth, showing
women as vital to the perpetuation of the species. The majority of the pieces
from The Birth Project are held at
the Albuquerque Museum.
Following the The
Birth Project, Chicago returned to her independent studio work. She created
her Powerplay piece using the
multimedia of paintings, drawings, bronze reliefs, cast paper, and weavings. Powerplay analyzed how power has
affected males and their expression of masculinity.
Judy Chicago married photographer Donald Woodman in
1985. Her new partnership spurred her to explore her Jewish heritage in more
depth. She expressed her journey through her third major installation work
called The Holocaust, on which she
worked for an eight-year period. She undertook this project alongside her
husband, from the initial research to the written and visual art pieces in
various mediums. Chicago provided a new way of looking at this historical
tragedy by incorporating other social and historical issues, such as the Native
American genocide, the Vietnam War, and environmentalism. Exhibited in 1993,
the 16 large-scale components consisted of painting, photography, metalwork,
woodwork, stained glass, and tapestry.
Aside from her life as a prolific artist, Chicago has
published numerous books, some of which profile her major collaborative
projects, like the Dinner Party. She has also written an autobiographical
piece, a work about women artists, and she has coauthored a book about Frida
Kahlo!
Now living in New Mexico, Judy Chicago continues to
explore various artistic mediums. She has been recognized by many academic
institutions with honorary degrees. Her archives are housed at the Schlesinger
Library at Radcliffe College.
Judy Chicago embodies the Cancerian concerned with the
acknowledgement of the role of the female in our society, and through her art,
she has catalyzed new ways for the broader society to view feminine energy.
Sources:
Jean
Bertrand Aristide
Cancerian
President of Haiti
Born July
15, 1953
A former Catholic priest, Jean Bertrand Aristide is
known as a pro-democracy leader in Haiti and the country’s first democratically
elected President. He was born July 15, 1953 in Port-Salut, Haiti. Aristide was
only three months old when his father died, prompting his mother to move to
Port-au-Prince in search of a better life. In his youth, Aristide studied with
priests from the Salesian order, and ultimately attended the College Notre
Dame, graduating with honors in 1974. Aristide began noviate studies, followed
by graduate studies in philosophy and psychology. Ordained by the Salesian
order in 1982, Aristide received an assignment to a small church in
Port-au-Prince.
Upholding the principles of liberation theology,
Aristide spoke freely against the policies of the Duvalier regime that imposed
dictatorial rule over Haiti. Because of his outspokenness, Aristide’s Salesian
order exiled him for three years in Montreal. Upon his return, Aristide
continued with sermons in opposition to government policies, with broadcasts
heard by Haitians throughout the country. His words were matched by social
deeds, such as the creation of an orphanage for urban street children.
Threatened by Aristide’s growing influence, the
regime’s allies invaded his church one Sunday, burned the building down, killed
13 people, and wounded 77 others. This incident on September 11, 1988, became
known as the St. Jean Bosco massacre. As a result, Aristide went into hiding.
The Salesian order expelled him, and he appealed the decision, with the
remarks, “The solution is revolution, first in the spirit of the gospel; Jesus
could not accept people going hungry. It is a conflict between classes, rich
and poor. My role is to preach and organize...." Aristide ultimately left
the priesthood in 1994.
Aristide’s personal life took a dramatic turn when he
met and married Mildred Trouillo, an American lawyer whose parents were born in
Haiti. Trouillo grew up in New York and attended City College of New York and
the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The couple has two daughters.
In 1990, Aristide announced his candidacy for
President of Haiti, to which he won election with 67% of the vote. He soon
initiated several reforms that threatened both the business elites and the
military. Months of instability ensued in the following months. In September of
1991, Aristide’s opposition mounted a coupe. Aristide became an exiled leader
in Venezuela and the United States.
Due to international pressure, the U.S. sent military
troops to Haiti to support the return of Aristide to the office of President to
complete his term. Because Haiti’s constitution stipulated only one
presidential term, Aristide could not run again, but was succeeded by a
political ally, Rene Preval.
Aristide formed a new political party, Fanmi Lavalas, which won a
majority of seats in the legislature in the 2000 election. Controlling the
election commission, they authorized Aristide’s candidacy for President.
During his second presidential term, Aristide
instituted a number of reforms in various sectors of the society. He greatly
improved access to health care and education for the general population,
including the development of adult literacy programs. Aristide initiated reforms
in the criminal justice system, including greater protections for those accused
of crimes and improved training for judges. He initiated measures for human
rights and political freedom.Aristide’s government prohibited human
trafficking. His administration disbanded the Haitian military. His economic
reforms included doubling the minimum wage, instituting land reform, and
assisting small farmers. During Aristide’s tenure, the government established a
food distribution network to provide low cost food to the poor at below market
prices. Furthermore, under his governance, the country embarked upon building
low-cost housing,
Aristide caused much controversy when he called for
financial restitution from France for misappropriation of payments forced upon
Haiti between 1825 through 1947 by the French as a consequence of the Haitian
Rebellion that led to the country’s independence. Many experts believe this was
one of the reasons for the 2004 coupe d’état that removed Aristide once again.
In February 2004, the killing of the brother of one of
Aristide’s opponents led to a rebel uprising in the country. The U.S. and
French military flew Aristide out of the country. Aristide characterized this
removal as a coupe by the U.S. and France, which forced him to resign against
his will. Journalist Amy Goodman documented the comments of Frantz Gabriel,
Aristide’s former bodyguard who recalled his eyewitness of the coup d’état:
“It was not willingly that the president left,
because all the people that came in to accompany the president were all
military. Having been in the U.S. military myself, I know what a GI looks like,
and I know what a special force looks like also ... when we boarded the
aircraft, everybody changed their uniform into civilian clothes. And that’s
when I knew that it was a special operation.”
Aristide was flown first to Central African Republic,
and then to South Africa. The President of Jamaica granted Aristide temporary
asylum in his country until his move to South Africa was approved.
Aristide’s departure from Haiti caused skepticism
among individuals in various governments. In the U.S., Rep. Maxine Waters and
Rep. Charles Rangel spoke personally to Aristide, who conveyed very
forthrightly that he was forced out of his position. Secretary of State Colin
Powell countered these officials with comments insinuating that Aristide did
not govern democratically. CARICOM, the union of Caribbean countries asked the
U.N. for an investigation into the incident, but they were repeatedly pressured
by the U.S. and France to drop this request. I, as an American citizen, was so
sickened that my country would once again invade a country and remove its
leader, that I stayed home from work and composed a letter to my congressional
representative conveying my concern.
It is difficult to believe, but Aristide spent seven
years in South Africa. Aristide became an honorary research fellow at the
University of Pretoria, where he received a doctorate in African Languages.
Meanwhile, in Haiti, many citizens called for his return. After the 2010
earthquake in Haiti, Aristide spoke of his desire to return to the country and
assist the victims of this disaster.
Amy Goodman reported that in the years following
Aristide’s removal, the U.S. government continued to prevent Aristide from
returning to Haiti. U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks exposed the
actions undertaken by the U.S. to deter the return of Aristide to Haiti,
including punishing countries that helped Aristide. In early 2011, President
Barack Obama called South African President Jacob Zuma to express “deep
concerns” about Aristide’s impending return to Haiti, and Obama sought to block
his exit from South Africa. Zuma did not yield to the pressure.
When Aristide returned to his native country on March
18, 2011, thousands greeted him at the airport. Upon seeing his country for the
first time in seven years, he said: “Haiti, Haiti, the further I am from you,
the less I breathe. Haiti, I love you, and I will love you always. Always.”
Clearly, Aristide expresses an enormous attachment to
his country and a concern for its well-being. Cancerians are particularly
devoted to their roots. How many times during his life could he have chosen a
more comfortable existence, rather than face constant danger struggling for
Haiti’s freedom? He could have stayed in Montreal, where the Salesians exiled
him. Or, when he married Mildrid, he could have gone to live with her in New
York. In South Africa, he could have continued to teach, surrounded by
like-minded individuals. Aristide is clearly committed to Haiti, and time will
tell what his future role will be in that country.
Sources:
Julian
Assange
Cancerian
journalist and activist
Born July 3,
1971
Julian Assange is known as the founder of WikiLeaks, a
website that published information from whistleblowers on the government and
military actions of various countries. Assange was born in July 3, 1971 in
Queensland, Australia. His biological father, John Shipton, met Julian’s mother
Christine, at an antiques shop on his way to an anti-war demonstration. The
relationship ended before Julian was born, and father and son did not meet
until Julian was 25 years old. By the time Julian was one year old, his mother
had married the theater director, Richard Assange, from whom Julian adopted his
surname. During his early childhood, Julian accompanied his parents as they
toured with a theater group. His stepfather characterized Julian as "a
very sharp kid" with "a keen sense of right and wrong.” "He
always stood up for the underdog ... he was always very angry about people
ganging up on other people." The couple divorced, and Christine married
Leif Hamilton, by whom she had another child. They broke up in 1982, and
Hamilton pursued custody of his son, Julian’s half-brother. Christine went into
hiding for several years, and moved continuously around Australia. Julian
Assange later commented that he had lived in 50 different towns and attended 37
different schools during his youth.
In 1987, Julian, then 16, became involved in computer
hacking, forming a group named the International Subversives. He developed
rules for this subculture, which earned him a reputation for being “Australia’s
most famous ethical computer hacker,” as dubbed by the Personal Democracy
Forum. In 1991, Assange was discovered hacking into the local
telecommunications systems. After three years of amassing evidence, the
Australian Federal Police charged him with 31 counts of hacking and other
crimes. After six charges were dropped, Assange pleaded guilty to 25 charges of
hacking and was released on bond with a fine for good conduct. As it turns
out, Assange’s unstable childhood became an asset when the judge proclaimed
that Assange would have gone to jail for up to 10 years if he had not had such
a disrupted childhood. Assange demonstrated his ability to work with law
enforcement when he later assisted local police authorities in identifying the
perpetrators of child exploitation.
As a consultant, Assange helped establish one of
Australia’s first public internet service providers. Privately, he developed
open source software, and he became an expert in encryptation with the goal of
assisting human rights organizations protect their privacy. Although he studied
at the collegiate level for a few years, he never completed a degree.
Believing that freedom of information serves as a
necessary condition of democratic self-rule, Assange started WikiLeaks in 2006.
He has stated that he prefers to be called the Editor in Chief of WikilLeaks,
and not its founder. He explained the rationale for its formation in these
words: "To radically shift regime behaviour we must think clearly and
boldly for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be
changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us and discover
technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears
could not." Assange claims that WikiLeaks has divulged more classified
documents than the totality of the world press: "That's not something I say
as a way of saying how successful we are – rather, that shows you the
parlous state of the rest of the media. How is it that a team of five people
has managed to release to the public more suppressed information, at that
level, than the rest of the world press combined? It's disgraceful."
Although not everything released by WikiLeaks has been
a major revelation, there are documents that counter the official information
releases from governments. Wikileaks caused much furor in April 2010 when it
released the “Collateral Murder” video showing an incident on July 12, 2007
where a U.S. helicopter gunship in Iraq fired upon civilians, including
children and two Reuters journalists without provocation. Later that year,
Wikileaks embarrassed various governments with “Cablegate,” classified
diplomatic cables from about 150 countries that exposed the behind-the-scenes
actions taken by countries that contradict their press releases and demonstrate
unsavory behavior. Following these releases, supporters of Wikileaks have been detained
at airports, have served as subjects for grand jury subpoenas, and have been
ordered to turn over Twitter accounts and emails.
After the release of the Baghdad airstrike video,
Assange made public appearances across the globe. In mid 2010 it became known that
the Pentagon was interested in apprehending Assange. In late 2010, Australia’s
Attorney General indicated that he was investigating Assange for possible
crimes, but the Federal Police inquiry found that Assange had not committed any
crime. The U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed Twitter for WikiLeaks account.
In December 2010, many banks and financial services severed their relationships
with WikiLeaks; these included Bank of America, MasterCard, VISA, and PayPal.
The Swedish government successfully obtained a
European arrest warrant in 2010 to question Julian Assange in connection with a
charge of sexual assault. For the last two years, Assange has been legally
fighting extradition in English courts. He has been required to report to
police daily and wear an electronic ankle tag. On May 30, 2012, the Supreme
Court of England ruled that the Swedish official initiating that country’s
warrant was a legitimate official and had the right to issue a warrant for
Assange’s arrest. Assange’s legal team lost an effort to reopen an appeal. It
appears that Assange has exhausted all legal avenues to prevent his extradition
to Sweden. He believes that this move will lead to efforts to charge him with
espionage in the United States.
As I edit this article before posting on June 20, 2012,
I have learned that Julian Assange has sought asylum from Ecuador, and has now taken
refuge in that country’s embassy in Ecuador. Nevertheless, the United States and
its allies are enormously powerful, and I continue to wonder how Assange can overcome
their influence. This saga is certainly an interesting one to watch!
Although it remains to be seen whether Assange will be
a free man in the coming years, he has indicated an interest in running for the
Australian Senate. According to reports cited in the March 17, 2012 article in
the Huffington Post, an election for Senate in Australia cannot be called before
July 2013.
Motivated by the concept of protecting people’s
privacy, Assange reflects the Cancerian concern for safeguarding. He believes
in the proper role of authority, if it derives from the informed consent of the
governed. In his view, the governed are not informed, and therefore government
authority is not legitimate. Assange’s mission is to develop systems, policies,
and ideals to protect people’s rights to communicate privately without
government interference and surveillance.
In Figure 1 below you will see the natal chart for
Julian Assange. Although I will not comment extensively on his chart, I do want
to note that the ruler of Assange’s Sun in Cancer in the 8th house
(other people’s resources) is the Moon in the 12th house
(self-undoing or hidden institutions, like prisons). I have not read
extensively about Assange’s relationship with his mother, but I would say that
the trine (easy and flowing energy) between the Moon and Sun indicates a
supportive relationship. Drawing upon the brief interviews I’ve seen with his
mother, she seems to be quite involved in his life. Jupiter on the ascendant
and in the 12th house indicates someone who experiences some luck in
bouncing back from situations. Jupiter in this position can also indicate
someone who can be overzealous in his or her beliefs. However, Jupiter does
oppose Saturn, the energy of authority and restriction. Assange’s freedom
certainly is constrained by various authority figures. Mars in his fourth house
of roots certainly explains the life of someone who is always on the go, or
someone who has to confront outward challenges on his home turf. It certainly
reflects the life of somehow who moved around a lot.
 |
Figure 1: Julian Assange Natal Chart (courtesy of AstroDatabank) |
Sources:
ENDNOTES
[i] Elizabeth Warren. Brainyquote. Retrieved on 6/7/12 from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elizabeth_warren.html#PXSupvSPhyLPk1mI.99
[ii] Robert Reich. Brainyquote. Retrieved on 6/7/12 from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/patriotism_5.html
[iii] Nelson Mandela. Brainyquote. Retrieved on 6/7/12 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#Tx2ptjfDQqgV6I57.99
[iv] Emma Goldman. Brainyquote. Retrieved on 6/7/12 from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emma_goldman.html#1MQK5mHscAGgadIi.99
[v] Anna Quindlen. Good Reads. Retrieved 6/7/12 from: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3500.Anna_Quindlen?page=1
[vi] Deborah Houlding. Skyscript.co.uk. Star Lore of the Constellations: Cancer the Crab. Retrieved on 6/17/12 from: http://www.skyscript.co.uk/cancer_myth.html
[viii] Bruce Nevin. Astrology
Inside Out. Rockport, Massachusetts: Para Research, Inc., p79.
[ix] Nevin, Op.Cit., p.57
[x] Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet, Capulet’s Orchard, Act 2, Scene 2. Retrieved:
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/romeo_juliet.2.2.html
[xi] Nevin, Op.Cit., p.19.
[xii] Dana Gerhardt. (2009, June/July). Cancer’s Labor:
Meeting the Goddess. The Mountain
Astrologer, Issue#145, pp.11-15.
[xiii] Ryan, Terry.
(2001). The Prize Winner of
Defiance Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Children on 25 Words or Less. New York; Simon & Schuster.
