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GERMAINE AND OTHER SPECULATIONS
Germaine Greer’s attempt to shed light upon dark corners of Shakespeare’s life and marriage in her Shakespeare’s Wife (2007) concludes with the observation “there can be no doubt that Shakespeare neglected his wife, embarrassed her, and even humiliated her”.

I have a special interest in the fact that it is precisely Germaine Greer and no one else, even among feminists, who has written the study she has done on Anne Hathaway’s world and drawn the conclusions she has. It helps confirm a piece of research I made way back in 1991 and which people have continued to appreciate or cite - much to my surprise as it was issued as an article “Getting Shakespeare Right” in a little known Australian magazine that somehow or other some people have even read in America. (I don’t find the article on the Net). On the other hand, I believe I managed to make a very special and needed discovery that some have recognized as such.

I set out to discover if a horoscope for Shakespeare for the given day of his birth in Stratford could be found to work for traditionally accepted facts about him and thus prove the Bard was himself, not Marlowe or other contenders for his crown. I found that a pattern which describes and works for Shakespeare (i.e. for first publication, son’s birth, father’s death, etc) exists and will supply him a birth around 11.20 am with 19 degrees of theatrical Leo rising. The Bard was himself and no other.

To mention only a couple of relevant life and character points in relation to the finding, the proposed Leo rising places Shakespeare’s Saturn in Cancer conjunct his theatrical Jupiter in Leo behind the ascension point in his twelfth house. This agrees with his originally being a thespian who didn’t shine (12th house is hidden) but who performed character parts the best of which were of elderly men (“elderly” Saturn conjuncting the Jupiter). Then, shocking and surprising Uranus placed in his fourth house, (which is involved with one’s home and last resting place) and in religious Sagittarius is eloquent for the Bard’s odd ecclesiastical last resting place with its attached curse and even the fact he had died rather suddenly.

SHAKESPEARE AGAINST HIMSELF

So, as I say, things agree and time well. But back in ‘91 I wasn’t using the micro-astrology of asteroids so that today almost the weakest link in the whole pattern might seem to be asteroid, Shakespeare, itself. Instead of falling in the usual way of name asteroids in some meaningful and obvious place like conjunct an angle or in the career and reputation sector it’s hidden away in the poet’s sixth house (work issues) and in affliction aspect to his career house Neptune so important for his art.

I decided to read this as indicating how Shakespeare didn’t like being known for what would make him famous much as he wasn’t too enamoured of the scene of his triumphs, London, putting up with it for work purposes – asteroid London likewise falls in his working sixth. In line with his era Shakespeare felt that it was a bit beneath him (the sixth house is work and the working classes) to be on stage even though asteroid Actor was suitably conjunct his fifth house cusp (the main zone involved with theatre and performance). Also in relation to the afflicted Shakespeare, consider there’s some doubt about Shakespeare’s name – there have been up to ten different spellings of it - and even his identity has been disputed and aligned with Marlowe, Bacon, de Vere etc. a meaningful effect for an affliction square to the often deceptive, confusing Neptune. There’s no Marlowe asteroid we can refer to, but it’s at least suggestive for the long established Francis Bacon thesis that asteroid, Bacon, is closely opposite Shakespeare’s Venus, ruler of his career/reputation Midheaven and also square to his Pluto). Even back in ’91 I could see that in 1767, the year the Bacon thesis was launched, confusing Neptune had been directly conjuncting what I had become convinced was Shakespeare’s reputation Midheaven.

THE BARD’S ODD MARRIAGE

But assuming I have finally obtained the right chart, what might this say about the Bard’s marriage? Well, with Leo rising his partnerships and marriage cusp is necessarily the opposite sign, Aquarius, which can describe an unusual or surprising marriage, one that may even end in separation and divorce - all of it like Prince Charles’ marriage to Diana as Charles likewise has Aquarius denoting his marriage issues.

The rulers of Aquarius are Saturn and Uranus and for Shakespeare with Saturn in his twelfth conjunct his Jupiter his wife could indeed remain hidden away from the world, sacrificed to his Jupiter in Leo theatre interests plus with Uranus in the fourth of home, Anne Hathaway just stayed at home while these interests were pursued. And since independent/separative Uranus also loosely opposes the Bard’s Venus, general register of love and relation but for Shakespeare’s also ruler of his career Midheaven, love and career could clash or make for a degree of separation - as we know occurred. Moreover, as Uranus enjoys gay associations there are hints that while absent from home, in the style of the sonnets and theatre life of the times, same-sex attractions might feature.

Germaine Greer may overstate the case, but generally Shakespeare probably did, as she assumes, somewhat resent Anne as representing the shot gun union of standard biography. He was probably also glad to be periodically away from his wife and was a bit grumpy around her because he had the classic sharp or grumpy towards women Moon square Mars aspect and at that involving a Mars alien from itself in moody, feminine Cancer and squaring an artistic and mirror-like moon in Libra. The Libran input nonetheless likely helped keep him basically polite and restrained amid it all so that it’s doubtful he would outright humiliate his wife as Greer supposes. The same Mars/moon aspect would contribute within Shakespeare’s pattern not exactly to homosexuality but the disposition to a bisexuality which famously emerges in especially the sonnets. Libra seems to be the most bisexual of signs.

YOUNG SHAKESPEARE AND A ROBERT PATTINSON SYNDROME

Why did Shakespeare pursue and get an older woman into trouble and why would Anne let herself in for a tricky marital future with this person having originally such poor career prospects? With restrictive Saturn in Cancer, the mother sign, it’s possible Shakespeare’s mother was not too motherly and her son would seek to compensate this, feel victimized or challenged by older women. Greer is probably correct that Shakespeare would have been the wooer rather than merely being seduced by a designing woman, (the sort of seductive Cleopatra or insistent Venus his works present?) even if Shakespeare would like to perceive things that way.

It’s rather clearer why Anne would be vulnerable to the young poet who apparently wrote no verse about her…unless she was the inspiration for Venus and Adonis itself which is possible given Venusia (the things of Venus) trining his marriage cusp. And this could be the secret of the awkward marriage. Shakespeare was no libertine but he was all of a sexual romantic (he had Pluto in dreamy Pisces in the sex house but no corresponding planet in the marriage house so it was chiefly eros would periodically fire any relation, perhaps to Anne’s modest disquiet). Whatever, Shakespeare would be irresistible to a woman, especially in the case of Anne, a woman of an age to be getting nervous she wouldn’t make it up the aisle. In recent years there have been a couple of flattering man-about-town portraits that experts are claiming represent the young Shakespeare. Whether genuine or not, they surely tell us something like the truth. The modern comparison for what the young actor Shakespeare was like is…another actor and Everywoman’s dreamboy and heart throb, Robert Pattinson. They both in their different ways could be considered incarnations of Adonis. Adonis conjuncts Shakespeare’s arty Libran moon and it trines his Venus (“Venus and Adonis” is anticipated) and if the birth time is rightly known (see below) Adonis exactly trines Pattinson’s reputation Midheaven.

It’s true that modern Robert lacks that super-quick Mercury in Aries in the ninth house of classic writing; but like Shakespeare this Taurean does have planets in Taurus, in Cancer, in Pisces; he even has Shakespeare’s Venus in Gemini (at 20 degrees instead of the Bard’s 13 which is where Pattinson’s Chiron falls) but again a Venus opposite Uranus; and then, where Shakespeare’s Uranus falls, Pattinson’s Saturn conjuncts). To judge from reports about Pattinson staying at home and not much liking Hollywood and suspicious of friendships there and not himself wanting to destroy women’s lives and being terribly romantic, one begins to hear echoes of those reports about the Shakespeare who preferred to stay at home and wouldn’t “be debauched”.

And I really wonder what Shakespearian themes Robert Pattison might be cooking up in his mind though not writing into immortality. Kristin Stewart, allegedly the only reason he auditioned for his celebrated vampire part, is plainly the Juliet to whom he wishes to be the Romeo. (Juliette conjuncts his sun so Juliette plainly names RB’s Jungian anima and he’s looking for her - unfortunately for analysis there’s no Romeo asteroid to conjunct his sun or anywhere). Anyway, with Shakespeare trining Pattinson’s Venus I’m unlikely to be too far wrong about what sort of impression the young Shakespeare gave out.

ROBERT PATTINSON’S BIRTH DATA

In passing, I should mention that though astrologers say Pattinson’s birth time is unknown, I gather that the Twilight website claims it’s 8.32 am in London on 13.5. 1986. This could actually be correct. It doesn’t supply Shakespeare’s Leo rising but it does place asteroid, Kristina, exact on Pattinson's 5th house cusp of theatre, drama and romances and aspecting his seventh house unions cusp. That would chime with how he’s romantically obsessed with Kristin and apparently wants to marry her despite the gay rumours sparked less by gossip around his life than by his taking a strongly gay role as Dali in Little Ashes. (With Venus opposite Uranus and asteroid Gaily conjunct Pattinson’s ascendant and trine his reputation Midheaven the gay image will always pursue him and this situation may be the modern Pattinson version of the Shakespeare sonnet games). Plus for the 8.32 birth time there’s the suggestive astro-speak for any Vampire actor of asteroid, Vampilov, falling at 16 Cancer near to the image-giving ascendant at 14 Cancer. Also note that if the birth time is right there’s an interesting semi-sextile (the meeting and connections aspect) to asteroid Dali at 14 Leo, artist Salvador Dali being the gay role RP plays in the film, Little Ashes, opposite the poet Garcia Lorca.

LILITH ON THE ATTACK

But back to my point of departure which was Germaine Greer’s Mrs Shakespeare. Quite simply, as an Aquarian Germaine is more likely (fated?) than most to zero in on the Aquarian style marriage of Shakespeare. Perhaps she even imagines herself as Shakespeare’s wife. Certainly it’s Aquarian to be concerned with the real or imagined limitations upon the human rights of oneself and others. It was another Aquarian, Virginia Woolf, who wrote A Room of Her Own, which introduces the theme of women’s limitations in the arts and the possibility of a Shakespeare sister. So I wondered would my chart show Germaine’s sun conjuncting the Bard’s marital seventh cusp or inside his union house? Actually, at 8 degrees it doesn’t and anyway marriage never was Germaine’s thing. Germaine’s contact is rather of her Dark Moon Lilith with that asteroid Shakespeare - they are both at 4 degrees of Aquarius.

It’s a wonderful promise of how Australia’s most individualistic feminist would let loose some venom and blame upon the Bard. Dark Moon Lilith, (a sensitive point in the heavens rather than a planet), is widely used on the continent but little by English speaking astrologers. It/She seems to turn up significantly in the pattern of many misfortunes and marks a difficult place in any natal chart. In Jewish myth Lilith is queen of demons, Adam’s first wife, then Satan’s favourite wife. Rage and revenge are her business. Feminist spirituality has tried to appropriate or reassess mythic Lilith but to all practical purposes she’s somewhere beyond redemption. Shakespeare who, despite his grumpy, woman-suspicious Mars, shows a Lilith in perfectionist Virgo conjunct his victim of unmerited revenge, Desdemona. She makes opportunity aspect to his Saturn. So, taken as an archetypal force, the Bard would have exerted patience and will towards Lilith as perhaps demonstrated in The Taming of the Shrew; but Germaine’s Lilith in her own sign goes straight for the jugular of the Shakespeare name.

In fact, if this pair had met they would not have got along too well. The sparks would fly despite a modicum of attraction and/or sense of obligation between them. Shakespeare’s 12 degree Taurus sun is surrounded by Germaine’s 10 degree Taurus moon (which would link them in its way) and her closer, rebellious 13 degree Taurean Uranus. The poet is besieged by her and also opposed – born at 6 am with Aquarius rising, Germaine Greer reverses Shakespeare’s self-and-other Leo/Aquarius axis as far as relationship is concerned and so would tend to demand all of the attention and more that she imagines poor Anne never enjoyed.

A professional relation would have worked rather better than a personal one. In effect, academically, it somewhat does so, since Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama is Greer’s academic specialty and for studying and knowing his work she does have her Pluto (any research) in degree exact conjunction with the Bard’s theatrical Jupiter while her Saturn more loosely conjuncts what’s all-important for Shakespeare’s writing, namely his Mercury at 16 Aries. Sensitive degrees work across the centuries and are what allow us to study and connect with long dead persons. My own Shakespeare asteroid is in degree exact fortunate trine to my Uranus (anything to do with astrology) an indication I would be on the front line to prove anything astrological about the poet. I could certainly connect with his work. The feminine of my name (asteroids were originally registered in feminine form like Nelsonia for Nelson) conjuncts the Bard’s nodes, a connection point. And perhaps, dare I say it, the reason that I don’t find it too excessively difficult to write along Shakespearian lines could be involved with the ruler of my writing house trining a certain Aries Mercury and my Jupiter trining a certain Jupiter. A complete poetic drama of mine was performed by the ABC because it was said I had written in modern English the closest one could approach to the style of Elizabethan drama.

PUBLISHING THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS SHORTLY

Be that as it may, the real point I want to make here is that the asteroids, rocks in space between Mars and Jupiter though they are, do speak and reveal and very accurately so. Another point is that though it’s satisfying to be able to certify Shakespeare’s birth data it’s more important to be able to settle for once and all time the birth data of Christ. I said I would probably not be writing again on this Blog until I was published on that theme which I am not yet but soon will be (there has been a bit of delay around the cover). Some of the exhaustive information I will supply will include regarding the micro astrology of asteroids – 430 of them are used and 70 Arabic Parts.

All being well, my Testament of the Magi: Mysteries of the Birth and Life of Christ, should be on Amazon around mid November. There will be many surprises because this book seriously claims to be a picture exact as a fingerprint for Jesus. Unless you discount astrology, current scholarship and the Magi narrative entirely it will seem perverse against the statistical improbabilities presented to deny this could be Jesus’ data and that he never existed - or, if he existed, that he never died on the cross. Also the material will take us right into issues of our own times because it is still working today.