PART I

The Planets

We’ll begin our study of astrology for writers by looking at the planets—the major players in the drama of the night sky. In this section, you’ll learn how to develop fictional personalities based on planetary characteristics. You can assign one planet to each member of the cast, or mix and match them, just like real life.

Meet the
Planetary Players

The Wandering Stars

For thousands of years, astronomers and astrologers could see only the visible bodies: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

They referred to the seven ancient planets as “wandering stars,” because the orbs seemed to travel through the night sky at will—separate and removed from the backdrop of fixed stars.

In practical terms, however, the planets were also thought of as gods, casting their light across the heavens. Whether they took human form or wandered across the celestial vault, their movements could have profound significance for people on Earth.

Today, we’re rational, scientific beings—but nothing can dim the magic and mystery of the stars. You might not worship the planets, but you can still think of them as guiding lights—yours to enjoy in a universe of your own creation.

You’ll find an entire cosmic lineup waiting for you on the next page.

The Planetary Pantheon

The planetary bodies were all named in honor of the gods—most of whom were known by several names themselves. In this book, we use their astrological monikers. For clarity and reference, though, you’ll find both their Greek and Roman names listed in the following chart.

Greek Name	Roman Name	Description
Aphrodite	Venus	Goddess of love and beauty; born of the blood of the sky god Ouranos and the foam of the sea
Apollo	Apollo	God of light, sun, truth, prophecy, healing, divination, and the arts; son of Zeus and Leto the swan; twin brother of Artemis
Ares	Mars	God of war; son of Zeus and Hera
Artemis	Diana	Virgin goddess of wilderness, the hunt, and the new moon; guardian of childbirth; twin sister of Apollo
Athena	Minerva	Warrior goddess of wisdom and justice; daughter of Zeus
Chiron	Chiron	A centaur; the wounded healer and teacher of the gods
Cronos	Saturn	Titan father of the Olympian gods and goddesses; husband to Rhea; like Father Time, he devoured his own children Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon. Rhea tricked him into sparing Zeus, who freed his brothers and sisters.
Demeter	Ceres	Goddess of fertility and harvest; her mourning for her lost daughter Persephone made the earth barren for a third of each year
Gaia	Tellus	Mother Earth
Hades	Pluto	God of the underworld and ruler of the dead; son of Cronos and Rhea
Hecate	Trivia	Ruler of the night and goddess of the dark moon; patron of magic and enchantment; guardian of crossroads and the passages of birth and death; daughter of the Titans
Hera	Juno	Goddess of marriage; wife of Zeus; daughter of Cronos and Rhea

Greek Name	Roman Name	Description
Hermes	Mercury	Messenger of the gods; son of Zeus and the nymph Maia
Kore/ Persephone	Proserpina	The maiden goddess, kidnapped by Hades, who became queen of the underworld; daughter of Demeter
Poseidon	Neptune	God of the sea; son of Cronos and Rhea
Hades	Pluto	God of the underworld
Rhea	Cybele	Goddess of the sky; wife of Cronos; mother to the Olympians Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus
Selene	Luna	Goddess of the full moon
Uranus	Ouranos	God of the sky
Hestia	Vesta	Goddess of the hearth; keeper of the sacred flame
Zeus	Jupiter	King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; son of Uranus and Gaia

Creative Guidance

While Western astrologers rely on Greek and Roman myths, everyone loves the stars. If you have a special interest in other cultures or other branches of astrology—such as Chinese, Vedic, or Native American traditions—you can easily adapt the techniques in this guide to suit your work.

The Sun:
The Star of the Show

The Hero of the Story

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether
that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

—Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

The Center of the Action

The lead player in the drama of the heavens is the Sun. It’s the brightest light in the sky, and it’s the most prominent star on the celestial stage. All the planets revolve around the Sun: it’s the center of the solar system and the center of the action.

The Sun is the source of light and heat on Earth. It’s the starting point for our earthly existence and a focal point for any story.

In literary terms, that means the Sun embodies all the qualities of a protagonist—the hero of the story.

Because the Sun is the centerpiece of our cosmic story, the Sun symbolizes the one character who can’t be cut from the script. After all, if the protagonist dies, the story ends, and the fictional universe collapses in on itself like a black hole.

Of course, the star of your story might not be as bright as the Sun. He might be a tragic hero, an unwilling hero, or an antihero. It doesn’t matter. He’s still the star of the show, and an astrological assessment can reveal surprising new depths and dimension to his role.

Mythic Models: The Gods of Light

Storytellers have been casting the Sun as the hero of their stories since the dawn of recorded history. In ancient times, the Sun was something of a superhero, with epic qualities that led to Greek and Roman myths and legends.

In Homer’s time, the Sun was Helios, who rode through the sky in a chariot by day and a golden bowl by night. From that vantage point, Helios could see and hear everything on Earth—and he could contribute to other myths and legends, too. He told Ceres about the abduction of her daughter, and he told Venus’s husband that his wife was notoriously unfaithful. (We’ll explore their stories later in this book.)

As centuries passed, Helios became known as Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of music, healing, truth, and light. Apollo was the oracular god who cast light on the future. He also killed the Python, the monster of darkness that made the oracle at Delphi inaccessible.

The Sun, which sets every night and rises every morning, is a timeless symbol of death and rebirth. In ancient times, the Sun was worshipped like a god—and some characteristics of ancient gods even found their way into biblical descriptions of Jesus Christ. Like a Sun god, a Sun-inspired character may have supernatural gifts and talents—including the power to rise from the dead.

Interactions with the Sun can also serve as cautionary tales. Think of Phaethon, the son of Helios, who wanted to drive his father’s chariot of the Sun. The vehicle was too much for him; he couldn’t control the solar horses, and he scorched the earth when he flew too low. To save the world, Jupiter had to strike Phaethon down with a lightning bolt.

Another legend describes what happened when ordinary mortals flew too close to the Sun. When Daedalus was imprisoned with his son Icarus in King Minos’s labyrinth, he fashioned wings of wax so they could fly to freedom. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun, but the young man ignored his father’s warnings. Instead, he soared to heights no man had ever experienced. The Sun’s rays were merciless—and when his wings melted, Icarus plunged to his death in the sea. The moral was clear: no man was meant to venture too close to God.

The Astrology of the Sun

The glyph for the Sun looks like the light at the center of the solar system.

The Sun is an important focal point in an astrological chart, whether it belongs to a real person or a fictional character. The Sun represents the center of every individual’s universe: himself.

The Sun symbolizes your characters’ core sense of identity and conscious awareness. It offers a dramatic vision of their confidence and self-esteem, as well as their willpower, purpose, and drive. It reveals their greatest strengths—and their corresponding weaknesses. The Sun is a symbol of virility, vitality, and energy.

The Sun also represents consciousness and enlightenment. It’s a depiction of your characters’ inner light, and it describes the ways in which they shine.

In a storyline, the Sun symbolizes your characters’ destiny, drives, and desires. The Sun sheds light on their sense of purpose, as well as their life’s path. The Sun also illuminates the way in which each person will express the divine light of God, and how they’ll assert their moral right to rule their own kingdoms.

Because the Sun is so visible in the sky, its placement in an astrological chart can highlight areas of fame, public recognition, and acclaim. The Sun shows where your characters will shine, and where they’ll expend the most energy in pursuit of their goals. The Sun will also show you how and where they want to be recognized for their accomplishments.

In short, the Sun reveals every character’s truest self. The Sun is each person’s birthright.

Creative Guidance

Most people associate astrology with Sun signs, because the Sun moves through all twelve zodiac signs during the course of a year. Its position on any given day determines every person’s Sun sign. While no two individuals will channel the light and heat of the Sun in exactly the same way, people who share a Sun sign often share a similar worldview. That’s one reason that Sun sign astrology has become the mainstay of newspaper horoscopes: it’s a simplified way to summarize the essential nature of people who were born in the same sign.

Archetypal Roles

Another easy way to develop characters is to think of them as archetypes—prototypes and models of personality, and cosmic stereotypes that transcend the limits of time and place. Archetypal characters regularly appear in our dreams, myths, and stories. They’re also the figurative heroes of fable and legend. In fact, many societies and cultures throughout history have shared similar stories and made use of the same symbols.

In traditional astrology, the Sun is a symbol of rulers and kings.

In modern astrology, the Sun often signifies a father figure—although the patriarchy is usually reserved for Saturn, the authoritarian and disciplinarian. In a woman’s chart, the Sun can also represent a husband.

• The Sun can be a golden child, like Hercules, or a puer aeternus (eternal boy), like Peter Pan.

• The Sun can symbolize God or a divine child, a Christlike newborn, or a messiah.

• The Sun is connected with creativity, which makes it the mark of an artist; health, which makes it the mark of a healer; and divination, suggesting a seer or a prophet.

• The Sun’s golden rays might remind you of Midas, who turned everything he touched into gold. As a writer, you know that’s not necessarily a good thing. What’s more, not everything that glitters is gold.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with the Sun

Astrology is a form of character analysis. For writers, astrology can also be a tool for character creation and character-driven stories. Keep these facts in mind.

Sign Rulership: The Sun rules Leo, the sign of creativity and self-expression.

Signature Creature: Leo is represented by a lion, the king of the beasts. Characters who are based on the Sun will be lionesque: bold, brash, regal, privileged, and proud.

House Rulership: The Sun rules the fifth house of a horoscope chart, where astrologers look for information about recreation, procreation, and creativity. Any character based on the Sun will embody an element of playfulness and fun. They’ll be attractive, hot, and loaded with sexual magnetism, too.

Physical Associations: The Sun rules the heart and the spine. Both find expression in everyday language when we describe people with courage and heart, or willpower and backbone.

Geographical Associations: The Sun is associated with hot, dry places.

Element: The Sun corresponds to the element of fire. It’s blazing hot, mesmerizing, uncontrollable, dangerous, and compelling. That energy could be expressed as a raging inferno or a slow, controlled burn. At times, it could be banked in embers, waiting to be reawakened.

Masculine/Feminine: The Sun’s energy is masculine and direct. Even female characters who embody the energy of the Sun will be dramatic, forthright, fully conscious, and self-aware—or they’ll discover those qualities in themselves in their travels through the landscape of the stars.

Metal: Gold is malleable enough to craft into ornaments and jewelry, intrinsically valuable, and artistically pleasing.

The Sun’s Strengths and Weaknesses

The Sun, at the height of its powers, is strong, confident, truthful, direct, brave, visionary, optimistic, radiant, charitable, and humane. While no one can look directly at the Sun without going blind, the Sun illuminates the darkest shadows and reveals the truth of any situation. It’s a powerful disinfectant.

When the Sun’s energy is blocked, thwarted, or misdirected, though, it can be dangerous. It can be vain, arrogant, self-centered, egocentric, egotistical, and narcissistic. It can burn, and it can even be blinded by its own brilliance.

Creative Guidance

Most of us are taught to think of each new day as starting at sunrise. Each new story begins at dawn and moves into clearer focus as the Sun rises. At high noon, everything is illuminated. As the day lengthens, the shadows do as well, until at sunset the Sun moves into the netherworld, and then slips out of view entirely.

The cyclical nature of the Sun’s movement symbolizes a story arc, as the plot unfolds and new developments are brought to light. It also symbolizes the hero’s journey, in which the hero is forced to travel between two worlds—the ordinary and the supernatural—to discover a sense of balance and wholeness, and to integrate two halves.

Think about the Sun’s movement as a tool for outlining plot, and guide your character through the story like the Sun travels through the sky—from its dawn at sunrise, to the pinnacle of high noon, its death at sunset, and its travel through darkness before being born again.

The Sun’s Goals and Motivations

You could create a character based entirely on the archetypal qualities of the Sun. However, if you’re trying to build a character piece by piece, based on all the planets in his or her birth chart, you’ll want to consider the Sun’s position in the signs of the zodiac. You’ll learn more about the signs in the next section—but for now, here’s a handy reference guide.

With the Sun in …	Your character’s primary mission in life will focus on …
Aries	Leadership and initiation
Taurus	Stability, security, and comfort
Gemini	Communication and learning
Cancer	Home and family
Leo	Celebrity status, recognition, and admiration
With the Sun in …	Your character’s primary mission in life will focus on …
Virgo	Work, service, and responsibility
Libra	Popularity, charm, grace, and style
Scorpio	Understanding the deepest, darkest mysteries of life
Sagittarius	Exploration, travel, and wide-ranging experience
Capricorn	Worldly success and accomplishment
Aquarius	Innovation and visionary thinking
Pisces	Spiritual existence

Twenty Questions

1. Write a quick character sketch based on the characteristics of the Sun. Because the Sun is the central figure in any drama, write about a protagonist who embodies the mythical, astrological, or literary archetypes you associate with the star of the show.

2. Write a first-person passage in which you assume the mantle of the Sun. What do you see during the course of a day? Where do your travels take you?

3. Go a step further. Write as if you’ve already seen everything under the Sun … until one day you see something you’ve never seen before.

4. What happens when your character goes outside?

5. What happens when your character is in the public eye?

6. What fears must your character overcome in order to take center stage?

7. Write about the one thing that the Sun—like God—cannot have.

8. Write about the Sun’s birth and death.

9. The Sun is used to being the center of attention, the most visible light in the sky. What does the Sun do when no one is looking?

10. Make a list of adjectives that describe the Sun—and which could describe your character in the process. Start with “hot, fiery, and radiant.”

11. What literary characters do you think best embody the characteristics of the Sun?

12. Explore the source of your character’s energy. What fuels him?

13. How does he shine?

14. What is his reason for being?

15. What is most obvious about him?

16. What blinds your character?

17. What happens when your character’s passions are extinguished? Hidden? Shrouded in darkness?

18. What time does your character rise for the day? When does he set? Where does your character travel in the course of a day?

19. Who are the people who surround your character?

20. How is your character’s health?

The Rest of the Show

A great story brings fictional characters to life, just as astrology brings real life into focus. The protagonist, of course, is the hero of the story. Most stories also include a constellation of characters that surround the protagonist, including friends, foes, co-workers, and casual acquaintances. They’re usually categorized like this:

Antagonists. Conflict is the heart of drama, which means that every hero has an opponent who wants to block his happiness and progress. Even though the antagonist isn’t the star of the story, he should be an equal match. A great antagonist is just as interesting as the protagonist, with just as much astrological depth and dimension. He might even outmatch the hero.

Friends and Foils. Because everyone needs a friend, most literary characters have foils—sidekicks who illustrate the hero’s strengths and weaknesses. They might complement the hero, or serve as a striking contrast. They can contradict the hero, or complete him.

Supporting Characters. Figures who pop up throughout the course of a story—without taking leading roles themselves—are supporting characters. They usually have their own backstories, crises, and concerns; you can develop astrological profiles for them, too.

Stock Characters. Almost every story includes stock characters, such as bartenders, taxi drivers, and mail carriers. They’re usually nameless, but they step in as needed to keep the story moving. You can base your stock characters on simplified planets or signs.

Astrology has countless characters to inspire you, whether you’re looking for heroes, villains, or supporting players. You can choose from a celestial lineup of planetary personalities, as well as asteroid gods and goddesses. You can clothe them in the costumes of the signs, and imbue them with the full range of humanity’s strengths and weaknesses.

Every person is a universe unto himself. As Walt Whitman wrote, “I am large, I contain multitudes.”

Creative Guidance

Traditionally, astrologers have referred to planets and signs as masculine or feminine. In real life, of course, every individual embodies traits we could categorize as masculine or feminine. In literature, it’s amusing and inventive to experiment with traditional gender roles. While this guide describes the planets and signs by their traditional pronouns, you’re encouraged to mix and match their characteristics for maximum effect.

Heroes and Villains

While a protagonist is usually the hero of the story, heroes and villains can’t exist one without the other. Each one is an inverse reflection and counterpart.

Generally speaking, heroes should be likeable. They might be quirky, but they should always be charming and charismatic. Like Boy Scouts, real heroes are loyal, brave, trustworthy, and true. They’re modest and kindhearted. They adhere to a moral code—which may be perfect or imperfect, but is dependable and consistent. They rise to a challenge, and inspire others with their bravery and daring. They keep their promises and they play fair. That doesn’t mean they won’t break the rules and make mistakes. They will. That’s part of what keeps them interesting.

What’s more, most of their good qualities should come without a struggle—or without a price. In fact, their motivations should always be based on a fair amount of self-interest. While you don’t need to incorporate a tragic flaw that will doom your heroes, they should have a dark side that they struggle to contain, control, or overcome.

Heroes should be attractive, physically and spiritually. They should be smart. They can be inexperienced—at least when the story starts—but they should be quick learners once they’ve enrolled in the school of hard knocks. They should be calm, cool, and collected in the face of a crisis.

And there will be a crisis—often in the form of a villain.

Villains are dark. They’re unreliable and egotistical. They’re untrustworthy. They break promises—and hearts—without care or concern for others. Their morals shift on loose sand. They lie, cheat, and steal. Sometimes they kill. They’re selfish, and they don’t show—or feel—remorse. They think their actions are justified.

Villains usually have some physical flaw that reflects their character defects and deficiency. Even so, they see themselves in the best light imaginable. They think they’re handsome, charming, and smart. They can’t laugh at themselves—and they certainly can’t stand to be laughed at. They think they’re better than everyone else—which could suggest a powerful sense of insecurity—or insanity—deep beneath the surface. They’re bullies. Sometimes, they’re psychopaths. They tend to panic under pressure. Ultimately, they’re cowards.

Creative Guidance

Follow this checklist, and all of your characters will come to life. Do your heroes and villains measure up?

• Heroes and protagonists have drives and desires—passions that burn as hot as the Sun.

• Villains and antagonists are always an even match for the heroes. They, too, have goals and motivations—and they see their counterparts as thwarting their mission.

• Every character’s hopes and dreams should be both internal and external. No one lives in a vacuum. A personal goal should have a measurable target in the outside world.

• In fiction, no character’s path should be smooth. If there’s no rain on the parade, there should at least be clouds in the sky.

• Heroes and villains aren’t caricatures. They’re complex and multi-dimensional. Like everyone with a birth chart, they’re fully rounded individuals.

• Even heroes are deeply flawed—perhaps irredeemably so.

• Their charm and talent might make up for their flaws—or camouflage them.

• Both heroes and villains are logical, and their reasoning is clear to the reader.

• Given the option, most characters would never choose to learn and grow, because every lesson comes at a cost. In fact, most characters, like most people, resist change; they have to be forced into it. Even when they’re unhappy in their daily lives, most people know what to expect each day—and fear of the unknown is usually enough to keep anyone frozen in place.

• Your heroes might find that destiny is thrust upon them by forces that are outside their control. Eventually, however, every protagonist must take an active hand in determining his own fate.

• In the process, your heroes’ greatest weaknesses can be transformed into their greatest strengths—and your villains’ pride will be their undoing.

Perspective and Point of View

Astrology can help you see life through your characters’ eyes. As the author, you get to decide what—and how much—you’ll reveal to your readers.

You can assume the omniscient form of the Sun, and report the story as it plays out under your watchful eye.

You can step into your character’s shoes, and give a first-person account.

You can also write strictly as a mortal observer, in the third person.

Whatever point of view you choose, don’t reveal too much. As the writer, you’re omniscient, but you’re not a court reporter. Leave some details to your readers’ imagination.

Creative Guidance

Use straightforward astrological metaphor in your work: He shone like the sun. She glowed like the moon. He was as slippery as quicksilver. Try the technique with every planet in the solar system.

The Moon

Queen of the Night

She walked with measured steps, draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth proudly, with a slight jingle and flash of barbarous ornaments. She carried her head high; her hair was done in the shape of a helmet; she had brass leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her neck; bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at every step.

—Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

The Constant Companion

The Moon is a constant companion to the Sun. She shares his joys and sorrows—and in the cosmic drama of the sky, she represents a partner, friend, and confidant.

She could be a wife, a mother, or any variation on the female theme, like a sister, a soul mate, or simply the girl next door. In any light—and any context—the Moon is decidedly feminine.

The Moon doesn’t generate light and heat of her own. Instead, the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, changing and adapting each day as she orbits around the earth. The Moon’s position is constantly changing, as she waxes from new to full and back again. And while the Moon fades from view once a month, her influence never disappears.

The Moon reveals herself in bits and pieces—and in the process, she serves as a reflection, a sounding board, and a measure of your hero’s growth and progress over time.

Mythic Models: The Lady of the Night

The Sun and the Moon are linked in a cosmic dance, perpetually following each other’s footsteps through the sky. Some cultures consider the two luminaries brother and sister, while others refer to them as husband and wife. In either case, they are a primordial couple, and their heavenly partnership symbolizes the constant give and take between light and dark, action and reaction, masculine and feminine, radiance and reflection, and the conscious and subconscious mind.

While we’ve all heard about the man in the moon, the heavenly light is also linked with the three faces of the goddess—the maiden, mother, and crone. It’s no coincidence that the three faces of the goddess correspond to three distinct phases in a woman’s life. Storytellers embodied all three forms in the tale of Proserpina, a young woman who was kidnapped by the lord of the underworld. Her mother, Ceres, was the goddess of the harvest—but while her daughter was missing, she refused to give life to the earth. Eventually, Proserpina was rescued by Hecate, the withered crone who had the power to travel between this world and the next.

The Moon is constantly changing form—as Moon goddesses often do—so her legend also varies. In ancient Greece, Selene was the goddess of the Moon. She would rise from the oceans each night, freshly bathed and crowned with a crescent Moon. In ancient Rome, she was Luna, Latin for “Moon.”

The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. In that role, Artemis could take life, cleanly and without reservation. She wasn’t a goddess of death, however. In fact, she was the goddess of childbirth, and she was dedicated to shepherding new life into the world. As legend has it, she helped deliver her own twin brother, Apollo, immediately after she was born.

The Romans knew Artemis by the Latin name Diana. She was a hunter and an archer; the crescent Moon was her bow, and she could take life to preserve it. During childbirth, women in labor would cry out to her for relief; they believed that she could either kill their pain or kill them to end their suffering.

It all comes back to positioning: Luna and Selene were representations of the Moon in the sky. Diana and Artemis were her incarnation on Earth. And as the goddess of the underworld, Proserpina was the dark Moon who slipped periodically from our view.

Her rescuer, the wise old Hecate, was darker yet. In myth and legend, Hecate had the power to summon demons and phantoms from the bowels of the earth. She taught sorcery and witchcraft. She could be found wherever two roads crossed, on tombs, and near the blood of murdered persons. She herself traveled with the souls of the dead, and her approach was announced by the whining and howling of dogs.

The Astrology of the Moon

The glyph for the Moon looks like a crescent Moon.

While the Sun lights the sky by day, the Moon rules the night. It’s the guardian of dreams, the keeper of secrets, and the silvery orb of reflection and intuition.

Just as the Moon reflects the Sun’s light, it also reflects our unconscious needs and desires. Because the Moon is shrouded in shadows and darkness, it represents secrets and mysteries that may not be understood—or even recognized.

In astrology, the Moon represents the emotional landscape. It symbolizes inborn and innate needs and desires. The Moon symbolizes the rocky landscape of memory and feeling—brilliantly illuminated when the Moon is full, but mysterious and enigmatic whenever it’s hidden from view. Even though she’s an intimate companion, the Moon keeps part of her face veiled, shrouding herself in shadow and refusing to reveal her dark side to the world.

The gravitational pull of the Moon symbolizes the irresistible force of our memories, dreams, and reflections. The tug of the past is irresistible—and easily repressed. The emotions that rise up at night usually don’t make sense until the bright light of day.

Astrologically, the Moon symbolizes the depths of personality. The Moon reflects our fears and insecurities, as well as our desire for nurturing and safety. It describes our sensitivities: our inborn responses to emotional triggers, our instinctive responses to threats, and our immediate reactions to predatory behavior.

The Moon has ties to memory, mood, and motherhood—along with corresponding issues of creativity and the need to nurture our creations. The Moon symbolizes fertility and rhythm, because its 28-day cycles are typical of most women’s monthly cycles. The Moon is also linked to pregnancy and childbirth, because its phases so clearly match the pregnant female form: slim, then round and full, then slim again. Its circular shape can suggest a reservoir, a womb, a cauldron, or a chalice.

The phases of the Moon are closely linked to the cycles of life: maiden, mother, and crone.

The Moon is also a symbol of public perception and popular opinion, because it represents how we’re seen when we’re projected into the sky.

Creative Guidance

What’s your story really about? What message and meaning do you want to convey? What is your life’s purpose? What is your character’s purpose?

The theme of a story is often directly connected to the Sun and the Moon in astrology: the burning desire of the Sun combined with the reflection and understanding of the Moon.

Theme, however, is subtle—both in life and in fiction. When astrologers sit with their clients during an astrological consultation, the themes usually unveil themselves slowly and symbolically, in bits and pieces, as they discuss the highlights of the horoscope, and the highs and lows on the road map of life.

The Astronomy of the Moon

The Moon was our first calendar, and its cycle is a graphic reminder of the cyclical nature of existence—and it’s a useful marker that helps us chart the cycles of our lives.

The Moon moves through all of the signs every month, and it’s full in one sign each month of the year. Because the lunar and solar calendars aren’t perfectly synchronized, the Moon makes a complete orbit around the earth every 28 days, and catches up with the Sun every 30 days.

It is interesting to note that from our vantage point on Earth, the Sun and Moon appear to be exactly the same size. Symbolically speaking, they are a matched set. Like Selene and Helios, Luna and Sol, or Diana and Apollo, they are a cosmic pair, equal in size and engaged in a perpetual race through the heavens. Where the Sun is masculine and active, the Moon is feminine and receptive.

The Moon is an irresistible force; its gravity helps stabilize Earth’s orbit and produces the regular ebb and flow of the tides.

The Moon’s orbit around the earth is synchronized with the earth’s orbit around the Sun—so synchronized, in fact, that the bright side of the Moon always faces Earth and the dark side of the Moon always turns toward space.

Archetypal Roles

• In astrology, the Moon often represents a woman—a wife, mother, sister, or friend.

• The Moon’s rule of the night sky could suggest a queen, a first lady, or a woman in authority. In practical terms, the Moon is an equal—a wife, partner, or better half.

• A woman’s life experience unfolds in three phases: maiden, mother, and crone.

• A maiden is pure, innocent, virginal, and self-possessed.

• A pregnant woman carries the hope of the future. A mother can be loving and caring, willing to defend her children with her life—or a dark mother who systematically destroys her children.

• A crone can be a wise and trusted grandmother, or a wicked witch—a dangerous woman who knows too much.

• The Moon’s connection to nurturing and children can also symbolize a midwife, nanny, or nurse.

• Women are often categorized by extremes: they can be virgins or whores, or saints or seductresses. While you wouldn’t talk about women that way in real life, you can use those characterizations for dramatic effect.

• The Moon might remind you of Eve, the first woman who cursed humankind with original sin.

• There’s a mystical quality to the Moon that links it to psychics and mediums, high priestesses, and keepers of secret wisdom.

• The Moon’s reflective qualities might prompt you to think of advisors, counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with the Moon

As you look at the Moon for literary inspiration, keep these facts in mind.

Sign Rulership: The Moon rules Cancer, the sign of motherhood, as well as home and family life, inheritance, and security.

House Rulership: The Moon rules the fourth house of the horoscope, where astrologers look for information about nurturing and the foundations of early childhood.

Dignity: The Moon rules Cancer, the sign of motherhood, home, and family. The Moon is a symbol of nurturing and security—which makes it debilitated in Capricorn, the opposite sign of business, career, and high-profile, public visibility. The Moon is exalted in Taurus, a sign of comfort and security. It’s in its fall in Scorpio, a sign of intense scrutiny and introspection.

Physical Associations: The Moon rules the breasts, stomach, ovaries, and womb—a reminder of the nurturing power expressed through mother’s milk and comfort food.

Geographical Associations: Cold, moist, and damp places: lakes, oceans, seas, ports, docks, bogs, spas, and fountains.

Element: The Moon is associated with the watery world of emotions.

Masculine/Feminine: The Moon is reflective and receptive.

Metal: Silver.

Creative Guidance

The Moon offers the perfect opportunity to consider your characters’ backstories. When you look at your characters by the light of the Moon, you can glean amazing insights into their formative years, primary relationships, and personal development.

• Who raised your character?

• What was her family like?

• Who nurtured her?

• Who disciplined her?

• How would you describe her childhood?

• What were her school years like?

• What did she learn about relationships from her parents and family?

• Was her home life calm or stressful?

• How did she perceive her home life?

The Moon’s Strengths and Weaknesses

When the Moon is round and high in the sky, it embodies the height of femininity and refinement. It’s fertile, creative, reflective, meditative, contemplative, sensitive, well-mannered, soft-spoken, and mild.

When the Moon is dark and shadowy, however, it’s prone to fits of lunacy and unbridled passion. It’s uncontrolled and uncontrollable, drunk with power, disconnected from reality, irresponsible, and lazy.

The Moon’s Goals and Motivations

If you’re creating a character based on a birth chart, look for the position of the Moon. The luminary’s position will show you where your character will invest most of her emotional energy, both in her relationships and in her quest to prove herself.

With the Moon in …	Your character will invest most of her emotional energy in …
Aries	Establishing her importance, leadership, and drive
Taurus	Ensuring her own safety, security, and stability, and creating a comfortable environment
With the Moon in …	Your character will invest most of her emotional energy in …
Gemini	Presenting herself as clever, smart, and well-informed
Cancer	Nurturing others, in an effort to guarantee her own emotional security
Leo	Garnering respect, love, and admiration
Virgo	Analyzing, assessing, and organizing her world
Libra	Gaining and retaining popularity
Scorpio	Gaining a sense of mastery and control over life’s deepest, darkest mysteries
Sagittarius	Acquiring worldly experience and proving her credentials and expertise
Capricorn	Climbing the ladder of success and worldly accomplishments
Aquarius	Devising life-changing innovations and improvements
Pisces	Immersing herself in the watery world of spiritual existence and alternate realities

Creative Guidance

A Blue Moon is a rare occurrence, resulting from the fact that the lunar calendar isn’t perfectly aligned with our Gregorian calendar. There are thirteen full moons in a year. What rare event—happening once in a Blue Moon—will move your story forward?

Twenty Questions

1. The Moon is a partner to the Sun. Describe a conversation between the Sun and the Moon.

2. Write about how the Sun and Moon characters met.

3. Outline an argument between the Sun and the Moon.

4. Describe how they feel during their time apart, and how they grow close, then separate.

5. Write a passage in first-person plural: “We …”

6. Is your character’s strength waxing or waning?

7. The Moon experiences the cycle of birth and death on a monthly basis. What would it be like to be continually reincarnated?

8. What moments does your character relive, either consciously or unconsciously?

9. Does your character ever experience déjà vu? Work an example into your story.

10. What cycles does she repeat?

11. What words or expressions have become catchphrases?

12. How does your character grow, change, and then return to her starting point?

13. Who is your hero’s companion?

14. How does she reflect your hero’s strengths?

15. How does she reflect your hero’s weaknesses?

16. What secrets could she reveal?

17. What facts does she conceal?

18. What is her dark side?

19. What are your hero’s memories, especially of childhood? Describe your hero’s mother. How does your hero relate to his mother?

20. The Moon is perpetually young—and preternaturally old. She’s an old soul who celebrates her youth, but she’s comfortable with the aging process. She’s seen the world cycle through periods of growth and change for eons. She’s almost impossible to shock—but you can try. Devise a scene or a scenario that would make your grandmother blush.

Mercury

The Great Communicator

There was no lack of material; boys happened along every little while; they came to jeer, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was fagged out, Tom had traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for a kite, in good repair; and when he played out, Johnny Miller bought in for a dead rat and a string to swing it with—and so on, and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth.

—Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Traveling Companion

Mercury is the smallest planet, but it plays the largest number of roles in astrology. From friend, to neighbor, to spirit guide, the messenger planet constantly runs circles around the Sun.

Mercury is, at heart, a traveling companion. The planet has the smallest, fastest orbit, which makes it a steady, reassuring presence in the sky.

Archetypally, Mercury is well suited to the role of a neighbor, roommate, brother, sister, or cousin. Mercury can also make an appearance as a mail carrier, newsboy, or gossipy neighbor. He can even offer some comic relief.

Mercury can also be a herald of coming events. In fact, a lot of stories start when a messenger delivers a call to action—an offer that can’t be refused, or a warning that can’t be ignored.

In fact, Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods, conveys more information than you can imagine. He’s the courier of the accumulated wisdom of all of time and space.

Mythic Models: Messenger of the Gods

Mercury was a heavenly messenger, a high-flying, fast-moving, winged spirit who could ferry communications between gods and men at the speed of light. He shuttled between Earth and Mount Olympus in the blink of an eye. He wore wings on his feet, so he never touched the ground, and his winged helmet was proof of his airy, intellectual nature. In fact, the glyph for Mercury looks like a stick-figure sketch of the young god, crowned with those wings. Mercury also carried a magic wand—a caduceus of gold, given to him by Apollo, who taught him the art of prophecy.

As the god of communication, Mercury was also the god of commerce, which connects him to fast talk and clever sales pitches. At times, he crossed over into the realm of the con man. He was the god of tricksters and thieves—but in all honesty, that wasn’t a deal-breaker: the gods aren’t bound by the same moral code as men.

Like Hecate, the dark goddess, Mercury was also one of the few souls who could cross the invisible boundary between life and death. He could travel in and out of the underworld at will. Most of the souls who passed through the portals of darkness were condemned to dwell there forevermore—or until they could be reborn, when memories of their previous incarnations would be wiped clean. Given his power as a psychopomp, Mercury occasionally served as an emissary and a guide to the spirits of the dead, ensuring their safe passage into Hades’ realm.

In Greece, Mercury was also known as Hermes, and the Hermetic Maxim—“As above, so below”—has been a philosophical inspiration for centuries. Not only does it cast light on the premise that life on Earth is a reflection of a greater reality, it also suggests that the mind truly is more powerful than matter, and that an imaginary world, cloaked in the power of words, has the power to transform reality. Mercury has always been an emissary between the airy realm of ideas and the earthy world of physical existence.

There is a trickster element to Mercury that can’t be overlooked. Not only did Hermes lie, cheat, and steal with impunity, but he also raised misinformation to an art form. He offered some information on a need-to-know basis, and occasionally he left out the most important parts. He could wrap his mind around any number of contradictions, inconsistencies, and incongruities, and convince his audience to accept any explanation for any story.

In literature, Hermes can be the antagonist who is so complex and multifaceted that he becomes more interesting, more intriguing, and more fascinating than the protagonist—because he embodies all of the protagonist’s qualities, and their opposites. Does he contradict himself? Yes. He contains multitudes.

The Astrology of Mercury

The glyph for this planet looks like Mercury, messenger of the gods, in his winged helmet.

Named for the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, the planet Mercury rules quick errands and short neighborhood jaunts. He rules the things we learn as children, when we first start to explore the microcosmic world of our own neighborhoods. He rules the tasks that children are often appointed to execute, like delivering newspapers and feeding pets. Through Mercury, we learn how to work and sell ourselves, by trying our wings at odd jobs around the neighborhood: door-to-door cookie sales, lawn mowing, shoveling, babysitting—real jobs with real value, but that are often entrusted to the youngest and most inexperienced members of society. With Mercury’s guidance and direction, we can test our wings.

In astrology, Mercury represents logic, reason, wit, writing, and speech. Its placement in a horoscope chart, by sign and by house, describes early schooling and primary education, as well as siblings, cousins, playmates, and neighborhood friends.

Mercury’s close proximity to the Sun suggests a connection to one’s immediate neighborhood, as well as close ties to neighbors on the family tree—brothers, sisters, and cousins. After all, the gods on Mount Olympus were related, and Mercury helped ensure that they could stay in contact.

Because Mercury dispatched his errands at the speed of thought, the planet also represents the thought process, intellect, and communication style. It symbolizes basic training in reading, writing, and arithmetic during the grade-school years.

Mercury was the god of communication. An airy intellectual, Mercury describes how you think and how you communicate those thoughts to others. It symbolizes reason and rationale, logic and loquaciousness, verbal ability, and communication skills. It’s more than idle chatter: Mercury is the mechanism of reason.

Mercury is tasked with the day-to-day essentials: quick neighborhood trips and early primary education. How were you taught to think? Who were your role models? What did you learn to adopt—or reject—based on the communicators around you? It’s the foundation of your relationships and your ultimate success in life, both in terms of relationship and career.

Mercury is often written off as glib and fleeting, but its position in the chart is of primary importance.

The Astronomy of the Planet Mercury

Mercury is the Sun’s closest companion in space, so it has the shortest orbit of all the planets—just 88 days. Mercury’s speed and agility mark it as the quick-thinking, versatile ruler of short trips, neighborhood errands, everyday commerce, and workday commutes.

Mercury’s trickster aspect is also apparent in its astronomical circuit. The planet’s orbit is so near the Sun, and so quick, that it seems to zigzag through the sky, changing its apparent direction six times each year. When Mercury goes retrograde, it seems to be moving in reverse. That’s a phenomenon when Earth moves ahead in our orbit around the Sun, and we’re forced to look back over our shoulders and wait for Mercury to catch up.

Astrologically, Mercury retrogrades mark periods of time when messages are delayed, misdelivered, or misconstrued. Communication breaks down, and the tools we rely upon for our daily routines tend to fall apart too. Computers crash, networks go down, hard drives fail, and e-mail gets lost in the ether.

Of course, for a writer, miscommunication is a gold mine. When you lead your characters through a series of misunderstandings and misadventures, your readers won’t be misled. They’ll keep turning the pages for more. Everyone loves a quirky comedy of errors.

Archetypal Roles

Mercury can be cast in any number of supporting roles, including:

• A student, who pursues learning as a vocation.

• A poet, writer, or scribe, who transforms reality with the power of words.

• A thief, who steals from others when their guard is down.

• A wanderer, who leaves the known world to explore new horizons.

• A messenger, like a mail carrier, delivery person, or page. Messages can come from any number of sources, however, including gossipy neighbors, family members, and strangers on the street.

• Sometimes a communicative friend knows what the hero is thinking—and says it before the hero can put his thoughts into words.

• A source of information: a researcher, a reference librarian, a clerk at an information desk.

• A trickster, who uses his power to manipulate and deceive. Tricksters relish the disruption of the status quo, turning the ordinary world into chaos with their quick turns of phrase and physical antics.

• Some tricksters pose as fools. Shakespeare’s fools were witty and concise; many truths were told in jest. Historically, a fool was an inverse counterpart to a king. Fools were the only ones who could speak truth to power. Court jesters weren’t simpletons, and they often served to remind the monarchs of their own folly and humanity.

• A trickster can also be a magician, who can bend the laws of nature to suit his needs. He can be a sorcerer, who harnesses the power of spirits and demons for his own ends, or a wizard, a wise old man who can transform reality.

• Mercury’s occasional role as a psychopomp, a conductor of souls, can lend your story a supernatural twist. His appearance could signal a message to or from the spirit world. He can be a shaman, who journeys between the physical and spiritual worlds on a specific mission.

• He might serve as a link between the conscious and unconscious minds. He could also represent a guide to travel in an unfamiliar area.

• Your messenger could even be an unlikely herald—like an angel unaware—who comes into the story in the guise of something completely unexpected: a child, an anonymous message, or a snippet of overheard conversation.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Mercury

Here’s what you need to know to assess Mercury in astrological terms.

Sign Rulerships: Mercury is a multitasker. The planet rules two signs: quick-thinking Gemini and analytical Virgo. They’re both signs of airy intellectualism. Gemini is curious and wide-ranging, while Virgo is discriminating and precise.

House Rulerships: Mercury rules Gemini’s third house of communication and Virgo’s sixth house of work and service to others.

Dignity: Mercury, with its lightning-fast orbit around the Sun, rules short trips. That means it’s debilitated in Sagittarius, the sign of long-distance travel. The intellectual Mercury is equally uncomfortable when it’s forced to wallow in the depths of Pisces’ watery emotions. Mercury is exalted in Virgo—one of the signs it rules—and Aquarius, the airy, thoughtful sign that’s also associated with the technology of modern communication.

Physical Associations: Mercury rules the parts of the body we use to gather and convey information: the shoulders, arms, and hands that belong to Gemini. Mercury rules the parts of the body we use to analyze data, too—the brain and the central nervous system, which belong to Virgo.

Geographical Associations: Mercury is associated with cold, dry locations.

Element: Mercury corresponds to the element of air, like a thought, a whisper on the breeze, or a message broadcast across an open sky.

Masculine/Feminine: Mercury, like the trickster he is, embodies qualities that are both masculine and feminine.

Metal: This planet is associated with mercury, of course, which is also referred to as quicksilver. Mercurial matters are fast-moving and free-flowing. They seem solid, but they’re almost impossible to grasp. They slip into liquid at a touch. Mercury, like the words and thoughts he communicates, is fleeting.

Mercury’s Strengths and Weaknesses

At his best, Mercury is smart, clever, curious, and creative. He’s adaptable, attentive, and reactive. He’s perceptive and keenly intelligent. He’s got a quick wit and a wicked sense of humor.

Sometimes Mercury is too clever by half. He’s not just cunning—he’s also crafty and confusing. He lies. He cheats. He gossips and he steals. When Mercury goes bad, he turns misdirection into an art form. He’s so bad, he’s good.

Creative Guidance

For a writer, Mercury embodies the writer’s mind of grasping multiple storylines and weaving them together, deftly, cleverly, succinctly, and skillfully. He is the consummate storyteller, revealing neither too much nor too little, but exactly what the listener needs to hear at a particular juncture. He offers information on a need-to-know basis.

Mercury was a psychopomp, a conductor of souls. Writers are psychopomps in their own right. They lead readers down the path of adventure and excitement. They live vicariously through the experiences of others. They’re willing to venture into an underworld under the safeguard and protection of a guide, knowing that they’ll be safely delivered and ultimately returned to their own world—changed and made better by the experience.

Just as Mercury could cross between the land of the living and the land of the dead, he can move between the worlds of conscious awareness and unconscious revelations. His magic wand gave him mantic powers over sleep and dreams. If you want Mercury to visit you during the night, keep a notebook by your bed so you can record the messages he leaves for you in the early morning hours.

Mercury’s Goals and Motivations

With Mercury in …	Your character’s communication style will be …
Aries	Bold and direct
Taurus	Slow, careful, clear, and musical
Gemini	Quick and wide-ranging
Cancer	Kind and compassionate, but also prone to emotional outbursts
Leo	Dramatic and self-centered
Virgo	Measured and precise
Libra	Charming, gracious, and collaborative
Scorpio	Secretive, understated, and not very revealing
Sagittarius	Outgoing, humorous, curious, and philosophical
Capricorn	Businesslike, with glimpses of dry, subtle humor
Aquarius	Friendly, kind, but somewhat offbeat and eccentric
Pisces	Slow, gentle, flowing, and somewhat confusing

Twenty Questions

1. Create a new character for your story, or choose an undeveloped character from your existing cast, and put words in his mouth. Make him an unlikely messenger—and to complicate matters, try to ensure that his message will be misinterpreted, either as a joke or an outright lie. Many a truth is told in jest.

2. Mercury is a trickster. How is your character not what he appears to be? Write a story in which Mercury deliberately deceives another character.

3. Play tricks on your readers. Move parts around. Plant false clues. Misdirect. Change the ending.

4. Write a story in which a Mercury-based character breaks boundaries, crosses borders, and enters and exits a world that’s forbidden to the rest of us, like a prison or an asylum. You could also try sending your character into Mercury’s own supernatural world—Mount Olympus, home of the gods, or Hades, the realm of the dead.

5. How does your character think? What could impede his thinking?

6. How does your character express himself?

7. Where does he get his information?

8. How does he verify his sources?

9. What stumbling blocks does he have when it comes to communication?

10. What was your character like as a child?

11. Where did he go to school?

12. Who was his favorite teacher?

13. What was his favorite class?

14. How does your character dress?

15. What does your character drive? How does he travel?

16. What is your character’s daily routine?

17. Describe your character’s neighborhood.

18. Does your character have brothers, sisters, or cousins? How do they relate?

19. Is there a supernatural twist to your story?

20. Will your character receive a message from the spirit world?

Venus

The Love Interest

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou her maid art far more fair than she.

—William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Most stories aren’t complete without a love interest—and no planetary player is more suited to the part than Venus, the goddess of love.

Mythic Models: Goddess Types

In mythology, Venus was an etheric beauty who was associated with all the pleasures of the flesh.

Some say Venus was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Others say she sprang from the foam of the sea. The zephyr winds wafted her along the waves to the Isle of Cyprus, where she was received and attired by the Seasons, and then led to the assembly of the gods. They were charmed, and each one demanded her for his wife. Jupiter gave her to Vulcan, the celestial metalsmith, in gratitude for the service he had rendered in forging thunderbolts. It was the height of irony: the most beautiful of the goddesses became the wife of the most ill-favored of the gods.

Venus’s husband, Vulcan, the celestial artist, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. Some say he was born lame, and his mother was so displeased at the sight of him that she banished him from her sight. Other accounts say that Jupiter literally threw Vulcan out of the heavens for taking his mother’s side in a quarrel, and that Vulcan was crippled by the fall.

Despite their marriage, Venus rejected Vulcan in favor of Mars, the god of war. She and Mars enjoyed a long love affair, and she bore his children. Their son Cupid, the god of love, was her constant companion. Armed with his mythical bow, Cupid shot arrows of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men.

To be fair, Vulcan was partly responsible for Venus’s infidelities. He was married to his work, which didn’t leave room for an intimate relationship with the goddess of love. When he discovered her betrayal with Mars, however, he captured them making love, and trapped them in a net of fine spun gold. He then called upon all the gods of Mount Olympus to witness his wife’s shame. At Neptune’s insistence, Mars and Venus were released from their bonds.

The Astrology of Venus

Like its namesake, Venus is the planet of love, beauty, pleasure, and attraction.

Venus symbolizes charm and social grace, along with peace and harmony. She represents refinement and the sensual delights of music, art, and dance.

Venus can be vain and irresponsible, but her self-indulgence usually takes a more civilized course through sensuality and flirtation. She’s romantic, idealistic, and kind, as well as gentle and sympathetic. She’s fertile and creative, and she embodies the balance and perfection that can be attained through passion, partnership, and unity.

In an astrological chart, Venus graces everything she touches with ease, comfort, affection, and enjoyment. She is generous to a fault. Like Jupiter, she’s a benefactor; ancient astrologers called her the Lesser Benefic. That’s usually a good thing, but not always—especially if she overindulges her children and they grow spoiled.

The glyph for Venus looks like a woman’s hand mirror, which Venus used to admire her own splendor.

The Astronomy of Venus

Venus is both the morning star and the evening star. She welcomes the dawn and embraces the night.

From our position on Earth, Venus seems beautiful beyond belief. It’s the second-brightest object in the night sky, and it offers a romantic glimpse of a bright and shimmering foreign world.

Up close, however, Venus is a landscape of molten lava and noxious gas, covered by clouds of water vapor and sulfuric acid. It’s too hot to sustain life, and too poisonous to maintain a breathable atmosphere. In real life, Venus is a planet of perpetual rage. Does she sound like any fictional characters you know?

Venus orbits the Sun in 225 days, spending almost 19 days in each sign of the zodiac.

Creative Guidance

Spend a few minutes describing the theme you’d like to explore in your writing. Keep it in the background, like a silver thread unifying the other parts of your story.

You might not recognize your theme until you start analyzing the astrological imagery in your work. Astrology is effective that way; you’ll notice recurring signs and symbols. Once you spot them, you can expand upon them.

A good theme reinforces the action of a story. At its most basic level, a theme is an inner reflection of a character’s outer goal. You might discover that your hero isn’t really after money. Instead, he wants power. You might find that your heroine doesn’t just want romance; she wants acceptance. A rising superstar doesn’t just want the adulation of crowds; she craves the love she never had as a child.

In the end, a powerful theme will help you focus on your characters and their journey. It will help you understand their drives and motivations, and add depth and dimension to their experiences.

Archetypal Roles

The goddess of love is easy to cast—or typecast—in any romantic role. Consider her when you’re writing about:

• The lover, the object of passion.

• The love interest, the object of desire.

• The love goddess—an intimate companion, but not a wife or mother.

• The mistress—the single woman who poaches another woman’s husband, or the unfaithful wife.

• The whore, a woman who has compromised herself and her principles—but she sells what men value at a fair market price.

• The temptress and seductress.

• The unobtainable beauty.

• The tease, the flirtatious minx who toys with a man’s affections.

• The girl next door, waiting in the wings.

• Because the path of love is almost never smooth, consider all the variations on the theme: former lovers, scorned lovers, unfaithful lovers, jealous lovers, misunderstood lovers, or unrequited love.

• Secret admirers—or psychotic or sociopathic stalkers.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Venus

Here’s what you need to know to assess Venus in astrological terms.

Sign Rulerships: In keeping with her role as the morning and evening star, Venus rules a pair of partnered signs: Taurus, the sign of earthly pleasure, and Libra, the sign of partnership.

House Rulerships: As the ruler of Taurus and the second house, Venus shows us what we love. As the ruler of Libra and the seventh house, she describes how we share that love with others. Her involvement leads to strong attachments, both to property and to people.

Dignity: Venus is the natural ruler of Taurus and Libra—two signs of beauty, grace, and equanimity. She’s the queen of their domiciles. Venus’s basic nature, however, is at odds with Aries and Scorpio, the two signs traditionally ruled by Mars, the god of war. (Remember that Venus and Mars were lovers. Opposites attract.) Venus is exalted in Pisces, a sign of emotional partnership and connection, but the goddess of sexual passion is at odds with Virgo, the sign of the virgin.

Physical Associations: Venus rules the throat, which puts her firmly in control of sweet talk and love songs. As the planet of pleasure and sweet delights, Venus is also associated with blood sugar levels and venereal disease.

Geographical Associations: Venus is associated with warm, moist places.

Masculine/Feminine: Venus could only be a woman.

Metal: Copper, a shimmering, gold-colored metal, reflects Venus’s cosmetic appeal.

Venus’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Venus was beautiful, charming, and gracious. She could win any object of her heart’s desire.

She was also fickle and notoriously unfaithful.

Venus’s Goals and Motivations

With Venus in …	Your character will love …
Aries	New adventures, new challenges, and new beginnings
Taurus	Creature comforts, stability, and tradition
Gemini	Talking, studying, and learning
Cancer	Homemaking, cooking, and nurturing
Leo	Attention, admiration, performing, and playing
Virgo	Perfection, precision, order, and control
Libra	Parties, reunions, performances, and clever conversation
Scorpio	Mysteries and secrets
Sagittarius	Long-distance travel, foreign friends, philosophy, religion, and higher education
Capricorn	Business, building, commerce, organization, growth, wealth, and reward
Aquarius	Technology, social groups, and visionary causes
Pisces	Mysticism, alternate realities, escapist fantasy, drugs, and alcohol

Twenty Questions

1. Venus is the goddess of love and attraction. Which people does your character love—and why does she love them?

2. Venus’ reach extends beyond human relationships, into the realm of beautiful objects and treasured belongings. What possessions does your character love? What special significance do they hold for her?

3. Venus also rules pastimes and hobbies—especially if they can be linked to objects of grace and beauty. Does your character have any creative ability or artistic talent? How has she developed it?

4. How does your character fall in love? Does she jump into relationships headfirst, or take slow, measured steps? Describe your character’s behavior and actions in the early stages of a romance.

5. What does your character find attractive, either in people or in her possessions?

6. How does your character show love and demonstrate affection?

7. We say that people fall in love, as if they simply stumble into a relationship. In real life, however, romance takes effort. What signals does your character send to others, either consciously or unconsciously? What kind of people does she attract as a result?

8. In a similar vein, what kind of experiences does she attract? If you were to study her daily routine and interactions with others, what sort of pattern would you see?

9. What does your character desire?

10. What would she never admit to desiring?

11. What does she value? If the list seems too long, narrow it down to three.

12. The apostle Matthew once wrote, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Where does your character keep her most treasured possessions?

13. Where does she invest her time and energy?

14. What are her hobbies?

15. Where does she invest her money?

16. What does she have of value, to sell or interest others?

17. What is your character’s single most attractive characteristic? How has it affected her?

18. Even beautiful people have flaws. Could anything about your character be described as repulsive? Does she know it’s off-putting? If so, how does she try to keep it from view?

19. How does your character care for her possessions? Is she dutiful and responsible, or careless and lackluster in managing her belongings? Describe her outlook.

20. How does she care for people? Is there any similarity between the way she treats things and the way she treats those around her?

Mars

The Warrior Spirit

And to the fire-eyed maid of smoky war,

All hot and bleeding, will we offer them;

The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit

Up to the ears in blood.

—William Shakespeare, King Henry IV

Fighting Words

Most stories open with drama and action—which is just what you’d expect from Mars, the ancient god of war. When he steps into the line of fire, guns blazing, you can expect crisis and conflict.

No one wants to read about an ordinary day in an ordinary life. The heart of any story is conflict, and Mars delivers by offering us a wide range of tragic accidents, crimes against humanity, and physical and psychological attacks.

Mars is the planet of energy, aggression, action, assertion, strategic offense, and self-defense.

Mythic Models: Gods of War

In myth and legend, the god of war was mated with Venus, the goddess of love, so he was both a lover and a fighter.

Mars was also the god of agriculture, who could turn swords into plowshares. He encouraged farmers to plant and tend their crops—because he knew that an army marches on its stomach.

Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He had five attendants in his body guard: Eris (Discord), Phobos (Alarm), Metis (Fear), Demios (Dread), and Pallor (Terror).

The glyph for Mars looks like a spear and a shield—a reminder that war can be defensive as well as offensive, and that aggression and self-protection are two sides of the same coin.

The Astrology of Mars

Mars is the red planet of courage and conflict, as well as passion and pain. Mars is colored by the blood that’s spilled in pursuit of one’s drives and desires.

Astrologically, Mars is associated with confidence and power. It symbolizes sexuality, stamina, and strength. It governs ambition, aggression, assertiveness, and impulse.

The planet suggests quick, sudden bursts of energy. It symbolizes potency and power. Mars is a marker of physical love, lust, and longing. It’s also a sign of intensity, inspiration, and the impetus for change.

Mars also represents the machinery of war, sheer physical strength, and brute force. Mars rules sports and competitions—war games that take the place of battle during peacetime. It represents athleticism, training, and preparation for combat. Even today, the warlike god is remembered in military terms like martial arts and martial law.

Not surprisingly, Mars rules the weapons of war and conquest. Mars rules soldiers, surgeons, and metalsmiths. In short, Mars commands those who ride into battle to stem the red tide of death by conquering the forces of destruction with equal strength. Mars is the master of tools that can sever and pierce flesh, excise dead and unhealthy tissue, and make necessary sacrifices for the greater good. At times, the unrestrained warrior is also responsible for accidents, crashes, and careless cuts.

The Astronomy of Mars

Mars has always been an object of fascination, especially since astronomers first spotted its mysterious channels and canals in the 1800s. Mars has led science fiction writers to make fabulous conjectures about little green men and alien invasions.

Mars orbits the Sun in 688 days, spending about 57 days in each sign of the zodiac. It’s also the first planet that orbits outside of Earth’s orbit, making it something of a foreigner beyond our earthly realm.

Creative Guidance

Ancient astrologers called Mars the Lesser Malefic. His influence was never good. How can you follow in his footsteps to make your characters’ lives harder? The best writers keep their stories moving with complications, subplots, and sidelines—each one linked to the main plot and the main theme of the story—to keep readers surprised, engaged, and wondering what will happen next.

Archetypal Roles

Mars is a bloodthirsty, primal warrior—but your soldier doesn’t have to wear a military uniform. A businessman in a three-piece suit can do battle on Wall Street, and a woman in a little black dress is uniquely equipped to intimidate and conquer.

Mars can play any number of archetypal roles in a story.

• Mars can be a freedom fighter.

• He can be a knight, a rescuer, a defender of the weak and innocent, and a man on a mission.

• He might be a righteous defender—or a self-righteous zealot.

• At his worst, Mars can be a crazed attacker, intent on mutually assured destruction.

• In a storyline, Mars can represent a worthy opponent, a recruiting and training officer, or a sparring partner—anyone who helps the hero develop his or her fighting skills and reserves.

• Antagonist, adversary, opponent, warrior, patriot, compatriot, comrade-in-arms.

• A soldier, sailor, tinker, spy.

• A surgeon who removes diseased tissue to save the soul, or a medical specialist who works with the precision of the sword.

• Someone who works with iron: an auto mechanic, a racecar drive, a welder, or a construction worker.

• A modern-day warrior: police, paramilitary.

• An athlete—because war is more than a conquest of strength. It’s also a game of strategy and skill.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Mars

Here’s what you need to know to assess Mars in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Mars rules Aries, the sign of leadership and action. Before the discovery of Pluto, Mars ruled Scorpio, the sign of sex and death—both of which are closely related to Mars’s masculine energy.

House Rulership: Mars rules the first house, where astrologers look for information about self-image and physical appearance.

Dignity: Mars is the master and commander of both Aries and Scorpio. Mars isn’t at ease when it’s forced to embrace romantic Venus’s signs, Taurus and Libra. Mars is exalted in Capricorn, where it can put its executive experience to good use in business. It’s in fall when it tries to apply those same skills to Cancer’s realm of nurturing and homemaking.

Physical Associations: Mars presides over blood and the male sex organs. It’s also connected to high fevers, violent accidents, trauma, pain, and surgery.

Geographical Associations: Mars is associated with hot, dry places.

Element: Fire.

Masculine/Feminine: Mars is a masculine planet.

Metal: Iron. Both the soil of Mars and the hemoglobin of human blood are rich in iron, and they share its distinct deep red color.

Mars’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Mars is a confident, courageous warrior, who embodies the strength of a sound mind in a sound body. He can outthink, outwit, and outmaneuver any opponent. He’s passionate and persevering, and he’ll fight for victory at any price. When he’s fighting for a cause he believes in, Mars is loyal and true.

Mars also loves to fight for fighting’s sake. He’s fiery and impulsive, and he doesn’t need a reason to wage war or wreak havoc. He’s quick to anger, and quick to rise to his own defense—just as he’s quick to mount an aggressive offense. He’s brash, bold, and argumentative; he can be both a bully and a braggart. He can be treacherous and untrustworthy, and dangerous and unreserved. He’s ready, willing, and eager to do battle, and he’s prepared to fight to the death.

Conflicting Opinions

Every story is based on conflict—a dramatic struggle between two opposing forces. The conflict could be as simple as a clash of personalities, or it could detail a complicated series of interactions as characters battle over incompatible goals, actions, and desires.

There are five types of conflicts in fiction. Each one serves as a barrier that keeps characters from reaching their goals.

• Man versus self—a story that forces a character to face his own inner demons.

• Man versus man—a story that pits an antagonist against a protagonist.

• Man versus nature—a story that puts human life in perspective and illustrates a character’s courage and strength.

• Man versus circumstance—a story that forces a character to fight circumstances and fate.

• Man versus society—a story that pits a single individual against society’s norms, customs, expectations, values, and mores.

You can use astrology to explore those conflicts thematically and symbolically from your characters’ points of view.

Creative Guidance

Conflict, the core of any story, demands an antagonist who is as strong and compelling as the protagonist. The two must be evenly matched, or there is no contest.

An antagonist is often a complement to the hero’s strength or a projection of his weaknesses. In fact, an opponent is often a projection of opposition—a complement to the hero’s strength or a projection of his weaknesses. When your character looks into his opponent’s armor and shield, who does he see looking back?

The interaction between a protagonist and an antagonist is usually a dance, an ongoing interaction in which both partners thrust and parry. Each one must anticipate the next move and capture the element of surprise. But in that duel to the death, your characters will feel most alive.

Mars’s Goals and Motivations

If you’re creating a fictional character, planet by planet and sign by sign, Mars will show you what your characters are willing to fight, kill, and die for.

With Mars in …	Your character will fight for …
Aries	Command and control. He’ll make himself a general and organize the troops.
Taurus	Physical and emotional security. She’ll prepare carefully for battle, and stockpile weapons and supplies.
Gemini	Information. He’s ideally equipped to wage a Cold War of subterfuge and misinformation. He’s an expert in intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. He might also be a double agent.
Cancer	Her family, home, and country. No sign is more patriotic than Cancer.
Leo	Dignity and honor. Leo is the king of the castle and the living embodiment of his realm.
Virgo	Duty and principles. Virgo fights out of a sense of obligation.
Libra	Peace. Libra is the sign of diplomatic negotiations, mediations, and treaties.
Scorpio	Power. Scorpio knows that all is fair in love and war, and that love is a battlefield.
Sagittarius	Philosophical principles and beliefs, religious tradition, and authority.
With Mars in …	Your character will fight for …
Capricorn	Success. He’ll take any measures necessary to build and expand his empire.
Aquarius	The future. He’ll use technology to fight a cold and impersonal war, far removed from the blood and gore of a battlefield.
Pisces	Escape from the harsh realities of the everyday world.

Twenty Questions

1. Mars is a symbol of our passions and pursuits. What do your characters want with every fiber of their being?

2. What keeps them from getting what they want? Most people experience some frustration in achieving their dreams and desires—and Mars can symbolize the obstacles they face, as well as the energy it takes to overcome them.

3. What will your characters do to get what they want? How far will they go?

4. How does that change them?

5. What will your character fight and die for?

6. Is your character equipped to lead an army—or to march in one? If he’s pressed into service, how will he respond?

7. What makes your character see red? What makes his blood boil?

8. What “fighting words” will propel him into action?

9. How does your character prepare for battle?

10. What weapons does he have at his disposal?

11. What battles has he lost?

12. Mars is responsible for battle wounds and bloodletting of all types. What physical injuries has your character suffered?

13. On a symbolic level, what war wounds has he experienced?

14. Everyone has some remnant of an old injury, either physical or emotional. What are your character’s battle scars? Are they visible to a casual observer, or does it take a trained eye to see them? Develop at least one way to make your character’s wounds apparent to your readers, through dialogue, description, or demeanor.

15. What is your character’s greatest weakness? Was it the result of a wound, or the cause?

16. Mars rules mock battles of athletic competition, as well as training. What sports or physical activities does your character enjoy?

17. Does he compete? How does he train, and what sort of competitor is he?

18. Mars’ warrior energy even reaches into the bedroom. Describe your character’s sexual energy and proclivities.

19. Send a confrontation your character’s way, and thwart any efforts he makes to deal with it according to custom. Make him transform weakness into strength. Force him to face his fears.

20. Villains are usually the source of conflict in a story—and they’re often more interesting to write about than heroes. Switch gears, just as an experiment, and make your villain the hero of a story.

Jupiter

Larger Than Life

His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

—Clement C. Moore, The Night Before Christmas

When the hero of your story needs a lucky break, look for Jupiter. He’s the god the ancients called the Greater Benefic. He’s the giver of good fortune, and the guarantor of prosperity and growth.

When all hope seems lost, Jupiter will step in to save the day. He might arrive in the guise of a rich uncle, a kindly grandfather, or a man with a million-dollar check. He might be even come in female form, like a fairy godmother who can make dreams come true.

Of course, every present comes with a price. Fame and fortune are not free. Most special offers have some sort of strings attached. And on a personal level, the expansion that Jupiter brings to your story will also entail a fair amount of creative chaos.

That’s okay. Jupiter is kind, and together, you’ll work it out.

Mythic Models: Celestial Kings

Jupiter was the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and the master of both mortal and immortal subjects. He had the ultimate power of life and death, and he’s the cosmic ruler who put many of the constellations in their heavenly homes.

That’s not to say that Jupiter lived an exemplary life himself. He was a notorious adulterer who carried on with a wide range of goddesses and mortal women, and he fathered more children than you can count.

His wife Juno gave birth to his children Aries, the god of war, and Hebe, the Greek goddess of youth. His affair with Leto led to the births of Apollo, the sun god, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. His affair with Themis, the goddess of justice, created the three Fates. And Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sprang full-grown from his head.

Jupiter himself was the child of Saturn and Rhea. They were Titans, the children of Earth and Heaven that sprang from Chaos. Saturn was the god of time, who managed to preserve his rule for years by eating his own children. He was repeating a family pattern: ages before, Saturn had usurped his own father. He feared that his offspring would do the same, so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it.

Eventually, Rhea tricked him by hiding Jupiter in a safe place and wrapping a stone in a baby’s blanket. Cronos swallowed the stone without a second thought, and Jupiter was saved.

When Jupiter was grown, he drugged his father, forcing him to throw up all his other children. They’d been sitting in Saturn’s stomach all along. Jupiter and his brothers dethroned their father and divided his holdings among themselves. Jupiter claimed the heavens, Neptune took the oceans, and Pluto seized the realms of the dead.

As fate would have it, Jupiter—known as Zeus in Greek mythology—would soon be threatened by his own child. After Zeus heard a prophecy that his first wife, Metis, would give birth to a god “greater than he,” he swallowed her. She was already pregnant with Athena, however. Zeus’s undigested pregnant wife and unborn child made him miserable with a pounding headache until Athena eventually burst forth from his head, fully grown and dressed for war.

The Astrology of Jupiter

Jupiter is the god of good fortune. The planet’s glyph looks like the numeral 4, which sounds like “fortune.”

Like a cosmic Santa Claus, Jupiter bestows blessings, honors, and acclaim. He’s larger than life—just as you’d expect from the largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter represents growth and expansion, as well as abundance and prosperity. Jupiter symbolizes luck, opportunity, prosperity, and success. Jupiter favors gambling, and he encourages his subjects to take chances.

Jupiter also encourages free trade and free thought. He promotes personal growth through advanced education, long-distance travel, and the free exchange of ideas with foreigners and fellow travelers. Jupiter rules the world of higher thought, higher education, philosophy, and spiritual tradition.

Writers have a special connection to Jupiter, because he also rules publishing. That’s an offshoot of his role as the king of the gods, and his responsibility for the fair exchange of ideas. He’s the father of philosophy and civilization—which means that he’s also a symbol of the rule of law and order.

Jupiter is enthusiastic and exorbitant, excitable and energetic. He sees promise and possibility in a world without limits. He’s a fan of unbridled growth and uncontrolled expansion, and he pays no heed to the thought of any bubbles bursting. He recognizes no boundaries; his world is one of open borders. As far as Jupiter is concerned, the more, the merrier.

Jupiter’s greatest gifts are wisdom and success, long life, good health, and all the uplifting experiences the world has to offer: family, friendship, travel, philosophy. Jupiter gives you the good fortune to experience all that life has to offer—along with the depth to remember what you’ve been, the insight to realize what you are, and the imagination to visualize what you’ll be. Jupiter melds the memory of the past with a vision of the future.

The Astronomy of Jupiter

Jupiter is a regal planet, with rings of brightly colored clouds flashing with giant electrical storms. It’s also a protector; scientists say its massive gravity captures and deflects comets and asteroids that would otherwise threaten Earth and the inner planets.

Jupiter takes about 12 years to orbit the Sun, spending almost a year in each sign of the zodiac.

Archetypal Roles

When you create a character based on Jupiter, he could be a:

• Benefactor

• Favorite uncle

• Giver of gifts

• Game show host

• Lottery winner

• Gambler

• Mentor

• Fairy godmother

• Vote-buying politician

• Guardian angel

• Magical helper

• Supernatural being

• Priest

• Philosopher

• Politician

Creative Guidance

We usually think of a benefactor as a good thing—but Jupiter’s gifts may not live up to their promise. Lottery winners often find their lives destroyed, not enhanced. A genie’s three wishes almost always come at a price. Jupiter presents the perfect opportunity for a plot twist. We’re always being told to be careful what we wish for. What gift can you offer your characters—and how can that gift go horribly wrong?

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Jupiter

From a writing perspective, Jupiter illustrates the joy of creative writing, the act of brainstorming, free writing, and the unabashed flow of ideas. Here’s what you need to know to assess Jupiter in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Jupiter rules Sagittarius, the sign of philosophy and adventure, long-distance travel, exploration, and philosophy. Traditionally, it also rules Pisces, the sign of mysticism and cosmic awareness.

House Rulership: Jupiter rules the ninth house of the horoscope, where astrologers look for information about higher education and long-distance travel.

Dignity: Jupiter, the king of the gods, is also the natural ruler of Sagittarius. Jupiter’s broad vision is debilitated in Gemini and Virgo, two signs that demand precision and attention to detail. Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, because Jupiter is the Greater Benefic and loves to shower his loved ones with gifts; Jupiter is in fall in Capricorn, the sign of business and industry, where every reward must be earned.

Physical Associations: Jupiter, like Sagittarius, is associated with the hips and thighs.

Geographical Associations: Jupiter is associated with hot, moist environments.

Element: Fire.

Masculine/Feminine: Jupiter is masculine.

Metal: Tin.

Jupiter’s Strengths and Weaknesses

At his best, Jupiter is generous and fair. He’s gregarious, optimistic, honest, and sincere. He’s enthusiastic, and determined to promote the best qualities of humankind.

On the other hand, Jupiter is also prone to exaggeration, overconfidence, and conceit. He can be overindulgent. He can also be hypocritical and pious.

Jupiter’s Goals and Motivations

How will Jupiter bless your characters’ growth and development? Check the planet’s placement.

With Jupiter in …	Your character will be blessed with …
Aries	Leadership ability
Taurus	Money and property
Gemini	Intelligence and wit
Cancer	Nurturing parents, a large family, and beautiful children
Leo	Charisma, celebrity status, recognition, and admiration
Virgo	Dutiful servants, committed helpers, good health, intelligence, and a sense of order
Libra	Beauty, grace, charm, and style; attractive partners and faithful friends
Scorpio	A rich and rewarding sex life and a promising inheritance
Sagittarius	Opportunities to travel and learn
Capricorn	A Midas touch in business and administration; patience, perseverance, and financial success
Aquarius	A gift for innovation, visionary thinking, and a touch of genius
Pisces	Psychic ability, a clear and steady intuition, and a wholeness of body, mind, and spirit

Twenty Questions

1. Jupiter, the Greater Benefic, is the bearer of gifts, the fountain of plenty, and the king of largesse. Think about your character in terms of his own generosity as well as the recipient of generosity from others.

2. Jupiter can represent excess—like someone who can’t stop talking, shopping, or eating. In what way is your character prone to excess?

3. Jupiter rules growth and expansion. How has your character grown and changed over the years? What growth must he still experience?

4. How will your character’s growth and change parallel the growth of your story?

5. What opportunity does your character hope for?

6. What opportunity will present itself?

7. They say fortune favors the brave. How does your character respond to opportunity?

8. Is your character naturally lucky or unlucky? How has that affected him over the years? How will it play out in your story?

9. Jupiter rules gambling and games of chance. Does your character take chances? Why or why not?

10. Jupiter is called the Greater Benefic. Has your character ever had a benefactor? Can you give him one?

11. Does he have a beneficiary? Describe their relationship.

12. What gifts has your character received? Conversely, what gifts has he given to others?

13. What is the greatest gift your character could receive?

14. What gift has your character always been denied?

15. Jupiter is optimistic and enthusiastic. He doesn’t suffer from fear or self-doubt. When does your character feel most confident?

16. How does your character enter a room? Describe his body language, gestures, and mannerisms, as well as any greetings or phrases he tends to repeat.

17. How does your character make other people feel? Describe a typical interaction between your character and one of his friends, family members, or co-workers.

18. Jupiter rules the acquisition of property and physical possessions. What does your character collect?

19. What would your character never throw away?

20. Think about the alchemical metals assigned to the seven ancient planets. What can they tell you about any characters who have a strong link to those spheres? The Sun, for example, is connected to gold. Do your characters have a golden touch? A golden glow? How can you illustrate and describe that association?

All creations are born from chaos. It’s the writer’s job to make sense of the free flow of ideas and events that come when pen meets paper. You won’t have any luck trying to organize them, however, until Saturn gets in the game. Happily, he’s up next.

Saturn

Authority Figures

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.

—Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

The Cosmic Teacher

Saturn is the cosmic teacher—the universal taskmaster who insists that we learn life’s lesson on a strict timetable. If we cut class, forget to turn in our homework, or cheat, he forces us to repeat the class.

Saturn doesn’t accept excuses. He doesn’t grade on a curve, and he doesn’t offer partial credit. He is open to remedial lessons, however.

In literature, the Saturn figure might look like a formidable opponent. He seems to be an adversary, determined to thwart a hero through obstacles and interference. The hero of your story might even see Saturn as an enemy.

In reality, though—and Saturn is all about reality—Saturn only has your hero’s best interests at heart. The challenges he poses are tests of stamina and merit, designed to help a true hero prove himself and prepare for a position of power, leadership, responsibility, and acclaim. Like a drill sergeant who trains soldiers to survive, Saturn can help your hero live to fight another day. Far from being an enemy combatant, Saturn becomes a teacher, a mentor, and a guide, a trusted advisor and confidant, a fellow traveler on the path of self-development.

Creative Guidance

From a writing perspective, Saturn is the editor. He forces writers to kill their babies and finish their work on deadline. He’s cruel to be kind, and he offers his own rewards in the fullness of time.

Mythic Models: The Harvest Gods

Saturn may seem like a formidable foe. In fact, ancient astrologers referred to him as the Greater Malefic, and he stands in stern contrast to the benefic nature of his son, Jupiter.

Saturn is a fearsome figure, by any definition. He’s the god of time—another version of Cronos—who ate his children, just as the years eventually destroy all of the world’s creations.

We’re used to seeing Saturn depicted as an ancient figure, garbed in a hooded robe and carrying a sickle. In more modern depictions, Saturn resembles the Grim Reaper; he’s a skeletal figure who cuts short the lives of the young and harvests the souls of the old. He’s measured, distant, cold, and calculating.

In Roman mythology, however, Saturn was the god of agriculture. He taught the ancients how to trim the vine and the olive, and his civilizing influence helped establish societal order and control.

Once a year, during the festival of Saturnalia, that social order was upended. Slaves were treated like royalty, and their masters dressed in rags to wait on them. Children received presents, and everybody feasted.

Saturn’s mythology is a valuable reminder that not every hero is entirely good, and not every antagonist is entirely bad. Real people—and realistic characters—are more complex than that. In fact, it’s usually a hero’s own weaknesses that put him in jeopardy, and a hero’s tragic flaw will often be his own undoing.

Story Structure

Saturn loves a good framework. Thousands of years ago, the Saturnian philosopher Aristotle described the perfect story model: beginning, middle, and end.

Over time, that simple framework evolved into a three-act structure. You might have learned about it in a literature or writing class. Characters face a crisis, confront their opposition, and take an active role in the consequences and conclusion.

The three-act structure usually breaks down into setup that introduces the characters, the setting, and the premise of the story; a second act filled with escalating threats and confrontations; and finally, a climax at the peak of the action, followed by a quick and clean resolution.

Theorist Gustav Freytag described the same basic narrative structure by expanding it to five acts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It’s plotted like a mountain top; the characters fight their way to the peak, and then quickly descend as the story concludes.

Along the way, however, even the simplest stories keep readers engaged by continually ramping up the drama and intrigue, and raising the stakes for their favorite characters. For every step forward, the good guys are pushed two steps back. And while the heroes eventually learn from the experience, the villains use that time to sharpen their skills.

Creative Guidance

Just as an astrologer looks at a horoscope chart and then focuses on telling details, you can move from the general to the specific over the course of a story to orient your readers and then invite them to move deeper into the story. Start with an establishing shot, then zoom in for a series of close-ups and vignettes. Give them a sense of time and place that helps reveal the characters and the experience.

You can also start your story at any point on the horoscope wheel. You could start at the beginning and work your way through chronologically, or you could start in medias res, in the middle of things. Use flashbacks and fast-forwards to reveal the fullness of your story in bits and pieces. Short, simple transitions, like “Meanwhile, back on the farm,” will help your readers follow you through space and time.

Experiment. You can arrange and rearrange the chronology of your story as much as you’d like.

The Astrology of Saturn

Saturn, the ringed planet of boundaries and limitations, symbolizes discipline, boundaries, clear-cut definitions, and tradition.

Most people, of course, rebel at boundaries. They like to feel free and unencumbered. Saturn brings us down to earth and teaches us the practical realities of material existence. It proves that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

Saturn reminds us that reasonable people recognize their limits and make wise choices to make the most of the time and space they’re allotted. Time is the best teacher, and most people are willing to trade youth and innocence for the wisdom and experience of age.

Even though Saturn’s rings imply a certain number of limitations and restrictions, they also delineate boundaries that can help us define our position and relate to other people without losing our own individuality. Boundaries keep outside forces out and contain what belongs inside. In other words, Saturn’s boundaries don’t merely confine us: they define us.

The glyph for Saturn looks like a church and steeple—a bastion of tradition. It’s a very Saturnian symbol.

Creative Guidance

Saturn is the ringed planet of limitations and restrictions, so it often signals physical problems that correspond to its zodiac sign. You can exaggerate those traits to come up with health issues for your most memorable characters. Someone with Saturn in Leo, for example, might have a weak heart—or a hunchback. A character with Saturn in Virgo might suffer from a nervous stomach; be sure he’s got access to plenty of antacids. And someone with Saturn in Scorpio could be sterile or frigid or suffer from venereal disease.

The Astronomy of Saturn

Saturn, the ringed planet, is bounded by an ethereal perimeter of cosmic debris—remnants of past interstellar collisions and lunar dustups.

The ringed planet, encircled by the remnants of a shattered moon, has come to symbolize the very thing that makes us human—our vulnerability—and our defenselessness against the ravages of time.

Saturn is the slowest of the inner planets, and it takes almost 30 years to orbit the Sun. Is it a coincidence that so many literary characters face their greatest conflict and crisis as they reach their thirtieth birthday? Probably not.

The Saturn Return

Have you ever wondered why so many fictional characters seem to be just shy of thirty? It’s not simply that they’re attractive and at their physical peak—although that doesn’t hurt.

Astrologically, everyone hits a crisis point as they reach age twenty-nine.

The Saturn Return is one of astrology’s best-known milestones. It’s an astrological phenomenon that occurs every 29 years, which is the time it takes Saturn to make one orbit around the Sun. When Saturn returns to the degree it occupied at the time of someone’s birth, the person crosses over a major threshold and into the next chapter of life.

In fact, most people will experience two or three Saturn Returns during their lifetime.

The Saturn Return symbolizes three distinct stages of experience. For women, it marks the transitions from maiden, to mother, to crone. For men, it denotes the process of growing from scout, to soldier, to chief.

During the first Saturn Return, a person leaves youth behind and enters adulthood. By the second return, the person has matured. And with the third return, he or she has become a wise, experienced elder, who’s learned from each stage that has come before.

The first Saturn Return is usually the hardest, because it’s the first test of character and strength. Saturn insists upon strong structures and foundations. If there is weakness to be found, the first Saturn Return will mark a period of upheaval and rebuilding. It’s not uncommon to lose bad relationships, unfulfilling jobs, or tenuous living situations during any Saturn Return.

The result is worth it. Sometimes, a Saturn setback is just the impetus we need to move forward.

Archetypal Roles

In the cosmic drama of the night sky, Saturn is Father Time, the Grim Reaper, and Dear Old Dad—all rolled into one. Saturn is ideally suited for any archetypal roles based on age and authority, including:

• The wise old man, a scholar, teacher, sage, and philosopher, willing to share his knowledge, guidance, and advice.

• The father figure, a leader and voice of collective authority; a provider and protector who can also be stern, powerful, and controlling.

• The leader, chief, king, or administrator.

• The Grim Reaper—the harvesting henchman.

• The destroyer, who clears away anything that has outgrown or outlived its usefulness.

• The master of the harvest, who tills the old crop under and prepares the field for a new crop.

• The dictator; the domineering, controlling ruler.

• The hermit, a recluse whose solitude inspires others to join him.

• The judge, the enforcer of the rule of law.

• The miser, who would rather live in squalor than part with his money.

• The teacher, who passes knowledge on to successive generations.

• The mentor and the guide.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Saturn

When Saturn shows up, the party’s over. His disapproving stare makes everyone want to curl up and hide—because he forces them to think more critically of themselves. Saturn makes an ideal villain and an excellent foil, because it’s so easy to project our failings and insecurities on him. Here’s what you need to know to assess Saturn in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Saturn, the planet of structure and boundaries, rules Capricorn, the sign of business, career, and social standing. It is also the traditional ruler of Aquarius, the sign of social groups and causes.

House Rulership: Saturn rules the tenth house of the horoscope, where astrologers look for information about discipline, career success, public image, and social standing.

Dignity: Saturn is at home in Capricorn. Its strict disciplinarian side doesn’t mesh well with Cancer’s empathic sense—or with Leo’s valiant individualism. Saturn is exalted in Libra, where its sense of law and order finds perfect balance on the cosmic scales of justice.

Physical Associations: Saturn is associated with the bones and skin, which provide structure and stability to the human form.

Geographical Associations: Saturn is linked to cold, dry, underground places, like caves, pits, caverns, and mines.

Element: Earth.

Masculine/Feminine: Saturn is masculine.

Metal: Lead.

Saturn’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Saturn has a bad rap. Traditionally, it’s been called the Greater Malefic, because of its proclivity for limitations, restrictions, constraints, and delays. On the other hand, Saturn is also the civilizing force that provides structure and foundation for growth and development.

Saturn can be cold, calculating, reasoned, and unemotional. It can contribute to feelings of loneliness and isolation. It can seem overly serious and severe—even punishing and oppressive.

Saturn can also be practical, frugal, patient, and profound.

Saturn’s Goals and Motivations

Saturn’s placement in a chart will show you where your characters will find themselves compelled to respect boundaries, limitations, and restrictions. They’ll usually have to learn their lessons the hard way. If you’re looking for conflict and drama in a character’s life, Saturn delivers.

With Saturn in …	Your character will struggle with …
Aries	Leaders and authority figures. They’ll also have to fight for their own independence.
Taurus	Money and property. Their sense of security—and self—will be challenged.
Gemini	Miscommunication and troubled thoughts. Your character might suffer from learning disabilities, developmental delays, speech impediments, and language difficulties.
Cancer	Unresolved issues from childhood. Your character might have an abusive or absent parent, or thankless, troublesome children.
Leo	Appreciation and acclaim. Your character will have to fight for recognition and reward.
Virgo	Duty and responsibility. Your character’s good deeds will go unnoticed, and he’ll have trouble getting his own needs met by others.
Libra	Unhappy partnerships and unfulfilling friendships. Your character might seem clumsy, graceless, unattractive, and unpopular. Your character might also find himself entwined with people who are old and sick.
Scorpio	Sex, death, and other people’s money. He’ll either get too little—or too much.
Sagittarius	Philosophical conundrums, oppressive religious traditions, and a lack of opportunities to travel and learn.
Capricorn	Career success and social status. Saturn in Capricorn makes young people seem old before their time. It can also be a marker of wide-ranging scandal and personal destruction.
With Saturn in …	Your character will struggle with …
Aquarius	Friends, social groups, and causes.
Pisces	Drugs, alcohol, and escapist tendencies.

Twenty Questions

1. Saturn is the ringed planet of limitations and restrictions. Boundaries are definitions, and Saturn’s influence will force you to define your characters. Who are they? What are they?

2. Saturn often represents a disability of some sort. Find a way to demonstrate the physical weakness of your character. Give him a limp, for example, or a stutter.

3. In a similar vein, demonstrate an emotional frailty. Does your character hesitate to cross the street? Obsessively wash his hands, or check the lock on the door? Stare longingly at the phone or the street outside his window?

4. Saturn rules structure and foundations. What is the foundation of your character’s worldview? Can you connect it to a single person or experience?

5. What boundaries has your character established for himself? How does he enforce those boundaries?

6. What limits has he experienced, and what obstacles has he overcome?

7. What boundaries will your character refuse to cross? Which ones will he ignore?

8. Saturn is said to be the taskmaster of the zodiac. What life lessons has your character learned, and how did he learn them?

9. On the other hand, what lesson has he refused to learn?

10. Saturn is the planet of discipline and responsibility. What responsibility does your character shirk?

11. Saturn also enforces limits and restrictions. Who—or what—has limited your character’s growth? How was that limitation enforced?

12. What structure does your character need?

13. What structure can you strip away?

14. Saturn is linked to authoritarian structures and leaders. What authority does your character respect?

15. How is he an authority in his own right?

16. How does he assert his power and authority?

17. What does he expect from himself?

18. Why does your character need to be taught a lesson?

19. How does your character take direction?

20. Most writers have a tendency to reveal too much. Once you finish the first draft of a story, read through it with an eye for details and descriptions that can be cut.

Uranus

The Unexpected

“It was much pleasanter at home,” thought poor Alice, “when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole—and yet—and yet—it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what CAN have happened to me! When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought!”

—Lewis Caroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Insight and Inspiration

Originally, the seven visible planets were the only representatives of the celestial pantheon of gods. As technology expanded our vision of space, however, the gods extended their reach—and as astrologers incorporated Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto into their work, they discovered that the new planets had symbolic significance that closely matched their namesakes.

Uranus, the ancient god of the sky, was reborn in 1781, when astronomers were finally able to peer beyond the reach of the visible planets into a universe that only time and technology could reveal.

Scientifically speaking, Uranus was the first of the modern planets, and its discovery changed what we know about the universe.

True to form, Uranus never steps into a story without delivering a plot twist—a sudden, unexpected change of course. He’s a rebel, a revolutionary, and an instigator of change. He’s unusual and unconventional. He doesn’t live up to the expectations of others—instead, he exceeds them. He’s a free spirit who marches to the beat of a different drum. He’s a visionary, with a far-seeing eye, in search of utopian vision, and he’ll make use of whatever resources he finds at his disposal. He’s ready to work with new technology and break the bounds of convention and time.

When you choose to base a fictional character on Uranus, you’ll never know what to expect. Uranus is eccentric. He’s unorthodox, unafraid, and unstoppable. He’s innovative and inventive. Uranus has an unquenchable desire for experience and adventure.

In short, Uranus can be a gold mine for storytellers.

Mythic Models: The Sky God

Even though ancient legends are full of unusual stories, nothing can top the legend of Uranus.

In Greek mythology, Uranus was the personification of the heavens and the night sky. He’s sometimes called the son of Gaia, and sometimes he’s her husband. Together, he and Gaia had many children, including Saturn and Rhea.

Uranus hated his children, and immediately after they were born he confined them to Tartarus, the realm beneath the sea. Saturn rebelled, and castrated his father. Giants and nymphs sprang from drops of his blood, and Venus was born from the sea foam where he fell.

The Astrology of Uranus

Everyone has a rebellious streak—a line that can’t be crossed. When it’s breached, revolt and revolution follow. Uranus is the celestial homeland of freedom, revolution, rebellion, and reform.

In society, Uranus rules radical ideas and people, as well as revolutionary events that upset established structures. It displaces and overthrows any establishment that has outlived its useful life span. It’s the planet of revolution and progress.

Astrologers associate Uranus with genius and individuality. Uranus was discovered at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, so it’s associated with electrical energy and modern technology. It governs new ideas, inventions, and discoveries. Uranus also governs social groups that are dedicated to humanitarian ideals.

Uranus is associated with science and technology, and its glyph looks like a satellite.

The Astronomy of Uranus

Uranus is an unconventional planet in our solar system, too. It literally spins sideways on its axis. It’s horizontal, not vertical. It rotates on its side, so that its two poles face the Sun in turn. During its revolution, one hemisphere is bathed in light while the other lies in total darkness.

Uranus is the first of three outer planets that are invisible to the naked eye, so they could only be discovered with the aid of telescopes and modern technology. Before 1781, when Uranus was discovered, the seven visible planets were the only players in the night sky.

Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, so it spends about 7 years in each sign of the zodiac.

Archetypal Roles

While it’s hard to categorize the unconventional and eccentric, you can cast Uranus in any role that allows him to express his individuality. Try these on for size:

• The fool, an untested spirit, willing to trade innocence for experience.

• The outlaw, a spirited nonconformist.

• The martyr, who sacrifices himself for a cause.

• The rebel, who questions his society and culture.

• The inventor, innovator, explorer, and pioneer.

• The philosopher, who seeks answers to life’s greatest mysteries.

• The alchemist, who seeks the elixir of life.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Uranus

Uranus is best suited to wacky, unconventional characters. Here’s what you need to know to assess Uranus in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Uranus rules Aquarius, the sign of futuristic thinking.

House Rulership: Uranus rules the eleventh house of the horoscope, where astrologers look for information about social groups and idealistic causes.

Physical Associations: Like Aquarius, Uranus is associated with the lower legs, the ankles, and the circulatory system.

Element: Air.

Masculine/Feminine: Uranus is a masculine planet.

Uranus’s Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s hard to judge or hold a grudge against Uranus. He’s just too offbeat.

At his best, Uranus is kind, caring, and humanitarian. He’s dedicated to serving his fellow man, and he’s constantly on the lookout for new tools, techniques, and technology to further his cause. He’s inventive and ingenious. He’s charming, clever, and creative.

When Uranus isn’t functioning at full capacity, however, he’s unpredictable, unreliable, and forgetful. He’s prone to accidents and sudden outbursts. He can even be violent. At his most radical, Uranus is simply unappealing, unapproachable, and unpleasant to be around.

Creative Guidance

Combine the best—and the worst—characteristics from two planets or two signs. For maximum drama and conflict, pit the strong against the weak. Make sure your hero is out of his element. Raise the level of discomfort. Build some contradictions into his basic nature.

Uranus’s Goals and Motivations

If you’re creating a fictional character based on a horoscope, you can use Uranus’s position to make him a true eccentric.

With Uranus in …	Your character will display an eccentric or rebellious streak by refusing to conform with …
Aries	Authority figures and societal norms
Taurus	Money and property
With Uranus in …	Your character will display an eccentric or rebellious streak by refusing to conform with …
Gemini	School systems and conventional methods of communication
Cancer	Parental and family expectations
Leo	Public opinion
Virgo	Customary standards of cleanliness and hygiene
Libra	Social norms and standards
Scorpio	Sexual mores and conventions
Sagittarius	Rules, laws, and religious tradition
Capricorn	Business and career expectations
Aquarius	Social groups
Pisces	Ordinary forms of spirituality

Twenty Questions

1. How will your characters set the world on fire? How will they reshape the world, realign their thinking, and revolutionize the status quo? Look at Uranus, the rebel planet with or without a cause. Uranus simply wants to stop the world, change it, break the mold, and remake it—better and stronger than before.

2. What makes your character different and unique?

3. Is that quality obvious or hidden?

4. How could you incorporate it into your story?

5. Small details often suggest major characteristics. Name one unusual thing your character does before breakfast.

6. How does your character rebel against everyday authority, structure, or tradition?

7. Follow your character around for a day, and note any rules or regulations that he breaks.

8. Why does he rebel? Can you trace it back to a single experience or encounter?

9. What makes your character angry? How does he express it?

10. Does anything fill your character with rage? Describe it.

11. Most people go through predictable periods of rebellion and change. These are actually a requirement for growth and development. To pinpoint your character’s most rebellious feature, describe his toddler years, when he was in the throes of the “terrible twos.”

12. Fast forward a few years, and describe your character as an adolescent. If you need inspiration, you might like to observe real-life teenagers at a bus stop, restaurant, or store.

13. Describe a time your character did something unexpected.

14. Your fictional characters can experience the unexpected from outside forces, too. What would your character never expect?

15. How does your character view rebellious people?

16. How does your character accept radical ideas?

17. How does your character adapt to technology?

18. Has anyone ever told your character he’s crazy?

19. Describe your character’s peace of mind.

20. Send a shock your character’s way, and thwart any efforts he makes to deal with it according to plan. Compel him to come up with an inventive solution to an unexpected problem. Make him transform a weakness into strength.

Neptune

Daydream Believer

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

—Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Glamour and Illusion

As a writer, you have a secret weapon: when you sit down to tell a story, you can invoke the power and beauty of Neptune.

Neptune is the planet of glamour and illusion. It dissolves the boundaries between reality and fantasy. It casts a mesmerizing glow, and it makes readers more than willing to suspend their disbelief.

In Neptune’s bubble, one can find shelter and escape from the harsh light of everyday reality. It’s a place for pleasure seekers and escapists who choose altered states of consciousness to soothe their weary souls.

Neptune is alluring and enchanting—and like the shimmering planet, you too can cast a spell with every word you write.

Mythic Models: The God of the Sea

In Roman mythology, Neptune was the god of the sea. He ruled the tides and the tide pools, as well as the dark, mysterious world of the ocean’s depths. Seas would rise and fall at his command, and he could drown his opponents in an uncontrollable swell of unfathomably violent emotion. A stormy sea will calm—or be stirred into a tempest of unimaginable depth. A pounding surf will crash into the shore, or retreat, quietly and without fanfare, back into the dark black murky depths of the sea.

Neptune’s symbol of his power was the trident, which he used to shatter rocks, raise or subdue storms, and shake the shores. He could raise storms and hurricanes, and stir whirlpools of grave confusion. He could also raise his trident above the surface and call on the forces of air and fire to bear down upon the waves.

All the animals of surf and sea respond to his call. Oddly enough, Neptune also created the horse, and he was the patron of horse races. His own horses had brazen hooves and golden manes. They drew his chariot over the sea, which became smooth before him, while the monsters of the deep gamboled about his path. He also rode a dolphin.

Water takes the shape of its container, which means it has shapeshifting properties. When a woman in distress called out to King Neptune, he would change her form so she couldn’t be recognized by her pursuers.

The Astrology of Neptune

In astrology, Neptune dissolves barriers between this world and the next, and demonstrates that the spirit realm is as real as the physical world. It’s the planet of dreams and illusions, as well as daydreams and spiritual release.

Despite being named for a king, Neptune is a feminine planet.

Neptune, true to her watery nature, is compassionate and intuitive. She embodies mysticism and psychic enlightenment.

Neptune also seeks pleasure and escape, through altered consciousness and altered states. The real world can be a dark and dangerous place, and Neptune quickly learns to flee from her fears through meditation, prayer, sleep, and dreams. If she can’t slip the surly bonds of Earth by natural means, she’ll find an outlet through drugs, alcohol, or even food. Neptune will get her fix any way she can.

Neptune can inspire creative visualization and visionary thinking. The planet is associated with fantasy, imagination, and art. It’s idealistic, sensitive, and exceptionally psychic.

Neptune herself is gauzy and ill defined. She’s got no sharp corners and no rough edges. She’s soft and soothing, lovely to look at, and delightful to behold. She shades us from the harsh light of reality.

She can also bewilder and confuse anyone who happens to spend too much time in her orbit.

The Astronomy of Neptune

The planet Neptune is just as ethereal as you’d expect from its astrological symbolism. It’s composed mostly of ethereal mist and gasses.

Neptune takes 165 years to orbit the Sun, so it spends about 14 years in each sign of the zodiac.

Neptune was discovered in 1846.

Creative Guidance

Neptune’s glyph looks like King Neptune’s trident. Have you ever noticed how many gods, like Neptune, wield a staff of power as an emblem of their authority and expertise? Think of it the next time you pick up your favorite pen.

Archetypal Roles

In astrology, Neptune is a planet of dreamlike illusion. In literature, Neptune is the character who’s clearly not grounded in reality. She’s a free spirit, a visionary, and she walks a fine line between inspiration and insanity.

• Neptune embodies the archetypes of psychics and psychotics.

• Neptune can be a celebrity, hidden behind a veil of glamour and artifice.

• She might be an addict, compelled to drown her sorrows and her fears.

• Neptune may be a psychic, who can tap into supernatural forces far greater than herself.

• She might also be a visionary, who sees a brighter, better future for humanity.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Neptune

Here’s what you need to know to assess Neptune in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Neptune rules Pisces, the watery sign of intuition and emotional connection.

House Rulership: Neptune rules the twelfth house of the horoscope, where astrologers look for the mysteries and secrets most people prefer to hide away.

Physical Associations: Neptune rules the places where those secrets are confined, including hospitals, prisons, and mental institutions. Neptune also rules the glamour of Hollywood and the silver screen, where audiences can find brief interludes of escape in the darkness of a movie theater.

Element: Neptune corresponds to the element of water.

Masculine/Feminine: Neptune’s energy is feminine and receptive.

Neptune’s Strengths and Weaknesses

At her best, Neptune offers us an otherworldly vision of compassion and creativity. She embodies the best that spirituality has to offer. She’s empathic, telepathic, intuitive, and kind. She doesn’t just dream of liberation for herself—she wants to share her freedom with the world.

At her worst, Neptune is addicted to dreams that simply can’t come true. She frustrates herself and everyone around her. She’s out of touch with reality, neurotic, and confused. She might be able to fool herself, but she can’t convince too many others to join her in her misery.

Neptune’s Goals and Motivations

Even strong characters have weaknesses. Because Neptune dissolves the boundaries between reality and illusion, Neptune’s position in a chart can show you where your characters can’t see clearly—and where they’re most prone to misunderstandings, misconceptions, and unreliable sources of information.

With Neptune in …	Your character will be confused by …
Aries	Leaders and authority figures
Taurus	Money and property issues
Gemini	Fast-talking salespeople and con men
Cancer	Family relationships
Leo	Celebrities and charismatic personalities
Virgo	Health, nutrition, diet, and exercise
Libra	Partners, close friends, and open enemies
Scorpio	Sex, death, and shared resources
Sagittarius	High-minded philosophy, long-distance travel, foreign people, and alien cultures
Capricorn	Business matters, career developments, and societal expectations
Aquarius	Technology, social groups, and casual friendships
Pisces	Psychic flashes, intuitive glimpses, dreams, drinking sprees, and drug addiction

Twenty Questions

1. Neptune is the planet of glamour and illusion. In fact, a glamour is a magic spell—and in many ways, Neptune describes the way in which writers cast a spell over their readers. Think about the way you write. How do you pierce the veil between your everyday world and the world of your imagination? How do you wrap your characters in a cloak of illusion? How do you cloak the harsh realities of everyday life in the veil of a story?

2. How does your most glamorous character cast a spell over those around her?

3. What mask does your character wear, literally or figuratively, when she faces the world? Does she slather herself in a layer of makeup, or hide behind dark glasses? How does she present herself?

4. Neptune rules the realm of visions and imagination—especially at night, when we enter the land of dreams. What does your character dream about? Does she have any recurring dreams? What are they?

5. Dreams aren’t always relegated to the night. What daydreams distract your character from her daily life?

6. Neptune often symbolizes a break or diversion from responsibility. How does your character escape from reality?

7. What alternate reality has your character created for herself?

8. What illusions does she accept as real?

9. What illusion has she created for herself?

10. During the height of drama and conflict, most people will seek a quick exit. What is your character’s escape plan?

11. Neptune rules the shadow world of drugs, alcohol, and other mind-altering substances. What is your character’s favorite drink?

12. How does your character act when she’s drunk?

13. What drugs does she take? Does she get them by prescription, over the counter, or on the street?

14. Why does she take them, and what would happen if she stopped?

15. What does it take to get your character high? Is she willing to loosen her grip on reality, or does she fight to stay in control?

16. Alternately, is your character sober and responsible? Take that away, and plunge her into a period of substance use or abuse. How does her behavior change? How do those around her react?

17. Is your character an alcoholic? Clean her up—and write about the effect her transformation has on her daily life and her relationships.

18. We all have weaknesses, and we all make periodic resolutions for self-improvement. What has your character tried to change about herself? Did she succeed, or did she fail?

19. How did the experience change her?

20. A young woman’s glamour is often abandoned, lost, or repressed as she ages. Write about an older woman who rediscovers her innate sense of beauty and style. How—and why—does she make the change?

Pluto

The Dark Lord

Pluto, the grisly god, who never spares,

Who feels no mercy, who hears no prayers.

—Homer

Power, Passion, and the Prince of Darkness

Pluto makes an appearance in every story. It’s only a matter of time.

Pluto is the god of the netherworld. He’s Hades, the king of the dead, and Lucifer, the fallen angel. He’s Satan, the prince of darkness and commander of legions of demons. He’s the Devil, torturer of the damned, and the dark lord of the realm of shades.

His role isn’t hard to define. Pluto is a monster, a demon, and a vampire. He’s a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer. He’s a hideous creature of the night. He’s the thief of souls. He tortures his victims, and then leads them, silent, mute, and robbed of their voices, into the next life.

If you try to deny Pluto his status and power—as astronomers did recently, when they demoted his planet—you’re in for a rude awakening.

Some of your characters will meet Pluto sooner than others. Others will stave off his appearance for hundreds of pages. But as a writer, you know he’s coming; you’ve built him into the plot. And as a reader, you might even jump to the last chapter, just so you can gauge his approach.

Mythic Models: The God of the Underworld

In ancient Greece, Hades was the god of the underworld. In ordinary life he was usually called Pluto, because no one wanted to say his real name aloud.

Pluto was the son of Saturn and Rhea, an early form of Mother Earth. He was one-third of a triumvirate of power: his brother Jupiter ruled the heavens, and his brother Neptune ruled the seas.

Pluto’s ensign of power was a staff, which he used, like Mercury, to drive the souls of the dead into their new life in Hades. Pluto also owned a helmet of invisibility, which he sometimes lent to other gods and men. The gateway to his realm was guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed hound from Hell.

Pluto took his wife, the maiden Persephone, by force. As she picked flowers in a meadow, Pluto opened the earth beneath her feet. Eventually, the dark goddess Hecate rescued Persephone and returned her to her mother, Ceres. The God of Death couldn’t be completely stripped of his prize, however, so Persephone was still condemned to spend a third of each year in Hades.

Apparently, her life there wasn’t a living hell. She adapted to her otherworldly position and became the powerful Queen of the Dead.

Pluto wasn’t a faithful husband; during one of his affairs, he fathered the Furies. When he carried on with a nymph named Mintho, Persephone turned her into the mint plant. Pluto loved a nymph named Leuce, too; when she died, Pluto himself turned her into a white poplar.

Pluto was fiercely hated by mortal men. Even so, they treated him with respect, and they even sacrificed black sheep to appease him. Whoever actually offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face.

Pluto did have one redeeming quality, as far as the ancients were concerned: as king of the lower world, he was the giver of all the blessings that came from Earth, including precious gems and metals.

The Astrology of Pluto

In astrology, Pluto symbolizes death and resurrection, forgiveness and release. It can indicate areas of testing and challenge, power struggles, and resistance. It’s a planet of evolution and unavoidable change.

Pluto compels us to release anything that’s no longer living up to our needs or expectations, so we can recycle and reuse that energy in better ways. Pluto teaches us that endings are merely part of the cycle of regeneration and rebirth, and inevitably lead to a second chance at a new life.

Pluto typically calls for the release of old habits, old patterns, and old relationships that have served their purpose and now should be relegated to the pages of history. He has a shadowy partnership with Saturn, the god of time.

Pluto will take your youth and beauty, either in one lump payment or in a series of installments.

The symbolism of Pluto also hints at the myth of the Phoenix, the mythical bird that burns and then is reborn from its own ashes. The bird is a symbol of destruction and purification by fire and subsequent rebirth from the ashes. It’s a metaphor for transformation and change, metamorphosis and rebirth. It doesn’t represent the loss of energy; instead, it symbolizes a conversion.

The glyph for Pluto looks like someone rising from the dead; technically, it’s a coin and a chalice, symbols of payment for everlasting life. An alternate version of the glyph (') combines the letters P and L, which also happen to be the initials of the planet’s discoverer, Percival Lowell.

The Astronomy of Pluto

Pluto is a controversial planet. Not only is it a misshapen ball of rock and ice, but it’s also smaller than an asteroid—which compelled scientists to reclassify it as a planetoid a few years ago.

Pluto’s power, however, cannot be denied. Since it was discovered in 1930, it’s been an object of fascination for students and scientists alike.

Pluto is an outlier in our solar system; it gets practically no light or heat from the Sun. It travels in an eccentric, 248-year orbit.

As isolated and withdrawn as it is, Pluto doesn’t travel alone. The planet has a satellite companion, a moon called Charon. Pluto and Charon are locked in a dumbbell-shaped orbit around a common point in space, perpetually locked in a mutual embrace. More often than not, that cosmic embrace looks like a power struggle, as the two orbs struggle for position.

Archetypal Roles

In literary terms, Pluto is a monster. It’s the sum of all fears, and the specter of death and destruction. As every storyteller knows, however, monsters don’t always reveal their true forms. Some can even survive in the sunlight.

• In myth and legend, Pluto embodies the archetype of a gatekeeper or a guardian. The souls who were consigned to his realm had little chance of escape.

• Pluto can symbolize the dark shadow of human existence, and the dark side of any personality. Most people project their own dark side onto others; you might want to determine where your characters cast their longest shadows.

• In contemporary astrology, Pluto often symbolizes the power of transformation. In a story, Pluto’s position by sign and house could suggest your character’s ability to change and grow in monumental ways.

A Quick Guide to Character Creation with Pluto

Here’s what you need to know to assess Pluto in astrological terms.

Sign Rulership: Pluto rules Scorpio, the sign of mystery and secrets. After the planet was discovered in 1930, Pluto usurped that power from Mars, the traditional ruler of the sign.

House Rulership: Pluto rules the eighth house, where astrologers look for information about sex, death, and inheritance.

Physical Associations: Pluto rules the reproductive organs, which ensure the survival of the species. As each successive generation dies, a new generation is born to replace it.

Geographical Associations: Pluto is associated with the cold, dry element of earth. Pluto rules buried treasures, including metals and minerals, and is associated with any effort to bring secrets to light.

Element: Pluto can also be associated with the fires of Hell.

Masculine/Feminine: Pluto’s energy is masculine and direct.

Metal: Pluto is linked to lead, the basest, heaviest alchemical metal. During medieval times, alchemists tried desperately to transform lead into gold in an effort to prove that the human spirit could be refined and elevated beyond the bounds of physical existence.

Pluto’s Strengths and Weaknesses

While Pluto is an ominous figure in anyone’s book, Pluto also possesses an unwavering ability to see every individual for what he or she is: a soul trapped in physical form. Pluto doesn’t pull punches: he gets right to the point, and makes people face their darkest fears. Pluto can be violent and even terrifying. He’s an irresistible force. He’s undeniably powerful—but those who rise to the challenge and confront that power can claim it for their own. It’s only when Pluto’s power is subjugated or denied that he becomes a monster.

Pluto’s Goals and Motivations

Pluto, the planet of death and resurrection, has the power to transform your characters. The process, however, is fraught with danger. Pluto’s position in a horoscope chart will show you where your characters will face their greatest challenges—and discover their greatest opportunity for growth.

Creative Guidance

William Faulkner didn’t mince words. “In writing,” he said, “you must kill all your darlings.”

Writing isn’t just a matter of planting words on paper. It’s also a process of culling the ideas that don’t take root. Every writer overseeds a first draft, but overgrowth will overtake a story like weeds in a garden.

As you survey the landscape of your work in progress, look for words, descriptions, and scenes that you can eliminate. You might even be able to kill a few characters. Some can be reborn, combined into single composite characters that can do the work of several men. Kill your darlings, and streamline your story.

With Pluto in …	Your character will be forced to assert his power by taking control of his …
Aries	Freedom. Your character will be forced to assert his independence, defend his choices, and take responsibility for his own decisions.
Taurus	Money and property. Your character might have to lose everything he owns in order to appreciate what he really has.
Gemini	Thoughts and communication. Your character will have to learn to think and speak for himself.
Cancer	Parents and children. Your character will have to set boundaries and establish firm foundations for a healthy family life.
Leo	Creativity, recreation, and procreation. Your character will learn that all play and no work is no way to succeed in life.
Virgo	Duty, responsibility, dedication, and service. Your character will have to assess his strengths and weaknesses, and determine what goals he wants to reach.
Libra	Marriages, partnerships, romantic relationships, and friendships. Your character will be forced to cut ties with friends and foes who sabotage his relationships.
Scorpio	Sex, death, and shared resources. Your character won’t be allowed to be a passive observer in the drama of life. He’ll be forced in as an active participant.
Sagittarius	Higher education, philosophy, and long-distance travel. Your character will be sent packing, ready or not, on a journey of experience.

With Pluto in …	Your character will be forced to assert his power by taking control of his …
Capricorn	Career, status, and public recognition. Your character could face public exposure, scandal, or ruin.
Aquarius	Innovation, technology, and visionary thinking. Your character will be cast out of a starry-eyed realm of idealism, and cast headfirst into the down-and-dirty world of everyday existence.
Pisces	Metaphysics, mysticism, and psychic awareness. Your character won’t be able to find an escape in drugs, alcohol, or dreams. He’ll have to come to terms with earthly reality.

Twenty Questions

1. Pluto is the god of the underworld—a dark and foreboding realm that most people dread. The underworld is one location, though, where a writer can mine for treasure. Without wasting any time, send one of your characters into an underworld, real or imagined. Force him there against his will.

2. Once he’s acclimated, give him power. How will he use it?

3. Pluto rules the forces of death, destruction, and unavoidable change. Who—or what—has the power to destroy your character? How can you work a character’s death and resurrection into your story? It can be literal or figurative.

4. Rework the Pluto and Persephone myth, from either character’s point of view.

5. Has your character had a near-death experience? What happened to him, and what does he remember?

6. How does your character face death and deal with his own mortality?

7. Who could rescue your character from certain death? How could your character save himself?

8. Write about someone who has an obsession with youth, beauty, sexuality, and control.

9. Do any of your characters frighten you? Why or why not?

10. What’s the most frightening thing your character can imagine? How can you turn that fear into a reality, and bump up the intensity of your story?

11. Pluto symbolizes power over life-and-death issues. What power does your character hold?

12. How does he assert his power?

13. How does he manage his power?

14. What would he trade in exchange for power? Would he sell his soul to the Devil? How would he negotiate the deal?

15. Think back to other stories you’ve heard about playing cards or gambling with the Devil. What stakes would drive your character to the table? Why would he risk it all?

16. How does your character control his temper?

17. What has your character lost during the course of his lifetime? Has he lost a valued possession, a much-loved parent or child, or something more intangible, like his sense of self? Develop a character who has lost something irreplaceable.

18. How does your character deal with grief—and how does your character react to other people’s grief?

19. How can you make your character more compelling?

20. How will you conclude your story?

Auxiliary Lights

While the planets are the major players in the drama of the skies, they’re not the only heavenly bodies in the cosmic cast of characters.

Asteroids, for example, are planetoids—cosmic boulders—that orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The first four asteroids to be discovered were named after ancient goddesses: Ceres, the mother; Pallas Athena, the daughter; Juno, the wife and partner; and Vesta, the virgin priestess. The feminine energy of the goddess asteroids provides some balance to the patriarchy of the planets—most of which are decidedly male.

The goddess asteroids were joined, in the 1980s, by Chiron, a comet named after the wounded healer and teacher of the gods.

Astrologers also work with several other key points in the chart that can be just as intriguing for a writer looking for creative inspiration. They include the Black Moon Lilith, a mathematical point in space that illustrates the dark side of female power, as well as the North and South Nodes, which are indicators of past-life karma and current life lessons.

All told, that’s good news for writers who want to round out their cast of characters. In the next few pages, you’ll learn how you too can add astrology’s finer points to round out your creations.

Ceres

The Earth Mother

Earth’s increase, foison plenty,

Barns and garners never empty,

Vines and clustering bunches growing,

Plants with goodly burthen bowing;

Spring come to you at the farthest 

In the very end of harvest!

Scarcity and want shall shun you;

Ceres’ blessing so is on you.

—William Shakespeare, The Tempest

The Goddess of Prosperity

Ceres was the goddess of nature and the harvest. For centuries she ensured the prosperity of the earth and the well-being of humankind. She was the goddess of grain and prosperity. In fact, her name is the root of the word cereal, and her glyph is a variant of the harvest sickle.

When her daughter, Proserpina, was kidnapped, however, Ceres’ grief almost destroyed the world. Her child’s disappearance plunged the world into a long winter of bitter cold and deprivation.

When the story started, Proserpina—the goddess of spring—was a beautiful young woman. She was innocent, carefree, and unaware of the dangers that lurked beneath her feet. When she left her mother’s side to pick flowers in a meadow, she was fair game for Pluto, the lord of the underworld. He reached up, pulled her down into his realm, and forced her to become his bride.

As Ceres searched desperately for her lost daughter, life on earth came to a standstill. At that point, Jupiter stepped in. He forced Pluto to relinquish Proserpina—but not before Pluto had tricked the young woman into eating four pomegranate seeds, which condemned her to remain in the underworld forever. After some negotiation, the gods decided that Proserpina would simply be compelled to return to Hades for four months each year—one for each seed she had consumed. The dark goddess Hecate crossed into the underworld to retrieve her, and Proserpina was allowed to spend eight months a year with her mother.

Every winter, when Proserpina is once again lost to the dark and foreboding land of the dead, Ceres grieves and the earth grows cold. But when Proserpina returns, Ceres—and the earth itself—spring back to life.

The Astrology of Ceres

While the story of Ceres is ostensibly a simple explanation for the seasons, it’s more than a story about the cycles of life. There’s a deeper message in the myth. It’s also a useful marker for understanding the mysteries of life and death, as well as the corresponding emotions of grief and loss.

Ceres also helps us understand the rhythms and milestones of motherhood and parenting. The myth describes the principles of unconditional love, and the blessings of fertility and creativity.

In a horoscope chart, Ceres’ placement can provide detailed information about the responsibilities of family life. It pinpoints how parents try to nurture and protect their children. It describes how they deal with the loss of their children’s innocence—as well as their own. It also reveals issues of attachment and dependency, as well as separation and rejection.

From a literary standpoint, Ceres offers a compelling look at the dark side of motherhood. Her myth demonstrates how some characters will lash out when they’re most grievously wounded.

The glyph for Ceres looks like a harvest sickle.

The Astronomy of Ceres

Asteroids are tiny planetoids orbiting the Sun in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. There are thousands of these cosmic boulders. Some are the size of cars. Others, like Ceres, are huge. In fact, Ceres measures about six hundred miles across—which makes it slightly larger than France.

Ceres was first discovered in 1801. For a time, it was thought to be a planet, but it was demoted in the 1850s. More than 150 years later, that demotion led to another, when scientists compared Ceres to Pluto, and then classified them both as dwarf planets.

Astronomers say that asteroids could be the shattered remains of a larger planet, or simply cosmic debris left over from the creation of the universe. Ceres, however, is its queen: she’s the largest asteroid, and she alone is responsible for about a third of the mass in the asteroid belt.

Archetypal Roles

When you create a fictional character based on the myth of Ceres, you’ll probably find that she fits into one of several categories:

• The young mother

• The overprotective parent

• The guardian

• The grieving parent

• The wounded warrior

• The vigilante

• The goddess of justice

• The queen of retribution

• Victims of assault, rape, kidnapping

• Prisoners of war

Creative Guidance

Ceres is a goddess most people can understand. Most women have children, and everyone has had a mother. With that being said, it takes almost no imagination to picture a dark mother who punishes those who displease or dishonor her, and rewards those who do.

It’s also relatively easy to exaggerate the characteristics of any mother in your story. Don’t worry that she won’t be believable. When it comes to relationships between parents and children, truth is stranger than fiction.

Twenty Questions

1. Ceres’ story is one of loss and rediscovery. When her daughter was stolen, her sense of safety and security was destroyed, along with her daughter’s innocence. How did—or how will—your character lose her innocence?

2. Compare one of your character’s experiences to Ceres’ story. What was the most meaningful possession your character ever lost or misplaced? What did that object represent?

3. Has your character ever been the victim of a theft? What was stolen from her?

4. How did she react?

5. Was her loss recovered? How?

6. How did the experience change her?

7. Ceres found advice and assistance from other mythic figures in the pantheon of gods. Who will fill that role in your story? Who will witness your character’s loss and help her through it?

8. Devise a brief scenario in which your character is the victim of a crime. It doesn’t need to be a violent crime—although that’s certainly an option. You can also consider white-collar crime, organized crime, or a personal, moral, or ethical wrong.

9. Now turn the tables and create a storyline in which your character must commit a crime.

10. Not every loss in life is as dramatic as Ceres’ bereavement. The steady passage of time strips everyone of youth, beauty, and vitality. Those losses are unavoidable, except through an early death. How does your character deal with change?

11. How does she cope with the passing of time?

12. Describe how your character acknowledges loss, whether it’s her own or that of someone she knows.

13. How does your character grieve? Does she bury her pain or, like Ceres, lash out at the world? Write a short snippet of dialogue in which your character describes her experience with grief.

14. Build a scene or a story based on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

15. What one thing does your character love more than life itself? What would happen if it were stolen from her?

16. What person, place, or principle is central to your character’s self-image? How would your character react if she lost it? Try stealing it from her yourself, in the course of your story. What short- and long-term ramifications will result?

17. Try to develop a scenario in which your character’s loss stems from her own actions. How will she cope with the guilt that results?

18. List three lessons your character has learned so far, whether they’re life-changing or not.

19. List three lessons your character still needs to master.

20. Finally, develop the ending to a story in which your character is restored to wholeness after a loss.

Pallas Athena

Goddess of Wisdom

A royal maiden who reigned beyond the sea:

From sunrise to the sundown no paragon had she.

All boundless as her beauty was her strength was peerless too,

And evil plight hung o’er the knight who dared her love to woo.

For he must try three bouts with her; the whirling spear to fling;

To pitch the massive stone; and then to follow with a spring;

And should he beat in every feat his wooing well has sped,

But he who fails must lose his love, and likewise lose his head.

—Brünhild, in the Nibelungen

Justice Is Served

Have you ever had a character spring, fully formed, into your mind’s eye? Check her I.D. You’re probably dealing with Pallas Athena. She’s the warrior goddess who sprang fully formed from the head of Zeus.

Pallas Athena was a warrior queen. She’s a female counterpart to Mars, but she was also the goddess of wisdom, justice, and culture.

The Mythic Model

Athena was the daughter of Jupiter and Metis, the guardian of Mercury’s wisdom. Jupiter, however, had swallowed Metis to ensure that their unborn child wouldn’t threaten his reign.

It didn’t work. Athena continued to grow, until finally, Jupiter came down with a pounding headache. The ever-helpful god Hephaestus turned it into a splitting headache. He used an ax to cut Jupiter’s head wide open, and Athena was freed.

She bounded into the world, fully grown and dressed for battle. In fact, the glyph for Pallas Athena is a representation of her spear. She was a goddess of wisdom, and she fought for justice and truth.

As the daughter of an immortal, Athena could be in several places at once. She could fly through the air, and she didn’t eat, drink, cry, or bleed.

In time, Athena became the patron goddess of Athens, a city she won in a contest with Neptune. The gods decreed that Athens would go to that one who produced the gift most useful to mortals. Neptune created the horse; Athena produced the olive.

Athena advised city leaders. She helped protect her people from outside enemies, as well as anyone who would destroy it from within. She gave men courage and led armies of defense—but she had no sympathy for Mars’s savage love of violence and bloodshed. She was efficient and organized, and she helped bring law and order to her people.

As the goddess of justice, Athena was frequently involved in legal decisions—but she was also a goddess of mercy. When the other judges’ decisions were split, she usually broke the tie by voting in favor of freeing the accused.

Athena usually had an owl on her shoulder. It became her trademark, and a symbol of her wisdom and intelligence.

It’s not clear why Athena also went by the name Pallas Athena. Some say Pallas was a friend of Athena. When Pallas died, Athena honored her by taking her name.

Athena also presided over the useful and ornamental arts, both those of men, such as agriculture and navigation, and those of women, like spinning, weaving, and needlework. She’s credited with inventing the flute and the trumpet, the plow, the rake, the ox-yoke, the bridle, the chariot, and the ship. She also made mothers fertile, helped children grow, protected crops from damage, and guided travelers safely over sea and land.

The Astrology of Pallas Athena

The glyph for Pallas Athena looks like a spear.

Astrologically, Pallas Athena describes how we face the issues of learning, creativity, the arts, politics, healing, alienation from relationships, competition, and the fear of success.

The Astronomy of Pallas Athena

Pallas was the second asteroid to be discovered. It was first spotted in 1802, and it’s the third largest in size.

Archetypal Roles

When you create a fictional character based on Athena, she could be:

• A daughter

• A crusader

• A motherless child

• A child without a childhood

• A daughter who derives most of her identity from her father

Creative Guidance

Myth and legends of astrology can serve as a framework for your story—a skeleton that you can flesh out with muscle and skin. You can also turn to myths and legendary events for themes and subplots. You don’t have to be blatant. Use a deft hand and a soft touch, and your readers won’t know or guess the source.

Twenty Questions

1. Pallas Athena was a goddess of many gifts. Is your character intellectually gifted, socially savvy, or street smart? What special skills does she possess?

2. What useful talent does your character have to offer the world?

3. Pallas Athena was born fully grown. Describe several ways in which your character might seem wise beyond her years.

4. Write about a child who seems like an old soul. What sets that child apart?

5. Athena was the patron goddess of Athens. What city or town does your character like best? Why is that place a good fit for her personality?

6. Pallas Athena was also the goddess of justice. Put your character in a courtroom, either as a claimant, a defendant, or a member of the legal profession. Why is she there?

7. How does she interact with the other players?

8. How does her presence change the courtroom’s atmosphere and the course of events?

9. How would your character explain the concept of truth?

10. How would she describe the concept of justice?

11. What injustice would your character fight to correct?

12. Whom might your character feel duty-bound to protect?

13. Pallas Athena was a warrior goddess, willing to fight for humanity. Is your character naturally courageous? Why or why not?

14. Write a scene that forces your character to be courageous—even if she has to fake it.

15. Write a scene in which your character loses her courage and suffers a setback as a result.

16. Give your character a supportive friend or ally who can give her courage.

17. Pallas Athena was prized for her invention of the olive. As you write, remember that necessity is the mother of invention. Give your character an unusual problem, and force her to devise an inventive solution.

18. What contests or prizes has your character won?

19. How did she win them?

20. Give your character a hobby, and then devise an unexpected use for that hobby.

Juno

The Faithful Partner

Penelope, daughter of Icarius, heard his song from her room upstairs, and came down by the great staircase, not alone, but attended by two of her handmaids. When she reached the suitors she stood by one of the bearing posts that supported the roof of the cloisters with a staid maiden on either side of her. She held a veil, moreover, before her face, and was weeping bitterly.

“Phemius,” she cried, “you know many another feat of gods and heroes, such as poets love to celebrate. Sing the suitors some one of these, and let them drink their wine in silence, but cease this sad tale, for it breaks my sorrowful heart, and reminds me of my lost husband whom I mourn ever without ceasing.”

—Homer, The Odyssey

A Jealous Wife

Juno was one of the original literary inspirations. In fact, she was the reason for the Trojan War, which Virgil documented in the Aeneid and Homer described in the Iliad.

The Mythic Model

Juno was the wife of Jupiter, which made her the queen of the gods. Jupiter was notoriously unfaithful, and while Juno was bitter, jealous, and vindictive, she remained true to her vows. That made her the goddess of marriage and partnership.

Juno’s wedding was one of the most auspicious events that ever took place on Mount Olympus. All the gods were present, and the festivities lasted for days.

It didn’t take long for Jupiter to prove himself a faithless husband, though. His affair with Leto led to the birth of Apollo, the sun god, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. His affair with Themis, the goddess of justice, created the three Fates. And after his affair with Metis, Athena sprang fully grown from his head.

Juno’s probably not the kind of woman you’d want for a friend—but she would be fun to write about. She was notoriously cruel to anyone who crossed her path, particularly if they happened to be the lovers or children of her unfaithful husband. She routinely tried to kill them all, including Hercules and Dionysus.

Like Jupiter, Juno was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea. According to Homer, she was raised by Oceanus and Tethys, and afterward became the wife of Zeus, without the knowledge of her parents. Later writers add that she, like the other children of Saturn, was swallowed by her father, but afterward restored.

Juno and Jupiter fought constantly. At one point, Juno conspired with Neptune and Athena to put Zeus in chains. Zeus responded by beating her. He even hung her up in the clouds, with her hands chained and two anvils suspended from her feet. When Vulcan tried to help her, Zeus hurled him down from Olympus.

On a more charming note, Juno had a pet peacock, and her lady in waiting was Iris, the goddess of the rainbow.

The Astrology of Juno

The glyph for Juno looks like her scepter.

In astrology, Juno symbolizes faithful wives and partners, marriage contracts, and binding agreements.

Juno also reveals how your characters will feel about their partners and contractual obligations. She’ll describe how they deal with jealousy and rage, as well as power and possessiveness. Juno colors romance and receptivity, along with mutual trust and security.

The Astronomy of Juno

The asteroid Juno was discovered in 1804. It was the third asteroid to be revealed, and it’s the ninth largest in size.

Archetypal Roles

As a fictional character, Juno can play any number of wifely roles:

• A faithful partner

• A devoted wife

• A cheated spouse

• A vengeful woman

• An abused wife

• A murderous mate

Creative Guidance

How do your characters measure up?

The hero of your story—your protagonist—should be fully rounded and developed, like a three-dimensional character. To ensure that he has a worthy challenger, his opponent—the antagonist—should be just as well developed.

Your supporting players, however, can be flat and two-dimensional. You can draw them with bold strokes, and imbue them with exaggerated characteristics. They might surprise you—and occasionally, they might even upstage the stars—just enough to brighten the story for a moment or two.

Twenty Questions

1. Juno was a jealous guardian of her marriage—her most treasured relationship. What does your character guard with her life?

2. What does she wish she possessed?

3. Conversely, which possessions would she like to rid herself of?

4. Despite her jealous rages and hostile personality—or, perhaps, because of them—Juno was worshipped as the goddess of marriage and partnership. Has your character ever been married?

5. Describe her wedding—and then describe her marriage. What did the wedding ceremony say about her relationship? What did it signal about the eventual course of the marriage?

6. Juno’s husband was notoriously unfaithful. How has your character been betrayed?

7. How does your character betray others?

8. How might she betray herself?

9. How would your character react if her betrayal were exposed?

10. How does your character feel about commitment? Does she fear it or yearn for it? Why?

11. Juno didn’t hesitate to punish those who crossed her. Describe your character’s dark side, and include an example that illustrates it.

12. Write a scene that forces your character to be cruel.

13. Devise a scenario in which your character is the victim of cruelty.

14. Write a scenario in which your character would seriously injure someone else.

15. Write a scene in which your character must kill. What consequences will follow?

16. Develop a scene in which your character is punished for her wrongdoing.

17. What would your character consider to be an unforgivable offense?

18. How does your character seek vengeance or retaliation?

19. What’s the worst mistake your character ever made?

20. Describe something your character feels guilty about.

Vesta

Goddess of Hearth and Home,
the Temple Virgin

I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.

—Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

The Mythic Model

Vesta just called—and she’d like you to write a chick lit story about her.

Vesta is the prototype of the strong single woman. Like so many gods and goddesses in the Greek and Roman pantheons, she was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea. According to the earliest myths and legends, however, she was Saturn’s firstborn, so she was also the first child he consumed. For the rest of her life, she would continue to take a leading role in community life and culture.

Vesta was the guardian of the hearth and the keeper of the sacred flame. Her name means “essence” and “fire,” and she was a central figure in everyday life and worship.

Every home in Rome kept a fire lit in her honor, all the time. In that capacity, as the guardian of hearth and home, she was the goddess of domesticity and devotion. When babies were born, parents prayed to her to bless each child and keep them safe. Whenever there was a sacrifice, Vesta got the first share.

Small communities are often like extended families, so the ancient cities all had a sacred hearth devoted to Vesta, too. Supplicants would go to Vesta’s temple whenever they wanted to implore her protection or find sanctuary in her grace. When new communities were established, they would carry a spark from her sacred flame from their previous home.

Vesta was beautiful, of course, but when Apollo and Neptune both asked for her hand, she swore by the head of Jupiter to remain a virgin forever.

In each temple dedicated to Vesta, six vestal virgins served as priestesses. They wore white robes and veils, and it was their duty to keep her sacred flame alive, to offer sacrifices, and to pray for the protection of her people. The vestal virgins were chosen as children, and they were sworn to remain chaste and serve for thirty years.

The Astrology of Vesta

The glyph for Vesta looks like a flame.

Vesta’s position in a horoscope chart will reveal your character’s work and devotion—which are very similar to Virgo traits. Its position will show you how your characters integrate a sense of duty with their sense of self. Vesta offers insight into isolation and intimacy, as well as alienation, sacrifice, and sacred sexuality.

Vesta symbolizes how your characters will give themselves to others. Her placement will reveal how they offer hospitality to strangers, and how they guard their most precious possessions.

The Astronomy of Vesta

Vesta is the second-largest asteroid. It was the fourth to be discovered, and it’s the second largest in size.

In keeping with its mythical role as the keeper of the sacred flame, Vesta is also the brightest asteroid. When the conditions are just right, you can actually see it with your own eyes.

Archetypal Roles

Vesta can help keep your story burning, by playing a wide range of single women. Vesta can be the model for:

• A virginal young woman

• An innocent maiden

• A priestess

• A nun

• A career woman

• A charity worker

• A saint

• A shy, reserved, and colorless creature

• A sacrificial lamb

• A stranger

• A loner

• A servant

• The keeper of a sacred flame

Creative Guidance

Vesta’s temples and altars have become key components of her myth. In fact, it’s almost impossible to imagine Vesta anywhere but in a temple. The association could inspire you to experiment with the settings that correspond to your characters. What scenery is an essential part of your characters’ existence? What backdrop is familiar to them, and what props do they need to function? More importantly, what will happen to them if—and when—they find themselves in new surroundings?

Twenty Questions

1. What does your character believe is holy?

2. What secret does she guard?

3. Whom does she protect?

4. What sacred fire burns within her?

5. Describe her closest circle of friends.

6. What part of your character is sacred and pure?

7. What does she pray for—and to whom does she pray?

8. What is she devoted to?

9. In what way does she feel isolated?

10. How does she give of herself to others?

11. How does she show her devotion?

12. What sacrifices has she made?

13. What services does she perform for others?

14. What was she trained to do as a child?

15. What expectations did her family have for her?

16. What color of clothing does she prefer? Why? Does that color hold special significance?

17. Is your character a virgin? If not, how did she lose her virginity?

18. Imagine a scenario in which your character sits by a fire. What does she see? What does she think about?

19. What does your character still have from her childhood home?

20. What would your character save if her home were on fire?

The Black Moon Lilith

The Woman Scorned

I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone.

—Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

She-Devil

For 5,000 years, Lilith has lingered in the shadows of myth and history. She’s one of the most fascinating characters in story or astrology.

The Mythic Model

Obviously, Lilith is a dark goddess. In the best-known version of her story, Lilith was Adam’s first wife, created at the same time and in the same place in the Garden of Eden. They were equals—but Adam insisted that she submit to his demands.

Lilith refused. Instead, she spoke the secret name of God, sprouted wings, and fled into exile in a Sumerian cave, somewhere along the shores of the Red Sea.

Once Lilith had established a home of her own, far from her former husband, she became her own woman. She turned her back on the life that had been preordained for her, mated freely with monsters and fiends, and gave birth to hundreds of demon children a day.

Adam complained bitterly about his fate. God sent angels to retrieve her, but Lilith refused to return. Adam was forced to accept a second wife—one who was not his equal, but who was torn from his side.

At that point, Lilith was demonized by the husband and the civilization she had rejected. When her children were condemned to death, Lilith killed them herself.

In later retellings of the myth, Lilith was portrayed as a vengeful succubus who sapped men of their strength while they slept and murdered other women’s children in their cribs. Some even say she became the mother of all vampires. According to one version of the story, Lilith and Adam had a child together: Cain, the cursed. When Cain murdered his brother, Abel, he found refuge at Lilith’s side, and the two of them established a race of the living dead.

For centuries, Lilith has been maligned as a monster, a witch, and a whore. Contemporary analysts, however, see a compelling second storyline in her myth—that of a strong-willed, independent woman, willing to take any steps necessary to ensure her own survival.

Both viewpoints come into play when we examine Lilith’s place in astrology.

The Astrology of the Black Moon Lilith

The Black Moon Lilith symbolizes personal power—especially in a world that sometimes seems determined to crush individuality, creativity, and personal expression.

Lilith refuses to be repressed, contained, or managed. She rejects limitations, conditions, or expectations imposed by outside forces, whether they happen to be friends, family members, or authority figures.

Lilith demands the freedom to express herself creatively—and she insists on the corresponding freedom to control her own creations. She would rather destroy what she loves than have it used, abused, stolen, or misappropriated by someone else.

Lilith can’t be convinced or cajoled to get with the program, go with the flow, or go along to get along. She draws a line in the Mesopotamian sands of time. There is no room for negotiation when Lilith is involved; she’s the final authority on matters that pertain to her own life and existence.

The Astronomy of Lilith

The Black Moon Lilith isn’t a point of light in the sky, like the Moon, or a center of gravity, like the earth. The Black Moon Lilith isn’t a tangible cosmic body at all. Instead, the Black Moon Lilith is a ghost moon—an ethereal, mathematical point on a horoscope chart, derived from the real Moon’s position in the sky.

In simple terms, the Moon moves around the earth in an elliptical pattern—so when you see it diagrammed, the earth looks off-center. The Black Moon Lilith fills the void that’s left—and in the process, the Black Moon Lilith symbolizes the nature of spirit caught in the web of a physical universe.

For a time, some astrologers were actively engaged in speculation about a hypothetical “Dark Moon” that could be spotted only rarely in the dark night sky. As it turns out, the earliest reports of a Dark Moon Lilith were based on a flawed telescope lens back in the 1700s.

Today, the Black Moon Lilith is a focal point for the study of personal power. She represents the deepest, darkest mysteries of physical existence, and of a soul that’s trapped in a material world.

Archetypal Roles

The Black Moon Lilith can be the model for:

• The woman scorned

• The wild woman

• The demon

• The Wrath

• The Destroyer

• The enraged feminist

• The bitch

• The banshee

Creative Guidance

Think about the angriest woman you know. What made her that way? Would telling her story put her rage in context? You might find that you become more sympathetic—or that you simply generate more material for a character based on Lilith.

Twenty Questions

1. Try to incorporate elements of the Lilith myth into one of your characters. Start by picturing the angriest woman you can imagine. (She might be based on someone you know in real life.)

2. What—or who—made her so angry?

3. How does she demonstrate that anger? Is it publicly visible, or simmering beneath the surface?

4. What was she like before she was angered?

5. What was her life like then?

6. Does your character repress her emotions, or express them openly? Describe one example of how she makes her feelings known, either covertly or overtly.

7. How do other people treat your character?

8. How does your character treat other people?

9. How does your character approach partnerships?

10. How does she feel about love and marriage?

11. How does your character demonstrate her personal power?

12. What is one thing your character refuses to do?

13. Describe a simple, everyday way in which your character demonstrates control of her life.

14. How has your character been demonized?

15. How has your character been marginalized?

16. How has your character been maligned?

17. How could your character seek revenge?

18. Imagine a scenario in which your character could be forced into exile.

19. Imagine a scene in which your character isolates herself.

20. How could you bring her back into the fold?

Chiron

The Wounded Healer

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also.

—Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

The Key to Wisdom

In the cosmic drama of the skies, Chiron is a mentor and a guide. He can lead your characters to greatness, if they’ll only follow his advice.

The Master Teacher

Chiron, the wounded healer of myth and legend, learned his lessons the hard way.

Chiron was a centaur—half-human, half-horse. He was a magical blend of man and beast, so he symbolized spirit and intelligence in animal form.

The Mythic Model

Chiron was the son of Saturn and Philyra. He lived on Mount Pelion, and he learned the art of divination from Apollo and the skill of hunting from Diana. In turn, he served as a teacher to the ancient Greeks and Romans. He taught Jason, Achilles, and the legendary hero Hercules. When Hercules accidentally shot him with a poisoned arrow, however, Chiron’s immortal essence condemned him to suffering without end. As Chiron sought relief for his crippling injuries, he accumulated a vast store of medical knowledge. He shared that wisdom with others, which led to his legendary reputation as a wounded healer. Eventually, the gods took pity on Chiron’s suffering. He was allowed to give his immortality to Prometheus, who had stolen fire from the gods, and Zeus placed Chiron among the stars as Sagittarius.

The Astrology of Chiron

Modern astrologers look to Chiron for information about the wounded healer that resides in every person’s horoscope chart, along with corresponding efforts toward healing and recovery. Its position often reveals a karmic wound that can be almost impossible to heal.

Astrologers think of Chiron as a bridge between the inner and outer planets. It serves to connect the known and unknown, and helps us cross from sickness into health.

The glyph for Chiron looks like a key.

The Astronomy of Chiron

In astronomy, Chiron is a comet with a unique and erratic orbit. It travels between Saturn and Uranus, and occasionally crosses into Jupiter’s orbit.

Chiron takes more than 51 years to orbit the Sun. At that time, when it returns to its original position in our birth charts, most people experience some sort of midlife crisis. As they face the old age and mortality of their parents, they also recognize that their own children are adults now, too. It’s a good time to come to terms with life, to forgive their parents, and to release the dreams they had for their own children so that everyone can get on with their lives.

Archetypal Roles

Chiron is one of the greatest archetypal figures of all time. He lends himself to characterization as a:

• Teacher

• Tutor

• Professor

• Healer

• Caregiver

Creative Guidance

Everyone has some sort of physical weakness, whether it was inherited at birth or is the remnant of an old injury. Find a way to demonstrate the physical weakness of your character. Give him a limp, a stutter, or an obvious disability. Then go a step further, and connect it to a deeper meaning, on a spiritual, emotional, or psychological level. Someone whose feet hurt all the time, for example, may have issues with feeling safe and grounded; he lacks a foundation, or a solid footing. Someone with a sore throat might be afraid to speak.

You can also use hidden disabilities to demonstrate emotional frailties. Does your character hesitate to cross the street? Obsessively wash his hands or check the lock on the door? Stare longingly at the phone or the street outside his window? What do those symptoms suggest about your character’s psychological makeup?

Twenty Questions

1. If your character were a magical meld of man and beast, what would it be? Include some of those animal characteristics in your description.

2. Chiron was one of mythology’s most heralded instructors. Even the gods trusted him to train their children. Who was your best teacher—and how could you incorporate him or her into one of your stories? You might want to consider casting your favorite teacher as a mentor or a guide for one of your characters.

3. Alternately, work on some backstory for one of the characters you’re developing. Who was his best teacher? What lessons did your character learn from that teacher, and why were they important?

4. What lessons does your character teach others?

5. Chiron suffered for years from a wound that was inflicted by one of his students. What’s the deepest wound your character has suffered?

6. How has he tried to heal those wounds? Has he sought professional help, or has he tried to self-medicate?

7. What has he learned from his injuries?

8. What is your character’s physical weakness? How will that play into the story?

9. Send your character to a doctor, a clinic, or a hospital. How is he treated, and how does he treat those who try to help him?

10. Now send your character in search of alternative healing. Describe the experience.

11. Imagine a scenario in which your character is gravely wounded, or devise a storyline in which your character falls desperately ill.

12. Imagine a scene in which your character hurts himself.

13. Describe the symbolic significance of his illness or injury. A sore throat, for example, could illustrate your character’s unwillingness to speak up for himself, or chest pains could suggest a broken heart.

14. Why might your character resist getting well?

15. What are your character’s weaknesses and limitations?

16. What purpose do they serve?

17. How will they play into the story?

18. Devise a scenario in which your character tries to hide his weaknesses.

19. How can you turn his weaknesses into strengths?

20. The gods gave Chiron a place of honor in the skies at the end of his days. How would your character like to be remembered?

Behind the Scenes:
A Planetary
Casting Call

It’s possible to develop an entire cast of characters based solely on planetary archetypes. Take, for example, Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It’s easy to imagine how the players could fall neatly into orbit.

The Sun: While Macbeth is the star of the show, he’s a tragic hero—a bloodthirsty, ambitious general who murders King Duncan in pursuit of power. In the process, he seals his own doom.

The Moon: Lady Macbeth is her husband’s partner in crime. Her involvement in Macbeth’s misdeeds illustrates the dark side of the Moon. She spurs her husband to kill King Duncan—and when he fails to follow through with the conclusion of their plan, she finishes the job herself. Eventually, her involvement in the treacherous crime drives her mad. She sleepwalks by moonlight, and in one of the most famous dramatic scenes of all time, she tries desperately to wash the blood from her hands, crying, “Out, damned spot!”

Mercury: Three witches open the show by telling Macbeth that he will be king, and that Banquo, Macbeth’s traveling companion, will sire future kings. Like Mercury, the messenger of the gods, the three witches can move easily between this world and the next. They also have a trickster aspect: they deliberately leave their predictions open to interpretation, which fools Macbeth into a false sense of security.

Venus: Lady Macduff, the wife of the Thane of Fife, is a devoted wife and mother—the epitome of love and beauty. Macduff, however, suspects Macbeth of treachery. Macbeth seeks to quiet him by killing his family. In a gruesome scene, Lady Macduff and her children are viciously slaughtered—and Macduff becomes a ruthless warrior determined to seek revenge.

Mars: Like Mars, the god of war, Macduff ultimately kills and beheads Macbeth.

Jupiter: Macbeth’s first victim, the good King Duncan, embodies Jupiterian justice and moral order. His murder leads to chaos and destruction.

Saturn: When Macbeth murders King Duncan, the king’s son Malcolm raises an army to overthrow Macbeth and restore order and control—two hallmarks of Saturn’s rule.

Uranus: The planet of the unusual and the unexpected describes two of the prophecies that are Macbeth’s undoing. The three witches told Macbeth that he would reign until Birnam Wood came to him in Dunsinane, and that no man of woman born could kill him. As it happened, Malcolm’s soldiers camouflaged themselves with branches from Birnam Wood, and Macduff wasn’t born from a woman, per se—he was born by Caesarian section.

Neptune: Shortly after the play begins, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth ply the king’s guards with alcohol. When they pass out, Macbeth kills the king. Lady Macbeth takes the plot a step further: she leaves the bloody daggers with the guards, so they’ll be blamed for the murder. Neptune is often linked to the negative effects of alcohol and drugs.

Pluto: Pluto’s heavy hand is everywhere in the Scottish play, but the planet of death and destruction is best personified by Banquo—Macbeth’s traveling companion. Banquo and Macbeth are together at the start of the show, when they meet the three witches. When the witches tell Banquo that he’ll beget a line of kings, Macbeth starts to see him as a threat to his own ambition. Macbeth has Banquo killed—but Banquo’s ghost returns to haunt Macbeth, and presage Macbeth’s own downfall.

Behind the Scenes:
Astrology and Anatomy

When you’re creating and describing your characters, remember that each sign of the zodiac rules part of the body, starting with Aries at the head and moving sequentially through all twelve signs to Pisces at the feet.

Aries—the head

Taurus—the neck and throat

Gemini—the twin embrace of the shoulders, arms, and hands

Cancer—the breasts and stomach

Leo—the heart and spine

Virgo—the nervous and digestive systems

Libra—the kidneys and lower back

Scorpio—the reproductive organs

Sagittarius—the hips and thighs

Capricorn—the skeleton and joints, particularly the knees

Aquarius—the shins

Pisces—the feet

Behind the Scenes:
Generational Planets

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are generational planets, and they signify traits and characteristics that are common to entire age groups. That can be a useful tool for writers who are looking for insight into the politics and culture of a generation.

The three planets are at the fringe of our solar system. They have long-ranging orbits around the Sun, which means they don’t change signs very often.

In the descriptions that follow, you might notice some inconsistencies in the dates that mark each planet’s progress through the signs. That’s because planets don’t always move smoothly from one sign to another. Their orbits aren’t steady and unswerving. In fact, from our perspective on Earth, planets often seem to cross tentatively into a sign, reconsider, and then back up for a short period of time. If you’re dealing with a date that falls close to a transition point, you can always check an ephemeris—a table of planetary positions, online or in print—to determine a planet’s exact placement in the sky.

Uranus

Uranus was discovered in 1781, shortly after the telescope was invented. The planet’s discovery coincided with giant leaps forward in technology, along with radical change and revolution in the world’s political landscape.

It’s no coincidence that scientific innovation and political upheaval are closely connected. People who are fighting for their survival tend to devote all of their resources to new weapons and life-saving devices.

Uranus has an orbit of 84 years, which means it lingers in each sign of the zodiac for about 7 years. During each passage, it describes a generation’s vision of freedom and change.

Uranus in Aries: (1927–1935) When Uranus traveled through Aries, the sign of leadership and initiation, its movement marked a crisis in the global economy. The Roaring Twenties came to a shocking end when the stock market crashed, and the Depression forced the United States into rugged self-sufficiency and global isolationism.

Uranus in Taurus: (1934–1942) Uranus reversed the downfall of the Depression when it moved into Taurus, the sign of stability, comfort, and security. In the United States, the New Deal promised a new path to stability and comfort. Unfortunately, Uranus’s course through Taurus also marked the start of World War II, which forced Americans to deal with threats to their national security.

Uranus in Gemini: (1941–1949) When Uranus passed through Gemini, the sign of thought and communication, the study of psychology and sociology experienced a radical growth and transformation. Uranus also happened to be in Gemini during the start of the American Revolution, Lincoln’s election, and the Civil War.

Uranus in Cancer: (1948–1956) Cancer is the sign of home and family life. When Uranus was in Cancer, America’s post-war generation created a new, suburban way of life, focused on raising their Baby Boom offspring, watching a new invention called television, and eating precooked, factory-prepared TV dinners.

Uranus in Leo: (1955–1962) The television revolution changed everything in the worlds of entertainment and sports—both of which fall in Leo’s realm. People expected to be entertained in their own domains, and celebrities and sports stars alike had to change their game plan.

Uranus in Virgo: (1961–1968) Uranus’s passage through practical Virgo led to a series of improvements and inventions in cooking, cleaning, clothing, and personal care. Women stopped ironing, for example, and started dressing their families in permanent-press polyester.

Uranus in Libra: (1968–1975) Libra is the sign of marriage and partnership—so when rebellious Uranus passed through the sign, divorce rates skyrocketed, sex was freed from the bounds of marriage, and alternative lifestyles became more widely accepted.

Uranus in Scorpio: (1975–1981) When Uranus moved through mysterious Scorpio, the New Age took shape. Astrology became hugely popular for the first time in centuries. Entertainment technology also started being geared for private use. The Walkman was introduced, video games came home, and computers became more powerful and more manageable.

Uranus in Sagittarius: (1981–1988) We didn’t know it at the time, but when Uranus was in far-reaching Sagittarius, university scientists were starting to weave the World Wide Web. Most of us were distracted by the escalation—and the eventual resolution—of a global arms race.

Uranus in Capricorn: (1988–1996) When Uranus was in Capricorn, the sign of business and convention, traditional values and conservative politics experienced a popular resurgence.

Uranus in Aquarius: (1995–2002) Uranus rules cultural innovation and scientific technology. The planet’s passage through its own sign heralded the birth of the Internet and the arrival of affordable home computers.

Uranus in Pisces: (2002–2009) Pisces is the most mystical sign. Uranus’s passage through Pisces prompted changes in spiritual beliefs, religion, and morals. Uranus also moved through Pisces from 1919 through 1927, a period marked by Prohibition, speakeasies, and the Roaring Twenties.

Neptune

Neptune was discovered in 1846, as a result of scientific theory and mathematical calculation. Astronomers knew it existed, because something was exerting a gravitational pull on the orbit of Uranus.

Because its presence was felt before it was seen, Neptune symbolizes the hidden realities of existence. Astrologically speaking, Neptune describes how generational groups experience and share their spiritual views.

Neptune has an orbit of 165 years. As you think about Neptune’s place in your stories, consider the boundaries it has dissolved throughout history.

Neptune in Aries: (1862–1875) Neptune’s passage through Aries marked pioneering efforts in chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and spiritualism.

Neptune in Taurus: (1875–1889) Neptune in Taurus marked an emphasis on physical growth and expansion. Millions of people emigrated to the United States and pushed west, in an effort to fulfill their destiny and live their dreams.

Neptune in Gemini: (1889–1902) Neptune, the planet of Hollywood glamour, moved into the sign of communication and started making movies.

Neptune in Cancer: (1902–1915) Neptune boosted an entire generation’s sense of intuition and imagination when it moved into nurturing Cancer.

Neptune in Leo: (1915–1929) When Neptune was in Leo, everyone was a star. People lived vicariously through radio shows and Saturday-night movies. They set out to experience the same emotions firsthand, dancing their way through the Roaring Twenties and defying Prohibition.

Neptune in Virgo: (1928–1943) Reality came crashing down when Neptune passed through earthy Virgo. The stock market crashed, the Depression led to World War II, and families were forced to deal with the fundamental task of keeping body and soul together.

Neptune in Libra: (1942–1956) When Neptune was in Libra, the sign of the scales, people tried to put the world’s battles behind them, and find beauty and balance in the simple pleasures of life.

Neptune in Scorpio: (1956–1970) Scorpio is fascinated with the dark mysteries of life—sex, and death, and other people’s money. When Neptune moved through Scorpio, an entire generation began to explore sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Neptune in Sagittarius: (1970–1984) In Sagittarius, Neptune continued its quest for higher learning by experiencing alternate realities—which caught the attention of politicians and preachers who wanted to regulate the journey.

Neptune in Capricorn: (1984–1998) Neptune is the planet of illusion. It dissolves boundaries and casts a shadowy veil over reality. Neptune’s passage through Capricorn, the sign of business and finance, led to confusion in the world of commerce and capitalism.

Neptune in Aquarius: (1998–2012) In Aquarius, Neptune inspires a sense of spiritual connection and awakening.

Neptune in Pisces: (2012–2024) Neptune rules Pisces, the watery realm of the collective unconscious. As it passes through this sign, it will swim in dreamy visions of peace, love, and understanding.

Pluto

Pluto is our newest planet—or, if you subscribe to its scientific definition, Pluto is one of our newest planetoids.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, during a period of unprecedented war and upheaval. Metaphorically speaking, Pluto dropped a bomb in our lap; the faraway world was discovered at the same time people started to stockpile weapons of mass destruction that had the power to destroy our own planet.

Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun, with an orbit of 248 years. Because that orbit is elliptical and erratic, Pluto’s passage through each sign is anything but consistent.

Compare these Plutonian passages to the characters and time periods you write about:

Pluto in Aries: (1822–1852) Pluto stimulated pioneering ideas in the world of scientific theory and practice.

Pluto in Taurus: (1852–1883) Pluto changed how people thought about money, property, and power. Marx developed his communist political theory and economic philosophy.

Pluto in Gemini: (1883–1914) Pluto transformed the world of communication through telegraphs, telephones, newspapers, photography, and recorded music.

Pluto in Cancer: (1914–1938) Pluto changed the mood of the public, by shifting attention from the underworld of the Mafia to the underlying instability of the world economy and global politics.

Pluto in Leo: (1938–1957) Pluto’s weapons of war trickled down, by delivering tools and technology that transformed awareness and communication. An entire generation slowly realized that they had the power to change the world, both individually and collectively.

Pluto in Virgo: (1956–1972) Pluto revolutionized medical science and technology. For the first time in history, immunizations and vaccines could ward off mass casualties, and transplant technology could extend life even in the face of certain death.

Pluto in Libra: (1971–1984) Pluto transformed family law and international diplomacy, and unified the people of the world through shared music, movies, and television drama.

Pluto in Scorpio: (1983–1995) Pluto’s passage through Scorpio marked shocking developments in our obsession with sex and death. As the Cold War ended, Pluto dispatched a new plague, AIDS, to take the atom bomb’s place in our litany of nightmares and fears.

Pluto in Sagittarius: (1995–2009) When Pluto passed through the sign of long-distance travel and higher education, it found a way to unite the world, by connecting everyone on the web.

Pluto in Capricorn: (2009–present) Pluto’s entry into Capricorn marked an ongoing period of economic crises, political shakeups, corporate restructuring, and global revolutions.

Creative Guidance

While the generational planets can lend a touch of authenticity to your work, it’s important to remember that you can mix and match the planets and signs to create characters that are believable and true to life. What’s more, the signs provide a focus for your characters’ drives and desires—which leads to plot and story development.

Planets in Aspect

Planets, like people, cross paths—and their geometric aspects in the houses of the horoscope can be a creative way to visualize relationships on terra firma, too. It’s just another way that astrological terminology crosses over into real-life language.

You don’t have to master the art of studying aspects, which involves seeing points on paper in terms of their spatial relationships to each other. After all, everyone knows that writers hate math.

Instead, think about how people relate to one another. Those who have nothing in common tend to square off. Those with diametrically opposed worldviews oppose each other. People who share the same viewpoint work in conjunction.

While some aspects don’t have easy literary counterparts in simple language terms, you’ll recognize their relationships.

Ptolemaic Aspects

Astrologers have been using five basic aspects since Claudius Ptolemy described them in the first century A.D.

Conjunction 0°

Planets in conjunction share the same position in a chart. As a result, they share a common focus and viewpoint. In most cases, each strengthens the other. They operate, in effect, as a powerful combined force.

Two characters who operate in conjunction might be lovers, partners, or best friends.

Sextile 60°

Planets in sextile are separated by 60 degrees. As a result, they’ll share the same polarity—masculine or feminine—but they’ll have different elements. They’ll also have different modes. Some will be cardinal leaders, others will be fixed maintainers, and the rest will be flexible and mutable.

Even so, planets in sextile are comfortable with each other. When you think of sextiles, think of clubs and collections of close friends—like a group of women that get together for girls’ night out.

Square 90°

Any two planets that square off in a chart are 90 degrees apart. This aspect can be troublesome, because the planets work at cross-purposes. While they share the same modality—cardinal, fixed, or mutable—each has a different polarity. One will be masculine and active, while the other will be feminine and receptive. Their energy will be different, too, since they’ll embody different elements of fire, earth, air, or water.

This is the aspect to think of when you’re creating characters who rub each other the wrong way. They’ll never see the world alike, and they’ll never be able to come to a mutual understanding or agreement.

Trine 120°

The trine is an easy combination in which two planets are 120 degrees apart. The planets share the same congenial element—fire, earth, air, or water—so their energy flows freely back and forth.

This is the aspect to think of when you picture teammates or collegial work associates.

Opposition 180°

Two planets in opposition to each other are 180 degrees apart. That might seem confrontational, but there’s also plenty of room for communication and agreement, because each has a clear view of the other’s position.

Planets in opposition also share the same modality—cardinal, fixed, or mutable—and masculine or feminine polarity, which makes them both either active or receptive. You might think they’d never get along, but opposites attract. You won’t be surprised to learn, however, that a relationship that’s rooted in opposition can often be described as a love-hate relationship.

Interplanetary Communication

Any connection between planets, no matter what form it takes, is important. Here’s how planetary contact typically plays out in a horoscope chart.

• The Sun can energize a fellow traveler—or overshadow him. The Sun tends to highlight and personalize everything it touches.

• The Moon’s reflective and emotional energy helps other planets recognize their innermost feelings, connect to friends and family members, and boost their intuition. The Moon adds emotional depth and lends a compassionate ear.

• Mercury, the planet of speed and communication, can kick events into motion, deliver messages, and provoke thought and discussion. Mercury adds intellect, speed, and communication to everything it touches.

• Venus, the planet of love and attraction, enhances the beauty, charm, and creativity of every planet she graces with her touch.

• Mars, the warrior planet, sounds a call to action. It can be a battle cry, or a physical release through sexual or athletic conquest. Mars adds intensity, energy, and drive to every other planet it tackles.

• Planets that brush up against Jupiter, the Greater Benefic, find that their energy is magnified. They become more visionary, more philosophical, and more influential.

• Saturn is the planet of structure, boundaries, and foundations. When Saturn bumps into another planet, it starts building fences and imposing order.

• Uranus’s impact is always unorthodox. Its contact with other planets invites innovation, revolution, and rebellion. It almost always disrupts or overturns the other planet’s usual outlook and methodology.

• Neptune, the nebulous planet of glamour and illusion, dissolves boundaries. Neptune can shift another planet’s viewpoint, and replace clarity of thought with a hazy view of reality.

• Pluto, the god of transformation, breaks other planets down. It destroys them so they can be remade and reborn, better than they were before.

Twenty Questions

1. Use planetary strengths and weaknesses to describe your characters’ strengths—and their tragic flaws.

2. Combine the strengths and weaknesses of two or three planets to create a character with built-in personality conflicts.

3. Write a character sketch based on two planets or two signs. Combine the fiery intensity of the Sun with the passion of Mars, for example, or the curiosity of Gemini with the mysticism of Neptune.

4. Traditionally, planets are either masculine or feminine. Use that association to write about a female planet as a male character, and vice versa.

5. Think about the symbolism of opposing planets, and stage a battle between good and evil—either internal or external. The battle could be waged in a character’s mind, or it could unfold in his interactions with others.

6. Pit two planets against each other, and record their interaction. They’ll probably argue—but how will they defend their positions?

7. When they’ve exhausted their arguments, write a scene in which they reconcile.

8. If the planets are more than platonic, turn their reconciliation into a romance. Send them out to dinner—or into bed. You can use aspects as indicators of attraction.

9. You could also use opposing planets as inspiration for a story about a love-hate relationship.

10. Write a scene in which your character doesn’t say a word, but communicates through movement and action, just as planets quietly move through their orbits.

11. Conjoined planets share the same position in a horoscope chart—which means, from our perspective, they share the same place in the sky. Write about two characters who are alike enough to be twins, but devise a scene in which they drive each other crazy.

12. Use the symbolism of the square to describe two characters who simply rub each other the wrong way.

13. Planets in sextile share the same polarity—either masculine or feminine. Write about a friendship between two men or two women.

14. The trine is an easygoing combination shared by planets of the same element. Write about two people who seem to click the moment they meet.

15. Alternately, force two characters who have nothing in common to spend an afternoon together.

16. Use the imagery of a sextile or a trine to write about a group of co-workers who meet to socialize after hours.

17. Write about your character’s relationship with his or her employer.

18. Play the party game “Two truths and a lie” with your planets. Get your characters to lie convincingly about themselves by mixing truths, believable half-truths, and outright falsehoods.

19. Planets are larger than life. Your characters can be, too. What mythical story has become interwoven with each character’s own experience? Look for links to legendary figures from literature and from life, based on their names and personal stories.

20. Try to visualize your characters based on their planetary characteristics. Draw them as you see them in your mind. Alternately, look for images in magazines, art books, or museum galleries.

Behind the Scenes:
The Seven Ages of Man

As you work to integrate the planets into the lives of your characters, consider how writers and philosophers have been linking the planets with the human lifespan for centuries. Shakespeare, for example, used the analogy in As You Like It:

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Shakespeare probably based his observations on the work of Claudius Ptolemy, whom we met in the last section. Ptolemy’s texts were widely studied in Shakespeare’s day.

Ptolemy described the seven ages of man, from birth to death, and linked them to the seven classical planets. Traditionally, those planets were listed by their speed: the Moon circles the zodiac in a month. Mercury takes 88 days. Venus completes the cycle in less than a year. From our perspective, the Sun moves through all twelve signs during the course of one year. Mars makes the trip in 2 years. Jupiter takes 12 years, and Saturn’s journey takes about 29 years.

• The infant. The Moon, like an infant, grows quickly.

• The schoolboy. Mercury is linked to the formative years and primary education, when children learn to think and communicate. Mercury’s influence isn’t limited to childhood, however. Wherever it lands in a chart, it adds a measure of childlike innocence, curiosity, and enthusiasm.

• The lover. As youngsters hit the hormonal rush of adolescence, they come in contact with Venus, the planet of love and attraction. While passions might subside with time, Venus is always a blushing beauty, wherever she lands in a chart. By the time most people are young adults, they come into their full power, like the Sun.

• The soldier. With Mars and middle age, we’re forced to reconcile our drives and desires with our responsibilities.

• The justice. As people approach retirement, they relax. Jupiter is the king of the gods, the founder of law and order, and the bringer of gifts. When the Greater Benefic delivers the benefits he has promised, people enjoy the fruits of their labor.

• The pantaloon—a comic character, and the victim of the clown. Saturn, the ringed planet of limitations and restrictions, forces everyone to slow down and prepare for final endings. Saturn is always a mixed blessing: he can make young people seem old before their time, but he can also ensure that they have the fortitude and endurance it takes to reach their dreams.

• The second childhood. The oldest among us tend to slip into senility, and consciousness passes away as all the planets fade from view.

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