Category: Art and Artists

Will ‘The Sandman’ return? Horary Astrology investigates…

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Film and television adaptations of much-beloved books and graphic novels are often risky: It often proves tricky to meet the high expectations of an audience who have already taken the characters to their hearts. The last installment of The Sandman; the adventures of Morpheus, Lord of the Dream World, was published in 1996 but author Neil Gaiman has waited over a decade to give his stamp of approval to a new adaptation for Netflix which began filming in 2020.  

With the Netflix series co-created by Gaiman himself, and (in this astrologer’s opinion) perfect casting, The Sandman has achieved the near-impossible task of pleasing audience and critics alike. But the prohibitive production costs necessary to bring the author’s vision to the screen has cast a shadow of doubt over prospects for a second series.  

Horary astrology offers insight into all manner of questions, so I asked, “Will ‘The Sandman’ return for a second series?”.

This is what the chart (cast for the time and place the question was asked) had to say… 

There are many points worthy of note in this chart: The Ascending degree (11 Scorpio 34) corresponds closely to the placement of Mercury (significator of writers and writing) at author Neil Gaiman’s birth: The work carries his signature of approval, so to speak.  

The Moon, Lord of the 9th house of dreams, is on the Ascendant and is in Scorpio, sign of magic, mystery and the supernatural – all key themes in the books and the series.  

Venus, the planet which rules art and artists is in a powerful position at the top of the chart, applying to the cusp of the 10th house. In horary astrology, 10th house represents victory and success, so here the placement of Venus reflects both the critical acclaim the series has attracted, and its ability to capture (and recapture) the #1 spot in the Netflix rankings.  

All above points confirm the chart accurately describes the matter asked about, but for the answer to our question we need to look elsewhere. 

All creative works, especially the performing arts, are ruled by the 5th house: To discover the fate of the series, we must look at the planet which rules the 5th house and what is happening to it.  

Pisces is on the cusp of the 5th house, a zodiac sign traditionally ruled by Jupiter (although modern astrology, if not horary astrology, allows Neptune as co-ruler). Jupiter is at 06 Aries 49 and retrograde.  

Planets are retrograde when they appear to be moving backwards in the sky. In horary astrology, this can be good or bad, depending on the context of the question. Here, where we are asking about a series coming back to our screens, it is exactly what we hope to see: The Sandman will return for a second series.  

Chart cast with AstroGold for Mobile

Astrology by LouiseOfArabia

Recommended Reading

The Sandman novels by Neil Gaiman

The Horary Textbook by John Frawley

Christian Astrology by William Lilly

The Spirit Animals of Freda Kahlo

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This Saturday, as the Sun transits her natal Venus, one of the world’s most iconic artists will again find herself in the spotlight when the V&A in London hosts an exhibition of the wardrobe and belongings of artist Frida Kahlo, many items of which have been locked away from public view for over 50 years.

Venus rules beauty in all forms, so it is appropriate that the exhibition will not only reference Kahlo’s paintings but also feature her clothing, jewellery and even items of makeup.

The Midheaven and 10th house give clues to the extent and form of our fame and public image. Frida Kahlo’s Midheaven at 23 Taurus 20 is ruled by Venus in the sign of the twins, appropriate for an artist with two dates of birth: A passionate political activist, she was born in 1907 but gave her year of birth as 1910, the year of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

In keeping with the communicative nature of Gemini, Frida’s paintings were a means to tell her own story; “They thought I was a Surrealist but I wasn’t. I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”

The dual nature of Venus in Gemini is present in her paintings and in her self-image. She refused to conform to traditional stereotypes and her self-portraits display the many facets of her complex personality. In some the artist is in traditional Mexican costume, in others clothed in the European fashion. Most striking are those in which the she appears as a boy, sporting the three-piece suit she famously wore for a family photo.

The duality of Venus in Gemini was also present in her romantic life. In the words of Dusty Springfield, she was ‘as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy’ and even while married to fellow artist Diego Riviera, had affairs with some of the most glamorous women of the age, including (it is said) the beautiful dancer, activist and agent of the French Resistance Josephine Baker.

Frida was fascinated with Mexico’s pre-Columbian cultures. Many of her paintings contain iconography related to Aztec beliefs and mythology. She and her husband even built a model of an Aztec temple in courtyard of their home (the ‘Blue House’ in Coyoacán) which can still be visited today. Many of the animals which appear in her self-portraits reference the Aztec and Mayan belief in the ‘nahual’; a spirit animal companion very similar to the concept of the daemon (a person’s ‘inner-self’ in animal form) which will be familiar to readers of Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ books. Unsurprisingly, the animal companions which appear in Frida’s paintings are all Geminian in nature; agile monkeys, talkative parrots, variegated butterflies and hummingbirds which were her constant companions, both in art and in life.

Natal chart of Frida Kahlo by Astrogold for Mobile 6 July 1907 from Astrodatabank (Rodden Rating AA)

Picture credits: 'Self portrait with Monkey' 1940 and 'Me and My Parrots' 1941 both by Frida Kahlo 

Astrology by Louise Of Arabia www.louiseofarabia.com