Archive for January 2012
Christian Bale
The birthday boy for January 30 is Christian Bale.
Okay, I promise that this is going to be my last post where I refer to Aquarians as grouchy . . .
Anyway, if I believe that Aquarius individuals tend to get grouchier as the age, I wonder what’s going to happen to Christian Bale in a few more years? I shudder to think about it!
W. C. Fields
The birthday boy for January 29 is W. C. Fields.
Fields confirms almost everything I believe about the sign of Aquarius. In his youth, he became known as “The Eccentric Juggler.” I use the word “eccentric” in my book several times to describe the sort of Aquarius native who retains the unique, youthful character of this sign even as old age creeps up on them. Maintaining that eccentric quality, however, is a challenge for most water-bearers and they end up more like Fields’ onscreen persona than the quirky character he invented to break into vaudeville.
The W. C. Fields that everyone remembers is the old Aquarius grouch that I keep referencing on this blog. Experience weighs down the individuals that this sign influences, making them miserable old cranks unless they work continuously to shake the weight of the world off their shoulders. Fields’ biographers note that the actor’s persona was quite different from his real-life character when he was younger, but many claim that in old age he became the grouch that he portrayed in the movies.
That’s par for the course for the typical Aquarian. Defying the march of time might be the biggest challenge that anyone born under this sign will ever face.
Jackson Pollock
The birthday boy for January 28 is Jackson Pollock.
I maintain the belief of traditional astrologers that Aquarius is ruled by Saturn, not Uranus. I also maintain that Aquarius is the weakest position of the sun. For that reason, Aquarius natives are more likely to have less in common with their fellow Aquarians.
Still, there are plenty of individuals born under this sign that seem like Aquarians to me, and plenty who don’t. I’m sort of on the fence with Jackson Pollock. He was defiant and experimental in his youth, as anyone with his sun sign should be. Yet he died at the age of forty-four, not long after his paintings began to define a new era in popular culture. It makes me wonder what the next thirty or forty years of his life would have brought him had he lived to see the latter part of the twentieth century.
My guess is that he would have been changed by both his popularity and his wealth. Just as I claim that Aquarians are defiant and experimental in their youth, I also claim that they’re often conservative cranks in their golden years. The symbol of the water-bearer that defines the sign illustrates the weight of existence breaking them down. Perhaps that’s what happened to Pollock in his forties, anyway. I guess we’ll never know.
Alan Cumming
The birthday boy for January 27 is Alan Cumming.
I use the word “unconventional” to describe the best-dressed Aquarius celebrites. While I believe that the word “conventional” more-accurately describes the average Aquarius individual, I implore Aquarians to embrace a style that draws attention to them, and I praise those who do. Attention, however, can be a double-edged sword. Aquarians do enjoy basking in the limelight when the publicity they’re receiving is positive. For that reason, they tend to adopt a red carpet style that is simultaneously attention-getting yet palatable to the public-at-large.
There are many exceptions to that rule, though. Alan Cumming often receives terrible press for his wardrobe choices. Nevertheless, I’m a big fan of his unique sense of style. Most Aquarius men in their forties have given up on fashion; this is a sign that grows more conservative with age. Cumming, on the other hand, hasn’t given in to the pressure to conform that eventually catches up to the average middle-aged Aquarian. The quirkiness and defiance of social conventions that defines an Aquarius native in his youth is still evident in everything the actor wears today.
I hope that he keeps up the good work. It’s nice to see a man in show business with such a unique signature style. He’s an inspiration to Aquarians everywhere — especially the old ones.
Paul Newman
The birthday boy for January 26 is Paul Newman.
Aquarians are supposed to be interested in the greater good. No celebrities have proved that point quite like Paul Newman. As the co-founder of Newman’s Own salad dressing, the company donated all post-tax proceeds from the company to charity. To date, the amount raised exceeds $300 million.
I just clicked around the web for a moment to see if any other Hollywood celebrities come close to Newman’s generosity. I couldn’t find any. It didn’t surprise me, though. I suspect that Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres will probably give away all their money at some point, so I guess I can see them following their fellow Aquarian’s example. Unfortunately, I see a lot of other celebrities leaving legacies to their ungrateful, spoiled children.
C’est la vie!
Corazon Aquino
The birthday girl for January 25 is Corazon Aquino.
As the leader of the People’s Power Revolution in the Philippines, Aquino demonstrated what is probably the most virtuous quality of her sun sign: the ability to bring people together. This sort of behavior comes naturally to Aquarius natives. They thrive on group dynamics and are generally at their best when functioning as part of a “greater good.” In 1986, she was named “Time” magazine’s “Woman of the Year“ and she is widely regarded as an icon of democracy.
Aquino even dressed for the “greater good,” adopting the color yellow as her signature color to acknowledge the revolution that brought her to power, according to this passage from answers.com:
In August 1983 when Cory Aquino’s husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, was returning home from the United States to the Philippines, yellow ribbons were tied by the allies of Ninoy in Metro Manila as a sign that they still believed in him as their leader to oppose then President Ferdinand Marcos. This sign was taken from the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree” where the guy requested the girl to tie a yellow ribbon in the oak tree to indicate that he was still welcome or loved by the girl.
I can’t think of another world leader who had a signature color except for a few dictators. It fascinates me mostly because I don’t believe that most people would allow someone else to pick their signature color for them. An Aquarian, on the other hand . . .
Mary Lou Retton
The birthday girl for January 24 is Mary Lou Retton.
Its so easy for an Aquarius to step into the role of “America’s Sweetheart.” Like Jennifer Aniston, Ellen Degeneres or Oprah Winfrey, these women feed off of the public’s affection. Mary Lou Retton was no different at the height of her career. As a result, she never felt the need to break free from the public persona she had created. Whether or not that was much different from the private Mary Lou Retton is moot. With conservative Saturn as a ruling planet (in traditional astrology, anyway), it’s quite unlikely that an Aquarius individual would deviate from the behavior that has brought them the most success.
Doutzen Kroes
The birthday girl for January 23 is Doutzen Kroes.
I have some controversial opinions about the sign of Aquarius — many of which I developed after I wrote my book. I believe that Aquarians are innately conventional and must constantly work at becoming distinct. Being distinct, however, simply means being accepted for many Aquarius natives. They need to be liked, and if they’re liked for being who they are, they rarely feel the need to do anything but be themselves.
For that reason, I believe that some of the most boring celebrties alive are Aquarians. Take Jennifer Aniston, for example. Zzzz . . .
Doutzen Kroes fits into the same category. She’s probably the most conventionally beautiful supermodel in the world. While many of modeling’s biggest earners shy away from being pigeonholed, Kroes has successfully embraced her persona as the prettiest girl in the world. Why should she try to be anything else while the money is rolling in?
If I was her, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Michael Hutchence
The birthday boy for January 22 is Michael Hutchence.
As an astrologer, I have to resist the urge to paint everyone with the same brush even though that’s the point of sun-sign astrology: I’m trying to find similarities between people who share similar planetary placements. Nevertheless, I can’t resist pointing out how many famous people with substance-abuse issues were born on January 22. Just scroll through the list of birthdays on Wikipedia if you don’t believe me.
I really don’t even want to say any more about this. It’s kind of creepy and terribly sad.
Jeff Koons
The birthday boy for January 21 is Jeff Koons.
I adore Jeff Koons, even though his work can be quite controversial. Wikipedia notes “Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings in his works, nor any critiques.” I don’t see cynicism in his work, either. I don’t believe that Aquarius natives are innately cynical in their youth. As they age, however, cynicism does creep into almost everything they do.
Last year at this time I posted this diatribe about Aquarius that defines my beliefs about the most misundertood sign of the zodiac. If Koons follows the typical career trajectory of most Aquarians, I believe that he will become more cynical in the future. Fortunately, he’s got piles of money, and that will probably keep him from becoming a cranky, old Aquarius grouch in his golden years.
Good for him!
