Archive for September 2010
Deborah Kerr
Associating a classic Hollywood actress with an iconic film role is one of my favorite ways to illustrate the qualities of a specific sun sign. In the case of Libra, there are a few roles that come to mind when I think of the sign. Deborah Kerr in “The King and I” is one of those iconic roles.
Kerr was an exceptionally disciplined, well-rehearsed actress who became known for possessing innate beauty, grace and elegance. All of those qualities can be associated with Libra. While the sign may be symbolized by an image of a balance, the word “poise” describes the sign much more accurately than the word “balance.” “Poise” also reflects the physical aspects that the sun endows upon individuals born under this sign. It’s not just an aspect of their temperament, but a tangible quality that makes many Libra natives stand out in a crowd — quite literally, in fact. When you’ve got Deborah Kerr’s comportment, people notice you amongst all the knuckle-draggers.
Madeline Kahn
I was taken aback when I went looking for a photo of today’s birthday girl, Madeline Kahn. As I looked through dozens of images of her, I realized just how lovely she was and how well her face took a lot of makeup.
My last couple of posts have had to do with teen queens who just happen to be born when the sun was in Libra. I may have chastised them for plastering on the spackle and the paint at such a young age. Yet this is a sign that I encourage to go all out when it comes to cosmetics and upkeep. Madeline Kahn looked like a million bucks even when she was trying to look like a clown. I guess she just had the face to do it. Now that’s a Libran for you!
Hilary Duff
Even in her “Lizzie McGuire” days, Hilary Duff never left the house without a face full of makeup. I found it a little alarming that today’s birthday girl was always so done up. She was a kid, after all, and I thought that she was setting a bad example for other kids.
I still think that. I don’t believe that the tweens who watch Duff or Miley Cyrus — or any other Disney princess du jour — should be idolizing girls whose personal upkeep rivals the hags on any one of the “Real Housewives” shows. On the other hand, I constantly call Libra the “high-maintenance” sign and implore Libra individuals to not let themselves go.
I guess I can’t have it both ways. If a Libra girl wants to look like a trophy wife when she’s fifteen, maybe that’s her destiny — and you can’t fight your destiny, after all.
Avril Lavigne
I don’t believe that today’s birthday girl, Avril Lavigne, has a personal style that reflects her sun sign. However, I do believe that certain elements of her style mirror the Libra aesthetic.
First of all, Libra is the high-maintenance sign, and Lavigne’s look is high-maintenance. For someone who was selling millions of records as a teenager, Lavigne’s approach to makeup application seemed a little heavy-handed to me. Yet this is the sign I associate with being “put together,” so I expect no less.
Lavigne also wears her hair long, and usually she wears it poker straight. That style suits Libra women well, just as long as the hair is kept clean and under control. Again, there’s a high-maintenance polish to this sign. I don’t expect to see a Libra woman with greasy, unkempt hair or flyaway, unstyled hair tied back in a ponytail.
I suppose that the maturity I associate with this sign is something that Lavigne will grow into. In fact, her wardrobe choices have become increasingly more sophisticated as she’s grown up in the public eye. It won’t be long until she gives up on the teenybopper crap altogether. When that happens, I expect to see her making the best-dressed lists in signature Libra style. Most of the elements are already there, so it’s only a matter of time.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams & Anna Wintour
Today’s birthday girl, tennis star Serena Williams, has a much better record on the courts than she does on the red carpet. The girl obviously adores fashion, however, her problem is that she can want to be a bit too girly.
Signature Libra style is relatively mature when compared to many other signs. Most Libra style icons don’t really come into their own until they’re in their thirties or forties. At twenty-nine, Williams is dressing better than she ever has before. By the time she’s thirty-five, I expect her to be one of those red carpet regulars who always gets it right. It’s in her stars to be put together.
Pink
Just today I realized that I didn’t actually publish the post I wrote for September 8th’s birthday girl, Pink. I accidentally saved the draft, leaving it lingering in cyberspace until now.
Every now and then a celebrity comes along that doesn’t do a thing to help me perpetuate my theories regarding sun sign astrology and fashion. Pink is one of those celebrities.
Nothing about this pop star screams “Virgo” at first glance. For that reason, I looked up her natal chart. I don’t have a birth time to really put things into perspective, but I did notice one thing that was rather alarming. Not only is she a Virgo, but she has a Virgo stellium in her chart including the sun, Mercury, Venus and Saturn.
However, there was one other factor that I noticed right away. Her moon is in Aries. If Aries was her first house, or if the moon was sitting atop her midheaven, I could see that factor overruling this Virgo stellium in many respects. The moon sticks out like a sore thumb on her chart, and it could be responsible for her fiery behavior and sometimes juvenile persona. The moon in Aries doesn’t do a lot to make a person act like a grown-up.
I like Pink a lot. She’s just one of those people who doesn’t contribute anything to my discipline. Oh well — I can’t win ’em all!
Jodie Kidd
When today’s birthday girl, model Jodie Kidd, first started out in the business, she was a kid. Criticism of her body type was rampant in her early career, although Kidd herself claims that she was never anorexic. Over 6′ tall and barely over 100 lbs, she was just a scrawny teenager in the middle of a ridiculously quick growth spurt.
It does happen, but it doesn’t often result in a modeling career. Being a Libra, however, Kidd carried her lithe body with the grace and elegance associated with her sun sign. In fact, a few years and several pounds later, Kidd still has grace and elegance. Appearing on “Strictly Come Dancing,” the British version of “Dancing with the Stars,” Kidd impressed the judges week after week by being able to dance in heels — no small feat for a woman of Kidd’s height.
Of course, Libra is the sign associated with balance, too. There are probably a lot of things that Jodie Kidd could do in heels that would have many other women crashing to the ground.
Linda McCartney
I do associate a certain amount of polish and refinement to the Libra aesthetic. However, I also find that the hairstyle that suits Libra style the most is a long and straight look that is favored by hippie-types.
September 24th’s birthday girl is Linda McCartney. Except for when she had short hair due to her treatment for Cancer, McCartney mostly wore her hair long and straight throughout her life. Unfortunately, that late-60s/early-70s style that suited her so well was terribly unfashionable in the 80s. So what did she do? She cut the top short in a mullet-like style. It really didn’t flatter her face nearly as well as an even-length cut.
I’m one of those guys who regularly encourages women to cut their hair short if they don’t want to spend a lot of time on styling or upkeep. Nothing bugs me like hair constantly tied back in a ponytail. But for most Libra women, I encourage a longer hairstyle and the discipline that it takes to maintain that ‘do. It just suits the sign.
Toni Basil
Today is one of those tricky days where I have to view the natal chart of the celebrity I choose to profile because the sun typically moves into Libra on September 22 in North and South America, but usually it’s in Virgo until September 23 on the other continents because of the way we measure time. I decided to take a look at the natal chart of singer/dancer/choreographer Toni Basil just to see if she was a Virgo or a Libra. While I did discover that her sun is in Virgo, I also discovered that she has an extremely tight “bundle” in her natal chart. That’s when all the planets occupy a space close to 120°, leaving a vast void in the other 240° of the chart.
Generally, a bundle points to one sign that exerts a profound influence on the subject’s chart. In Toni Basil’s case, however, it’s the edges of the bundle that intrigue me. She’s got more action in the air signs that flank this planetary configuration than in the middle. Gemini and Libra seem to be highlighted by the planets that occupy them.
For that reason, I’m going to surmise that Basil is a lot less like a Virgo and a lot more like a Libra. She’s shown her critical acumen as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” but I suppose her talent really lies in the more conceptual aspects of her career, including her choreography. In that respect, I can see the airy influence of her tightly-bundled natal chart.
Based upon her wardrobe, I never would have pegged her as a Virgo in the first place. With her chart in front of me, I can see why.
Parvati Shallow
Today’s birthday girl is three-time “Survivor” contestant Parvati Shallow.
Yesterday I mentioned that Parvati is my favorite “Survivor” contestant of all time. It didn’t start out that way. In her first season, I found her flirting strategy to be a little annoying. During her second season, however, she won me over with her combination of earthiness and cunning. By her third season, no one on the island played a more intriguing game. You could virtually see the wheels turning in her head every time she had a conversation with a fellow castaway.
I usually don’t root for the dummies, and Parvati was anything but dumb. Virgo individuals should take pride in their ability to analyze a situation and act accordingly. Yet they learn on their feet. Parvati may have been a little green in her first season of the show, but by her third season she knew exactly what she had to do to get to the finale. She may have lost in the end, but that had less to do with her gameplay and more to do with the bitterness of her castmates. It can be tough to admit that you’ve been had, and Parvati had everyone on that island.
Cosmically Chic 