The simmering sense of unease in the world at large at the moment can partly be ascribed to the neurotic combination of Saturn Neptune criss-crossing over the Fixed star Scheat, known for misfortune and bad judgement; but also to Uranus sitting on the midpoint of Neptune and Pluto which tends to bring hyper-sensitive nerves and sometimes supernatural experiences.
It is timely therefore that a supernatural classic in Frankenstein has hit the cinemas and soon Netflix. Probably one of the best known works of English literature, it was written by young Mary Shelley as she travelled through Germany with her lover Percy Shelley and Lord Byron stopping near Frankenstein Castle, where a century earlier, an alchemist had conducted experiments. When she was 19, the travelling party had a competition to see who would write the best horror story. Neptune in Sagittarius was then square Pluto in Pisces infusing the atmosphere with magical, paranormal vibes. Tr Uranus in Sagittarius was rapidly catching up to produce much the same atmosphere as now.
Frankenstein is a large and grotesque humanoid creature, produced by an alchemist from human spare parts, who terrorises his inventor and escapes. He is associated with Prometheus, the mythological god, who brought the secret of fire to mankind and facilitated civilization and knowledge of science. Though Frankenstein in the novel leaves a trail of havoc behind him.
Mary Shelley’s novel published in 1818 when she was 20 was ‘infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture, spawning a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.’
She was born 30 August 1797 11.20pm London with an anarchist philosopher father, and her mother dying at her birth. Her 4th house Virgo Sun sat midway between an adventurous and explosive Mars and Uranus, with Mercury also in writerly Virgo. Her Mars and Sun were also opposition Pluto on her Midheaven – so she would be attracted to dark, dangerous topics. Her Venus in Libra was square her Neptune/Pluto midpoint giving her a love of the supernatural.
When Frankenstein was published on 1 January 1818, anonymously at the start , Uranus Neptune Venus and Jupiter in Sagittarius were square Pluto giving it wings. At that point tr Pluto was moving through her 10th house giving her influence and Neptune through her 6th house of work. Tr Jupiter through her 5th would boost her confidence.
Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican filmmaker and writer/producer, with a love for fairy tales, gothicism and horror, known for pioneering dark fantasy in films, and auteur of this version, says he wanted a version of Frankenstein in which the creature had “a Miltonian quality, like Satan in Paradise Lost, of having the nerve to question his creator.”
Born 9 October 1964, Mexico, he is a Sun Libra but with three Virgo planets to match Mary Shelley’s and probably a Sagittarius Moon like her. His Sun tellingly sits midway between Neptune and Pluto on the midpoint which would attract him to the supernatural. His Saturn in Aquarius is also conjunct Mary Shelley’s Pluto Midheaven – so he could be the one to add gravitas to a creation which has been debased in popular culture.
Reading through Mary Shelley’s wiki entry, she has three children die early by the time she was twenty with only one surviving to adulthood out of five pregnancies. Percy Shelley died in a violent lake storm when she was 23, a month after she had a severe miscarriage. She died of a brain tumour aged 53.
Those were not days for the fainthearted and it would also reflect her afflicted Mars Pluto Uranus.
The post Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – a Neptune Pluto epic first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
