Studies in Astrology
by
Elman Bacher
Volume VII
Chapter VI
Shakespearean Star Portraits
From the resources of his imagination and
knowledge, the playwright chooses those elements of the spectrum of human
personality and experience, which are appropriate to his concept of a theme,
and he organizes those elements into a dramatic form which is to be
interpreted by actors, actresses, and all others who function in the theater.
All forms of art are distilled representations of human consciousness; works
of art, like mirrors, reflect to humanity intensified representations of
itself and its experiences. The playwright deals with human consciousness,
emotion, and experience in terms of humanity's objective expressions; dramatic
themes are presented and interpreted by humans in terms of objectively
recognizable patterns of appearance, personality, activity, and relationship.
Actors and actresses in performance are symbolic microcosms of humanity's own
self--each role performed by an actor or actress is symbolic of a fragment of
humanity's consciousness of identity and existence on this plane.
Therefore, in the creations of a true genius such
as William Shakespeare was (or whoever it may have been who wrote under that
name !) a protean quality of artistic skill and understanding made possible
the dramatic characterizations which reflect the human archetype, localized by
name, sex, period and nationality but which really symbolize universal
patterns of human nature and experience. Sooner or later, we all come face to
face with the Hamlet, the Cordelia, the Othello, the Lady Macbeth, the Romeo,
and the Juliet in ourselves. We weep or laugh by response to these--and
other--characterizations because something in our deep subconscious knowledge
of ourselves is stimulated when we see great acting which interprets the
creative imaginings of a genius play-wright. Our own existence--past or
present--is reviewed to a degree. Old, long-forgotten feeling-memories of
suffering and joy are ignited. Our awareness (consciousness of individualized
self-hood in many incarnations) is reawakened, and what we see on the stage is
ourselves, condensed and focussed by the dramatic requirements of the theme
being interpreted. We are man-woman, all professions, all nationalities, all
relationships, all strivings, all failures, all joys, and all sufferings. The
playwright, through the esthetic principles inherent in creative dramatic art,
and the players, through the esthetic principles inherent in interpretative
drama the art recharge our consciousness of our total being, our total
identity as individuals, and our total relationship to all other individuals.
Students of astrology: prepare a copy of the
Great Astrological Mandala, a twelve-housed circle with Aries Ascendant, the
other signs in sequence--thirty degrees to each house; Sun, Moon, and other
planets in the signs and houses of their dignity. Meditate on this mandala a
little as the symbolic composite portrait of humanity. It is from this design
and symbol arrangement that all human horoscopes are derived and it represents
the total of that which is interpreted, creatively or otherwise, in all of the
fine arts. It is the picture of humanity's consciousness of its identities
and experiences. Now, to specialize on dramatic art, "personalize" the Sun,
Moon, and planets as characters in the Drama of Human Life; let your mind
range over the scope of these "personalities" by imagining each planet
(vibratory focalizer) in each one of the zodiacal signs, each one of the
environmental houses, each aspected (by conjunction, sextile, trine, square,
and opposition) to every other one. Add the factors of both sexes, all ages,
all nationalities, all historical periods and you will glimpse the tremendous
spectrum of that which is "grist" for the playwright's mill. You and I are in
this picture--as we are, as we have been, and as we will be as long as our
identity is "human being." You are now playing the role that your
consciousness of life has created. Humans, in their Earth-living, are both
playwrights and performers--each uses his consciousness to interpret life.
The Art of Theater, more directly than does any
other art-form, makes possible the stimulus in human hearts to tears and
laughter. Weeping and laughing are two of the ways by which life makes it
possible for us to decrystallize the solar plexal tensions and congestions.
In response to the contrived agonies, sufferings, longings, and despairs in
dramatic tragedy, we are moved to weep in memory of our own agonies and
sufferings. In response to buffoon-ery, satire, and caricature, our
intellects are "tickled"in such ways that we are moved to shake loose in
laughter in witnessing the reflections of our absurdities, awkwardnesses and
embarrassments. In witnessing romantic drama (of the happy ending kind) we
thrill to intense emotions, deep love, aspirations, efforts, and the
realization of ideals. The occult purpose of tragic drama is to induce the
feelings of sympathy for other humans--not the intensification of self pity.
That of comedy and satire is to decrystallize congestions on pomposity self-
righteousness, hypocrisy, and over-seriousness--to "shake us down from our
high horses." Romantic drama has its inner purpose in intensifying our
awareness of the "tone, color, and design" of our living--to spark awareness
of greater capacities for love, devotion, effort, and aspiration. The "happy
ending" of romantic plays is dramatized symbolism of the aspiration of all
humans to realize ideals and evolve through regeneration and transmutation.
The "happy ending" reminds us of the goodness of life.
The poetry and nobility of Shakespearean
dramaturgy holds up an immense mirror in which humanity may see itself. Let
us enjoy a consideration of some of the Shakespearean characterizations as
they represent "focalized points" of human nature and human-experience
patterns correlated with basic, simple astrological symbolism:
ROMEO AND JULIET: from a reincarnationists
standpoint, this drama would have been much more truly tragic in tone and
effect if the two "star-crossed lovers" had permitted crystallized adherence
into family-prejudice to prevent or disintegrate their love-union. The "Romeo
and Juliet" in each human is that which longs for the total polarization
called the Hermetic Marriage; but this "inner union of the self with the Self
" can be realized only by fulfillment of relationship unions and patterns
through love: The "houses of Montague and Capulet" are the "graven images" of
family prejudice and social position which are represented astrologically by
the diameter Cancer-Capricorn and congested aspects to Moon and Saturn. We
all derive our incarnation from a family pattern to which we are attracted by
the laws of vibratory sympathy and karma. However, each must, in due time,
decrystallize congestions of this pattern, from octave to octave, by more
purely individualized love-expression. Romeo "o'er leapt the walls" to be
with his Juliet; this "o'er leaping" is Uranus decrystallizing or transcending
the boundaries set by Saturn, symbol of "congestion of forms." Personalizing
a little--Romeo and Juliet were timed, evolutionarily speaking, to prove the
power of their love for each other; their challenge was through the enmity,
rivalry, and prejudice of their family groups. Though they died, their
tragedy was ameliorated by their devotion to each other--rather than, in fear,
to the "family-image." We all, at one time or another, have an incarnation in
which we have opportunity to prove the sincerity of our heart's highest
aspirations and ideals. To do this, we have to use the powers represented
abstractly by the diameter Leo-Aquarius to transcend the fixations on Cancer-
Capricorn. To remain fixated on Cancer-Capricorn is to back-track on the
evolutionary powers working for liberation and progress. The luminous poetry
of the Balcony Scene represents the radiant purity of resumption of true
love; Romeo and Juliet loved each other from a past incarnation just as we
love our ideal self through all of our incarnations. The inspirational beauty
of the play--as poetry--typifies the inner radiance that accompanies
recognition of our ideals.
KING LEAR: This drama is the tragedy of judgment
corrupted by greed for approbation--doubly tragic because when the truth is
perceived, the inner negatives are too deeply etched to be counteracted by
constructive or regenerative effort. The realization of the hypocrisy and
dishonor of the two oldest daughters, whom he had over-valuated, and the
sincerity and fidelity of Cordelia, whom he had underestimated and spurned,
caused Lear to react with such an excess of self-revulsion that madness
ensued. Astrologically, it seemed that Lear is a portrait of "Jupiter
afflicted." He based his favorable estimate of the oldest daughters on their
protestations of devotion and affection--indicative that an insincerity in his
own nature was counterparted by their falseness. Their greed for land and
money and husbands of high position was counterparted by his greed for
approbation. We can--we do--weep in witnessing the heartbreaking tragedy of
the demented lying in his excess of self-loathing because we, too, have been
moved by desire and greed to claim the false and spurn the true. The
realization of such misdirected evaluation causes one of the most terrific
kinds of disillusionment, the kind that can disintigrate our self-control if
we are unable to learn from the disillusioning experience. Lear worshipped
the false image of himself, synchronized in degree with the falseness of his
two daughters. Because we can be Lear, it behooves us to exercise counter-
actives to negative Jupiter-patterns by discrimination, sincerity, and
detachment from subconscious creed-symbols and compensations. Cordelia
personifies sincerity of self-evaluation--the quite-knowing what is true and
real. When we spurn Cordelia, we enslave ourselves to false, betraying
images; when we love and value Cordelia, we refuse the false and cling to the
pure and true.
OTHELLO: This dramatic study of the
destructiveness of jealousy warrants a little psychological consideration. We
are never--in any true sense of the word--jealous of another person. Jealousy
is self-hatred based on an actual or imagined inferiority which, in turn, is
based on some phase of unfulfillment of a potential, or some discolored facet
of self-evaluation. Othello, if we personalize him a little, may have felt
inferiority because of his black skin, particularly in relationship to his
white wife, Desdemona, who truly loved him. Iago symbolizes the craftiness
and duplicity of self-justification--the disinclination to exercise self-
honesty. Othello's murder of Desdemona symbolizes the "murder in
consciousness" that we commit when, goaded by intense negative
rationalizations and justifications, we "murder" true self-evaluation. By
exercise of these negative rationalizations, we ascribe truth to an untruth,
and our feet walk a tangling path until we fall. The qualities of nobility
that Desdemona loved in Othello represent those virtues in human beings which
inspire love and honor; but Othello, blinded by the inner negative, could not
realize and value the truth of himself. Iago, symbol of Othello's enmity
within himself, emphasized the untruth--representing Desdemona as having been
unfaithful. Othello, under pressure of the psychological negative, preferred
to believe the lie. Goaded beyond endurance by the inner pressure, he
murdered the thing he loved most--the truth of his marriage to Desdemona.
Mars as co-ruler of Scorpio, is the destructive--killing action by which we
express our releasements of intensely compressed Scorpionic negatives--the
levels and areas of untransmuted desires and emotional powers. The salvation
of Mars is transmutation by constructive, intelligent expression in action.
Othello betrayed himself twice: by giving ear to Iago's suggestion, and then
putting into action that which represented his desire to "kill out" what Iago
influenced him to believe. A nobleman, worthy of love and honor, had thrown
away all, by focus on his unreal self rather than on his Reality. We "kill"
when we put into action our belief in an untruth about ourselves. A truly
tragic theme.
CLEOPATRA: The death of Cleopatra by suicide does
not in any way neutralize the power of the play Antony and Cleopatra as
an example of high romantic drama. Cleopatra, as a, woman-character,
symbolizes the combination of Sun and Venus elements in human nature.
According to historical and Shakespearean representation, she was
magnificently endowed with attributes of physical beauty and charm,
intelligence, culture, and skill--a woman so conscious of inner powers that
she lived always in terms of amplitude.
She had enormous wealth--and used it without stint. She had great capacity
for love--and gave herself to love royally and completely. Whatever her short-
comings may have been, there was nothing in her nature that was mean, petty,
sordid, or vulgar. A great actress--such as Katherine Cornell--would project
these qualities of character and personality in such a way that the audience
would experience a recharging of its desire and aspiration to "live bigly"--in
terms of power, wealth, beauty, culture, intelligence, and skill rather than
continuing to live under the ignominy of capture and degradation, Cleopatra
chose to end her life by her own hand; thus symbolizing THAT in human nature
which wants to learn to live in terms of dignity and self-respect. Some of us
crawl from time to time, through fear or feelings of inferiority; but we do
not like ourselves for it and sooner or later we rebel against the inner
negative. The "Cleopatra in us" symbolizes our disdain of the petty and mean;
"she" is that in us which makes us long for vivid experience, met and
fulfilled with courage and confidence in our abilities. We all have talents,
ambitions, aspirations, and longings; the vibration of the Sun--as ruler of
the royal sign Leo--is that which we use as the power of self-determination
uncluttered by the down-draggings of "littleness feelings and thoughts."
BEATRICE AND BENEDICT: Much Ado About
Nothing is one of the most delightful and delicious of comedies. It
presents in a sprightly and sparkling way the "old story of the battle of the
sexes"--source of much that has been presented throughout the ages in comic
drama. The posturings, tricks, and devices which men and women display in
relationship with each other are represented by the counter-clockwise turning
of horizontal diameter--Aries-Libra of the Great Mandala. These two signs
represent the polarization of the expressive individuality of humanity--as
"male" and "female." Each of the two signs of this diameter symbolizes facets
of personality which are peculiar to maleness and femaleness, but together
they form one diameter; they appear to be "different" but each counterparts
the other. Cosmic drama, in relationship to this subject, makes it possible
for us to come into a more healthy appreciation of our subjective polarity
through laughter. Humans are innately bi-polar--we have all had much
experience in the sex opposite to that in which we now express. When we
recognize that "opposite sex" is simply our "subjective self " we can enjoy
and appreciate our "hidden selves" as we are portrayed on the comic stage. In
laughter we relax subconscious feelings of tension and when we guffaw, roar,
and shriek at the antics of comedy actors and actresses who are interpreting
the--sometimes--ridiculous interplay of men and women in relationship to each
other, we refreshen our viewpoint toward human polarity. Beatrice and
Benedict are the protagonists of Humanity destined to fall in love and have
experience together--regardless of silly prejudices, false self-esteem, and
"images of disinclination." Life works continually to incline us toward each
other for our mutual development and fulfillment of potentials symbolized by
Aries-Libra. Benedict is Mars who sees the charm and lovableness of Venus in
Beatrice; Beatrice is Venus who needs the "kiss of Mars" to awaken her to a
clear realization of her value as a woman. There is a little of Benedict and
Beatrice in each one of us--we may spat and quarrel for a time but sooner or
later Benedict-Mars and Beatrice-Venus bring the play--of our relationship
experience--to a happy end by their union.