As Astro-Director of the film making
process, Saturn corrals the energies of the entire collaborative universe of
Film and shapes them into a coherent form that serves the artistic, technical,
storytelling and business needs of the medium.
Saturn
rules the structural issues in film making, but we shouldn’t overlook the
importance of Neptune in this art form. Saturn and Neptune don’t really like
each other, but they need to hold their proverbial noses and agree to
collaborate before creative work such as films can take shape.
For
instance, film making styles often vary around the issue of structure, with a
continuum of styles that range from tight, Saturnian order (rigid linear
chronology, exacting use of the Classical Paradigm structure) to extreme
Neptunian fluidity (playing around with temporal frameworks to create an
interplay between past, present and future actions).
In
the case of the Star Wars saga (now
7-episodes), creator George Lucas rolled the series out over four decades by using
very creative temporal engineering, with sequels and prequels filling in
narrative gaps and moving the epic tale along. Importantly, this Saturn-Neptune
fluidity always allowed Lucas to plan for the next thing, past or future. More on Lucas and the Star Wars franchise to come in a future
post (see my “prequel” post on October 29th)!
Even
on the Neptunian extreme of the structure continuum, however, Saturn’s initial
framework and planning are essential. The films of director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, etc., and
in January, The Hateful 8) are good
examples of this: his films are notable not just
for their controversy (he’s in the news again today), but their non-linear
timelines. In these cases viewers use their “internal” Saturn to mentally
construct the story’s beginning, middle and end, and to literally piece
together what happened. This makes for a very active viewing experience.
Interestingly,
Saturn and Neptune are square in Tarantino’s natal chart (no time available, so noon chart, below),
which speaks to his unorthodox approach to film making, as well as his fluid temporal
“engineering” abilities. Tarantino’s Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo—with Uranus
opposite and in mutual reception with Venus in Aquarius—speaks to both his
technical virtuosity and his highly-charged, controversial film themes.
With transiting Saturn and Neptune within orb of their Sagittarius-Pisces square at
this time, and the Uranus-Pluto cycle Tarantino was born into still in its square,
Aries-Capricorn phase, the recent controversy over his “anti-cop” comments
in the media are not surpising. A long list of boycott pledges has amassed for his new film, The Hateful 8, two months before its January
8th release. The noon chart for this release reveals a lot, including the volatile reception the film is
likely to receive (see below):
The
media website imdb.com has posted the following plot
summary for Tarantino's film: “In post-Civil War
Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved
in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?” The release chart (above) certainly speaks to this theme:
The
Sun conjoins Pluto, which perfectly
suits the survival and betrayal theme; Saturn
square Neptune (Sag-Pisces) injects fateful obstacles, deception and most
likely, madness. Even without seeing the film, we can imagine how the whole
premise of bounty hunting—literally stalking and destroying other human beings
for the sake of money—leads to madness and betrayal.
Uranus and Pluto remain in their volatile
Aries-Capricorn square phase here, and with Uranus’s “sidekick” Mercury in
Aquarius square Mars in Scorpio, we can expect over-the-top violence, blood and gore, not to
mention the “shock” factor we’ve come to expect in Tarantino films. Venus-conjunct-Saturn trines Uranus in Sagittarius,
suggesting at least a few steamy, sexually-charged scenes, perhaps laced
with socially-conscious elements.
Such
elements appear woven into the fabric of this narrative: Saturn disposes Capricorn Sun-Pluto and Moon (assuming the film is
first seen after noon, EST) and Aquarius Mercury (disposed by Aries Uranus), so we can expect
messages about authority, raw power-over
vs. power-for and—depending upon how
the bounty hunting premise unfolds—excesses in military justice (Jupiter in Virgo trines Sun-Pluto and disposes Venus-Saturn in Sag). With all
the harsh, hard-nosed energy in this chart, we can expect this film to continue
being controversial (and probably thought-provoking) long after its release.
© Raye
Robertson 2015. All rights reserved.
