Why Richard Armitage IS Francis Dolarhyde … and you should love him anyway, part 2 [guest post by @FrauVonElmDings]

[Continued from here. Same comments policy in effect.]

Richard Armitage, the Hades Moon, and fans

We’ve just taken a quick look on “the dark side.” Now, my fellow guests of this Mad Tea Party, let’s see if the ferryman’ll take us back. Because Pluto is not just dark and evil. The positive side of a strong plutonian influence can be an immense creative energy. We’ve seen evidence of this, or created some ourselves: websites, videoclips, poems, paintings, photomontages and the like. Here’s my own attempt to cope with the beard-effect:

But still: why would an actor who “managed to stay under the radar for years” (maybe by wearing Pluto’s helmet of invisibility) or whose choice of super-hero role would fall on “The Invisible Man” evoke such strong feelings in so many people from very different backgrounds?

According to his horoscope, Richard Armitage’s Leo Sun is conjunct with his Venus. This combination would result in a tender-hearted, kind person with lots of charm, one who would have difficulties with open confrontation. The perfect mediator, always searching for a way to compromise so nobody gets hurt. His Virgo Moon is conjunct with his Pluto – now this is different. I could quote the whole blog post of Leah Whitehorse (Lua Astrology) on this, but you may just read it for yourself.

I also have no idea how old readers of this post might be, but I assume the majority of persons reading this now (and especially those who are experiencing the sort of “real-crazy-RA-crush”) were born between 1963 and 1970. If I had exact birthdates (including time and place), I’m sure I would find an aspect between Moon and Pluto in their natal horoscopes. There is one in mine, and — as mentioned — in Mr. A’s. Instead of trusting me with such personal information you can simply log in to www.astro.com (free of charge!), enter your data and see for yourself if there is an aspect (line) between Moon and Pluto, or if they are even next to each other as are Mr. A’s — which is — as Goethe would have put it — “the crux of the matter.”

Pluto is an extremely slow moving planet, so that many people born between 1963 and 1970 would have their Pluto (which represents the most radical, passionate and sometimes dark part of our psyche) broadly or closely (for those born about 1966-1967) conjunct both Mr. A’s Moon (which stands for the emotional core) and his Pluto. People his own age or just slightly younger wouldn’t feel it as much, because his Moon is some degrees apart and — as Pluto is so slow, we all share conjunctions between Pluto with people our own age — so there’s no big deal in this alone. (There are minor Pluto-Moon aspects for people born between 1978-1982 and 1989-1993 which — if they were exact — would be probably felt just as much).

If one experiences the aforementioned connection (aspect) in one’s natal horoscope between Moon and Pluto this effect would by some astrologers be called a “Hades-Moon.” Moon-Pluto aspects are said to be karmic, powerful, potentially dark, but with an enormous creative potential and they have almost always something to do with “mother” issues — either in a good or bad way. Judy Hall has written a really fascinating book, The Hades Moon (1998), which I’ll be quoting later on, as this is — of course — all heading towards Mr. A’s portrayal of Francis Dolarhyde.

Back to Pluto in general: the element Plutonium wasn’t named after planet Pluto by accident. When Pluto hits you, it’s like an atomic bomb, and there will be a fallout that often lasts more than a lifetime. Pluto creates karmic connections between all kinds of people: parent / child, teacher / pupil, lovers, star / fan, killer / victim, and so on. Those who choose to run from tasks Pluto has set will have to deal with them again and again. Even in your next life(s), until you’ve learned your lesson, shed your old skin and are truly reborn. It’s a bit like “Hotel California” — you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. You’ll always meet him in the end (whether you pay the ferryman or not) and have to try again — there’s just nowhere to hide.

The funny (?) thing about the “Hades-Moon” is that people who have this aspect are usually able to “recognize” and move toward each other, because a normal relationship just won’t do. It has to be life-altering, consuming and intense. Whether they’ll be at each other’s throats or share an intimate and passionate relationship for the rest of their lives depends a great deal on the individual’s capacity for self-aware reflection and sense of responsibility. So, whether it lasts or not, it will usually be a life changing experience for both partners. Hopefully one that develops them, or else they will be likely to meet again in another time and place. I think there is nothing remarkable in the fact that Liz Taylor and Richard Burton both had a “Hades-Moon.”

So — as my theory goes — the members of the “Armitage Army” might share a connection at least from their respective Plutos to Mr. A’s Moon and Pluto. This aspect creates a psychic link and a strong magnetic pull. Pluto will be completely “moonstruck.” The Pluto-partner’s (in this case, the “Army”) usually strong expression of deepness of his feelings can encourage the Moon-partner (Mr. A) to find a way out of (possible) emotional isolation. Often the unconscious needs of both parties will be discovered in the process. This process can result in a strong, creative, and dynamic bond. In the best way, it can manifest as a nurturing and almost maternal connection.

I would like to remind all of us that the all-knowing, headstrong and determined Pluto-partner can (even unintentionally) hurt the emotionally far more fragile Moon badly through its actions! Pluto likes to play mind games and to exercise control and is both fascinated and turned on by the soft and yielding nature of the Moon (a/k/a “shy” Mr. A, who “likes to paint and play the cello”). The Moon can at times feel overwhelmed by Pluto’s subtle but controlling force. Yet the Moon might feel a disturbing emptiness when Pluto unexpectedly pulls away, and if the Moon pulls away first, then Pluto may experience rage or a serious depression (watch what happens if he’s not tweeting for some days). The sensible Moon is going to notice right away when the relationship gets “weird” and is likely to pull away, while Pluto can’t even see that there is an obsession at all, he only feels drawn to the task of watching over the Moon.

As one of the main themes of a Hades-Moon in Virgo is a deep inner conviction that one is actually not good enough, it is no surprise to me, that Mr. A was more than a little astonished when his Army formed shortly after North & South aired in 2004. But this openly celebrated support and collective awe was – in my understanding – a thing he worked for (and craved) for a long, long time. The Moon / Pluto placement of his horoscope was one of my points-in-time for rectifying his birthtime — this break-through success came when his journey around his “horoscope clock” would be in this exact spot.

So it is up to us to reflect upon ourselves from time to time and keep our “hounds of hell” on a short leash — although someone with a natal Moon-Pluto conjunction like Mr. A would be used to the feeling that he simply wouldn’t matter unless he gave his very best, and then still: would he really be truly appreciated? In combination with denying one’s emotionality this pattern often leads to extreme workaholism and a life organized to the minute … as in “I would squeeze the cello in the half hour before I go to bed.”

If you’ve ever read Patrick Süskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, you’ve met the Moon-Pluto-extreme: someone desperate for love and recognition. So desperate that he’d kill for it and won’t even mind losing his own life when he finally succeeds, because the townsfolk eating him alive, to him, would be the ultimate proof that they really love him.

[To Part Three.]

~ by Servetus on February 9, 2015.