Leslie Marlar

What’s Up with Goethe and Faust?

I recently suggested to a client that she read Goethe’s Faust because he, a scientist and poet, had the Sun in scientific Virgo and the Moon in poetic Pisces as she does. I thought that she might be able to identify. I decided to read it myself and now hope that she wasn’t paying any attention to me. If she was paying attention and heeding my advice, I owe her some comforting cookies.

Here I was reading a musty old book about a guy reading a musty old book in a musty old room and diving into a depression. Fortunately, I wasn’t in a musty old room, wasn’t depressed and have hardly ever thought about doing what he did next. While in a scholastic and emotional slump, he decides to sell his soul to the devil, who shows up as a poodle. I haven’t mentioned this to my dogs, both poodles, out of diplomacy.

At any rate, I read the story and like Faust am into Astrology and I have Goethe’s horoscope. I expect to see the author in the author’s work and his chart reflected in the work and characters. Let’s see Goethe’s chart in Goethe and in Faust.

Goethe’s science and poetry are shown by the Sun being in analytical Virgo and the Moon being in idealistic Pisces. The presence of the benefics Venus and Jupiter in Virgo and in Pisces show that these are areas that bring benefit and enjoyment to him. His place in society and his opportunities and education are probably shown by these planets in the signs of his Sun and Moon and the fact that no discordant planetary aspects or relationships, apply to Sun and Moon.

In the whole sign house system _expression of this chart, the Midheaven, the highpoint, the 10th house of the chart, is in the 11th house and the Imum Coeli, low point, or 4th house is in the 5th. The means that the 10th and 11th are combined and the 4th and 5th are combined. Recognition is combined with hope and associates. And background and heredity are combined with creativity. So we can say that Sun and Venus, Moon and Jupiter are angular or powerful but also that Moon and Jupiter in the creative 5th house make him creative. A universal genius should be creative.

Uranus is in the 4th and opposed Mercury in the 10th. This aspect makes him smart and gives him recognition for it. The elevated Mercury could make him look up to writing and writers. Saturn on the Ascendant, the point rising on the eastern horizon, makes him even smarter and very Saturn like in a personal way.

This Saturn placement is hugely important. It says that he is Saturn and that he attracts Saturn. He is disciplined, hard working, serious, and possibly depressed. He attracts things and people like this and notices Saturnine things and people. The biographical introduction in Harvard Classics describes him as brooding on the mystery of human life. (1) He also held political offices and took 60 years to write Faust. Positions of trust and long term difficult projects are both Saturnine. Pluto is not too far from the Ascendant and all, Saturn, Ascendant, and Pluto are in Scorpio. Pluto brings extremes and forceful things, people, and situations. And the whole crew in Scorpio intensifies emotion and other worldly themes.

So here we have Goethe between malefic Saturn and extreme Pluto. And let’s remember that Capricorn, the goat, is Saturn’s sign and Pluto was the god of the dead. Now do you see it? The Scorpio Ascendant near Saturn and Pluto is Faust with Mephistopheles. The extreme evil of Mephistopheles and the depressed suicidal mood of Faust are expressions of Saturn and Pluto in Scorpio. This is the real Astrology. We see the 60 year creation of Goethe and Faust’s circumstances described by a very personal part of Goethe’s chart.

I also see in Faust, the preference of Virgo over Pisces or the natural over the supernatural. Interest in the supernatural, which he did have, which is shown by the Moon in Pisces, is literally demonized and criticized by the Sun in Virgo. The presence of dark Saturn and Pluto in metaphysical Scorpio adds to this.

In Harvard Classics it is suggested that Faust is an example of the protestant reaction to the extremes of the Italian Renaissance. This is another _expression of the elevated Sun and Venus in sensible Virgo opposing a low Moon and expansive Jupiter in the creative 5th house. Venus in Virgo is the art criticizing and art destroying protestant movement and Jupiter in Pisces in the 5th is the Jove like unbridled explorations of the Renaissance. Virgo is placed above and chosen over Pisces. Finally, we know that Goethe studied metaphysics and we know that he had frightening Saturn and extreme Pluto on the Ascendant. In the course of his studies, did he come into contact with something truly frightening?

Notes:

Harvard Classics Book 19. Introductory Note p. 3 - 6

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Home Astro-Biography Articles Services Seminars/Events New & Full Moons Monthly Column	What’s Up with Goethe and Faust? I recently suggested to a client that she read Goethe’s Faust because he, a scientist and poet, had the Sun in scientific Virgo and the Moon in poetic Pisces as she does. I thought that she might be able to identify. I decided to read it myself and now hope that she wasn’t paying any attention to me. If she was paying attention and heeding my advice, I owe her some comforting cookies. Here I was reading a musty old book about a guy reading a musty old book in a musty old room and diving into a depression. Fortunately, I wasn’t in a musty old room, wasn’t depressed and have hardly ever thought about doing what he did next. While in a scholastic and emotional slump, he decides to sell his soul to the devil, who shows up as a poodle. I haven’t mentioned this to my dogs, both poodles, out of diplomacy. At any rate, I read the story and like Faust am into Astrology and I have Goethe’s horoscope. I expect to see the author in the author’s work and his chart reflected in the work and characters. Let’s see Goethe’s chart in Goethe and in Faust. Goethe’s science and poetry are shown by the Sun being in analytical Virgo and the Moon being in idealistic Pisces. The presence of the benefics Venus and Jupiter in Virgo and in Pisces show that these are areas that bring benefit and enjoyment to him. His place in society and his opportunities and education are probably shown by these planets in the signs of his Sun and Moon and the fact that no discordant planetary aspects or relationships, apply to Sun and Moon. In the whole sign house system _expression of this chart, the Midheaven, the highpoint, the 10th house of the chart, is in the 11th house and the Imum Coeli, low point, or 4th house is in the 5th. The means that the 10th and 11th are combined and the 4th and 5th are combined. Recognition is combined with hope and associates. And background and heredity are combined with creativity. So we can say that Sun and Venus, Moon and Jupiter are angular or powerful but also that Moon and Jupiter in the creative 5th house make him creative. A universal genius should be creative. Uranus is in the 4th and opposed Mercury in the 10th. This aspect makes him smart and gives him recognition for it. The elevated Mercury could make him look up to writing and writers. Saturn on the Ascendant, the point rising on the eastern horizon, makes him even smarter and very Saturn like in a personal way. This Saturn placement is hugely important. It says that he is Saturn and that he attracts Saturn. He is disciplined, hard working, serious, and possibly depressed. He attracts things and people like this and notices Saturnine things and people. The biographical introduction in Harvard Classics describes him as brooding on the mystery of human life. (1) He also held political offices and took 60 years to write Faust. Positions of trust and long term difficult projects are both Saturnine. Pluto is not too far from the Ascendant and all, Saturn, Ascendant, and Pluto are in Scorpio. Pluto brings extremes and forceful things, people, and situations. And the whole crew in Scorpio intensifies emotion and other worldly themes. So here we have Goethe between malefic Saturn and extreme Pluto. And let’s remember that Capricorn, the goat, is Saturn’s sign and Pluto was the god of the dead. Now do you see it? The Scorpio Ascendant near Saturn and Pluto is Faust with Mephistopheles. The extreme evil of Mephistopheles and the depressed suicidal mood of Faust are expressions of Saturn and Pluto in Scorpio. This is the real Astrology. We see the 60 year creation of Goethe and Faust’s circumstances described by a very personal part of Goethe’s chart. I also see in Faust, the preference of Virgo over Pisces or the natural over the supernatural. Interest in the supernatural, which he did have, which is shown by the Moon in Pisces, is literally demonized and criticized by the Sun in Virgo. The presence of dark Saturn and Pluto in metaphysical Scorpio adds to this. In Harvard Classics it is suggested that Faust is an example of the protestant reaction to the extremes of the Italian Renaissance. This is another _expression of the elevated Sun and Venus in sensible Virgo opposing a low Moon and expansive Jupiter in the creative 5th house. Venus in Virgo is the art criticizing and art destroying protestant movement and Jupiter in Pisces in the 5th is the Jove like unbridled explorations of the Renaissance. Virgo is placed above and chosen over Pisces. Finally, we know that Goethe studied metaphysics and we know that he had frightening Saturn and extreme Pluto on the Ascendant. In the course of his studies, did he come into contact with something truly frightening? Notes: Harvard Classics Book 19. Introductory Note p. 3 - 6


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