I have some wonderful colleagues in the psych hospital.  We work with patients in psychiatric crisis, which can get quite colorful at times.  It’s stressful work, and I am often impressed with the combination of skills and talent that doctors, nurses, and other staff bring to this challenging environment.

One of the docs I work with has a wonderful manner with his patients.  He is kind and gentle, listens patiently, and is able to explain things in simple and understandable terms.  His patients—even the very challenging ones—seem to love him.  One of them used to express these feelings by asking him, “Why are you so cute?” :) 

Jack La Lanne, ‘The Godfather of Modern Fitness,’ lived to the ripe old age of 96 and reportedly was in great physical condition until a week before his death on January 23, 2011.  When I heard of his passing I wanted to study his birth chart for clues as to why he was known as ‘the first fitness superhero.’  But alas, no birth time!  That was the end of the story back then.

Since that time, however, I have learned a thing or two about natal astrology :)  And, guess what?  Mr. La Lanne has an agenda-driven planet in his chart.  Care to guess which one?  That’s right: it’s Mars.

One of my favorite actors is Viggo Mortensen.  I’ve been quite taken with him since LOTR--me and a million others! :)  My friends know this and slip me articles about him when occasion permits.  Mr. Mortensen (herein referred to as VM) is in the public eye again as his newest film, The Road, plays in theatres everywhere.  So what is it about this guy that makes him so skillful, multitalented, multilingual, and successful—not to mention gorgeous?

The astrologer’s first impulse is to take a look at the birth chart.  However, for an accurate chart we must have a time of birth.  This determines the rising sign, a key element of any chart.  We also need the birth time to know the exact position of the Moon, which moves quickly across the sky (an average of 13 degrees of celestial arc per day).

We continue our natal study with a look at Jill's progressed and return charts for the first years of her painful limerence for Jack. We might expect to see testimonies involving Lord 7 and/or Venus, along with some evidence of affliction.  The goal, as ever, is to understand what the charts are telling us rather than reading in what we want or expect to find.

In our culture we have various terms to describe the kinds of love we experience.  One you may not have heard yet is limerence. This term was coined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov in 1977 to describe all-consuming romantic love.  Limerence can be defined as ‘an involuntary state of mind which results from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated’ (Wikipedia).

In this series we will explore the astrology behind one woman’s experience of limerence.  We will call her ‘Jill’ and her love object, ‘Jack.’  Jill has allowed me to share her story here.

Two thousand nine was a terrible year for my client, whom we'll call Lee.  In May of that year, Lee experienced an event she calls “a horrifying random act of violence.”  Two months later her mother passed away from illness.  Her father, distant to her, also died that year.

What kind of testimonies might we find in such a year?  By studying the charts we can discover how astrology speaks to us of life's major events.  Lee has graciously given me permission to share my study with you.