Part 4: Applying for a Job

Part 4:  Gloria interviews at the New York Playboy Club.  On Wednesday, Jan. 30, 1963, Gloria Steinem went to the Playboy Club and applied to become a Bunny.  It was 6:30 PM, not the normal time to apply for a position, and took the elevator to the 6th floor.  “Nervousness” was the word of the day because Gloria had to lie about her age to meet the most basic requirements for the job: young, beautiful, a good shape and nice legs, a big smile and pleasant personality.  The first step was to try on a Bunny costume.  Then photos.  “That was it,” the Bunny Mother said, “We want you to be a Bunny.  Come in tomorrow at 3, we’ll fit you for your costume and you can sign some papers.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloria’s Progressed Daily Angles chart for Jan. 30, 1963, the date of her inerview and acceptance as a new Playboy Bunny is shown above.  Transits are shown in the outer circle, natal planets in the inner circle.  Her daily MC is  at 5 Sag., in the natal 1st house, the daily Ascendant is at 17 Aquarius at the natal IC angle.  So, what in this chart tells us of the experience of applying for a glamorous job?

Natal N.Node @ daily Ascendant and natal IC angle:  New people are encountered within a new environment.  Node = associations, Ascendent = experiences, IC = new starts and endings.  Transiting N.Node is at 28 Cancer in the natal 9th house; the associates will be associated with new and exciting environments. 

Transiting Mars @ Daily Descendent and natal MC:  Typically, we might expect this pattern to represent attacks and energy from others that contradicts your interests.  In the natal chart Mars conjoins Sun in the 5th house, Aries,  suggesting a self-starter personality who throws herself into adventures.  So, transiting Mars will pick up on this imprint and suggest that her (Gloria’s) energy will be focused on interacting with others.

Transiting Sun conjoins Saturn behind the daily Ascendant (12th house side of the angle); a hidden strategy is being acted on.  Natal Saturn conjoins natal Venus at the natal IC.  First, we have both Saturns (natal & transiting) at an angle, making this a “doubled up” planet–something that makes the “doubled up” planet very powerful, interpretively.  Among its many keywords, Saturn denotes “age.”  Gloria was over the age limit to become a Bunny and had to lie about her age.  Saturn also denotes “strategy” or her plan to explore the world of Bunnydom from the inside.  Saturn can also mean manipulation and control; Saturn and Venus together blends love and appearance with control and caution–she had to work hard to both fit into the costume and bear up under the discomfort of cinched waistlines and super-high heels—and the strains (another Saturn word) they placed on her body night after night. 

Natal MC at the Desc. angle:  Her goals were in the hands of others, they made the rules and set the expectations.

Now, those who employ sign rulerships, dignities, and all of the other traditional tools can apply them to this chart.  Since this particular form of prediction requires that “context” of one’s current life be taken into account (some we know about when we do our own charts, something we should ask about if doing charts for another), we would be able to immediately relate the above statements and astrological patterns to the situation.  Let me know your thoughts on this approach by e-mailing me at dadsnook@charter.net.  Dave.

 

 

 

 

Part 3: Applying for a “glamorous” job

Part 3:  Gloria embarks upon the bunny trail in her effort to find out just how glamorous the job of being a Playboy Bunny is.  It is January 26, 1963, a Saturday when many have time away from their work.  Gloria is going to the new Playboy club to apply for a position as a bunny — the iconic bunny ears and fluffy tail worn with a tight showgirl costume that brings to life the then wildly popular (with the men) Playboy magazine.

This series of postings will use the Progressed Daily Angles charts derived from Gloria’s precession-corrected 1962 Solar Return to trace her day by day diary of events and personal feelings as she moves through the process of becoming a Playboy Bunny as part of her research for an expose’ article she has taken on as an assignment.  Not all of these events may rise to a level of “significance” that we expect to find in published charts.  My aim is to see how well the charts reflect the small realities of daily life.

Chart Notes:  Gloria’s natal angles, shown here for her birth location, shift for New York City — MC-nyc 1 Virgo, Asc-nyc 20 Scorpio, CD-nyc 12 Gemini.  In this daily chart the daily MC is in her natal 1st house at 0 Sag., her Asc. is in the 3rd house at 10 Aquarius. These angles and transiting planets are shown in the outer ring of the chart and require us to reorient our view of the chart.

Our first step is to look at angular planets in the chart.  Transiting Sun and Saturn bracket the daily Asc. angle (5 and 12 Aquarius): A serious and planned action is embarked upon.  Natal Sun at 4 Aries is in the natal 6th house of work.

Transiting Moon conjoins the natal N.Node at the natal IC angle: Emotions run hish as Gloria starts a deeply personal experience involving others (the nodal axis denotes the intersection of the Moon’s orbit with the Sun’s apparent orbit and shows where our fundamental male-female qualities balance out).  Natal Moon is at the daily chart’s Descendant angle:  Feelings and interactions will involve “others” on this day.

Transiting Neptune is near her natal Ascendant:  This extended period (Neptune will be at this area of her natal chart for a few years) is a time of fairytale adventure and deception for Gloria.  Contact with the world of illusion will be an interesting experience.

There is a midpoint in these charts that I look for, the daily chart’s Asc./MC point which is at 5 Capricorn in this chart (MC at 0 Sag., Asc. at 10 Aquarius).  This midpoint squares the natal Sun at 4 Aries (located in the daily chart’s 2nd house).  Her actions on this date (the Asc./MC midpoint) will challenge her personal sense of values (Sun in the 2nd).  Is her undercover assignment one she will feel comfortable with ?  Will she be able to make the initial steps in terms of her appearance and appeal as an iconic bunny and meet the fantasy level of the male club-customers?  Does she want to?

The next posting will be for the day of her interview at the club.  Dave.  Your comments on how this chart symbology fits with her experiences can be commented upon here or e-mailed to me at  dadsnook@charter.net.

Gloria Steinem: Making Her Move

Part Two:  Gloria the writer.

Today we know Gloria Steinem as a feminist activist, a writer, a speaker, as one who has sought to bring balance and equality for women in the modern world.  In 1962 Gloria was primarily a writer, just emergining as one who was focused on women’s issues.  The chart below is her precession corrected 1962 Solar Return, calculated using Riyal software and the the procedures noted in the “Chart Calc’n” tab at the heading area of this blog site.  The chart has been located to New York City.

The natal chart is shown in the inner circle, its angles govern the presented chart’s page orientation.  The Solar Return (transits) are in the outer circle, the S/R MC is shown at the natal chart’s Ascendant, the S/R Ascendant is at the 3rd house cusp. 

S/R MC @ natal Asc.:  (quoting from my book, in part) Your typical view of life and how to deal with it has to be faced, proven or changed.  Up until this stage of her life, Gloria had been a writer, doing some background, a few interviews, then writing to meet the needs of her assignment.  This year she would change and deepen her approach to writing about what she cared about.  Reaching her 28th birthday, we astrologers would check her chart to see where Saturn was.  Saturn, at 8 Aquarius, is still some distance from its natal position yet it is in its last cyclic phase suggesting a time for change has come and needs to be planned for.  Transiting Uranus is about to be contacted by the S/R MC as it progresses through the year.  The first contact by the progressing daily MC will be in some three days — a second contact will occur 9 months 2 weeks later in early January.  Remember this.  MC and Uranus indicates a “change agent” will be at work in Gloria’s life this year.  Playing astrological hopscotch we can see that natal Uranus is in her 6th house indicating that her work-methods will change.

A major chart factor is transiting Pluto at 7 Virgo conjoining the CD point at 6 Virgo.  The CD, or Co-Descendant, is a point defined by the Ascendant-to-MC arc which is extended from the MC towards the Descendant area of the chart.  Any planet located at this point becomes an intrusion factor.  The MC is at the midpoint of the Ascendant and transiting Pluto and its goals and public posture is affected by the changes that will be associated with Pluto — not the abrupt change of Uranus but an evolving trend that will have to happen (Pluto is never denied his influence).  We note that natal Pluto is in the natal 9th house squaring Uranus in the 6th.  Two change agents representing the 6th and 9th houses of how one works, how one sees the larger world around them.

Sun-Sun is in the S/R 3rd house, for Gloria, her writing experiences.  Natally, the Sun position is in the 5th/6th house area which does not contradict “creative writing” as a work area.  Transiting Neptune at the S/R MC and natal Asc suggests experiences of illusion or glamor or deceit will be part of her year’s pathway.  Natal Jupiter has just passed her IC promising new opportunities and the means to greatly expand her personal world — note natal Jupiter in the 12th suggesting opportunity will come in a plain brown envelope, unseen by others.  Note also that transiting Moon is in the 10th, trines natal Moon in the natal 9th and also trines natal Sun; all suggesting a blend of mind and emotions, a natural balance that Gloria will carry forward through her Solar Return year.  Keep all of this in mind as we await the next posting.  Dave.

Gloria Steinem: A Force for Balance and Understanding

Part One: A Month In The Life of Gloria Steinem

This post introduces a study of Gloria Steinem, activist for the feminist movement and author, covering a one month period in 1963.  Gloria had accepted a writing assignment covering a new social phenomena, the Playboy Clubs.  We will be reviewing that period of her life and that month of becoming a Playboy Bunny, using her natal chart, precession corrected solar return, and a series of daily charts.  The purpose will be to examine how well these daily charts reflect her daily activities within that short span of time.

Gloria  is an American feminist, journalist, magazine entrepreneur, social and political activist who became nationally recognized in the field of woman’s liberation. She remains active in politics and media affairs, and as a writer and lecturer.  Her book, “Gloria Steinem; Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions is highly recommended for those interested in this remarkable lady and her contributions. 

With her MC at 22 Leo, Venus and Saturn bracketed the IC angle.  This interesting combination, when nuanced relative to her adult role in life, suggests a structured (Saturn) view (semi-square Sun) on femininity (Venus) relative to its core meaning (IC angle) in life.  Restating this stilted statement to fit with her remarkable character and life direction, we can see Venus and Saturn not as a severe view of love but as seeking a strategy for defining the many faces of Venus in terms of how people expressed the blending of social restrictions with their warmth and personal love life.  The semi-square with Sun adds personal drive and focus to these concerns of Gloria.

Gloria’s Sun squares Juno (5 Capricorn) in the 2^nd house: The values (2^nd house) of relationships (Juno) must be understood (Sun).  A T-Square exists between Jupiter (12^th) opposite Uranus (6^th) and squaring Pluto (9^th).  This pattern suggests that Gloria’s sense of opportunity within a social construct (Jupiter) might involve a sense of discovery (12^th) involving analysis and working with others (Uranus, 6^th) in order to find the essence of the aspirations (Pluto, 9^th) of others.  Pluto (in Cancer) is in the 9^th with the Moon, the Moon being square to Ceres (7 Taurus, 6^th).  The Moon takes comfort in working with others on a one-on-one basis.  Note the trine from Sun to Moon in fire signs (Aries and Leo), driving the Moon’s sensitivity to (woman’s) recognition from the Sun’s agressive nature (Sun conjoining Mars) to find creative expression.

A final note relates to Neptune (10 Virgo, 10^th) opposite Mercury (8 Pisces, 4^th) which suggests to me an inclination to perceive events and shared experiences (Gemini on  the 8^th, Virgo on the 11^th) within an idealized framework.

In summary, this chart presents us with a portrait offering a potential for a writer and activist deeply sensitive to the emotional needs of women and a purposeful drive to share those with the world. 

In her adult life, Gloria relocated to New York.  Her chart angles shifted to place the IC (2 Pisces) midway between Saturn and Mercury; structured communications, a strategy for writing about the values of life.

In the next post we will start to follow Gloria Steinhem’s month long research for a writing assignment concerning the then-new Playboy clubs as she sought to understand the pro-s and con’s of women’s roles in catering to men’s yearnings to find an idealized woman.  It will be interesting to review these daily charts to see how they reflect the attitudes, actions and situations of several key days in this month of working as a Playboy Bunny.  For comments, contact me at dadsnook@charter.net.