Sister Lara Presents... KISStrology!

Well it's Halloween and my plan was to profile somebody really scary for you guys. My Facebook friends elected eternally terrifying Suge Knight, but sadly his birth time is unknown. Serial killers stress me out, and Alice Cooper's natal chart is about as dry and boring as a dirt sandwich. My information gathering Gemini husband suggested KISS and when he told me their first show wearing full makeup was in Amittyville (!) I figured their chart was worth a look see. Please note this reading is for the ORIGINAL lineup of KISS only. Here we go!

  KISS: b. March 9, 1973 22:00. Sun in Pisces, Moon in Taurus, Scorpio Rising. (OF COURSE.) The original members of KISS are Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss. This configuration lasted from 1973 until 1980 when Peter Criss left, followed by Ace Frehley It is worth .noting that in 1978, the band did something that had never been done before and simultaneously released solo albums. These were met with less success than anticipated.  Motivated by a surge of 1990s KISS nostalgia, the band reunited in 1996. Peter Criss left again over contract disputes in 2000.

  Scorpio in the First House: This is very interesting, because as we know, Scorpio is ruled by the Planet Pluto. The Mythological God of the Underworld, Pluto rarely appeared above ground, and when he did, he always wore a helmet that covered his face. Our Rising Sign is our "mask" that we show to the world, so how appropriate for a band with Scorpio on the Ascendant that their "mask" is an actual mask! Well, full make up. ( Fun Fact: I too have Scorpio on the Ascendant and have always been fascinated by the transformational power of makeup. I spent many an afternoon as a teenager poring over world famous Makeup Artist, Kevyn Aucoin's books at my local Borders, and now I own them all. The relationship between Scorpio and makeup, and people who love makeup is a subject I may have to follow up on for a future post.) Having Scorpio on the Ascendant also makes Pluto, the Planet of Transformation the Ruling Planet of KISS. More on that later.

  Sun in Pisces: The Collective Sun Sign for the original lineup of KISS is Pisces. Pisces is ruled by the Planet Neptune, the Planet of Music and Dance. Not all Pisceans are musicians, but many of them are, and generally even non-musician Pisceans have a greater than average appreciation of music. The explanation for this is that Neptune is also the Planet of Intuition. Pisceans are often able to express what our Collective Unconscious is experiencing, often through the medium of poetry or music. KISS has their Neptune Sun Squaring Saturn in their chart which can indicate a need to challenge authority figures, this probably helped influence their chosen genre of music. Pisces is considered an introverted sign, but KISS's Sun in Pisces lands in the Fiery Fifth House. The Fifth House is ruled by the Sun and gives Shy Pisces a boost of extroversion, a flair for the dramatic, and a need for recognition. For musicians seeking fame, I can't really think of a better Sun Placement than Pisces in the Fifth House.

  Moon in Taurus: The importance of The Moon in a Horoscope cannot be overstated. The Moon will describe how we express and deal with our emotions. The Moon is said to be our truest, deepest self, the self we only share with those we love and trust. Keywords for Moon in Taurus are Comfort, Security, Stability, and Material Accumulation. It's a placement you would expect to find in an Accountant's chart! Sun in the Fifth House is proof that KISS are natural born performers, but on a deeper level, they're also savvy businessmen.Their Taurus Moon is in The Seventh House of Partnerships, an indication that their energy as a collective is what helped them achieve financial security. They also have Fiery Mars Trine their Moon which helps one freely express emotions without holding back, a fortuitous placement if you're a rock band.

  KISS has overwhelmingly masculine energy, so let's take a deeper look at what Mars is up to in their chart.  The role of Mars in a chart is to show how we exert our individuality.Mars also indicates where we will be most active. Because Mars rules our ability to assert ourselves, it can also indicate where and how we have difficulty relating to or accepting others. The Pisces Sun of KISS is Sextile Mars in Capricorn. This gives them almost boundless energy and a gift for motivating and inspiring large groups. Mars in Capricorn gives the gifts of ambition combined with courage.Mars in this chart is also in The Third House of Siblings which can indicate discord or infighting between brothers, or in this case, bandmates. Huh. They also have Mars Square Uranus which indicates a strong need to be free, and a need for excitement and new experiences. This can also cause an individual to dive headfirst into uncharted territory without fully considering the consequences, as is evidenced by the solo albums fiasco.

  Pluto, The Planet of Transformation and the Band's Chart ruler falls in Libra in The Eleventh House. Libra is the Friendship Sign and The Eleventh House determines our relationship to the world. This would indicate that initially, their collective chemistry had an alchemical quality, causing the energy of their collective to be far more powerful than the sum of it's parts. Powerful enough to achieve lasting and international fame.

  The most challenging aspect of  their natal chart is (surprise surprise) Saturn. Saturn, The Planet of Restriction falls in Gemini which can indicate a lack of self-discipline and and challenges with communication. Saturn also falls in The Eighth House of Shared Resources, indicating challenges with sharing and distributing their collective earnings. Adding to the drama is Venus Square Saturn, indicating an inability at times to relate or empathize. Saturn is also Opposite Neptune which brings a competitive energy that sows the seeds of distrust and paranoia. It would seem Saturn was the Planet of Undoing for the original lineup of KISS. Saturn takes 28 years to cycle through the Zodiac. When Saturn completes this cycle and returns to it's point of origin in a chart, this is known as Saturn Return. Saturn Returns force us to confront the truths that we've been hiding from ourselves. Peter Criss left the lineup for good in 2000, when Saturn had returned to Gemini, 28 years after the band's first show. Astrologically, this suggests the end of an era. Moving forward, any Astrological assessments or predictions should be based on the natal chart of the first time the current lineup played together.

TL/DR? Astrologically speaking, the original lineup of KISS were talented musicians with a flare for the dramatic, who at the deepest level were savvy businessmen who ultimately parted ways over mistrust about shared resources being divided fairly. Happy Halloween y'all!

PS- You can now email me at  sisterlarablog@gmail.com so holler if you have any questions, or requests for future posts!

Satanic Panic!

  The 80s and 90s were a strange, dark time for many Americans. The poverty rate for people in Rural America had risen to 18% in 1988. (Twice what it was in urban areas.) The economic stress on rural Americans was taking it's toll on Family Life. For many Americans, one's family could no longer be counted on as a central source of stability and safety. Poverty combined with shifting gender roles contributed to marital tensions, divorce, and parent child conflict. Teenage drug use, which had primarily been an issue in larger cities, reached rural towns. We had more single mothers and small children in daycare than ever before. People were overworked, exhausted, and anxious about the future.  Interestingly, around this time The New Fundamentalism was taking hold. Focus on Family and the Moral Majority campaigned for and helped elect conservative Christian politicians across the country. This combination of unfortunate circumstances laid the groundwork for a shameful epidemic that is now known as Satanic Panic.

 *My use of the words Satanist and Satanism throughout this post are in reference to the common parlance of the time. No disrespect to followers of Anton Lavey. I am well aware that the Church of Satan does not promote murder or any other form of lawbreaking.*

  What is Satanic Panic? "Satanic Panic" describes an era that covered most of the 1980s and 1990s when people became very concerned about Satanic Conspiracies all over the country. "Ritual Satanic Abuse" became a catchphrase. Cattle mutilations, vandalism, abductions and more were all attributed to a vast conspiracy of Satanists who lived and worked among us. Teenagers with unconventional appearances were assumed to be the foot soldiers of the movement, always on the lookout to convert their friends and classmates to Satanism, or worse yet, to lure them away to some remote location to be sacrificed and eaten. People traded stories with their neighbors and coworkers about Satanic gatherings where animals and humans were brutally sacrificed by soulless devil worshipers who would then have a blood soaked orgy on the corpses of their victims. "Satanism Experts" estimated that Satanic sacrifice resulted in 50,000-60,000 deaths a year. Startling numbers, considering the annual murder rate in the US hovered around 25,000  for most of that time. 

 The spark that ignited this insanity was the 1980 now thoroughly debunked memoir, Michelle Remembers. In it, the author Michelle Smith (now believed to have multiple personality disorder) recounts memories that were recovered through hypnosis of a truly horrific childhood. She claimed to have been tortured, locked in cages, witness to many murders, and smeared with the blood of the deceased. She claimed to have witnessed many orgies as a child, that she was later forced to participate in. She also said she had been impregnated many times, always forced to carry the child to term to be sacrificed on the altar of Satan. Her vivid account was so disturbing that the Vatican launched an investigation. The Christian magazine, Cornerstone traveled to her hometown to interview  her family and childhood friends and concluded that the book was nothing more than a "gruesome fantasy". But it was too late.

  In 1983, employees of the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach California were accused of grisly crimes similar to the ones mentioned above. Children who attended the preschool were asked leading and disturbing questions, usually without a parent present. Everyone accused in the McMartin preschool scandal was found innocent, but this kicked off a rash of Ritual Satanic Abuse allegations in schools and preschools all across small town America from 1983-1995 Hundreds of people were arrested. There was never any evidence to back up these claims, and no teacher or daycare provider was ever found guilty, but they all lost their jobs, and many lost their homes, savings and communities as a result of these allegations. One employee of the McMartin preschool could not afford bail and spent two years in jail away from her young children awaiting trial. Another tragedy in all this is that investigating all these salacious rumors wasted valuable resources that could have been used to help children who actually were endangered.

  The Satanic Panic hysteria reached a fevered pitch on November 19, 1987 when NBC aired a two hour Geraldo special on Satanism. It was watched in 19.8 million home. Geraldo Rivera looked into the camera and stated, "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country. The majority are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. The odds are, this is happening in your town." This gave credibility to what before had only been spoken about in whispers. Pastors taped the episode and showed it to their congregations. Small town police officers took correspondence courses to become "Satanism Experts", or more to the point, witch hunters. It's worth mentioning, that during the Satanic Panic Scare, (about 1983-1997) a handful of teenagers actually were arrested and found guilty of Satanism inspired crimes. It was almost always vandalism (though in a couple cases animal mutilation was involved) and it was always pretty obvious that the teenagers acted alone and were in no way part of some vast conspiracy.

"It's like Salem all over again." Damien Echols, on trial for his life in 1994.

  Undoubtedly, the people who suffered the most due to Satanic Panic hysteria were Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols, or the West Memphis Three. In 1994 the three teenagers were convicted of the 1993 murders of three eight year old Boy Scouts in their community. They all had alibis and there was no evidence linking them to the victims or the scene of the crime, but none of that mattered. They were disliked and mistrusted by their community before any crime had ever been committed. In his memoir, Life After Death, Damien Echols recalls the repeated harassment he received from West Memphis  Juvenile Officer, Jerry Driver, his town's so called "Occult Expert". Their trial and subsequent convictions were a total media circus including false testimonies, "evidence" leaked to the press, and a jury that had heard all the gory (and at times made up) details before the trial ever started. Jessie and Jason received life without parole. Damien Echols, the alleged "ringleader" was sentenced to death by lethal injection.What had we become? New forensic evidence submitted in 2007 lead to the eventual release of the West Memphis Three in 2011 after having spent 18 years and 78 days each in prison. This was in large part due to the HBO documentary Paradise Lost about the crimes and subsequent trial. It painted an unflattering picture of small town America and the ignorance at the heart of the Satanic Panic scare. The movie helped the case gain national attention and  inspired several high profile celebrities to get involved as well as many average Americans who saw the movie and thought, "That could have been me!" Without their support, the new DNA evidence may never have been submitted.

   By the late 1990s, the Satanic Panic Scare was waning. There simply wasn't ever any evidence. News outlets that had previously reported alleged Satanic activity, were now running stories debunking myths about Satanic Panic. In 1997, employees of a daycare center in  Wenatchee Washington who had been falsely accused of Satanic inspired sexual abuse, were awarded a $3 million settlement. Sanity was returning. 

  Full disclosure: I've actually had my own brush with Satanic Panic. When I was fifteen, my dad overdosed on prescription pills and alcohol. He had been Atheist for most of his life, but not long after he got sober he started attending one those big stadium churches out in the country.  My first thought was, "Good for him, I guess." But things got weird pretty fast. I first became nervous when he informed me that the members of his new church had preformed a laying on of hands and told him he never had to take his bi-polar medication again. Then he started pacing the halls of the small apartment we shared, bug eyed and muttering about "swollen genitals". Then he hid my Tarot cards which was especially odd because he had given them to me as a gift less than two years before. (That just goes to show you how unpredictable untreated manic depression can be.) Then the accusations started. Mostly he accused me of smoking crack and participating in "orgies for Satan". (Seriously, what is it with these people and the group sex allegations? Gross!) It would have been funny, if I hadn't been terrified. And I was angry too. I'd been putting up with allegations of Satanism from classmates and teachers for years, but I never expected to have to deal with that BS in my own home.  My dad had been absent for most of my life, and even when he was around he usually ignored me. Now for the first time in my life he was paying attention to me, but only so he could call me a devil worshiping whore? It was too much. One day I had the most powerful intuitive feeling of my young life, something inside me said, "Whatever you do, don't go home after school today." So I didn't. I went to a friend's house instead, and the day after that I moved in with my mom. Later, I found out from my school's Guidance Counselor that my dad had been home waiting for me that afternoon. The plan was to tell me he was taking me to a family counseling session, but he was actually going to have me committed at a private mental hospital. Shudder. Fundamentalist parents having their children who didn't share their worldview institutionalized was a regrettably common occurrence during the Satanic Panic scare. 

Me, in High School.

  So what caused so many of us to lose our collective minds? For an influence lasting this long, (1983-1997 or so) we need to take a look at the slow moving outer Planets, or the Destiny Planets. A few months back, I wrote a little bit about Pluto in Scorpio, but let's recap: Pluto is the smallest, but generally considered to be the most powerful planet of the Zodiac. Astrologically speaking, Pluto is an upsetter that occasionally leaves a scorched Earth in it's wake. Pluto rules Regeneration and Transformation. Pluto is the natural ruler of Scorpio. Pluto was in Scorpio from 1983-1995. Scorpio rules Sex, Death and above all, Secrets. The accusations made in 1983 against the McMartin preschool employees had all that in spades. Scorpio's rulership of secrets includes secret societies. A Powerful and evil cult that sexually preys on and murders the weakest and most innocent members of a society has all the hallmarks of the lowest, darkest energy of Pluto and Scorpio. The thing is, none of it was true. What made so many people believe and in some cases actually "recover memories" of such atrocities? 

  When examining a period of our history when confusion reigned supreme. we should always take a look at what our old friend Neptune, the Great Dissolver was up to during that time. Neptune entered Capricorn in 1984, the year the investigation into the McMartin preschool was officially launched. Neptune is the planet of Confusion as well as the planet of Mysticism. Earthy Capricorn is cautious, conservative, and can be a little judgemental. Which is to say, Neptune in Capricorn is not a great fit. Neptune seeks to escape, Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, seeks to confine. A growing interest in the Occult, Mysticism and World Religions had been happening in the US since the 1960s. But Neptune entering Capricorn dovetailed with the Rise of the Christian Right, and attempted to snuff out anything that wasn't traditional. Capricorn is the Sign of the Father, and as I mentioned before, the 1980s saw more single mother household's than ever before. A lot of young people were searching for Father Figures, and sometimes they found them at Church. Teenagers who wouldn't or couldn't fall in line were sometimes scapegoated as Satanists. Scapegoating teenagers who stand out from the crowd is nothing new, but accusing them of being actually evil was.  Neptune rules the Masses. One of the lowest vibrational qualities of Neptune is that it can hide important truths and help spread Misinformation to the Masses. With Neptune in Capricorn we have this Misinformation coming from trusted male authority figures. Capricorn seeks to gain recognition, and with this influence we had individuals exploiting rumors of Satanic activity in order to elevate their status within their community. 

  When I try to think of one phrase to describe the influence of Neptune in Capricorn, the one that I keep coming back to is, "Fear of the Unknown". Neptune was in Capricorn from 1984- 1998 and it was a fearful time for a lot of people. Many were nostalgic for a past that actually wasn't so great, but in retrospect seemed simpler and more stable. I think conspiracies about a secret, evil society were a comfort to some people because it strengthened bonds within communities. (Unless you were unfortunate enough to be considered an outsider.) Also it meant that if this supposed evil could be exposed, then maybe it could be eliminated, and things could go back to normal, whatever that was. We all have a Neptune somewhere in our birth charts, and it's lesson for us is to learn to recognize the difference between intuition and delusion. Currently Neptune is at home in Watery Pisces and Astrologers are predicting that children being born now with this influence in their charts will have the attribute of the Peacemaker and in general will be very loving, kind and accepting of each others' differences. The hope is that these old souls will be born already knowing the truth is that we're not that different.

Happy Birthday Libra! Spotlight on... Aleister Crowley!

  Well Fall is here, and our collective unconscious is responding to the ancient energy of Harvest Season by eating and drinking pumpkin flavored everything and planning our outfits for Slutoween. Strange times. In any case, that also means it's Libra Season! Happy Birthday Libra! Libras are the coolest, without even trying. Okay, maybe they are trying, that's sort of their thing. But they look great doing it! I just love Libras, don't you? 

  Libra is a Cardinal Air Sign, ruled by Venus, and the Seventh House. Cardinal Signs come at the beginning of a season and the gifts they bring are Initiation and Inspiration. They keyword for Libra is Harmony, and their Mantra is "I Balance." Librans are the idealists of the Zodiac. They're natural poets, and consciously and unconsciously strive beautify their surroundings. Most Librans I know have artistically decorated homes. They love to entertain, and look good while doing it. The most commonly referred to negative Libran trait is laziness. Not surprising, considering Venus is their planetary ruler. The Goddess Aphrodite is most commonly portrayed gazing into a mirror, not hurling a thunderbolt. Many, but not all, Librans abhor conflict and will do almost anything to avoid it. Because Libra is associated with the Seventh House of Partnership, most Libras prefer to be in a relationship. Without a Dominant Ascendant or Moon Sign, Libra has a tendency to be the more passive member in a relationship.

  Another Gift from their ruler, Venus is that Librans tend to be very attractive. Not always classically beautiful, (Though many are.) they tend to have that special something that draws people in. Their good looks and love of fun may have you thinking Libras are all surface but no substance, but not so. Libra is an Air Sign and all the Air Signs love knowledge. If a Libra is curious about a subject, they will soon become an expert. One Subject many Libras are drawn to is Mysticism and the Occult. 

  The Sun entered Libra on September 23. This corresponds to the Autumn Equinox, called so because Light and Dark are equal on this day. The Libra Constellation is the scales of Justice. The Libra Glyph is The Sun halfway down the Horizon. Equal parts Light and Dark seems like an appropriate description of many Libras I know. Many of the life of the party Libras you know have a mysterious side you may rarely, if ever see. A few will let their freak flag fly all the time, it depends on the person. Because they are ruled by Venus, many Librans have a sensuality not normally found in their Air Sign Brethren. (The isn't to say Aquarians and Geminis CAN'T be sensual, they just need help from the other planets in their chart to express that quality.) So we talked about how how beautiful Libras can be, and also how intelligent and charming they are. This combined with a fascination with all things Mysterious, kind of makes them the Witches of the Zodiac, don't you think?

   Which brings us to Aleister Crowley, b.October  12 1875 at 11:42 PM. Sun in Libra, Moon in Pisces, Leo Rising.  He was your typical  Libertine Libra in many ways. A Hedonistic Poet who had many lovers both male and female throughout his life, he loved to live large and surround himself with opulence. He traveled the world in search of Mysterious knowledge. He wrote pornography and started his own religion, Thelema. My favorite quote from his Book of Thelema is "We of Thelema say every man and every woman is a Star." Love that sentiment, so Libran! He also pissed a bunch of people off along the way. His Rising Sign was Leo, which makes the Sun his ruling planet. This influence helped shine the light on his various eccentric interests, and probably drew others to his light. It probably also encouraged his egocentricity and made him hard to get along with. Many members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn disliked and resented his relationship with the Society's Founder, Samuel Liddel George Mathers and he left the organization after only a couple years. 

  His Moon in Pisces in the Ninth House clearly played a role in inspiring him to travel the world, seeking out new Esoteric knowledge, and having many transcendent experiences. The most notable was when he was honeymooning with his wife in Cairo and experienced many visitations from the Egyptian Pantheon. His Neptune Opposition Jupiter allowed him to absorb this information without judgement or confusion. This may have also contributed to his drug use and more fanciful visions like when he thought the God Horus wanted him to abscond with the statue of the Stele of Revealing  from a museum in Cairo and move to his own island and to publish the Book of Law he was writing into every language. He famously stated "To me, a book is a message from the  Gods to Mankind; or if not, should never be published at all." That's Jupiter and Neptune for you! Together, they'll make you think anything is possible! Instead he gave a few copies of the manuscript to his friends in the esoteric community, and then "Put it away with relief."

  Aleister Crowley was a Mountaineer and a Ceremonial Magician, who started his own religion, but he is most famous for being an Author and a Poet. This requires a closer look at the role of Mercury in his birth chart. His Moon was Trine Mercury, enabling him to write beautifully and influence many people. His Mercury is Scorpio is probably what inspired him to write about Dark Mysteries and Sexuality. Mercury Conjunct Jupiter allowed him to have many interests that he could easily draw conclusions from that would most likely remain a puzzle to other people. His Mercury was also Square to Saturn which allowed him to focus on the details of his subject matter.

  Probably his most challenging Astrological Aspect was Neptune Squaring his Ascendant. Our Ascendant is how the world sees us, and Neptune is the planet of Illusion. This gave Crowley and aura of deceptiveness that may or may not have been deserved. A persistent rumor followed him throughout his life that he was actually working as a spy for British Intelligence. This rumor dovetails with the "Shadow Side" Mythology of Libra as well.  He was also accused of practicing Satanism and sacrificing animals. It should be noted that he was a Freemason and his worldview was influenced my many forms of Mysticism but he did not recognize Satan as an entity and certainly was never a "Satan Worshipper". His openness about his alcohol and drug use was most likely also an effect of this influence. 

  Aleister Crowley passed away in 1947. In 2002, a BBC poll ranked him the Seventy Third greatest Briton of all time. Most of his books are still in print and the Thoth Tarot deck he created is still widely in use. It makes sense then, that his Ceremonial Golden Dawn name was Frater Perdurabo. Latin for "Brother I will Endure." Wherever he is now, I'm sure he would have loved the internet and be delighted that people are still talking about him. Happy Birthday Frater Perdurabo! And Happy Birthday to Libras everywhere! I love you all.

  

  *This week's post is dedicated to the memory of Timothy David Lafollette, a true Libran Sensualist. October 11 1979 - August 23 2011. He was a Wizard and he was my friend.