Chart Reading: Step #2, Martha Stewart -- Sun by sign, house, aspects to ASC & MC.

I have been reading the thread with much interest but am still very much a novice and don’t have a lot to offer. This is a really worthwhile exercise and thanks heaps for thinking of it and guiding us through it.

Whilst the discussions have progressed I’ve been reading as much as I can about the Sun. In Luminaries Liz Greene writes about the Sun and the Development of Consciousness in the light of the ancient symbol of Kingship. She outlines the various mythical expressions of heroism and these are basically very male.

Martha Stewart with her Sun in Leo and with the Pluto placement may really have had a very strong drive to accomplish a heroic journey of some kind , and she seems to have done this in business in the US. It is interesting to consider what it must have been like for a woman with this kind of chart. A mild observation – the US does seem, more than any other country to have more of the cultural climate for this kind of “heroism” – in private industry I mean. The US is the natural home of “for profit” business and corporate giants seem to have such a lot of influence.

I’ve been much more aware of issues and discussion around the influence of Moon (Mother/female) than I have of Sun (Father/male) so this kind of speculation is quite interesting.

Liz Greene also makes a strong point about Pluto in Leo and what it means for a whole generation of people about the influence of the “absent father”. Those with this kind of Pluto placement would have been borne during WW II when a whole lot of men were away. I wonder whether anything is known of Martha’s father and his place in her life.

Just another observation – I know that people like this are in the public domain and this kind of examination of their lives is routine - but I wonder what it must be like for them to be so dissected? At least this kind of analysis is more respectful than many in the press, for example.

Whatever, Martha Stewart does seem to have been a remarkable woman. I’d love to know more about her now.

Liz Greene is a fascinating writer - I'm not into the psychological approach to Astrology in a big way but I have enormous respect for her ideas and writings.

I can certainly see the heroic journey metaphor - The Sun in Leo is not fearful of anything, strong willed, creative and able to impress the identity of the native on the world around - especially with that conjunction to the MC.

I'd also like to know more about MS' father and her relationship with him. Both Sun and Saturn can be seen as representing the father depending on how you read the chart but here the powerful father image might be relevant and with it an identification of father with business.

Your post made me look for info on him on the internet and I came up with this

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/05/10/1021002387716.html

which says her father was a drunk and extremely domineering and helped shape her ruthless approach to business. Well I think we have some support here for the father being shown by Sun / Pluto.

Martha Inc., : The story of martha Stewart (2003), TV

from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352565/
Summary of the movie:
"Martha Inc. is actually worth watching to see Cybill Shepherd's take on the character. She really delves into the role and begins to show a sympathetic and vulnerable side to her. Sure, she's pretty and definitely intelligent, perhaps a genius. She worked Wall Street and modeled her way through College. She got married and had a daughter but domestic bliss was never enough for Martha. She wanted more and more in time. She became a successful Connecticut caterer. Even though she won't admit it, she is born and bred in New Jersey to Polish born Parents who immigrated to America. She was brought up in a large ethnic family rather than the small waspy family in Connecticut. Maybe Martha was no great wife or mother but she is creative and brilliant enough to succeed in a man's world. She has done it with class and brilliance. This movie does portray the messy divorce and the affair that broke up this longtime union. Martha may not have best people personilaty but just compare her to Barbra Streisand who is far more difficult. Martha is a perfectionist but brilliant and creative enough to establish herself as a household name. This success always comes with such sacrifice like a marriage and an estranged relationship with her daughter. Most men have often done this but why does it bother people when it is a woman? You go girl, Martha. "

I saw this movie, earlier this year, on TV.
her dad was not successful, but he did seem to be the one who pushed her higher. He "invented" her as a model-did her first shots and book.
He tried to see how SHE could make the profit that he didn't, and she succeeded.
She really valued him and idealised him by the way, she felt that only he knows "how" (to cut things nicely, fix things...). he was her teacher, who tought her her skills.
I don't know where he is today. but she still brings mama in the TV-kitchen with her, to help... Seems like things have shifted...

It seems that we definitely have here an example of how Sun/Pluto mix together. Yes, the dark force behind, but one that brings dramatic, and transformative changes...
It's interesting Minderwiz, because what you wrote about Pluto "If we see Pluto as Regenerative or Transformative (and I'm not necessarily convinced of that)", really got to me and i was thinking about it for 2 days now! I decided for now to see Pluto as DRAMATIC, which can go intensly to both sides...(very scorpionic, ha?)

And thinking of Pluto in Leo-as the absent father? thanks Moongold!
i think i'll be thinking of Pluto for a while more!!!

Here is a comprehensive CNN article about Martha Stewart, with detailed information about her father and a whole lot more.

Good photographs.

Oops : http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/stewart/profile.html

Yes, MPress.. I am hooked. Her own heroic journey .......

got hooked on her, ha?
but where is the link?

Next Thread

I'm not sure whether Dave is going to have time to begin the third thread before he sets off on his Jamboree.

As it's around 5 am where he is, I'll give him a few hours but if he hasn't posted by around Noon UK time, I'll assume that he didn't have time and has set off for the weekend.

If that happens I'll start the third thread sometime this afternoon, UK time.

few final thoughts:

- yes, American does have an obsession w/the 'hero'. Superheroism is about only main genre in their comic books (compared to the Euro/Japanese industry), and are the subjects of blockbuster films and many American genres (eg Western) But the key thing to note is the hero is almost always a male (unlike other narrative traditions which may be more balanced). I agree w/M-Press..... if Martha was a man, I highly doubt she would have suffered the public ridicule that she did. This wasn't just the media analyzing and picking apart the situation. She was made fun of very frequently. I have never seen another business figure treated in such a way (we usually save this for movie stars and politicians!). One wonders how masculinized the Pluto connection is........

- M-Press, Pluto in Leo may very well have a flair for serious drama, but from what I've read Pluto on its own tends more towards secrecy or extreme force.

- As for the father issue, perhaps there are other factors in the chart that will arise to support this.

I think the relationship of Martha with her mother and father, and indeed the relationship between the two of them will be quite important to the reading.

I think Isthmus has identified a couple of features of Pluto that we should bear in mind - the power/force side and the hidden/secret side. Pluto also is money related - Plutocrats are ruled by Pluto.

There's an interplay between the wealth, business and parental sides to Martha.