Friday, June 29, 2007

Dr Who Hates Astrology!

I just found out David Tennant hates astrology with a passion!
I’m devastated. It was only when he became the tenth Doctor Who that I got right back into a show I hadn’t watched since being a small child in the 1970’s. Back then I watched mostly from behind the sofa, as it seemed the only safe place once those Daleks arrived. It was a show that became the source of countless childhood nightmares (oh, that theme music!), but then I grew up to be an astrologer much in love with all things of star and space and fell for this Tennant Time Lord incarnation immediately. I rejoiced in the weekly triumph of Geek Chic over all manner of monsters and scary folk, armed only with a sonic screwdriver, a winning smile, and the kind of confidence and optimism born from the conscious memory of nine previous lifetimes. What can I say, he’s my kind of guy.

It’s surely a measure of his skill as an actor that I’m confusing fantasy and reality in such matters, but now I find David Tennant hates astrology I’m all shattered dreams and disappointment. I won’t ever be able to ask for an autograph in case he shoos me away sternly, and sadly my hero now seems to be angrily aiming that sonic screwdriver directly at me from my favourite Who wallpaper. In the most intolerable twist of fate imaginable, being an astrologer means I’ve actually become one of Dr Who’s monsters.

And I’m making it all worse for myself because I can’t help thinking the whole thing reeks of his sun in Aries nature. Yes, Tennant’s an Aries. Surely no surprise there. Only an Aries could spit nails on a subject without having researched it first. But maybe that’s just my Moon in Aries instantly assuming he hasn’t. Whatever, I’m now on a galactic quest in search of the astrology of Dr Who. I need to soothe my soul the best way I know…


The Tom Baker Connection
Legend has it that back in the 70’s, when Tom Baker was caretaker of the Dr role, (he of the long scarf and wide-eyed grin), while I was quivering uneasily behind the sofa armed only with Sindy dolls and a Spacehopper to see off those Cybermen, elsewhere a wee Tennant was so thrilled by Baker’s performance, he made a decision there and then that acting was his destiny. In true sci-fi plot style, it turns out Dr Who literally inspired a future incarnation of Dr Who. And if astrology is doing its job properly, it’s going to show up in a birth chart comparison of both actors.

David Tennant born 18th April 1971, Bathgate, West Lothian
Tom Baker born 20th January 1934, Liverpool, England

I don’t have birth times for either Baker or Tennant (and am too nervy of a brusque response from my hero to write and enquire further), but just a Googled birthdate and a midday birth time is enough info to bring up a chart showing a number of fascinating astro aspects between the pair, including a Sun/Moon conjunction, and a Sun square Sun aspect. Both are significant indicators of strong links between two charts, but there was also another aspect that got my attention: the North Node of the Moon, which is famous for being an indicator of destiny in a chart. Both actors share North node in Aquarius, just a couple of degrees apart at 19 and 21 degrees. It takes around 19 years to return to its starting point in a cycle, so a strong link like this to another chart isn’t something that happens everyday.

An argument often thrown at astrology in an attempt to invalidate it is that all children of David Tennant’s age had this aspect, but not all went on to become Dr Who. But trying to be detail specific when it comes to destiny is missing the point, as astrology speaks strongest about shared wavelengths and similarity of energies (symbolised by the planets, signs, etc), which spark an individual resonance or recognition, tuning-fork fashion; in this case like an acorn in the presence of an oak tree recognising the potential blueprint held within.

Hotspots
Astrologers look for patterns in charts and between charts, and these patterns can run on like a connecting thread, spanning generations and events. Widening the search to join the dots, I looked at the chart for the first ever Doctor Who series, (first aired 23rd November, 1963, 17.15pm). The Sun (identity) had just moved into the first minutes of the sign of Sagittarius, just the right symbol for the nomadic adventurer spirit that characterises the soul of the The Doctor. Moon was conjunct Saturn at 17 degrees of Aquarius (Saturn is the planet associated with time and authority, and therefore Time Lords - check out his funky retro spaceship for a true Saturn symbol).

This 17 degree Aquarius point was cosily close enough to Baker and Tennant's shared North Node degrees to suggest this area might be a hotspot between Dr Who related charts, in which I could expect to see planets and angles repeatedly cropping up. It’s oh so difficult without birth times to get an accurate picture of who might have what at that hotspot, but soldiering on, I looked at info for writer Russell T Davis (27th April 1963), and found he had Saturn at 22 degrees of Aquarius (in exact dynamic 90 degree aspect to David Tennant’s Saturn in Taurus, btw).

The original Dr Who series ran from 1963 to 1989, then returned to tv screens on 26th March 2005, thanks to the genius of Russell T Davis's brilliant writing. Scanning the classic series last episode chart (6th December 1989) for any sign of action on those hotspot Aquarius degrees showed the North Node back at 19 Aquarius; while the new series in 2005 had Neptune (imagination) at 17 Aquarius.

I could have gone on and on with the Aquarius trail, as more clues were everywhere, but it was dinner time and the washing machine needed reloading, unfortunately signalling my journey through time and space had to draw to a close for now. However there was just time to check the United Kingdom chart (1st Jan 1801), because when something like Dr Who is taken to the hearts of the nation in such a huge way, it’s going to be seen resonating with the UK chart strongly too. And along with some other great aspects to the charts, I found the UK's Venus (relationship and value) to be located at 17 Aquarius.

I’ve concentrated on those aspects between 17 and 22 Aquarius here, but there’s plenty more I haven’t mentioned. No doubt plenty more I couldn’t see because of thumbnail sketch birth details. I can imagine many people might not see a meaningful connection between a bunch of numbers and a few charts, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s these kinds of collective ‘coincidence’ patterns that reveal the true nature of astrology. Because real astrology is more about patterns than predictions, more about free will than fate, and turns out to have more in common with a Time Lord than with a Mystic Meg. Forget the touch and feel clockwork universe that sceptics get so panicky about questioning; now that it’s all mandelbrots and fractals there's plenty of room in that weird old world of quantum chaos for astrology to exist quite happily without causing any damaging ripples at all in the fabric of the space-time continuum, as a result of rocking that boat of accepted reality.


Read this article here for an insight into how astrology and strange but true weird science now sit comfortably side by side.


21 comments:

Unknown said...

meh.. for me Tom Baker really was the ultimate Doctor, really terrible news about this Tennant character's view regarding astrology.. my sister just came back from England here to California with Doctor Who toys for us, and guess, who did i get but ol' Sneakers but he came with a resurrected K-9 complete with remote! -so maybe i can have K-9 teach him a lesson or two, eh ;]

Barbara Palliser said...

:-) Yes, get K-9 onto it at once!

Can't stop laughing at 'ol Sneakers'

Twilight said...

Hi Barbara

I'm not a big Dr Who fan - haven't seen more than a handful of the more recent episodes, but I love the way you've researched, and found the common thread of Aquarian degrees. Just the way I like my astrology served up.

Thanks for a good read!

Barbara Palliser said...

thanks twilight! really appreciate that xxx

Unknown said...

..also interesting, as i have natal sun conj. north node at 21' Aquarius

Barbara Palliser said...

Brilliant!! (said in shouty, smiley Dr Who style)

and of course I forgot somehow, that Venus and Saturn was opposing Neptune at 22 degrees Aquarius when I wrote the darn thing...

Jude Cowell said...

With you, Barbara, haven't watched the Dr in years but the new series is very watchable!

jude

Anonymous said...

What joy to find an article on the astrology of Dr. Who. Thank you! BTW, my moon is at 21 Aquarius. :)

Barbara Palliser said...

aah kindred spirits!

and anon, moon was around that degree when you left your comment...

Kitty said...

Hello, I just found your site while looking up info for David Tennant's chart. A Blogger gem.

I kept going after reading your post about the two Doctors, determined to find an accurate birth time. I hate fumbling around with vagueness (I'm Virgo.) And I found this listing:

David Tennant, Actor (10th Doctor Who and the 2nd Scottish one). Born David John McDonald, 18 April 1971, 14:00 GDT, Bangour Hospital, Broxburn, Scotland (55N57, 3W29). Source: Caroline Gerard q. birth certificate.

I'm not sure if it fits--I haven't even plugged it into his chart to see if it makes any sense whatsoever, but I hope it's of interest, maybe even some use.

Unfortunately I'm stuck in the States, about two years behind you with the new series. Grumble... But I think the new one's brilliant and it's even reawakened nostalgia for the old ones--well, the Tom Baker ones anyway ; )

All the best,
Kitty

Barbara Palliser said...

WOW! Kitty you are an absolute star!! I never saw that - interesting site too - they have all sorts of birth data for Brit celebs. Fabulous!

Turns out he has a 25 Leo ascendant, if that data is correct. Makes sense doesn't it. And just a few degrees away from the 22 hotspot. Sun in Aries in the 9th.

Mind you, I wouldn't put it past the timing to be a few mins either way, as in the UK back in those days you didn't often get an exact to the minute birthtime unless the midwife was into astrology :-) It was often rounded up, to the nearest half hour, hour or quarter hour.

But the Leo ascendant does make sense, as it puts Saturn in the 10th, which is part of this Grand Trine in earth - Saturn in Taurus, Mars in Cap in 5th, and Virgo Pluto in 2nd.

Apparently filming has just started for the next series now, (Kylie Minogue is guest star for Christmas special!). So loads in store coming your way. You'll LOVE series 3 that has just finished here - best one yet.

THANKS SO MUCH for sharing your find! I'm off to study that chart :-))

AC gem said...

If that birth time is correct (and it seems very fitting), I think it's quite obvious why he hates astrology. He's an [i]extreme[/i] Saturnine individual with a fire Sun and Asc - while he strives to project a calm, solid image of confidence, competence and self-assurance, underneath he's a proud, touchy and defensive sort who'd too easily resent anyone or anything trying to define and explain his own identity. His desire for self-possession and self-determination runs extraordinarily high (and that's coming from me - a 10th house Sun with Aqua Mars!). He much prefers to see himself as a self-made individual, not the product of chance and happenstance.

Astrology probably looks pretty far-fetched to him, and I doubt he's studied it - why should he? Such a proud Saturnine type would see it as unsophisticated superstition that's anything but redeemable. I'm sure he's very content with that opinion too, so arguing with him would be frruitless. I suspect this isn't the first time his Arian/Saturnine nature has narrowed his outlook, and it won't be the last either.

With that Tau Merc/Ari Sun conj squaring Cap moon, he feels he should knows more than he does, making him rather insecure and easily befuddled with contradicting opionions and argument are thrown around. This might be an Achilles heel for him, since with all that earth, he has a great emotional memory of all the times his intellectual abilities failed him. And he's not the sort who can swallow his pride very easily when he's unwitted. So rather than get into a heated debate, he does as any good Aries would - stomp the ground in belligerent defiance and demand the discussion go no further.

I too think Tennant's "my kind of guy" - including his insistant rejection of astrology (I adore the stubborn type, especially Arian ones). I guess that's my ultra-forgiving Pisces moon (degree conjunct his Venus - wink, wink) talking.

Barbara Palliser said...

yes, I totally agree with the self-made, self-posessed thing, and I think that was necessary for him to have such a strong sense of purpose and destiny at such a young age about his own future.

AC gem said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AC gem said...

Sorry for the delete - I needed to edit something...

I recall reading he first saw himself as an actor at a very young age, and he apparently has never wavered from that. Leave it to Saturn to give someone such a clear, certain sense of purpose.

I also would like to point out to your readers that he has Mars in the 5th - this is a superb artistic placement, especially for male thespians. Among several actors I can think of, Ewan MacGregor, who's only a few days older than Tennant as well as a fellow Scot, also has this placement (his data: 31 March, 1971, Crieff, Scotland, 3:45 PM; source - imdb.com).

For Tennant, his Mars is particularly intriguing. He has ASC in Leo (sign of the performer) ruling his Aries Sun, and his Sun ruling that 5th house Mars (exalted, I add), and his 10th house Saturn ruling his Mars. Sounds like a recipe for a successful actor, yes?

You could even take that another step furthermore and add that his Saturn and MC in Taurus are ruled by his Venus in Pisces, another exaltation and a highly artistic placement. Not to mention that Venus falls in his 8th house, giving his a deep psychological adnemotional intuition and insight for his artistic endeavors.

And to lead back to the original discussion, methinks that 8th Venus could be a "secret doorway" into stirring up Tennant's latent spiritual and occult inclinations, which I'm sure he must have underneath all that Saturnine austerity and Aries bravado. Plus with a 9th house Sun and Mercury, he can't deny his need to grow intellectually and spiritually, even if his Saturnine nature makes him hesistant to trust anything "unproven." While he's done a lot of exploring his Venusian artistic potential on through his Aries willpower and Saturnine determination, there's still a lot of other, quieter potential in that Venus he may not be able to expand on his own. Being a receptive planet in both a receptive sign and house, that 8th house Venus will really need the right trigger. I'm thinking he's pretty much just waiting for the right person at the time and place to tap into that 8th house/Venusian side of himself and expand his intellectual ans spiritual horizons. So who knows - maybe he won't always be so firmly disagreeable on the topic of astrology. ;)

Anonymous said...

I love your blog, Barbara! As a fellow astrologer, I was inspired to start my own blog after reading yours.

Barbara Palliser said...

thanks Susan! do you have a link to your blog?

Anonymous said...

Here's a link, Barbara. I only recently started the blog, so there's not much to look at yet.
www.timescape-astrology.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hi, Barbara,

I've just been reading your Doctor Who post again - absolutely fascinating!

I was wondering if, during the next few weeks/months, you'll be analysing the charts of any of the actors mentioned in the press recently who are supposed to be the next potential Time Lord? If one of them 'connected' with the Doctor Who chart, it would be really interesting to see what happens next!

Susan

Barbara Palliser said...

Good idea!!

Sole said...

I feel the same! As an astrology student I was devastated to see that :(...