Memoirs of a Fibber

Sagittarius rules Writing and the Publishing Industry. With Pluto traveling through that sign the Media has become a major power in U.S. Society. The Papparazzi have become extra fierce, literally killed Princess Diana and have dogged Celebrities into living what looks like a living hell. Poetry has made a comeback in popular society with Poetry Slams and Stand-Up Comedians can sometimes actually make an Ok Living. And of course there are bloggers galore where we publish before we've actually written a complete idea. Everyone is trying to make a fortune off of exposing the latest story. Everyone wants to out-do the others' stories. And who can really read all this crap? Everyone's so busy writing, they don't have time to read.

There has also been a publishing blitz of Memoir Writers during this transit. I don't understand the connection to Memoir as that seems a Cancer/4th house thing, but, out of this fervor a few books were exposed this last year for having gone too far with their exaggerations and tall tales. This doesn't really bother me, personally, but the Journalists and Media had a fit. Oprah had a fit. Just think how awful it would have been if Anne Morrow Lindbergh had rattled on and on about how her husband was doodling around with mistress after mistress. Instead she wrote developed a rich interior life which no doubt formed from the pressure of not being loved. This is what creates Pearls and Diamonds, and, well, Liars. Mark Twain, by the way, was a Sagittarius with Scorpio Rising, ruled by Pluto and Jupiter.

Anyway, if the Birth Data I'm using is correct, I think I've found the Planet and Transits to blame. In both charts I have, those of JT Leroy and James Frey, Mars is at 22 and 26 Sagittarius, both are at the apex of a t-square which is a high tension aspect, and both were under the slow transit of Pluto.

Sagittarius is also the sign of wild and crazy fun. It's the sign of Little White Lies which are so much fun to tell and with Mars here would direct much of an Individual's more aggressive, acting out energies in this direction, especially with squares involved. Both memoirs were telling totally wild stories about people leading wild lives and the public ate them up. Pluto rules Scorpio, the sign of the Phoenix, and it likes to rip ya apart just so it can build ya back up. The astrologers call it a purification process; I think it might be the subconscious reason the astronomers demoted Pluto. Pluto can also bring Fame. It seems to purify sometimes by just dragging up all the dirt out from under whatever easy chairs ya happen to be sittin on. Jupiter enlarges everything it touches blowing everything out of proportion. Famous actors like Mel Gibson and Michael Richards now seem to be putting their feet in their mouths with racist comments, seems the White Men have had enough of the cross fire. Jupiter just overdoes it sometimes, if you've ever known a Sagittarius you know how it is.

Back to our writers, though.

The First Chart example is that of James Frey. He wrote A Thousand Little Pieces about going through Drug Rehab and to make the story extra special told a couple of little fibs about root canals and dead girlfriends, or whatever, I can't remember.

James Frey's birth data is Sept. 12, 1969 Cleveland, Ohio. Sun in Virgo with Moon either in Virgo or Libra. He has Mars conjunct Venus in Sagg squaring the Nodes. His North Node is in Pisces very befitting of a Drug Addict and Alcoholic. He's certainly pulled off that side of his spiritual quest in that regard. Pisces is also good for pulling off anything deceptive or artistic. His South Node is in Virgo conjunct his Sun and Pluto. This shows a spiritual crisis and past life carry over of a very violent nature, looks like he got caught in the last life too. He was probably born remembering some really awful experiences so his memoirs are probably not all that dishonest in the long karmic run of things.

Frey also has an interesting triangle pattern of apex Saturn in Taurus quindecile Mars on one end and Pluto on the other end. Quindeciles are thought to bring out compulsive tendencies and also are connected with great creativity. Saturn rules guilt, moral lessons, and restrictions. These three planets working together under a transit can bring about a complete reality check.

In September, 2005 Oprah picked his book for her Book Club and by January 27, 2006 was tearing Frey apart on her talk show. For some reason I watched it and haven't been able to breath when I see her face at the check-out counter ever since. It was scary. Man, don't mess with Oprah. Frey's Pisces, Pluto, Nodes were really tight lipped and he looked like a monster on the show. You could see the wheels churning in his eyes the whole time. What to say? What not to say? Best to not say anything. And Oprah with Neptune on her Sun: she's either grabbing at straws with rosy colored glasses or stabbing at old wine bags like Don Quixote. But, she's still Oprah. Ew.

Anyway, Pluto was on Frey's Mars creating havoc. The transiting NN was also conjunct his Chiron in Aries (ruled by Mars) and opposite his Uranus-Jupiter conjunction. Uranus-Jupiter combinations are open minded but need grounding. He got plugged into the earth during January like most people could never even dream about.

The 2d Chart example is JT Leroy. JT Leroy was a teenage Savant who wrote memoirs of a really awful childhood which morphed into a crazy Andy Warhol life style surrounded by celebrities and movie deals. At the end of 2005 (exposed October 2005) Leroy was exposed as a girl named Savannah who was related to the real author through marriage three times removed or something. The writer behind the books was Laura Albert who has given her birth data in the latest Paris Review (hope that's the correct mag). I guess it's foolish to believe anything she says but the chart repeats James Frey's chart so fantastically I'm giving it anyway: Nov. 2, 1965 Brooklyn, NY. Sun in Scorpio, Moon either in Aquarius or Pisces.

In this chart, Mars is in Sagittarius conjunct Venus. It's the apex of a t-square to an opposition of Chiron in Pisces opposite Pluto-Uranus in Virgo. In 2005, Pluto hit Mars and Venus along with her Progressed Sun and she was exposed. Natally, her North Node is in Gemini which, like Pisces, is a double sign, known for its split personalities and also is a writer's sign. Mercury is conjunct her South Node, reaffirming these talents.

The Nodes of both writer's signs are in Pisces and Gemini, which explains the ability of their owner's to exhibit duplicitous behaviors.

The fictional character, JT Leroy, was supposedly "born" on Oct. 31, 1980 in West Virginia. As an interesting coincidence!!! "He" also has Mars in Sagittarius and it is conjunct Neptune at 21 Sagittarius and was literally "wiped out" by the Pluto transit!!!