Karl Marx

[Jim Eshelman]

Marx, Karl. May 5, 1818, 2:00 AM LMT, Trier, Germany (AA).

A discussion with my brother this morning about the nature of Communism (and the particular way the word is weaponized by people on the right to attack people on the left who don't even identify with it) led me to loop back and review the birth chart of Karl Marx.

Marx' chart is of great interest astrologically because it superficially looks quite unlike what is popularly thought of as Marx' teachings. I'm fairly conversant in the theory of exactly what the social philosophy and economic theory of communism are, and how these should never be confused with the totalitarian government model of the U.S.S.R. that most popularly comes to mind when the word is used. Despite this, my first impression in looking at Marx' nativity is to think, "What an economic materialist and money-focused person this is!"

But that's my point in posting this here: That's exactly who he was. Marx' philosophy - taken directly from Marx - is utterly materialist and pragmatic. He was an economist as well as social philosopher (the former more than the latter). Astrology captures that at a glance!

So, let's pause and loop back to his chart...

The most stunning feature of Marx' nativity is that he was born at a close Moon-Sun conjunction, which falls in Sidereal Aries in the 2nd House. More than this... as Moon's node is less than 3° from Moon, this is a strong solar eclipse - a tremendously powerful natal configuration. One detail that fascinates me is that this eclipse was visible over nearly every spot on Earth that later embraced communism as its form of government (Cuba, as a Russian satellite, is the only significant exception) - including Russia, China, the whole of Eastern Europe, and much of Africa. This Communist government was quite different from Marx' model, but always carried his name high.

Marx's natal Moon-Sun conjunction (solar eclipse) fell in the 2nd House, which normally is considered a house of money - suggesting money-intensive focus as a central piece of his make-up (and yes, he was an economist). In my model, the 2nd (presuming houses work) has a much more martial tone: It owns its association with Scorpio, it shows money and property primarily in the sense of "going to war" in the competitive drive to establish oneself securely in the outer world. I think these themes are consistent enough with Marx, with his social-economic philosophy based primarily on necessary conflict between the working class and the employing class. But any interpretation of 2H is consistent with Marx basic role as an economist.

But we don't really need the houses, as clear as they are in this case, to make the same point, because luminaries in Aries alone show the same martial preoccupation with economics and competition. Sidereal Aries is exactly the material-finance figure that Tropical astrologers call Taurus. (I think the Sidereal has the better argument - economics are inherently martial and not at all venereal - but, of course, they think they have the better argument.) Where the Sidereal really prevails in this "it could be this or that" trade-off is that Marx' philosophy was inherently radical, and Aries - wherever it sits on any other issue - is fully willing to be radical.

So the Moon-Sun conjunction / solar eclipse in Aries in 2H leaps off the chart and, in fact, describes the basic thrust of his life. The second factor (of four primary factors) that draws attention is Saturn rising and square MC. It's the only foreground planet. A double Aries with Saturn as the only foreground planet was, unsurprisingly, an outspoken materialist.

Materialism is the core feature of Marx' economic and social philosophy. By "materialism" in this case we mean the worldview that physical matter is the foundation of the universe and controls every aspect of existence (in contrast to other views that would claim that consciousness, spiritual elements, or something else was the causative agent of reality). It really doesn't get much clearer than this. His double-Aries luminaries nearly insist on the word pragmatic as describing his view.

A third factor is that Jupiter (though well-housed in Sagittarius) is weakly placed - in the immediate background. It trines his conjoined luminaries (he was indeed a philosopher and had a great Santa Claus beard <g>) but otherwise doesn't describe him. For example, he was not a classist, was opposed to the whole idea of vertical social strata (though, as a pragmatist, he recognized they exist and analyzed them).

The other primary focus on his chart is his closest major aspect, which is one rarely considered as having persona relevance. It is Neptune square Pluto within 0°13'. I've moved from the idea that these outer aspects are unimportant in a nativity: They work under exactly the same rules as any other aspect. The difference is only that the themes they reflect are shared by a huge number of people born around the same time and, therefore, are rarely personal in the parts of life they touch. But Marx was well-described by this aspect. Anyone with a strong Neptune-Pluto aspect lives in stark confrontation of uncertainty about the world (or almost any aspect of reality). This fosters a desire for certainty - for anchoring reality by seeing the world a certain way. The hard aspects (like his square) is fairly distinctive from, say, the sextile many of us share: Those with the conjunction, opposition, or square strong who become leaders of their era (as we surely might expect from someone born under this solar eclipse) display the capacity and desire to impose a scientific, political, or literary worldview, rejecting competing worldview, regarding things a certain way and not other.

Those four factors seem the core of the chart. There are many other things to explore; for example, his Moon is octile the Neptune-Pluto, with Moon-Neptune only 0°07'. Luminaries and Jupiter and Saturn are all tied more tightly together in one aspect pattern. Mars in Gemini is worth examination for his particular style of thought and argument. And so forth. - And whatever might it mean that his Sun is partile (16') Eris?

[Jim Eshelman]

It may be interesting to briefly contrast Marx with Vladimir Lenin, born April 22, 1870, 12:00 AM, Simbirsk, Russia (B). Lenin was also an Aries - there was a basis for a commonality, for their names to be linked through history as if they were the same person (and people basically not distinguishing between them at all).

But they were quite different. Both had Aries Sun and and angular Saturn (Lenin had angular Sun-Saturn in mundane square), but Lenin's Moon was in Sagittarius. This made him a quit different kind of imperialist, one who really did have class-authority native to his soul.

Additionally, Lenin stood for continuing revolution, which differs from Marx's views. We see this in Moon opposite Uranus, both square Mars-Neptune. Moon-Uranus also is trine-sextile Pluto. There's a lot to read in that one aspect structure!

What actual effect did Marx have on Lenin? Marx's Uranus-Neptune straddle Lenin's Ascendant (for the official time, presuming that it's right), so Marx was quite the reality-warper for Lenin. I'm not sure what M's Neptune conjunct L's rising Saturn means exactly. Besides the shared Aries Suns, M's luminaries both conjoined L's Mercury so - to state it simply, M had a great impact on L's mind and way of thinking. Perhaps most interesting, M's Mars (quiet in his own chart) ignited L's Moon-Uranus-Mars-Neptune, L's truly radical combination!

There are other things that I'd need biographies to explore. M's Saturn is 0°25' from L's Venus, but M's Venus is 2°18' from L's Jupiter. But I think the items just mentioned are the most important.