Bettie Page

[Jim Eshelman]

Jan 21, 2013

Tonight Marion and I watched The Notorious Bettie Page. ack it up with a little more biographical information, and it's quite an interesting story.

And we have Bettie's birth time from two biographies (so it's B-rated data). She was born April 23, 1923, 3:00 AM CST, Nashville, TN. Here's the chart.

BPage.jpg

One can't miss that rising Uranus in Aquarius - notorious indeed, and smashing down barriers. She also has Venus in the foreground (only 8° below the horizon in mundo), exalted in Pisces. - Tell me, what could describe Bettie Page better than Uranus and Venus in the foreground?

The Sun is in Aries and the Moon in Gemini. With this and her close Mercury-Jupiter opposition, I'd have expected her to be a better business woman. Butk then Neptune squaeres the Mercury-Jupiter, and her worst business decisions were from being taken advantage of. Aries in her was bold. Gemini made her quick, intelligent, etc. Even the luminary houses speak to her area of fame and style: a 1st House Sun and 5th House Moon.

What I don't see is her religious devotion. I'd expect more than a Jupiter-Neptune square! So much in the chart speaks against it in general, that I'm inclined to mark it up to early religious exposure. She seems to have been quite sincere in the matter.

There is also her later schizophrenia, including years of hospitalization. The Aries-Gemini luminaries are at risk for similar states (I'm surprised there's no history of substance abuse). The Mercury-Neptune square is insufficient, especially with the Mercury-JUpiter opposition and Mercury-Uranus sextile. I haven't yet identified what I would base her psychosis on.

Her foreground led her east (where it was even stronger) - in NYC it was less than 2° from the Ascendant in mundo.

According to Wikipedia, she died December 11, 2008, 6:41 PM PST, in Los Angeles, after being hospitalized on December 6. Reportedly she suffered a heart attack and then died from pneumonia. (A family friend said she was in a coma. She died when life support was discontinued.) - I haven't done a workup on the death event.

Her religious conversion was on New Years Eve 1958 in Key West, FL. She moved to Southern California in 1979. I can't find dates for her mental breakdowns, but her final mental hospitalization appears to have been 1984-1992.

[Jim Eshelman]

She died shortly after her Uranus return, on a day (and near the hour) that t. Sun conjoined her Midheaven, triggering t. Saturn's square to her Midheaven. This gives some confidence in the even-hour birth time.

FWIW t. Sedna at 25 Ari 42 was partile conjunct her Los Angeles IC (25 Ari 55)) in eclipto.

SECONDARY PROGRESSIONS/ Venus conj. r. Pluto 18' sep. Mars square r. Sun 56' ap.

SOLAR RETURN. Saturn within 1° of the Midheaven, and closely square the Moon (less than 2°). Neptune was partile square her Ascendant. A withering, wearing, running-down sort of disease is shown.

DEMI-SSR. Saturn rising opposite Uranus on Descendant. (Her Venus also snuck in.)

LUNAR RETURN. Pluto is on the Westpoint. Jupiter in the setting foreground opposite her natal Moon. Her Venus was at the Midheaven in partile square to t. Pluto.

DEMI-SLR. A Moon-Venus-Jupiter triple conjunction on the EP. Presumably the death was a blessed release. Natal Pluto was closely setting.

SNQ2. Transiting Mars exactly conjoined the Ascendant.