The Astrology of the Beach Boys

[AndrewHickey]

Incidentally, I apologise if I *have* been unreasonable in this thread. I've had a terrible blood pressure headache most of the week and am far too irritable.

But astrology is no more a science than football is.

[TMinthePM]

No sweat man...my enthusiasms sometimes get the better of me.

[bossaroo]

I will scan the article if you like. It's 10 pages so gimme a minute.


Andrew-
thanks for the lesson on what constitutes a science, but comparing astrology to religion or football is utter nonsense. Astrology is based on actual events, the movement and placement of the planets in the solar system at any given time, and is calculated down to the exact second. There's a reason that every newspaper issued in the last several decades has a horoscope column. And while it is mainly for entertainment in that medium, it is still based on a very real, tangible, and yes, scientific, discipline.

Stephen-
I realize you may not have meant to sound sexist with your initial remark, but you did nonetheless. You defined believers of astrology as female. Regardless of the statistics in the UK or whether any of your male friends believe in it, there is still a significant percentage of males that practice astrology. And it is common knowledge among fans that members of The Beach Boys practice astrology to this day. You conveniently forgot these facts and made a sweeping generalization.


having said that... does anyone know the exact time and location of Carl Wilson's birth?  

[Don Malcolm]

IIRC, David Leaf printed Brian's astrological chart in his book. There are many versions of this around on the Net; a series of Google searches will conjure them up.

You can find astrological charts for five of the BB (Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike and Al) at the following link:

http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Main_Page

As an astrological agnostic, I'll leave it to someone else to take the "big dip" into interpreting those charts....

[AndrewHickey]

thanks for the lesson on what constitutes a science, but comparing astrology to religion or football is utter nonsense. Astrology is based on actual events, the movement and placement of the planets in the solar system at any given time, and is calculated down to the exact second. There's a reason that every newspaper issued in the last several decades has a horoscope column. And while it is mainly for entertainment in that medium, it is still based on a very real, tangible, and yes, scientific, discipline.

No it isn't. Words have meanings, and science involves a particular process, of hypothesis, producing falsifiable predictions, testing those predictions and revising the hypothesis in the light of the results, that simply isn't involved in astrology. Just saying that something's a science doesn't make it so.

And not every newspaper has an astrology column. Those that actually contain any news, like the Guardian or Independent in the UK, don't.

[bossaroo]

Still, there remain many things in this world that cannot or have not been explained by the standard scientific process of hypothesis and prediction. For example, science can explain how the human body functions but it can't tell us why. It can attempt to explain existence, but it can't explain love, emotion, soul. It doesn't mean these things don't exist. Astrology is one of many esoteric sciences that attempts to explain the unexplainable. It is a true discipline, requiring much study to practice and master, with an enormous depth of components researched under very exact guidelines. I call that a science.

[AndrewHickey]

Still, there remain many things in this world that cannot or have not been explained by the standard scientific process of hypothesis and prediction.

True enough.

Astrology is one of many esoteric sciences that attempts to explain the unexplainable. It is a true discipline, requiring much study to practice and master, with an enormous depth of components researched under very exact guidelines. I call that a science.

But it's *not* a science, because it doesn't follow 'the standard scientific process of hypothesis and prediction'. That's not even to say it's wrong -- it *is* wrong, but not because it's not a science. It's just not a science for exactly the same reason that playing the violin, watching TV, writing a poem or proving a mathematical theorem aren't sciences -- because they don't involve the scientific method. You might as well call it a sport, or a language.

[bossaroo]

but it isn't a sport. or a language. it's an ancient science.

[Amazing Larry]

but it isn't a sport. or a language. it's an ancient science.

Regardless of the time period, it's not a science. It wasn't a science last week and it wasn't a science in ancient Greece.

[bossaroo]

I bet there's more than a few ancient astrologers who would beg to differ.

You know... if they were still alive and members of a Beach Boys message board. 

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Still, there remain many things in this world that cannot or have not been explained by the standard scientific process of hypothesis and prediction. 

Therefore the logical thing to do would be to fill that gap with a superstitious belief?

You'd be better off asking why humans have a need to answer everything, even if they're grabbing an answer out of thin air. This is a fascinating science called anthropology.

The answers are more often than not, simple and elegant. Science does not rob us of mystery, it gives us the beauty of truth

[bossaroo]

There's a reason astrology has been around longer than Jesus.  There's something to it, whether you regard it as ancient science or superstition.

Science gives us mere explanations. It does not give us the truth.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

It's no good just saying "there's something to it". You need to back that up. Prove there's something to it. You can't.

Conversely, I can't prove there isn't, although what we know about physical laws of the universe, would make astrology highly improbable. The gravitational pull of distant celestial objects may have an affect on the human psyche, though I would prefer to turn to studies of the human brain / psychology / anthropology / natural selection to find out why we act the way we do. Unlike astrology, these sciences do answer why you are the way you are.

You are the one asserting it is "true", therefore the onus of proof is on you.

And science does give us truth, the only truth that means anything. The natural laws that govern everything. It is these laws which religion and astrology have been trying (and failing) to explain for millennia.

[TMinthePM]

OK, so this is just going in circles.

I suggest we split up and search in different areas.

One guy google Astrology of the 60s, another astrology of the 70s and so forth.

My initial search of the 60s yielded the fact that a Uranus-Pluto Square from 1960 to 1972 produced individualism and rebellion.

1960thru 1972 : Surfin Safari thru Surf's Up.

A lot of ground covered there, a lot of changes.

Let me see what else I can find to flesh this out and I'll be back.

[lance]

I used to be really into astrology and know quite a lot about it. However, in my opinion, astrology isn't a science; it's an art.

It is clear that the Beach Boys, especially Brian and Mike, were very into astrology during the sixties and seventies; whether they still are, I don't know.

i also think that Brian (and the Beach Boys in general) is an interesting study from the standpoint of astrology--all those mutable signs working at odds to each other.

[AndrewHickey]

It is clear that the Beach Boys, especially Brian and Mike, were very into astrology during the sixties and seventies; whether they still are, I don't know.

Mike still was in the 90s, if Strange Things Happen is anything to go by, and of course he wrote Pisces Brothers a few years ago.

[TMinthePM]

Here’s an article entitled “The Astrology of the Reagan Era” that offers the Big Picture at least to the late 80s.

The Short of it:


1. a conjunction between Uranus and Pluto - Pluto compelling… consciousness-raising, and rebellious expressions… Uranus’s awakening and liberating

2. the early 1980’s was epitomized by a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto… Saturn correlates with the desire for stasis, stability, and tradition.

3. in the late 1980’s,… conjunction formed between the planets of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune…. Neptune dissolves structures not unlike a metaphysical solvent…. blurs distinctions, melts that which was once solid, and softens that which was distinct and hard.


A Little Less Short:


a conjunction between Uranus and Pluto framed the entire decade (of the 1960s) and symbolized the new horizons, progressive freedoms, and experimentalism of the era.

the intense and powerful energies of Pluto compelling the destabilizing, consciousness-raising, and rebellious expressions associated with Uranus.

Uranus’s awakening and liberating influence stimulating the chaotic, transformative energies of Pluto. The mind-expanding, creative, and disruptive energies of the era - a reflection of the cyclical and archetypal dynamics involved.

Important alignments between Uranus and Pluto correlate with times of mass rebelliousness against tradition and the established order.

The destabilizing influence of the combination is typically as exciting and awakening as it is disruptive and chaotic—it truly is “rock’n’roll” energy, for heads roll if the sociopolitical establishment is not rocked to its very foundations.

The previous major alignment involving Uranus and Pluto, an opposition between the two planets occurring in the first decade of the twentieth century, also demonstrated the mass rebelliousness of this planetary combination.

As the radical 1960’s was characterized by a Uranus-Pluto conjunction, the early 1980’s was epitomized by a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto. With Pluto being the constant, Saturn and Uranus represent very different aspects of the collective psyche. If Uranus expresses the new, the radical, and the experimental, Saturn correlates with the desire for stasis, stability, and tradition. If Uranus brings creative innovation and chaotic rebellion, Saturn represents repressive crystallization of Uranus’s revolutions. Thus, the early 1980’s represented a foundational and all-pervasive drive against the radical expressions of the 1960’s.

As the early 1980’s were defined by the archetypal dynamics of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, in the late 1980’s, a new astrological alignment formed with radically different dimensions and expressions. By…1989, a rare and highly significant conjunction formed between the planets of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune.

If we deconstruct the archetypes involved, we have energies of “old”—Saturn—and “new”—Uranus—joined by Neptune. Whether applied individually or collectively, Neptune dissolves structures not unlike a metaphysical solvent. Neptune blurs distinctions, melts that which was once solid, and softens that which was distinct and hard.

Thus, not unlike a great wave of dissolution, the triple conjunction of Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn at the end of the 1980’s stood in dramatic counterpoint (and disengaged) the Saturn-Pluto conjunction at the beginning of the decade.

THE FULL ARTICLE:
The recent passing of Ronald Reagan has afforded as much the opportunity to eulogize the former president as it has allowed the entire world to reflect upon the events that defined the Reagan era. Reagan’s messages and ideology were characterized by a remarkable simplicity; his was a universe of black and whites with little room for ambiguity. From Nancy Reagan’s straightforward campaign of “Just say no” to Reagan’s recurrent castigation of the communists as the epitome of all that is evil, the world was delivered to the American public in stark contrasts with easy choices.
This essay is not an astrological analysis of the complexities and contradictions of Reagan the individual but rather Reagan in context of greater historical movements that shaped and defined that latter half of the twentieth century. Astrology, perhaps as much as any other methodology, undermines the “great man” theory of history—the belief that single individuals wield so much influence as to contour the times in which they live. Rather, astrology suggests that leaders reflect and act in response to historical cycles and dynamics much greater than any one individual. Reagan did not define the 1980’s and the changing values of America, but he did come to symbolize and reflect the growing conservatism of the Western psyche during the era.

The Uranus-Pluto conjunction of the 1960’s

Little known to most, in Reagan’s early years the actor was a diehard liberal Democrat. As the policies of Franklin Roosevelt assisted members of his immediate family in getting jobs, Reagan was grateful for the economic reforms brought about by FDR’s “New Deal.” However, with his marriage to Nancy Davis, his prominent role with the General Electric Corporation, and with the assumption that the communist infiltration in Hollywood threatened American values, Reagan’s political affinities began to shift radically to the right in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. By 1967, Reagan was elected governor of California under the Republican ticket.
Reagan represented the conservative reaction to the tumultuous and chaotic decade of the 1960’s. Given an orb of fifteen degrees, a conjunction between Uranus and Pluto framed the entire decade and symbolized the new horizons, progressive freedoms, and experimentalism of the era. Looking at the archetypal dynamics involved, we observe the intense and powerful energies of Pluto compelling the destabilizing, consciousness-raising, and rebellious expressions associated with Uranus. Similarly, Uranus’s awakening and liberating influence was stimulating the chaotic, transformative energies of Pluto. The mind-expanding, creative, and disruptive energies of the era were not only a testament to the hard-won freedoms and idealism of the youth of the decade but a reflection of the cyclical and archetypal dynamics involved.
Important alignments between Uranus and Pluto correlate with times of mass rebelliousness against tradition and the established order. Rather than be complacent with the security of the status quo, a Uranus-Pluto alignment compels societies to search for alternatives, grope for new horizons, and demand new freedoms of expression. The destabilizing influence of the combination is typically as exciting and awakening as it is disruptive and chaotic—it truly is “rock’n’roll” energy, for heads roll if the sociopolitical establishment is not rocked to its very foundations.
The previous major alignment involving Uranus and Pluto, an opposition between the two planets occurring in the first decade of the twentieth century, also demonstrated the mass rebelliousness of this planetary combination. Around 1900, the United States experienced political possibilities that have never been equaled before or since. Matching the melting pot diversity of its population, social and political movements arose that threatened the status quo and idle rich. Anarchism, socialism, and labor movements ascended to challenge politics as usual. The United States at the turn of the century was rife with change, political cataclysm, and social unrest.
As governor of California in the 1960’s, Reagan saw the political unrest and radicalism around him as a threat to the American way of life in the same vein as communism. America was being split apart by issues such as Vietnam and race relations, and Reagan embodied the countervailing views and ideologies of the establishment. Nowhere was this split between the new radicalism and the old conservatism felt more acutely than in Reagan’s own family. Like the United States in microcosm, Reagan’s immediate family was torn by ideology, ethics, and lifestyle choice. Reagan’s youngest children, Patty and Ron jr., came of age during the 1960’s and embraced many of the new values that emerged during the era, moves that would estrange the children from their father for many years.

The Saturn-Pluto Conjunction of the early 1980’s

“Newsweek” magazine called Reagan’s victory over incumbent President Carter in 1980 a “counter-revolution,” a return to values that were more readily embraced in the simpler times before the tumultuous and freedom-loving 1960’s.1 Considered by many to be the most conservative president since Herbert Hoover, Reagan and his mystique held the promise of returning America to a time of more old-fashioned and conformist values.
Why such a turnabout and about face? Astrology suggests a correlation. As the radical 1960’s was characterized by a Uranus-Pluto conjunction, the early 1980’s was epitomized by a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto. With Pluto being the constant, Saturn and Uranus represent very different aspects of the collective psyche. If Uranus expresses the new, the radical, and the experimental, Saturn correlates with the desire for stasis, stability, and tradition. If Uranus brings creative innovation and chaotic rebellion, Saturn represents repressive crystallization of Uranus’s revolutions. Thus, the early 1980’s represented a foundational and all-pervasive drive against the radical expressions of the 1960’s. In a little over a decade, the zeitgeist was changing dramatically and Reagan’s presidency reflected those dynamics.
With Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as leaders of the free world, a hardening of the collective psyche was occurring—a hardening that embraced traditionalism and shunned the openness and rebelliousness of the preceding years. This was the height of the Cold War that began during the previous Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1946-1948. Pluto forming alignment with Saturn applies a tremendous force on the defensiveness, fearfulness, and rigidity of Saturn’s archetypal characteristics. The build-up in arms with the “Star Wars” program is indicative of this energy. In our own time, we see the Saturn-Pluto gestalt with the creation of the Homeland Security program under the opposition of Saturn and Pluto in 2001-2003.
We can also see the Saturn-Pluto dynamic at work in the sense of overwhelming threat or destructive force. The Saturn-Pluto combination is perhaps the combination for projecting the collective shadow unto other nations and groups. We can certainly see this as the Cold War began (and as Saturn and Pluto formed a conjunction), as the Soviet influence began to gain power and the Red Scare in the United States formerly began. In Reagan’s time, and at the height of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of the 1980’s, Reagan castigated the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire,” the tremendous threat to national security and the American way of life. As Saturn and Pluto would form an opposition to each other in the early parts of this decade, George W. Bush would once again recapitulate the need to cast the collective shadow, as the “Axis of Evil”—Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Korea—rose as the perceived threat to American refuge.

The Triple Conjunction of Uranus-Neptune-Saturn in 1989

Reagan’s first term as president was characterized by a large build-up of strategic defense against the Soviet Union. At this time, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were at their most tense and most polarized. Although it cannot be marked by one single event or point in time, a tremendous and epochal shift occurred between Reagan’s first and second terms as president. Dynamics between the Soviet Union and the United States began to reverse in sudden and dramatic ways.
The “how” and “why” of the decline of the Cold War is enigmatic even to political insiders. With any objectivity, one would say that the collapse of the Cold War was due to Reagan’s persistent pressure on arms negotiations, the rise of Gorbachev, and the economic instability of the Soviet Union. However, the vision of astrology helps to illuminate dynamics that otherwise would remain hidden. As the early 1980’s were defined by the archetypal dynamics of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, in the late 1980’s, a new astrological alignment formed with radically different dimensions and expressions. By the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a rare and highly significant conjunction formed between the planets of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune.
If we deconstruct the archetypes involved, we have energies of “old”—Saturn—and “new”—Uranus—joined by Neptune. Whether applied individually or collectively, Neptune dissolves structures not unlike a metaphysical solvent. Neptune blurs distinctions, melts that which was once solid, and softens that which was distinct and hard. In a way which was unimaginable to analysts of the day but mirrored by an extraordinary triple conjunction of planets, the forty-five year Cold War was over almost overnight, signified most powerfully by the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
The ways in which analysts have described the collapse of Cold War dynamics is strikingly resonant with the Neptunian dimension and its ability to liquefy that which seems permanent. Pundits and reporters covering the events ending the Cold War have used words like “thawing” or “dissolving.” Even the “Velvet Revolution,” describing the rather yielding way in which the Eastern Bloc nations fell, is characteristic of the Neptunian dimension. Thus, not unlike a great wave of dissolution, the triple conjunction of Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn at the end of the 1980’s stood in dramatic counterpoint (and disengaged) the Saturn-Pluto conjunction at the beginning of the decade.

Conclusion

Was Reagan a leader that restored traditional values to America and was responsible for loosening Soviet-American relations, or was he more representative of a man caught between eras, dynamics, and historical maneuverings much greater than himself? Certainly, we cannot disengage the fine interplay between fate and free will, but one would be remiss not to see Reagan—or any prominent leader—as a person in context, responding to the shifting energies of the times. Astrology suggests that Reagan was a politician challenged and moved by large currents of changing zeitgeists. Reactive to the 1960’s, symbolic of the early 1980’s, and an instrument of change toward the end of his political career, Reagan can be seen as man as defined by his times as much as a leader who changed the course of history.
The Astrology of
the Reagan Era

by Bill Streett 6/08/04

http://astrologyforthesoul.com/billstreett/ronaldreagan.html

[Cabinessenceking]

Science gives us mere explanations. It does not give us the truth.

That is the worst nonsense ever written here.

[Cabinessenceking]

but it isn't a sport. or a language. it's an ancient science.

this is also quite high on the top charting ignorance list.

[TMinthePM]

How do these aspects correlate to the arc of the Beach Boys career?

1. 1960-72: a conjunction between Uranus and Pluto  - Pluto compelling… consciousness-raising, and rebellious expressions… Uranus’s awakening and liberating. The band is formed, finds its voice, produces music that reflects the concerns of its generation from early adolescence to young adulthood. Progressively runs out of creative steam as the aspect fades.

2. the early 1980’s was epitomized by a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto… Saturn correlates with the desire for stasis, stability, and tradition. The band nearly breaks up (late 70s), salvages career by emphasizing its past glories - delivering powerful live set in Washington D.C. July 4, 1980.

3. in the late 1980’s,… conjunction formed between the planets of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune…. Neptune dissolves structures not unlike a metaphysical solvent…. blurs distinctions, melts that which was once solid, and softens that which was distinct and hard. Brian Wilson returns from the creative dead with what is arguably his best work since 1966, the band releases a well received retrospective box-set and tours behind it with sets that are more creative and diverse than any since the early 70s.

So, that is broadly how the career arc reflects the influence of the stars to about 1990. Now, I need to find the rest.

[TMinthePM]

Solar system

Brings us wisdom

[TMinthePM]

Here's another piece of Conventional Wisdom some out there might recall:

ICEBERGS?

THERE ARE NO ICEBERGS!

FULL STEAM AHEAD!

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Here's another piece of Conventional Wisdom some out there might recall:

ICEBERGS?

THERE ARE NO ICEBERGS!

FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Yes , that makes sense. A sea captain  has made a fatal mistake, hey, lets disregard 400 years of scientific discoveries.

[TMinthePM]

OK here is the major aspect for 2011 as the Beach Boys reunite:

The Short of It:

Summer 2011 the Grand Cross will primarily feature Uranus, Saturn and Pluto, much like the decade of the 1960’s (the last decade to feature a simultaneous Uranus/Saturn/Pluto hard aspect) and these outer planets pack a punch. Uranus opposed Saturn reflects the need for order, tradition, rules, boundaries, time and restrictions (Saturn) in contrast to revolution, immediacy, emancipation, and freedom from restrictions (Uranus). Both are squared to Pluto (deep, elemental power, transfiguration, death and rebirth).

The Long of It:

The Cardinal Grand Cross of 2011

In addition to a batch of strong eclipses in 2011, this summer will feature an incredibly powerful alignment called a "Cardinal Grand Cross." The aspect pattern is called a Cardinal Grand cross because it involves planets closely aspected in the zodiac signs of the cardinal modes (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). Cardinal energies are starters and initiators, and we got a sneak peak of this major alignment this past summer of 2010 (really starting, in my mind, with the Oil spill disaster). This 2011 summer the Grand Cross will primarily feature Uranus, Saturn and Pluto, and these outer planets pack a punch.Uranus opposed Saturn reflects the need for order, tradition, rules, boundaries, time and restrictions (Saturn) in contrast to revolution, immediacy, emancipation, and freedom from restrictions (Uranus). Both are squared to Pluto (deep, elemental power, transfiguration, death and rebirth).

The Cardinal Grand Cross will be activated by a number of planets passing over the opposition point to Pluto (The sun in Cancer, the Moon in cardinal signs, Mercury, Venus, and Mars), which means that all the personal planets will be in play. This makes the Cardinal Grand Cross more than just an activator of large, cultural/global energy fields; this summer everything from how we communicate (Mercury) to how we relate (Venus) to how we see ourselves (Sun) to how we approach life and take action (Mars) to how safe we feel in the world (Moon) will be touched upon by this configuration. I believe it's going to be an awesome summer of growth.

Another way of saying all of this is that much like the decade of the 1960’s (the last decade to feature a simultaneous Uranus/Saturn/Pluto hard aspect) we will be facing personal transformations in light of, or in reflection of, or even at the very same time AS, larger cultural/historical happenings are unfolding before us. At the most intense this could look like one of the slow motion combat scenes from iconic war movies like Platoon or Full Metal Jacket (a soldier contemplating a butterfly while listening to the Jimi Hendrix in his head and wishing for his life ‘back home', whilst bullets fly all around him). When history speeds up it generally causes our personal reflection and integration process to slow down. During the Grand Cross we could see more people accessing meditative states of consciousness simply because the world around them is sped up. The sudden contrast between the global story and an individual's story creates a container of sudden reflection, like the soldier suddenly contemplating his place in the cosmos during the middle of war. When things are coming together or falling apart at fast speeds people simply sit back and watch; people naturally learn to meditate. By this meditation visions are born and a lot of people could potentially wake up.


The Astrology of 2011
Adam Elenbaas
http://www.realitysandwich.com/astrology_2011_0

[TMinthePM]

So now the Celestial Arc of the Beach Boys career looks like this:

1. 1960-72: a conjunction between Uranus and Pluto  - Pluto compelling… consciousness-raising, and rebellious expressions… Uranus’s awakening and liberating. The band is formed, finds its voice, produces music that reflects the concerns of its generation from early adolescence to young adulthood. Progressively runs out of creative steam as the aspect fades.

2. the early 1980’s was epitomized by a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto… Saturn correlates with the desire for stasis, stability, and tradition. The band nearly breaks up (late 70s), salvages career by emphasizing its past glories - delivering powerful live set in Washington D.C. July 4, 1980.

3. in the late 1980’s,… conjunction formed between the planets of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune…. Neptune dissolves structures not unlike a metaphysical solvent…. blurs distinctions, melts that which was once solid, and softens that which was distinct and hard. Brian Wilson returns from the creative dead with what is arguably his best work since 1966, the band releases a well received retrospective box-set and tours behind it with sets that are more creative and diverse than any since the early 70s.

4. Summer 2011 the Grand Cross will primarily feature Uranus, Saturn and Pluto, much like the decade of the 1960’s (the last decade to feature a simultaneous Uranus/Saturn/Pluto hard aspect) and these outer planets pack a punch. Uranus opposed Saturn reflects the need for order, tradition, rules, boundaries, time and restrictions (Saturn) in contrast to revolution, immediacy, emancipation, and freedom from restrictions (Uranus). Both are squared to Pluto (deep, elemental power, transfiguration, death and rebirth).  The band reunites, produces an album that harkens back to 1965 and tours to ever mounting acclaim.