With the Sun in Leo (hot-dry) and the Moon in Aries (hot-dry), the energy is Choleric.
Humoural theory is based on the ancient and medieval physiology and medicine as expounded by Empedocles, Hippocrates, and Galen. It’s all to do with the four blocks or ‘roots’ of the material world (Fire, Earth, Water, and Air) that manifest in certain humours and their related temperaments. Humoural theory underpinned much of Early Modern drama, and was extensively used by well-known playwrights of the period like Shakespeare and John Webster.
Previously, we have experienced Choleric as associated with the angry, ‘oft malicious’ Ferdinand in Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi and concluded this was his temperament about which nothing much could be done. But with today’s energy we ought to dig deeper.
Ferdinand intends to ‘purge’ his temper on his sister (a ‘notorious strumpet’). She has married not to his liking even whilst he has no problem that his brother, the Cardinal, keeps as his mistress, another man’s wife.
Might this be sexual libido gone wrong? It’s a reasonable suggestion what with all the knives and their phallic symbolism – Ferdinand does sneaks into his sister’s boudoir to surprise her with a knife. Arguably, Ferdinand seems to struggle to control his passions – consider his protestations about the effect on him of his sister’s body (‘Damn her, That body of hers’).
With this, the focus is no longer just on a choleric brother having a 17th century rant but on the sexual politics of the period. Might such politics still inform our own today?
Some key words for this energy include:
- Fierce
- Ambitious
- Intolerant
- Self-focused
- Abrupt
Advice: Learn from literature if you want things better not worse.
Moon Tracking 