Astrological Profiles of Prominence – Vincent van Gogh Part II
‘I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream.’
‘I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.’ – Vincent van Gogh
Imagine that you had the wisdom to not only understand both the True Wonder and the True Horror of this realm. Yet, there was the inability to express it as fully as you would like. Might you then turn towards art and expression to try to illustrate the Masterpiece to which you were witness? And if it flowed through you so intensely, could you ever stop the expression?
Such was the Force behind the scenes with van Gogh. Mars conjuncting Venus in its exalted form in Pisces is extremely intense. Yet, to build upon this inferno, Vincent’s conjunction of these two planets also forms a tense aspect with the North and South Node, forming a configuration known as a T-square. The nodes, indicative of karma, made Vincent’s soul feel stuck in this realm, with his art being his only means of finding escape. Yet again, there was the dichotomy of being able to feel such a depth of feeling, being able to express it, at the very least through his work; yet, it was impossible for this love to be reciprocated. Vincent’s paintings could not love him back. He could only love them.
Van Gogh’s South Node conjuncts Jupiter in the lunar mansion of Mula and the sign of Sagittarius. Through his Soul’s journey, he had an acutely intense understanding of both the Wonderful and the Frightening. He likely experienced profound pain due to his emotional propensity. His North Node occupies the lunar mansion of Mrigasira and the sign of Gemini. He sought fulfillment through expression, yet was never able to be satiated, due to the duality of the realm in which he was held hostage.
Yet, the Cosmos was kind to both Vincent, and to us. With his natal Jupiter placed in the lunar mansion of Mula, to the depth which van Gogh was able to explore his pain, he was also inspired to pour it onto the canvas and soothe his Soul through painting the illustriousness of Natural Bounty. Neptune in Pisces and the ‘elevating’ lunar mansion of Purva Bhadrapada gave him the ability to ‘Dream of Painting’, and then to ‘paint his dream.’
