Chopin

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, according to the statements of the artist himself, was born on 1 March 1810. However, according to his baptismal certificate, the date was 22 February.

Looking into the two charts, there is a striking difference between Moon in Capricorn for March 1 – and Moon in Libra for February 22. Can one believe in Moon in Capricorn for the greatest and most tender melodist?

Yet, this is not enough to draw the final conclusion, and we have to look closely at other differences between two charts. The week time distance gives differences in positions of Mercury and Venus. On February 22, Mercury is retro in Aquarius, in conjunction with weird Aquarian Venus. On March 1, Venus is exalted and combust in Pisces, and Mercury is direct in Aquarius.

Chopin’s relationship with George Sand cannot be named a traditional marriage, whether it is Venus in Aquarius or Venus exalted and combust. Mercury may be more helpful, describing his writing work. George Sand wrote the following about his composing manner:

“His creation was spontaneous, miraculous. He found it without searching for it, without foreseeing it. It came to his piano suddenly, complete, sublime, or it sang in his head during a walk, and he would hasten to hear it again by, tossing it off on his instrument. But then would begin the most heartbreaking labour I have ever witnessed. It was a series of efforts, indecision, and impatience to recapture certain details of the theme he had heard: what had come to him all of a piece, he now over-analyzed in his desire to write it down, and his regret at not finding it again "neat," as he said, would throw him into a kind of despair. He would shut himself up in his room for days at a time, weeping, pacing, breaking his pens, repeating and changing a single measure a hundred times, writing it and effacing it with equal frequency, and beginning again the next day with a meticulous and desperate perseverance. He would spend six weeks on one page, only to end up writing it just as he had traced it in his first outpouring.”

Series of efforts, repeating and changing, longing for Harmony. What is that, glamorous Venus in Pisces with methodical Moon in Capricorn (March 1)? Or is it velvety Moon in Libra, full of indecisions and amplified by Rahu, and retro Mercury, writing and re-writing (February 22)?

“Individual manuscripts of his works teem with cancellations and insertions. Multiple autographs of the same composition seldom agree. The texts of editions issued "simultaneously" in different countries during his lifetime frequently diverge. Even after a work appeared in print, Chopin found ways to alter the text of it... When Chopin would make a compositional change in a later manuscript, he often would not return to the earlier sources to bring them into agreement. To complicate matters further, Chopin normally introduced further alterations when he read proofs… Chopin's urge to continue revising resulted in three first editions that frequently differed meaningfully from one another. And these differences filter their way into the performances pianists give and listeners hear by means of modern editions, which tend to choose differently among the welter of variants preserved in the original sources in establishing their texts of Chopin's works. Depending upon which edition they select as a basis for their performance, then, two pianists ostensibly playing the same work can produce very different sounding art works… Not even publication need mark the termination of composition. On some occasions, Chopin would so extensively revise a work after it was published that he would require his publisher to released new impressions of it... many editors and commentators on Chopin have interpreted this pervasiveness as a "problem." They view them as a problem because of the type of solution they seek: simply stated, they wish to find the "authentic" text, the "definitive" version for a given composition. The myriad variants therefore constitute an obstacle that must be hurdled in order for the goal to be reached… in nearly every source he touched, he continued to compose, to revise, to cut.” (Jeffrey Kallberg, see www.chopin.pl)

To me, this description confirms retro Mercury and Moon in Libra. This can also be seen in his teens letters to family, which are joyful and warm (compare with family letters of Lenin - with Moon in Capricorn - which are all about money).

For further check, let’s look at the Moon as the significator of women in Chopin’s life. He was engaged with Maria Wodzienskiej, but the engagement was broken by her parents after one year, due to his poor health and unstable life.

The relationship with George Sand lasted for nine years and ended because of conflict with Sand’s son. Who was George Sand in his chart – Moon in Libra in opposition with Mars or Moon in Capricorn? Her own chart has Sun in Cancer; as biographers say, this 6-years-older lady provided maternal care to Chopin – with her Moon in Aries and Mars on Algol.

He sought for warmth – and got separations. This corresponds rather to Moon in Libra afflicted by Mars and Rahu. Also, although I am very suspicious about trans-Saturnian planets, I cannot help watching that sextile between Neptune and Moon in Libra. This is a very musical aspect, indeed.

Still, his appearance is Saturnian, and this makes one think about Capricorn rising.

It is interesting to look at the chart of the performer who virtuously adapted to Chopin music. Sviatoslav Richer too had Sun in Pisces, and what is more interesting, Venusian Moon in sextile with Neptune.

When Richter plays Scherzo N2, it is like Chopin playing himself: try this YouTube link. "Heroic" etude is very well performed, too. And this one is just exceptional...