PEANUTS & ASTROLOGY
Stefano Rubino
Translated by Scott Alan Stuart with Bruce Stuart
Copyright 2012 Stefano Rubino
Smashwords Edition
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Sagittarius - The World War I Flying Ace
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Introduction
In creating the Peanuts it seems as if Charles Schulz wanted to draw the reader’s attention to the eternal problems that each of us regularly encounter in our lives. Indeed Schulz was able to represent such a wide spectrum of existential problems in his comic strips that, when we read them, we can find ourselves within the storylines.
The cartoonist probably invented his characters piece by piece, until he realized that the world he had created had achieved its completion, a perfect internal equilibrium.
Well, astrology itself is a way of describing the totality of life using 12 different points of view. This means that if the world of Charlie Brown is truly as complete and perfect within itself, then the principal elements of astrology must be portrayed within its micro universe.
In fact, with his creations, Schulz has succeeded in modeling the fundamental archetypes that lay at the foundations of life itself, those same archetypes to which astrology lends description.
This book then may function as a sort of light therapy for the reader. The fact of the matter is we live in a particularly unfortunate phase in our history.
Never before have we in the West passed through an age in which we are so alienated from ourselves. In short, people no longer know who they really are and, even worse, the majority of us have ended up completely losing our sense of joy in life.
2000 years ago someone said, quite enigmatically, that no one would enter the Kingdom of Heaven if they did not accept it as children do, «for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs» (Mark, 10.14).
What did Mark mean to suggest with these words? A number of things, most likely, but perhaps he wanted us to understand at least that, in order to be reunited with that “reality” capable of giving true fulfillment to our lives, we must do something apparently very simple: go back to being the children that we once were.
Also because in the past we knew who we truly were. If now as adults we were somehow able to do so, perhaps we could truly find the way to say “Yes” to life and to ourselves.
It is also true that trying to find a convincing answer to the fateful question of «who am I?» is the final and most noble aim of modern astrology. But if astrological research has to do with the discovery of your own, most profound essence, one could also say that this deals with that child who still lives, perhaps dormant, in our heart of hearts.
The evocative power of Peanuts, their great psychological depth and the planetary affection that surrounds them, are all excellent premises for transforming the kids of Charles Schulz’s world into real, post-modern astrological symbols.
If then a Leo can hope to find himself meditating on the image of the king of the jungle, it would not be so absurd to think that others could also find themselves by concentrating deeply on the Peanuts child linked to their own astrological sign.
Schulz’s characters are so beloved because each one of us recognizes himself or herself in them, in their triumphs and failures. Deep down, all the hopes, joys, and disappointments which are distinctive in them are also our own.
Be honest, who hasn’t felt a little bit like Charlie Brown? Now, if our favorite Peanut is different from the one that represents our sign, don’t take it personally. It’s a game after all. But, maybe, that particular character is not so foreign to you.
Maybe he or she is quite similar to the child that you once were. And now that child simply wants to be recognized, demanding that you listen to him or her. The happiness of each and every one of us may depend on it.
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Aries - Peppermint Patty
Deep down all girls born under the sign of Aries are Tomboys, just like Peppermint Patty. Now, this doesn’t mean that they are incapable of sweetness and femininity, but that they wouldn’t shy away from a pick-up game of rugby in the park or a burping contest in the pub.
On a different note, the spirit of camaraderie that the female Aries exudes is so strong that her male companions often start to consider her a part of their club even as they will inexorably exclude other girls of different zodiac signs.
In the end, it is quite true that all Aries (women included) in one way or another always end up dealing with what we can call the “masculine side” of the world.
As we know, Patty practically has to raise herself; her mother has passed away and her father is always away for work. It’s only logical that in such a situation it is necessary for Patty to “get her hands dirty”.
And, at any rate, making your way through the world alone is the fate of all Aries, and they are appropriately gifted with the strength and courage to do so. As a shining example of her sign, Peppermint Patty is, in fact, truly a tough girl and definitely does not let herself get pushed around.
It is rare that she would let someone else make her decisions for her. For Patty, ideas and intentions must always come from herself, rather than from others.
In another aspect of their character and behavior, Aries are by nature movers and shakers who will always find someone to follow them in their endeavors; that is, they have an uncontainable enthusiasm that even the most cynical and disillusioned onlooker cannot help but be persuaded by.
It’s very probable, for example, that many may find Marcie’s behavior towards Patty absurdly servile. But take a moment to think about Don Quixote. Cervantes’ protagonist from La Mancha is, in fact, a perfect case of an Aries personality; with his hallucinatory visions he is capable of confounding even the solid, down-to-earth common sense of the farmer, Sancho Panza.
For Sancho, service to his master quickly becomes a mission as well as an honor. If we imagine, then, that Patty and Marcie are a bit like the Don Quixote and the Sancho Panza of the Peanuts world, then we can surely appreciate the particular relationship that these two girls have established.
As they are so naturally gifted with a Quixotic mentality, Aries are convinced that life loses much of its flavor when there’s no one around to fight. Obviously unable to declare war at every moment or to challenge their neighbors to mortal combat, they need to find alternatives for blowing off steam.
Here we find the passion which Aries have for sports, which is, in effect, a relatively calm way to assert their physical superiority over their hated adversaries.
Therefore, it’s no coincidence that our very own Peppermint Patty loves sports and, even more, loves winning. In fact, she is a little football champion and, thanks to her, her baseball team is practically invincible.
Yet, even though she devotes herself almost entirely to her athletic endeavors, it’s important to underline that she is no slouch when it comes to brains. Their propensity for sports and muscles aside, Aries are not lacking in this department.
Perhaps the fact that they tend to be quite reactive and impulsive means they might come up short when it comes to thoughtful reflection, but they belong to the most cerebral sign of them all, given that their brains often resemble a sort of cauldron boiling over with ideas to be carried out.
If anything, the problem for Aries is that they are always looking to the future and they often don’t find the time or the patience necessary to put their ideas into concrete form.
Generally, they leave that work to the more practical Earth signs (Taurus and Virgo mainly). But coming back to Patty, we see the irrefutable proof of her mental strength and intelligence from the fact that she uses her time spent at school to catch up on her sleep. Aries are far too advanced, far too intelligent, to take such foolishness as tests and essays in class seriously.
Moving on in our inspection of the most typical qualities of the representatives of the first sign, we can’t avoid mentioning their proverbial impetuousness. Aries are, in fact, of a rather passionate nature and are generally moved by particularly strong emotions which can become, in some cases, a bit violent.
If you think about it, Patty also falls into this category: every time that something happens, her reactions are comically exaggerated. When she gets a bad grade at school (which is always) it is a tragedy, while her victory in a neighborhood game becomes a thing of legend.
Moreover, the passionate nature of this sign often means that they behave rather aggressively even in amateur circumstances. Whether they are male or female, they never sit around twiddling their thumbs.
On the contrary, they’ll put in a lot of effort to get what they want. They’ll always make the first move. Indeed, Patty knows that the boys who make up the Peanuts world aren’t famous for their boldness and initiative. In fact, Schulz portrayed the male components of his cartoon universe as quite passive, especially in matters of love. In other words, if it were only up to the boys, nothing would ever get done on the battlefield of love.
Fortunately, we have the girls who try to stir things up. Patty famously has taken it upon herself to ensnare her prey, Charlie Brown, whom she “affectionately” calls Chuck; she’s always calling him at home trying in every which way possible to get him to ask her out!
Now then, though her boundless vitality can be a bit stressful and her lack of inhibitions a bit embarrassing, Patty is well-liked by the other Peanuts, and with good reason; deep down she is a good girl.
Yet everybody (especially Marcie) has convinced themselves that Patty is a bit absent-minded, and therefore she needs to be looked after. For example, Patty never seems to realize that Snoopy is, in fact, a dog; she systematically confuses him for some sort of strange boy with a large nose.
Aries, after all, pay little attention to what others have to say because they are quite masculine (and therefore not very receptive) and because they tend to be totally focused on their own ideas.
This could happen even when your friends are trying to make you understand that what you have in front of you is, in fact, a four-legged member of the canine family and not some sort of strange child. And yet the anecdote in question could suggest an alternative interpretation.
Aries is a Fire sign; this means that its intuition is highly developed. We ask ourselves then, could it be that Patty sees things as they truly are and we are the fools who are unable to perceive the reality which lies just below the visible surface of this world?
At school, in the same hours during which Patty dozes, they taught us that Don Quixote was simply an old fool, driven senile and foolish by reading too many stories of chivalry.
But this is a far too simplistic (and offensive) reading of that noble character. Perhaps instead we should take his hallucinations seriously. Through symbolic images, maybe these visions are trying to communicate to us what lies in the invisible heart of phenomena, the burning vitality hidden within.
It is unwise to be distracted by appearances. We could end up discounting a happy farm girl as a common peasant without realizing that within her there is a subtle beauty, that under those humble rags the fabulous Dulcinea del Toboso is hiding.
Or we could fail to recognize that a barber’s basin was once the mythical helmet of King Mambrino. You need trained eyes to see below the surface of things. After all, what is Snoopy if he isn’t a strange boy hiding in the body of a beagle?
At any rate, with everything that’s been said it should be easy to understand that, in the eyes of an Aries, life will always have something of the grandiose and chivalrous. Therefore, life with an Aries will never be dull because even the most banal, daily snag or hitch could transform itself (or be transformed) into a picturesque, rip-roaring adventure.
Moreover, the craving to always throw oneself into new enterprises (so typical of Patty) probably hides the fear that one day, without warning, that fire of life could be extinguished. Aries know better; they know that existence must be conquered day by day, otherwise people run the risk of dying little by little, suffocated by their own calming but tainted certainties.
In this regard, we should look to lions, which are said to roar into the ears of their newborns in order to wake them up to the realities of life and to prevent their possible death if they were to remain asleep.
The stakes are quite high and this goes for us humans as well. Fortunately, Aries are here to keep us sharp, even if it means resorting to heavy-handed manners. Do you remember when Patty is startled from her sleep at school and begins to yell «I’m awake!!! I’m awake!!!»?
There you have it. Patty represents this cry for everybody within the Peanuts world to wake up: a continuous electroshock, for herself as well as for the others. Her volcanic spirit depicts in such a marvelous way how all Aries could be.
Because Aries are often the pepper of life. Yes, they may not be able to satisfy the most delicate of palates, but undoubtedly the best of them are so terribly alive and know how to “sting” us like grains of fine pepper: they know how to make us feel the heat of the fire.
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Taurus - Pig-Pen
Associating those born under Taurus to the ever-likeable Pig-Pen might generate great misunderstanding. First of all, it’s not a very nice way to suggest that those who belong to this sign should wash themselves more often.
We can imagine that some Taurus natives might have difficulty identifying themselves with a character that normally walks around completely filthy with mud and surrounded by a continuous cloud of dirt. And yet the “philosophy” of Pig-Pen is, as we shall see, profoundly “taurean”.
Being born under the sign of Taurus means feeling a certain predilection for the so-called material side of existence. In fact, some of the greatest pleasures that Taurus people feel are experienced through experimenting with physical sensations that are as varied and intense as possible.
This certainly does not mean, however, that they can be accused of absolute crudeness, because they are perfectly capable of sublimating these stronger forms of sensuality into elegant forms of expression. It is no coincidence, then, that this sign has constantly supplied us with great painters, marvelous singers and highly-esteemed chefs.
It is also no coincidence here that we mention the noble profession of the cook, because this allows us to describe another typical taurean predisposition. Indeed, within the Zodiac, all problems relative to nourishment fall under the care of Taurus.
Humanity, which we found energetically establishing its will to be under Aries, would not make it very far if people couldn’t find anything to eat. So, this means we must get to work doing all those activities which permit us to sustain ourselves, such as farm the land, capture and raise animals, find a job, etc..
Taurus is (symbolically) the sign which gives us the strength and perseverance necessary to undertake these burdensome tasks.
That being said, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Taurus natives are the pillars of our society. While the rest of us loaf about, Taurus is hard at work, knowing how important it is to have enough provisions for hard times.
In antiquity, the months of the fat cows alternated with those of the thin; if you didn’t protect yourself, the risk of death was very real. This ancient fear of running out of provisions is, moreover, also the origin of the most famous of the obsessions of Taurus: economic security.
Those born under this sign find it nearly impossible to relax, knowing their bank account is shrinking. And the simple idea that the refrigerator could remain empty fills them with dread.
It should be said, however, that when they are truly able to reach a state of relative well-being from a monetary standpoint, they are able to start enjoying life. Then, indeed, the world will offer their pleasure-seeking spirit countless opportunities for satisfaction.
Clearly Taurus natives are not just simple-minded people out for pleasure. In reality, the destiny of this sign concerns that mysterious connection which connects humanity to everything within and without that which is “earthy”.
In fact, it is common that more highly “evolved” Taurus quickly begin to wonder about the nature of their distinctly physical desires and the best way to manage them. In effect, the intensity with which Taurus are attracted towards the material world can end up being their downfall.
Those completely enthralled by aspects of mundane world run the risk of forgetting their true home, which lies within their hearts. And alongside the many Taurus who fall into this trap, there are others who refuse to end up slaves to their own desires and, when necessary, are ready to fight them.
In each and every one of us there is an extremely physical, animalistic, earthly natural component. We might even say that this component constitutes the other half of our soul. Now, all the Zodiac signs must confront themselves with what we could call the “animal nature” of our psyche.
However, because this is so deeply rooted in Taurus, this confrontation often assumes dramatic proportions. Going back in time, we find this problem given enormous attention in Minoan culture (think of the myth of Theseus), and also in cults tied to the figure of Mithras, whose final triumph coincided with the killing of the primordial bull.
But we need to be a little bit more precise: it is true that within these ancient traditions the bull always succumbed to the hero. Yet the importance of the animal was never denied; the strength which it symbolized was never refused, but integrated.
The Bull and the Earth are, as the Chinese would say, the other half of the Sky. We find this in the symbol of the Tao; the black part (yin) occupies the same space as the white part (yang). And no images of Mithras exist without the bull.
Coming back to the world of Peanuts it is easy to guess which character most clearly expresses the need to reestablish a healthy connection with the earth (and the Earth); it’s Pig-Pen, obviously.
Furthermore, it would be limited to think of him solely as that kid who never takes a bath. In reality, similarly to many Taurus, this boy only seems simple. His physiological need to feel that cloud of dust around him, in fact, expresses better than anything the need to remain in contact with our earthly nature.
It’s important to note that his way of doing things isn’t so far removed from the actual behavior of children up to a certain age. These children often feel that a part of themselves is basically part and parcel of the environment that surrounds them.
Just like Pig-Pen, this enigmatic character who is clearly tied to Mother Earth because he knows he partly belongs to Her. Thus this boy seems to be a perfect symbol of what the second sign must rediscover in order to prosper. Taurus people must feel fully immersed in a healthy physicality.
They have to feel that they share an unbreakable bond with the ground upon which they walk, a bond which must not be severed. It’s obvious, however, that the majority of us, as we get older, lose this feeling of symbiosis. Consequently, we end up seeing not only the environment and animals, but also our very own bodies as foreign to us.
When we finally understand that we are our own bodies and we are a part of the physical world which surrounds us, then we will may be able to rid ourselves of a great many mental disorders in one fell swoop.
Because there truly is something “unnatural” in the reaction that people have in seeing some insect buzz around the house or a little bit of mud on the floor. It’s as if nature were no longer allowed into our increasingly alienated and neurotic city lives.
It is also from this point of view that we ought to recognize that the behavior of the Peanuts demonstrates superior wisdom. They’ve integrated Pig-Pen into their group and even accept his personal hygiene as not completely abnormal. Sure, every now and then they get mad when his cloud of dust gets their clothes a bit dirty.
But in the end, that’s the way Pig-Pen is trying to get his “message” across to them. In fact, some of the kids might do well to learn how to carry a little mud and grime on their own clothes with confidence.
The problem of our environment will become more and more important on the world stage. Schulz made the right move when he pushed Pig-Pen towards a career in politics, putting him up as head of the class.
Actually, he’d probably be an excellent leader, especially when it comes to fighting all those battles in the name of the environment. Besides, Taurus are quite gifted when it comes to occupying positions of power, seeing as they have the mental stability necessary to sustain the rest of society both materially and morally.
They say that those who come from the second sign are among the best caretakers of tradition, of its most vital and healthy legacy. After all, if the Earth has to bear the Sky, it makes sense that it is as stable as possible and, in fact, Taurus are models of stability: usually they are ultra-conservative.
So, don’t expect them to change their opinions from one day to the next. Certainly Pig-Pen isn’t going to brush the dust off his clothes just because you ask him to. As he once explained to a dumbfounded Charlie Brown: he carries the weight of the dust of history on his shoulders and he certainly can’t be expected to stop just out of the blue.
And really: is it that important if a leader has poor hygiene? Even though there are some who still accuse him of being too dirty, Pig-Pen doesn’t lose his cool because, in his own words, he knows he’s got a clean conscience. And we can believe it. If we were in his class, we wouldn’t think twice about giving him our vote!
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Gemini - Snoopy
Charlie Brown would really love to have a normal dog just like all the other kids. Fate had other plans and gave him the most incredible beagle which has ever been. We’ll never be able to thank Schulz enough for having created this fantastic character, truly one of the most effective antidotes against boredom and depression.
Because Snoopy has the ability to bring exhilaration to whatever situation he finds himself in. His tendency always to find the funny side in something knows no limits and not even a delicate subject like death can escape his desecrating spirit.
There’s a fantastic anthropological text called Trickster Makes This World by Lewis Hyde. In this book, Mr Hyde explains that within every culture it’s possible to find the strange, mythic figure of the trickster.
This trickster always shows up as someone rather peculiar. If he’s part of a pantheon of gods, he’s the eccentric, the outsider. That is, he steals, plays jokes, and basically upsets order and the status quo. He is, in effect, a god with all the typical defects of a man.
A thief and downright liar, sometimes completely foolish and at other times incredibly sly and clever, this figure is always the one who pushes the boundaries of conventional thought, consequently introducing progress and cultural innovation.
The father of western tricksters is, of course, Hermes, the messenger of Olympus, but you can find a similar figure in all corners of the earth. For example, the Native Americans often portrayed the coyote as their trickster.
And the coyote is, in effect, a peculiar animal; in its forgetfulness it seems to have lost all the typical instincts shared by its peers. It basically lives without a natural “modus vivendi” and so, in order to survive, it is forced either to invent new forms of behavior for itself or to imitate, often with comedic effect, the behavior of other animals.
We too can’t escape from such ironic imitations; it’s quite common that coyotes mockingly defecate on the traps that men put out to capture them!