Destiny and career | Part 2
- The Finger of God
As a second part to our mini-series about the big question of destiny in astrology, I wanted to talk about the one constellation that most people would probably think of when they hear the word. I am talking about the aspect constellation “Finger of God”, a constellation of minor aspects which is quite rare, since it needs to fulfill quite some criteria before being acknowledged as such. It forms itself with a Sextile at the foot and two Quincunxes leading up to one specific planet (preferably a slow moving one).
Looking at it, it might remind you of something like a big trine, just pointier. That’s also how it got its name. It looks like an arrow, clearly indicating. That is why its name “The finger of God” is more popular than its actual constellation name: the “Yod” figure. It is said to present itself to the owner in a sense of a “calling”, since its name suggests that it is some case of “godly” intention or purpose.
What we are meant to be; but since the chart is very subjective it is probably more correct to state that it describes what those people feel like they are called to do.
This is an important difference, since in this article I want to demonstrate how the Yod only indicates the strong feeling of purpose and the drive towards (achieving) something and never what the person owning it in their chart does with it. On one hand I will discuss the chart of Greta Thunberg, the young and passionate climate activist who inspired thousands of young people to demonstrate with her for the health of our planet – and therefore all of us. On the other hand, I want to highlight that this constellation definitely does not only drive people to do good in the world. Therefore, I wanted to include a chart that might shock you at first. Adolf Hitler’s persona and chart are both studied a lot all around the world, since there are not a lot of people who purposely created so much pain, suffering and hatred that continue to echo even decades after his death.
Today I want to focus on both of their charts and try to take a look behind their façade. Who were they as people and what drove them to do what they did? And most importantly: Were they destined for this? Was there really no other way for them?
Maybe you are asking yourself right now – rightly so – what Greta Thunberg and Adolf Hitler could have in common, since that simply sounds like a ridiculous statement overall, but to that there is an answer that sums up our today’s topic perfectly: their drive and their strong effect on the world around them.
These two charts are the perfect example for how the chart only indicates an energy, a personal tendency, but all the conscious decisions are out of its control. A chart doesn’t define us, doesn’t make us a good or a bad person per se, it’s our actions that do. And these two have proven perfectly all the different ways you can use a platform and a passion.
Whereas Greta has felt a huge discomfort of solely sitting there and watching her home, our planet get destroyed, Adolf must have felt a similar discomfort. Maybe within himself, maybe also in his environment, but instead of starting with himself, inspiring others and having maybe constructive debates about how he was feeling and whether others also felt like that, he turned it into hate. A hate so big and driven, most of us cannot even imagine.
Adolf Hitler
20.04.1889 18:30 Braunau, Austria
The first thing that caught my eye was the tip of the Yod, the Moon and Jupiter Conjunction that (especially in Capricorn) can easily develop itself into something like a superiority complex. I’d say that his feelings were cold; they were almost too idealized, too far away from him to actually ever be felt. They were probably more viewed as a concept than an emotion. I also think that this could be especially true because of its aspects to Pluto, Neptune and Saturn. Those are all really powerful planets that can make a moon (emotions, feelings) feel weak and therefore force it to “toughen up”.
His power (Leo mc, Saturn close to the MC) definitely added to that strong feeling of responsibility. Does that mean that he was he meant to do what he did? No. I don’t think anything could ever justify the horrors he did to all these millions of people. Once again, astrology only tells us what something could be. This MC and Moon-Jupiter aspect is definitely a powerful one, one that needs to be seen and evoke change in the world, but Jupiter – just like anything in astrology – has two sides. A huge, overpowering one that wants to burst free from all boundaries, that can never get enough and sees itself as the most mighty one of them all.
This same Jupiter could have also used its abundance to help others, to have a big heart, big emotions and a brave soul. But it is evident that that is not the path he chose. His entire chart is very concerned about the others. On a first glance that would sound really positive and nothing like him, but once again, the focus is on how he utilized this focus, this “talent”. He was indeed very interested in the business of others. But not in the caring way, quite the opposite actually. It might surprise us that the chart doesn’t show a dominance on the “me” side, but when we think about it, only someone who cares this much about others would be ready to infiltrate into their lives as much as he did. The sun this close to the DC could also symbolize how dependent his self-esteem was on the acknowledgement of others. Maybe he was simply ready to go further for that kind of validation than most others.
If you are more with others, you are less with yourself.
A lot of his chart vouches for the fact that “being liked” was extremely important to him. It seems contradictory to be such an insecure person on the inside and then – to fight that nagging feeling – you go up on a stage and agitate people against each other. His hateful words and aggressive, unbridled way of speaking can be seen when taking a look at his Mercury. In Aries in the 6th house, we can tell just how much hate he spat.
This Mercury could have also been used in a more productive way. It is a convincing way of speaking, he knows how to get people excited for his ideas and visions and it is often said that he – objectively speaking – was a good speaker (which was a feature he later also built his career with, hence its position in the 6th house). His voice was loud, remarkable and glaring, all of these are characteristics that Aries promotes here, he knew how to get his point across and was no one to hesitate to put his words into action.
I need you to keep in mind that these are all qualities that can be used for good, helpful matters, but – depending on what the owner of the chart chooses – doesn’t have to be. This is a great exercise for astrologers to realize that we can never know which path the person in front of us chose simply judging their birth chart. We can never know which parts of their personality they developed – and in which way –; what aspects they are still lacking and therefore manipulating themselves and with that usually also the world around them. It is the parts of us that we don’t see, don’t want to see or have an issue with, that we cannot pin-point. Astrology is a phenomenal tool to help seek out where the problem lies and it is on us astrologers to rephrase and be well aware of both sides of every planet that we encounter.
The Saturn in a high position in the chart probably symbolizes his feeling of being controlled, feeling looked down at. Usually – in a client’s chart for example – I would interpret a Saturn close to the MC as a big sense of responsibility. While that can be, that is usually only a result of our Saturn placement. Saturn is the planet of restriction. This high up in the chart he quite literally “looks down” on the other planets, keeps an eye on them and will often manifest itself in fears, anxiety or a reoccurring pattern of people in our life that we feel like stand above us and tell us what to do. From this starting point, there are multiple ways to incorporate the Saturn into your life yourself. Most people grow up to be really responsible, strict with themselves and others – turning into the “teacher/parent/watcher”-role themselves. We see a Saturn in a high placement like this actually very often in the birth charts of presidents for example. The 10th house being the house of career, Saturn here usually comes with a bunch of anxiety and roadblocks in this area of life. This could lead to a well-earned, long lasting and long-awaited success at some point or to oneself feeling stuck in this cycle of controlling others while actually they (and their opinions) are what is controlling oneself (because one feels judged and put on the spot).
And while we are already on the track of uncommon (and probably quite bold) assumptions, I actually think that Hitler’s entire Yod-figure – and therefore most of his choices, his path is life – is just about himself.
The Sextile between the MC (my career, the side of me that I show to the world, how I want to be perceived, my reputation and image) and the Pluto in the 8th house show his hunger for power and control once again. He feels the most powerless helpless in the areas that he – literally – cannot control. The 8th house is the house of taboo: sexuality, death, the deep and dark abyss of our soul and mind. My theory on this is that those were the sides of life he feared, as well as ignored the most. Instead of working on himself, forcing himself to transform and take a look within, he channeled his immense inner power, his thirst for power and being the one in charge towards the world and everyone around him.
He channeled his urge to be seen, to be popular and powerful and his fear of change, letting go and not being in charge into a very poorly placed Moon and Jupiter (Exile and Fall), therefore giving power to an insecure self, cold hearted hatred marketed as almost “charity” for the people around him. He portrayed himself to be extremely wise, a person to lead the way, to be a clear-headed savior with good intentions, a great plan and (as we can see in the Trine to his Mercury) especially good ways to make others believe and follow him. You need to mentally be with others, understand what they want and want to hear in order to get them on your side, which is why the strong dominance of the western hemisphere did not surprise me in the slightest.
An interesting note I found on the 6th degree of Capricorn, in which we can find the Moon in this chart: “Ambitious, possessive, and spiteful character. Life is plagued by all sorts of rivalries, from school to university, and later, in the workplace. Hatred and revenge are the powerful goads which prompt to resort to extreme and reprehensible means to get what one covets, be it a love partner or a prestigious position. One would be well-advised to display more moderation and to pay more respect to other people's interests because evil deeds only bring about misfortune and loneliness.” (Source: www.astrotheme.com)
Greta Thunberg
03.01.2003 (time unknown, 12:00 was used as an example) Stockholm, Sweden
To now show what else can be done with this powerful constellation we will now take a look at Greta’s chart. Maybe you are wondering why I chose a chart with an unknown time as my example here. I obviously know that it is not ideal, yet, it was simply too interesting for me not to use it in this article. You will not often find such a drive for something, especially as soon as it exceeds the comfort of the own four walls. But Greta carries such a passion within her that stems from hurt and is also remarkable without the placement of the houses.
Therefore, I am obviously unfortunately not able to provide as detailed of an interpretation for her chart, but we can still address the Yod-figure, which is being created by Mercury, Venus and Saturn at the tip. I think that alone is pretty telling of her story and her “mission”. Mercury in Capricorn has a straight forward message, it is not afraid to speak its truth and especially speak up for what it thinks is the truth. The planet of thinking and talking being in the cold cardinal Earth sign is pretty fitting for her unafraid, direct and extremely convinced way of sharing her message. Together with a Venus in Scorpio that feels deeply and will not let the things she cares about go unattended that quickly. Especially in conjunction with Mars it shows her determination to jump to action – especially more in a passive way than an active one (e.g. protests) – when she is convinced of something and set her mind to it, she will not let it rest until she achieved her goal.
Those two energies in her chart coming together to concentrate on her Saturn I think shows the responsibility, her dedication, seriousness and also the scale of what she is doing. It is serving a bigger purpose, a greater good, even if for herself it often comes with restrictions and facing a lot of criticism and backlash (the Trine with Uranus also symbolizes the big change she wants to achieve as well as the sort of “revolution” that she was able to set off). She seems to be absolutely convinced by what she is doing and will keep spreading the word (Saturn in Gemini, Mercury being involved) of this matter that affects us all.
This concludes the second part of our “Destiny and career” series. As you can see, these articles also exist to question what “destiny” even is and what it means. I think I have made it pretty clear throughout, that the birth chart merely represents raw energy. It symbolizes the gifts that we were given at the time of our birth, our preferences and talents. But it can never depict nor predict how the chart owner utilizes said energy. I think these two people are the perfect example for how different the results can be and how ultimately it is always the result of exterior events and people that will influence and shape our mindset, our beliefs and therefore ultimately, of course, who we become as a person.
The chart is like a canvas, maybe even already primed. A certain undertone is set, the surface and background that this person will have to work with for the rest of their life is given to them, certain preferences and traits we are just born with. But whether we decide to work against with what we were given or embrace it in order to create a unique piece of art is up to us. Certainly, there will be voices from outside giving us advice, telling us what’s best to do. But they only say that based on their experience with their own individual canvas. Canvases that probably also already carry strokes of paint from people that are not themselves. Therefore, we should never be fooled and make our own decisions for ourselves and ourselves only, guide someone else’s hand only lightly if they ask for it and never force something onto our canvas that is not purely ourself. Only then can we make the world a bit more fair and a bit more kind.