Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci
Embodying Neptune Part 2
My last blog post was about the highly Neptunian charts of Byron Shelley and John Keats. Today in “Embodying Neptune Part 2” I turn to the charts of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, and how Neptune played into their charts and their astrocartography.
When we think of Florence, many of us think first of the Renaissance. The greats – Michelangelo, Leonardo, da Vinci, Dante. But what of the astrology and astrocartography of this wonderful city and surrounding areas itself? What part did it play in nurturing and supporting the talent of these extraordinary men?
Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15th April 1452 at 22.00h in Vinci Italy. He died on 2nd May 1519 in Amboise France.
Michelangelo was born on 6th March 1475 at 01.50h in Caprese Michelangelo. He died on 18th February 1564 in Rome.
So Michelangelo was born when Leonardo was but 23 years old. One of the reasons for Leonardo’s longer lasting legacy and impact was simply that he lived much longer than either Dante or Leonardo. Dante died aged 56, just before his second Saturn Return. Leonardo died aged 67. However, Michelangelo did not die until he was 89, so some five years after his Uranus Return; having also completed his Uranus opposition, his second Saturn Return and his Chiron return.
In astrological terms a Saturn Return, which occurs every 28 to 30 years in a person’s chart, is a time of growing up and taking on real world responsibilities. Saturn in a natal astrology chart represents structure, order, discipline.
A natal astrology chart represents our astrological DNA. It represents what our soul came into this world in this lifetime to learn and experience. In the last three years there has been a huge upsurge of interest in astrology, as more and more people worldwide seek answers to the titanic events they see unfolding.
Leonardo da Vinci, was Sun sign Taurus, Sagittarius Rising and his natal chart had two Grand Trines – one in air and another Grand Trine in earth. A Grand Trine is when the planetary energies of three planets connect to flow effortlessly together in the same element (which is either Air, Earth, Water or Fire) and are a common feature in the charts of extraordinary artists.
Leonardo’s Grand Trine in Air connected the planets Saturn (Retrograde in Libra), Mars (In Aquarius) and Chiron (in Gemini). These powerful flows of air energy would have contributed significantly to his genius and innovation in both technology and art, as the element air represents thought and innovation.
Leonardo’s second Grand Trine in the earth signs of Ceres (in Virgo), Sun (in Taurus) and North Node (Capricorn) would have contributed significantly to his colossal work ethic as the energy of earth is all about pragmatic manifesting and building.
When we look at the astrocartography for the area Leonardo lived, this is where his chart truly comes alive. Leonardo has a very strong Neptune line running off the coast of Tuscany, where Neptune conjuncts his Mid Heaven. A conjunction is where two planetary energies are blended, and the Midheaven in a natal chart represents your highest point of aspiration, hence the legacy you wish to leave to the world.
Neptune represents our divine inspiration, our highest bliss, where we are most truly ourselves. Where our creativity flows through us, not from us.
In his natal birth chart Leonardo had Neptune angular on his Midheaven, so we know that it was a highly significant planet in his chart. He also had Neptune quintiling his ascendant even closer to Florence. A quintile, which has a radius of 34 miles, represents the external manifestation of creativity in a natal chart, so we have the gossamer dreamy Neptunian energy enhancing his creativity even more.
And what of Michelangelo? Michelangelo also had two Grand Trines in his chart, except in his case, both Grand Trines are in Water, which as we know, represents our emotional intuition. Michelangelo was Sun sign Pisces, and Sagittarius Rising, hence Jupiter was his chart ruler. Jupiter in our chart represents expansion, abundance, higher wisdom, travel, publishing and marketing.
Michelangelo was and did all of those things. Two of his Grand Trines also involve Neptune – one Grand Trine links Neptune (in Scorpio) to his Sun (in Pisces) and Mars (in Cancer). The second Grand Trine then links Neptune to his Mars (in Pisces) and Saturn (in Cancer).
His astrocartography for the Florence and Tuscany area in general is also highly Neptunian. Michelangelo had Neptune undeciling his Midheaven to the East of Florence and also undeciling both this time his Ascendant to the west of Florence. An undecile is another minor astrological aspect, which like the other minor aspects, comes uniquely into its own in astrocartography, as it represents deep insight. Your Ascendant (also known as your Rising Sign) is how you show up in the world, your role, the first part of you which the world sees.
Michelangelo also had his Sun squaring both his Ascendent and Descendant slightly to the west of Florence, and as these planetary lines crosses with his Neptune lines, the energy of these planetary lines was hence significantly enhanced, The Sun in our chart represents where and how we shine, also our masculine energy.
So just by looking in detail at simply one planet in each of these charts, we can instantly see the significance of Neptune, both in their natal chart and their astrocartography for the general area. We know both men travelled a lot in the Tuscany area and Michelangelo would subsequently go onto spend a significant amount of time in Rome, where Jupiter bi quinitiled his Descendant giving inspiration to everything he did there.
Like – eh – the Sistine Chapel?!
Thank you for reading my blog post “Embodying Neptune Part 2”. If you would like to know more please do not hesitiate to contact me on info@marthaclarkeastrology.com, or book a free call with myself or learn more about my upcoming Intensive Astrocartography Course.