Sabian Symbols and Stories

[sdh3]

The 70th five-pointed star is comprised of the following Sabian symbols:

Capricorn 16: Boys and girls in gymnasium suits
Leo 22 : A carrier pigeon
Pisces 28: A fertile garden under the full moon
Scorpio 4: A youth holding a lighted candle
Gemini 10: An airplane falling



I've seen these five symbols used together in a few stories before, a few of which have to do with NASA and rockets. A notable example is 1999 movie "October Sky" which IMDb summarizes as follows: "The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes." Hickam eventually became a NASA engineer.

The title of the movie is an anagram of "Rocket Boys" the term used in the film to describe the four high school boys--Hickam among them--that begin experimenting with rocketry in the wake of the Sputnik launch.

Here's how the symbols factor into the story. First note that two symbols imply flight and flying, and by extension, air and space: Leo 22 (A carrier pigeon) and Gemini 10 (an airplane falling) which are separated by 72-degrees.

There are two more symbols that imply young people: Capricorn 16 (Boys and girls in gymnasium suits) and Scorpio 4 (A youth holding a lighted candle). These are also separated by 72 degrees.

The rocket is implied by Scorpio 4 and one or both flight-related symbols. That's because a a rocket launching looks like an inverted candle in flight. Lest you think this is overly imaginative on my part--which, by the way, I would take as a compliment--this is not an original observation. The phrase is attributed to former NASA astronaut Alan Shepherd "who in 1961 became the second person and the first American to travel into space." In fact, his authorized biography is entitled "Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman."

 

[sdh3]

Snowpiercer

The 38th Five-pointed star is formed by these five Sabian Symbols:

Aquarius 26: A hydrometer
Libra 2: The light of the sixth race transmuted to the seventh
Taurus 8: A sleigh without snow
Sagittarius 14: The Pyramids and the Sphinx
Cancer 20: Gondoliers in a serenade

The dystopian film "Snowpiercer" would seem to be mostly based on this star.

"In 2014, an experiment to counteract global warming causes an ice age that kills nearly all life on Earth. The only survivors are the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a massive train, powered by a perpetual-motion engine, that travels on a globe-spanning track. A class system is installed, with the elites inhabiting the front of the train and poor inhabiting the tail."

"In 2031, the tail inhabitants prepare for the latest in a series of rebellions. Guards arrive periodically to deliver protein blocks for food, and take some of the children. During the guards’ next visit, Curtis Everett leads the tail inhabitants in revolt, forcing their way through several train cars to the prison section."

"every year, the train has passed a crashed plane buried in snow, which has become less buried with each passing year, suggesting that Earth is warming, and that survival outside is now possible."
​

Note that there are two means of conveyance in this set of five symbols--a sleigh (Taurus 8) and a gondola (Cancer 20). Those two symbols are 72 degrees apart.

The word "snow" appears in Taurus 8 and is implied by the hydrometer (Aquarius 26) because the prefix "hydro-" means water.


The symbol about the sixth and seventh race (Libra 2) would seem to be reflected in the story as the stark differences between castes or classes rather than races. Additionally, at the end of the movie it is discovered that the planet is warming again and that life is possible off the train. Thus, those that lived aboard the train are the seed men of the new race, only two of whom survive.

The Sphinx (Sagittarius 14) is Mr. Wilford, the builder and conductor of the SnowPiercer train. The term is used in this film in it's literary sense as "someone who is mysterious or has many secrets." These secrets are very numerous and revealed only to our hero when he finally reaches the front of the train where Wilford has lived and worked and, as we learn at the end, coldly guided the development of the various classes--all, he claims, for the ultimate good of human race.

 

[sdh3]

The New Age

The 16th five-pointed star is comprised of the following Sabian Symbols:

Aries 16: Brownies dancing in the setting sun
Scorpio 22: Hunters starting out for ducks
Gemini 28: A man declared bankrupt
Aquarius 4: A Hindu healer
Virgo 10: Two heads looking out and beyond the shadows

The 1994 movie "The New Age" is based upon symbols of this star. To those well-versed with the Sabian symbols, this fact is apparent well within the first act. It's also immediately apparent in the movie synopsis provided by the film review site, Rotten Tomatoes:

"A wealthy Beverly Hills husband and wife are forced to reevaluate their lives after losing their jobs...

Peter Witner (Peter Weller) and Katherine Witner (Judy Davis) have become so accustomed to their high-class, shallow lifestyle that they feel helpless when circumstances leave them facing imminent bankruptcy. Lost and confused, their marriage on the verge of collapse, they seek help from a number of spiritual gurus, who offer ineffectual New Age philosophies as the solution to their problems.

These remedies provide little comfort, however, and the Witners' attempt to make their own way by opening a hip clothing store also disappoints, leaving them ostracized and desperate for a direction in life.

Best known for the cutting screenplay of Robert Altman's The Player (1992) and for his own earlier film The Rapture (1991), Tolkin provides sharp dialogue and a well-observed critique of the Los Angeles high life. This film continues the social criticism of those earlier efforts, as Tolkin consistently portrays American life as mindlessly materialistic, spiritually hollow, and bereft of meaningful purpose or moral direction."​

To summarize: the couple is bankrupt (Gemini 28),; The seek spiritual guidance and direction in new age spirituality and individual gurus (Aquarius 4). To earn income they attempt to start their own business (Scorpio 22). Appropriately, the "mindlessly materialistic and spiritually hollow", meaningless, purposeless and immoral lives that they lead are the metaphorical darkness or shadows from which the couple ("two heads") are looking out (Virgo 10).

In the image below it is the protagonist (Peter Witner) that's holding his head in his hands and it's his wife, the other protagonist, that is staring at him.

 

[sdh3]

Failure to Launch

The 40th five-pointed star is comprised of the following Sabian symbols:

Sagittarius 16: Sea gulls watching a ship
Cancer 22: A woman awaiting a sailboat
Aquarius 28: A tree felled and sawed
Libra 04: A group around a campfire
Taurus 10: A Red Cross nurse

According to Wikipedia,

"Failure to Launch is a 2006 American romantic comedy film. In the movie a 35-year-old man lives in the home of his parents and shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life his parents, especially his mother, have made for him there."​

Here's the first two paragraphs of Wikipedia's plot summary

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a 35-year-old man, is still living with his parents Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates), in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tripp's best friends Demo (Bradley Cooper) and nerdy Ace (Justin Bartha) are also still living in their parents' homes and seem proud of it. Al and Sue are not happy and are fascinated when friends whose adult son has recently moved away from home, reveal that they hired an expert to arrange the matter.

The expert is Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who thinks that men continue to live at home out of low self-esteem. Her approach is to establish a relationship with the man to build up his confidence and transfer his attachment from his parents to her. Her step-by-step process is deceitful; while avoiding physical intimacy, she allows her subject to fall in love with her, pretending to like what he likes, allowing him to help her through a (false) crisis, obtaining the approval of his friends and giving him the opportunity to teach her something: he then moves out to become more independent.​

Here's how the symbols work into the story:

On her first "date" with Tripp", Paula, the build-a-man's-confidence expert, tells him that her work involves working with "special-needs kids." And in that regard she is very much the "Red Cross nurse" (Taurus 10). But instead of attending to men's physical infirmities, she attends to their emotional needs, insecurities, and ailments. In other parts of the film she is described as a "professional interventionist."

Tripp's job is at a shipyard. More specifically, he sells sailboats, speed boats, and yachts. And at the conclusion of the film, he buys one to live on with his new love, Paula. That covers both Cancer 22 and Sagittarius 16.

The symbols Aquarius 28 and Libra 04--both imply trees and wood or the woods. They are relatively understated or underdeveloped as key themes in the story but are present visually.

 

[sdh3]

The Choir

The 65th five-pointed star is comprised of the following symbols:

Capricorn 11: A large group of pheasants
Leo 17: A non-vested church choir
Pisces 23: Spiritist phenomena
Libra 29: Humanity seeking to bridge the span of knowledge
Gemini 5: A radical magazine

I have not seen the South African documentary

which was released in 2007. However, the synopsis found on IMDb suggests that at least three of the above symbols are implicated in the story.

"Shot over four years, THE CHOIR is the story of Jabulani Shabangu and a group of fellow inmates who are battling to survive in Leeukwop Prison -- South Africa's largest prison. Jabulani is rebellious and angry until he meets a wily old bank robber named Coleman, who recruits him for the prison choir. Jabulani rises in the ranks and leads the choir to victory at the National Prisoner Choir Competition. But there's more going on here than just a contest to see who sings best. The brotherhood of choristers, along with Coleman's fatherly wisdom transform Jabulani's life and give him the tools he needs to face his victims and to survive behind bars - as well as in the world outside when he is released."
​

The "major" or key symbol is clearly Leo 17, a non-vested choir. That word, "non-vested" means "not vested, not entrusted with power over or possession of a given thing." That's an interesting illustration of the symbol to have it be a prison choir.

The prisoners themselves represent Capricorn 11, the group of pheasants. Here's a bit on the symbolism of pheasants:

The flamboyant, eye-popping colors of the male pheasant, reminds us that nature knows no end to its variety and creativity. Nature makes a way for these males to be very attractive to their female counterparts by design. Consequently their bright colors are perfect for wooing pheasant strumpets. Indeed, they are so effective, that males often have a harem of three hens at once. This is symbolic of creativity, sexuality, influence and magic.​

Here's another bit on the symbolism of pheasants:

"The pheasant is a native bird of China where it is revered for its beauty, and thought of as a solar animal. Indeed, the Golden pheasant’s body is a shock of flaming red; its head a ruddy yellow. So intense are these solar colors that there is some debate as to whether or not the Golden pheasant (image shown right) may be linked to the legendary phoenix."​

Notably, the cover image for the DVD shows the choir members in bright red and gold shirts. Other promotional images show them in bright orange prison jump suits. Unfortunately, none of these images can be uploaded to this site. You can see one of them here, however.

The relationship between the protagonist, Jabulani, and his mentor might represent Libra 29.

Note: it would seem that movies about choirs are quite common. This movie search engine contains over 50. Also worthy of note is that there are three Sabian symbols involving choirs: Leo 17 (A nonvested church choir), Capricorn 20 (A hidden choir singing) and Aries 29 (A celestial choir singing).

 

[sdh3]

Edward Scissorhands

The thirteenth five-pointed star is comprised of the following symbols:

Aquarius 1 An old adobe mission
Virgo 7 A harem
Aries 13 An unsuccessful bomb explosion
Scorpio 19 A parrot listening and then talking
Gemini 25 A man trimming palms

The most widely acclaimed story that makes use of this star is the Academy-Award winning film The Hurt Locker about a bomb disposal unit working in Iraq.

But the most clever use of this star has got to be Tim Burton's 1990 classic, Edward Scissorhands. In this story, it is Gemini 25 that's the key symbols. As the title suggests, and the image below shows, Edward's hands have palms but instead of fingers, he's got scissors. And with those hands he trims shrubs and sculpts bushes instead of palm trees.

He is also works as a hairdresser in a ladies salon which in this film serves as the harem (Virgo 7). And to be sure, there is a sexual element to the "harem."

Joyce, one of the housewives in the neighborhood (Kathy Baker), an aging seductress, suggests that Edward open a hair-cutting salon with her. While examining a proposed site, she attempts to seduce him in the back room, causing Edward to leave in a state of panic.
​

The "old adobe mission" is not present in a literal sense but "the decrepit Gothic mansion on the hill where Edward lives" serves that purpose.

 

[sdh3]

Wadjda

The 42nd five-pointed star is formed by

Libra 6: The ideals of a man abundantly crystallized
Taurus 12: Window-shoppers
Sagittarius 18: Tiny children in sunbonnets
Cancer 24: A woman and two men on a bit of sunlit land facing south
Aquarius 30: The field of Ardath in bloom

The critically-acclaimed Saudi Arabian film Wadjda seems to be built on this star. Here's the synopsis from IMDb:

An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.​

Here's are more detailed descriptions of the plot with some added commentary:

Wadjda, an 11-year-old Saudi girl living in the capital Riyadh, dreams of owning a green bicycle that she passes in a store every day on her way to school.​

Wadjda not only passes the store but goes in very frequently to talk with the shop owner and to tell him not to sell the bike. Other times she stares at the bike from near and afar. This is Taurus 12, "A window shopper."

She wants to race against her friend Abdullah, a boy from the neighbourhood, but riding bikes is frowned upon for girls and Wadjda's mother refuses to buy one for her daughter. She is distracted by trying to convince her husband not to take a second wife, as Wadjda tries to find the money herself by selling mixtapes, hand-braiding bracelets for classmates, acting as a go-between for a teacher, and through other forbidden activities in the school yard.​

Of course. riding bikes is not all that Wadjda--and other girls and women--are not allowed to do. The film is Saudi after-all and women's social and physical mobility is severely limited. Also, the girls are all required to cover there heads in public. Those head coverings are the correspondence to the sunbonnets of Sagittarius 18.

The issue about the father taking a second wife is also an important sub-plot. Without going into much detail, this element of the story corresponds to Cancer 24 but with a slight reversal--instead of a woman and two men on a bit of sunlit land facing south, it's a man and two women whether. That can be the husband, wife and daughter or the husband and wives one and two.

The remaining two symbols are not so apparent but are there. In the first scene that we see Wadjda's father--who has an unspecified job in what seems to be the oil industry--he gives her a crystal or special stone of some kind that he found while at work. Also, he really spends a lot of what should be family time playing video games on what appears to be a large LCD (liquid crystal diode) flat-screen TV. That's Libra 6.

After running afoul of the strict headmistress, Wadjda decides to participate in a Qur'an recital competition, the SR1,000 cash prize (equivalent of about US$270[11]) of which would allow her to pay for the bike. Her efforts at memorising the verses impress her teacher, but when Wadjda wins the competition, she shocks the staff by announcing her intention to buy a bicycle with the prize money. She is told that the money will instead be donated to Palestine on her behalf.
Wadjda returns home to find that her father has taken a second wife, and that her mother has bought the green bicycle from the toy store. Wadjda wins her race against Abdullah.​

The field of Ardath in bloom is a symbol that I've interpreted as "a flowering field." According to at least one baby names website, Ardath is a Semitic, Middle Eastern name for girls. "As a girl's name has the meaning "bronze; blooming meadow" and is a variant of Arda (Hebrew). Also a variant of Ardith (Hebrew): ardith is also an old Swedish name that means "spiritual prosperity", and is traditionally given to baby girls as a blessing. Wadjda is of course of bronze complexion!

 

[sdh3]

Divergent

Against my better judgment I watched a teen-themed, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, action thriller called Divergent. Turns out my judgment wasn't so bad after-all and it was at times quite enjoyable.

For those of you not familiar with the film, which is based on a series of novels, here are a few synposes. First from Rotten Tomatoes

"DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late."
​

It didn't take too much watching to realize that the story is built around the 54th five-pointed star, perhaps the most commonly used of all:

Leo 6: An old-fashioned woman and an up-to-date girl
Pisces 12: An examination of initiates
Libra 18: Two men placed under arrest
Taurus 24: A mounted Indian with scalp locks
Sagittarius 30: The Pope

Before discussing the particulars, here are some excerpts from Wikipedia's plot summary:

The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Chicago[7] where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any one of the factions and soon learns that a sinister plot is brewing in her seemingly perfect society.

In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Members join a faction based on their preference but are initially given a suggestion by an aptitude test. Beatrice Prior has grown up in Abnegation, the faction that runs the government, yet has always been fascinated by Dauntless. Her father, Andrew, serves on the ruling council along with the head of Abnegation, Marcus Eaton.

Every year, 16-year-olds undergo a serum-based aptitude test that indicates the faction into which they would best fit, and informs their choice at the Choosing Ceremony.

Beatrice takes the test with a Dauntless woman named Tori as her proctor. Her test shows attributes of three factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless), meaning she is Divergent. Tori tells her that her that since Divergents can think independently and the government therefore cannot control them, they are considered threats to the existing social order.

The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses Erudite, while with hesitation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless.

The Dauntless initiates are given tests such as jumping from a moving train and taking a leap of faith from a tall building into a large dark hole. During these tests, the initiates meet Eric (Jai Courtney), a brutal leader of Dauntless, and Four (Theo James), the transfer initiates' instructor.

Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training, ranking 32nd out of 33 after the first evaluation, but slowly improves.

After the physical stage of Dauntless training, the initiates are put into simulations in order to face their fears. Tris' divergence allows her to excel at these tests, but Four, who strikes up a relationship with Tris, warns her to conceal the reasons behind her success and to solve the challenges the way a true Dauntless would.

In preparation for her final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she finds out that one of his fears is taking orders he doesn't want to do. When the day of the test comes, Tris passes without revealing she is Divergent. During the post-test celebration, the Dauntless are injected with a serum which is said to be administered as a tracking device, but which is revealed to be a mind control serum.

Controlling the heavily armed members of Dauntless through the serum, Erudite manipulates them into attacking Abnegation. Divergents are unaffected, so Tris and Four have to blend in and act as though they are affected by the serum.

Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is about to start the protocols that will make Dauntless kill every Abnegation. Before Jeanine pushes the button, Tris intervenes by throwing a knife that stabs Jeanine's hand. Tris can't make Jeanine abort the program and Tris can't kill her since she knows the code. Instead, she injects Jeanine with the serum and orders her to stop the program. She does and when everyone is released from mind-control, she realizes it and tries to kill Tris. Tris knocks her out and escapes Dauntless with Caleb, Peter, Four, and Marcus on the train, intending to ride to the end of the tracks.
​

In short, the prime symbol here is Pisces 12, an examination of initiates. Those of you who've seen the film know that this is where so much of the action and drama takes place--the testing of the initiates--that;s the word that used over and over in the film--and their preparation for tests. (What teenage isn't going to relate to that!?)

The old fashioned woman and the up-to-date girl are, respectively the Erudite leader Jeanine--played with cool and cruel aplomb by Kate Winslet--and the heroine protagonist, Tris. But because Tris is also formerly a member of Abnegation, she also has a lot of "old-fashioned woman" in her. In fact, her fellow initiates frequently refer to her as a "stiff" or just "Stiff."

The group which Tris selected is Dauntless--the brave one. They are shown to have great physical courag eand they are given all manner of training in the martial arts and combat. One of their drill-instructors is Eric, who is the heavily-tattooed, physically-impressive, embodiment of Taurus 24, An mounted Indian with scalp locks.

Libra 18 (two men placed under arrest) is sublimated here. Yes there are times when individuals are apprehended and take into custody. But what really arresting is the restrictions under which all five factions live: all citizens are bore into a faction but at the age of 16 they can choose another. At it is with that faction that they live from then on. But once they choose, that can't go back. In short, social mobility is severely restricted--by the adults. (What teenager can't identify with this?!)


The Pope (Sag 30) is also not emphasized much in the film. Recall that the Abnegation faction runs the government. They are allowed to do so because they apparently take something akin to a vow of poverty, living in very simple homes, wearing very plain clothes and apparently have very little fun. Basically their are renunciates or perhaps Quakers but without the religion. Their leader and head of the government is a man one named Marcus. The Erudites think they should run the government and plot to take over the the reins of power. One way in which they do this is to cast aspersions on the integrity of the Abnegation members. In particular they say that their children are leaving to join other factions because the Abnegaton parents abused them. This is said specifically about Marcus, i.e. that he abused his son. From what I can gather, this part of the story line factors in more prominently in the novel. Anyhow, it is Marcus who is the "Pope" figure here. And his prodigal son is "Four" , a leader in Dauntless who becomes the protagonist's mentor and then love interest.

 

[athenian200]

These are very interesting, thanks!

But I'm wondering, have you seen "Back to the Future"? I'd kind of like to see if the five-pointed stars have any correlation for that. I'm not sure how you're coming up with these, but there are a couple different sets I've seen that might work for Back to the Future... the one I seized upon was this:

Aries 7: A man successfully expressing himself in two worlds at once.

Marty's actions have a visible influence both the past and the future/present.

Gemini 19: In a museum, a large archaic volume reveals a traditional wisdom.

After getting stranded in 1955 (the whole town could be called a museum), Marty looks through a very large phone book to find Dr. Brown's number.

Virgo 1: In a portrait, the best of a man's traits and character are idealized.

Because of Marty's actions in the past, he sees his siblings slowly being erased from a photograph. Eventually, he starts fading as well... but then when his father finds the courage to stand up to his rivals for the mother's affection, he and the siblings reappear.

Scorpio 13: An inventor performs a laboratory experiment.

Dr. Brown is an inventor who has created a lot of experiments, and the whole movie is about the outcome of his time travel experiment.

Capricorn 25: An oriental rug dealer in a store filled with precious ornamental rugs.

This one doesn't really fit unless I stretch and say that the Libyan nationalists that sold Dr. Brown the plutonium are the "oriental rug dealers" and the plutonium itself is the "oriental rug."

 

[sdh3]

Re: Back to the Future

In my email I saw only the first few lines of your message and thought, My guess would the 7th five-pointed star...the same one I thought was applicable to MegaMind. Then I logged in and saw you reached the same conclusion. I'm travelling and so only have a few moments but, in short, I agree with your symbol choices and comments. Concerning the latter one (Cap 25), the wording used by Marc Jones was only "An oriental-rug dealer." That said, think of how remarkable it is that they even included Middle Easterners in the film at all. Of all the regions and nations of the world to choose from...and they choose that. And one thing I've noted is that artists do take "artistic license" with the symbols and rarely, if ever, do you see them all used in a perfectly literal sense. Usually, the key symbol is the one that stands out the most or seems to be taken most literally. Here I thought of Scorpio 13. In Megamind it was Virgo 1 which in Jones' wording was just "A man's head."

Got to run. But thanks for sharing this one and thanks for the kidn remarks on the thread. There are so few comments I wasn't sure who, if any oen, was reading them ;-) I've almost got a set of examples for all 72 stars, at which point I may pause posting and write all that up.

--sdh3

These are very interesting, thanks!

But I'm wondering, have you seen "Back to the Future"? I'd kind of like to see if the five-pointed stars have any correlation for that. I'm not sure how you're coming up with these, but there are a couple different sets I've seen that might work for Back to the Future... the one I seized upon was this:

Aries 7: A man successfully expressing himself in two worlds at once.

Marty's actions have a visible influence both the past and the future/present.

Gemini 19: In a museum, a large archaic volume reveals a traditional wisdom.

After getting stranded in 1955 (the whole town could be called a museum), Marty looks through a very large phone book to find Dr. Brown's number.

Virgo 1: In a portrait, the best of a man's traits and character are idealized.

Because of Marty's actions in the past, he sees his siblings slowly being erased from a photograph. Eventually, he starts fading as well... but then when his father finds the courage to stand up to his rivals for the mother's affection, he and the siblings reappear.

Scorpio 13: An inventor performs a laboratory experiment.

Dr. Brown is an inventor who has created a lot of experiments, and the whole movie is about the outcome of his time travel experiment.

Capricorn 25: An oriental rug dealer in a store filled with precious ornamental rugs.

This one doesn't really fit unless I stretch and say that the Libyan nationalists that sold Dr. Brown the plutonium are the "oriental rug dealers" and the plutonium itself is the "oriental rug."

 

[athenian200]

Re: Back to the Future

Usually, the key symbol is the one that stands out the most or seems to be taken most literally. Here I thought of Scorpio 13. In Megamind it was Virgo 1 which in Jones' wording was just "A man's head."

That was the original wording?

Wow, that's actually amazingly precise, considering this scene...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQbRFZU7rE

 

[sdh3]

That is amazing!

There is some debate about the original wording. I'm a purist and rather conservative in this regard (4 planets in Virgo and Saturn conjunct the Ascendant so that's to be expected!!)

Anyhow, in short, as I recall it, Marc Jones took down words from Elsie Wheeler about what she saw when he held up almost blank notecards. That was in 1925. Six years later he started releasing lesson-sets on the Sabians to his students. The wording there was greatly expanded upon the original wording he scribbled down in 1925 on the notecards. Eventually he came to regret the 1931 wording and in 1953 Jones released what he considered to be his final word on the wording. For the overhwhelming majority of the 260 symbols, the 1953-wording is the same or very close to the 1925 notecard wording. That's the wording I use. At least two recent authors have used the reconstructed wording from 1925. One of them is Blain Bovee.

So here's Jones' wording for the 7th five pointed star:

Virgo 1: A man's head
Aries 7: A man successfully expressing himself in two realms at once
Scorpio 13: An inventor experimenting
Gemini 19: A large archaic volume
Capricorn 25: An oriental-rug dealer

--sdh3

 

[sdh3]

Bekas

I'm in the Middle East at present and it's just after 9PM. On the Dubai One network I'm watching a Kurdish film called "Bekas." That word means "parentless." So essentially the film is titled "Orphans." It was released a few years ago and won the People's Choice Award at the Dubai Film Festival in 2012.

The film is set in the late 1990's in mountainous Iraqi Kurdistan. In the beginning of the story two brothers who work as shoeshine boys--Zana and Dana--catch a glimpse of Superman through a hole in the wall at the local cinema. The brothers then decide that they want to go to America and live with Superman. They set off on their journey America on their donkey, named---I kid you not--Michael Jackson. Once they arrive, their hope is to find, befriend, and live with Superman. Once they get there they expect that He can solve all their problems, make their lives easy and punish everyone that has been mean to them. Zana, the younger brother, starts to make a list of all people he is going to tell Superman to punish. On top of the list is Saddam Hussein.

This film is based on the 59th five-pointed star:

Leo 11: Children on a swing in a huge oak tree
Pisces 17: An Easter promenade
Libra 23; Chanticleer
Taurus 29: Two cobblers working at a table
Capricorn 5: Indians rowing a canoe and dancing a war dance

Another possibility is the 9th one:

Gemini 21: A labor demonstration
Capricorn 27: A mountain pilgrimage
Virgo 3: Two angels bringing protection
Aries 9: A crystal gazer
Scorpio 15: Children playing around five mounds of sand

After I watch it, I'll edit this and provide a more definitive analysis.

Ok, not much time to spend on this one. In short, the story is based on star # 9:

The "labor" is what the boys do--they perform menial labor as shoe shines boys. Their travels also call for considerable exertion.
The "mountains" are the setting in which the whole story unfolds.
The "protecting angel" is, of course, Superman.
The "children playing" in and around "sand" are again implicit in the Middle Eastern setting.
The "mounds" are, as above, the mountains.
The "crystal gazer" I didn't see.

 

[sdh3]

Boot Camp

The 57th five-pointed star is comprised of the following symbols:

Libra 21: A crowd upon the beach
Taurus 27: A squaw selling beads
Capricorn 3: The human soul receptive to growth and understanding
Leo 9: Glass blowers
Pisces 15: An officer preparing to drill his men

The 2008 film "Boot Camp" starring Mila Kunis is based upon this star. Here are a few synopses. First from IMDb: "A group of at-risk teens are sent to a what they think is a rehabilitation program on Fiji, but it's really a prison-like camp where kids are abused and brainwashed."

Rotten Tomatoes called it a "tense psychological thriller about a state-of-the-art rehabilitation program for troubled teens that is in reality a penitentiary-style boot camp where adolescents are brutalized and brainwashed."

Wikipedia describes it as "the story of a group of unruly teenagers whose parents send them to a rehabilitation boot camp to turn them around. The camp collects each child individually, then delivers them to the boot camp facility owned by Dr. Arthur Hail, on a remote island in Fiji. There are no walls to stop the teenagers from leaving, but escape is impractical due to the surrounding sea. On arriving at the camp, the teenagers are forced to wear cuffs with sensors around their ankles—if they attempt to escape, security will be alerted."

I think penitentiary is the wrong term here. It's more para-military re-education camp, like a POW camp, with an added emphasis on group therapy, group work, and sports, much of which takes place in the open air on the beach.

In the both movie posters below you can actually see the "crowd upon the beach" (Libra 21).

The "officer preparing to drill his men" (Pisces 15) is the male antagonist, Dr. Hail, who is a psychologist or psycho-therapist who runs the camp and who has designed its curriculum.

The "human soul receptive to growth and understanding" (Capricorn 3) comes in the plural. Those are all of the troubled, at-risk teens who have been placed in the camp. And let's just say that some are more receptive than others to the camp's attempt to re-educate them and change their ways. Naturally, the protagonist is of the less-receptive variety and hence the premise for the drama that drives the story.

 

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Black Widow

The 37th five-pointed star is comprised of these Sabian Symbols:

Libra 1: A butterfly made perfect by a dart through it
Taurus 7: A woman of Samaria
Sagittarius 13: A widow's past brought to light
Cancer 19: A priest performing a marriage ceremony
Aquarius 25: A butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed

A few things about this set of five symbols are noteworthy. Firstly, there are only three symbols in the set of 360 that mention butterflies and two of them are here. Secondly there are three women in the other three symbols. And at this point you're probably guessing that I'm going to discuss Madame Butterfly. But you'd be wrong. Instead, it's Black Widow, which is a spider, the 1987 film to be exact. Here are the first two paragraphs of the plot summary as provided in Wikipedia.

The story centers on two women. Catherine is a psychopathic femme fatale whose true name is never known. She preys on wealthy middle-aged men, seducing them into marriage and then fatally poisoning them. Each death is misdiagnosed as Ondine's curse, a condition by which seemingly healthy middle-aged men die in their sleep. Justice Department agent Alexandra "Alex" Barnes stumbles onto the first murder while investigating another case. As Alex delves further into the case, she uncovers a pattern which she believes ties the same woman to several similar murders.

Using exhaustive research and preparation as well as identity and appearance changes, Catherine weaves her web anew with each murder, killing a publishing magnate, a toy maker, and a museum curator, and is quickly moving on to her next victim: Paul Nuytten, an international hotel tycoon. Later, she reveals she has been married six times, and possibly as many murders.​

Of course the dark deeds of the Black Widow are revealed in the end and her final intended victim spared the fate of his predecessors.

The term "woman of Samaria" (Taurus 7) is an allusion to the Biblical story where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well. Here are the key verses from the Book of John, Chapter 4, verses 15-19

15 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ 17 The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ 19 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet.​

The fact that Catherine marries (Cancer 19) and then kills so many men makes her, by definition, a widow--and willfully so . And in the conclusion her "past is brought to light." (Sagittarius 13)

I saw this movie when it came out 27 years ago but don't remember much of it. Thus I don't recall if or how the butterfly imagery works into the film. However, given that the Black Widow uses a large poisoned-filled syringe to spike her husbands' toothpaste or booze, the "dart" in Libra 1 is present even if the butterfly is not. Moreover, the impaling of the butterfly implies it's death. So again, there's something of Libra 1 here.

 

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Zoran: il mio nipote scemo

The sixty-ninth five-pointed star is comprised of these five symbols

Leo 21 Chickens intoxicated
Pisces 27 A harvest moon
Scorpio 3 A house-raising
Gemini 9 A quiver filled with arrows
Capricorn 15 Many toys in the children's ward of a hospital

The Italian-Slovenian film entitled "Zoran: il mio nipote scemo" (Zoran: My idiot nephew) is based upon this star. Here's the synopsis from Wikipedia:

The divorced scoundrel Paolo lives close to the boarder to Slovenia in a little town in the Italian Friuli. He is so short of money that his former wife and her new husband invite him over each Sunday for a free meal. Due to the demise of an aunt from the other side of the border Paolo learns he has a nephew named Zoran. Paolo is not the paternal type but Zoran is a natural when it comes to darts. He senses there might be a fortune in reach if he adopts Zoran and registers him for an open tournament in Scotland.​

What the synposis doesn't tell you is that this region of Italy is where there are many vineyards. And the local inhabitants are very proud of their homebrewed wine which is sold at the local cantina in 1.5 liter plastic bottles. In line with the symbols above there is a lot in the film about wine and intoxication (Leo 21). The protagonist is an alcoholic as is his closest co-worker, Ernesto. In the first scene that we see Paolo, he is one of two men playing a game of checkers. But instead of black and red chips, they are using small glasses—100ml filled with red wine and white wine. When one takes the others “checker” they get to drink that glass of wine. A few scenes later his co-worker Ernesto is seen singing in a local choir. The song extols the merits of the local vintage: "Wine makes you happy, Water is for funerals, If you don’t drink of the wine from Fruili, You’re a wretch, Wine keeps life going, water is for dogs." And after Paolo discovers Zoran's talent at darts (Gemini 9) he takes him to a small bar across the border in Slovenia where Paolo challenges the local dart team to a competition. To get them to take the bet seriously, he calls them cowards, not real men, and afraid to compete in darts against a boy. Essentially he's calling them chickens (Leo 21).

The reason why Zoran is with Paolo is that the boy's caretaker died. That woman was Paolo's Slovenian aunt Anja. Initially Paolo agrees--very relucantly--to take Zoran in for five days, until such time as he can be admitted to a children's home, one which Paolo tells everyone is a mental hospital. Several scenes take place there. It is Capricorn 15.

Pisces 27 references the harvest moon. Although there are a few shots of the vineyard at night with the moon above, it's not actually full. This symbol provides the physical setting for the story but does not factor in the meaning or key theme so much.

Scorpio 3 is "a house raising" and as so often the case, this symbol takes a little twist. It's Paolo who is 'raising" the boy, and later the boy is raising him. And he does it as a single parent in his own--very unsuitable house, another location where much of the action is set, e.g. the image in the poster below. It's where most of the darts practice takes place.

Note how many of the Sabian symbols work their way into that poster. There are Paolo and the boy his is raising at home (Scorpio 3). There are the darts (Gemini 9). On the table is a big plastic "water" bottle which is really for wine (Leo 21). Finally, the cork next to the darts is from a wine bottle (Leo 21). it might also represent the cork from which the dart boards are constructed.

 

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Hereafter

The 65th five pointed star is comprised of these symbols:

Capricorn 11: A large group of pheasants
Leo 17: A nonvested church choir
Pisces: 23 Spiritist phenomena
Libra 29: Humanity seeking to bridge the span of knowledge
Gemini 5: A radical magazine

The movie Hereafter, release in 2010 is built upon this star. Here's the Wikipedia synopsis:

Hereafter is a 2010 American supernatural thriller fantasy film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood, written by Peter Morgan and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The film tells three parallel stories about three people affected by death in similar ways - all three have issues of communicating with the dead; Matt Damon plays American factory worker, George, who is able to communicate with the dead and who has worked professionally as a clairvoyant, but no longer wants to communicate with the dead; Cécile de France plays French television journalist, Marie, who survives a near-death experience during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; and twins Marcus and Jason (played by Frankie and George McLaren), British boys touched by tragedy when Jason dies.​

Here are the ones from Rotten Tomatoes

"Hereafter" tells the story of three people who are touched by death in different ways. George is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. On the other side of the world, Marie, a French journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. And when Marcus, a London schoolboy, loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers. Each on a path in search of the truth, their lives will intersect, forever changed by what they believe might -- or must -- exist in the hereafter.​

Matt Damon's character embodies and expresses Pisces 23 (Spiritist phenomenon). He's a spirit medium.

The French actress embodies Gemini 5 (A radical magazine). She's a TV journalist for a French new magazine, something a kin to 60 Minutes or Hard Talk on BBC.

Although not as strongly developed, the young boy whose twin brother is killed embodies the Libra 29 symbol (Humanity seeking to bridge the span of knowledge). In fact all three of the leads do as all they are all searching for or coming to terms with the nature of life, death, and the afterlife.

 

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Ouija

The 24th five-pointed star is formed by the following Sabian Symbols:

Cancer 6: Game birds feathering their nests
Aquarius 12: People on stairs graduated upwards
Virgo 18: An ouija board
Aries 24: An open window and a net curtain blowing into a cornucopia
Scorpio 30: The Halloween jester

Among all the five-pointed stars, this grouping of symbols is most frequently the inspiration for horror movies--especially the haunted house variety.

In theaters right now is a film called "Ouija." Here's the trailer on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1Jj1inE8M

While all five elements are not overtly evident in every haunted house movie generally we find that the "nest" is the house and the "game birds" are the people who live in it. The "stairs" lead "upwards" to a room or chamber or attic where the evil or malign "Halloween jester" lives. Frequently said "jester" or other malign influence enters through a "window" or else the "net current blowing" lets us know that something has entered. The "ouija board" is, of course, the instrument by which the spirit is contacted or makes contact.

 

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Sabian Symbols and Stories (Leo 6)

"Grandma" is a "2015 comedy-drama film premiered at 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2015. "Tomlin plays a self-described misanthrope whose protective bubble bursts when her 18-year-old granddaughter (Julia Garner) shows up needing help."

From the looks of the trailer, the film might be built around Leo 6 Sabian Symbol whose original wording was : An old-fashioned woman and an up-to-date girl.

 

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Gemini 16

The fourth 5-pointed star is comprised of the following symbols:

Gemini 16: A woman suffragist haranguing.
Capricorn 22: A general accepting defeat gracefully.
Leo 28: Many little birds on the limb of a large tree.
Aries 4: Two lovers strolling through a secluded walk.
Scorpio 10: A fellowship supper.


The new film Suffragettes, starring Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, and Helena Bonham Carter, would seem to draw inspiration from this first symbol in this set.

Here's a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HdQ0iVrl2Y

here's the movie poster:

And here's a still from the film emphasizing some of the haranguing: