Coyote
Well-known member
Here is a link to a biography of Joseph Smith, as well as a natal chart:
http://www.astrotheme.com/portraits/N49p4wcV6q6Q.htm
I think Joseph Smith is a rather fascinating character, all things considered, whether you believe in the religion he founded or you don't. (I was raised in it but left it years ago) Joseph Smith founded an enduring religion that still has millions of proponents, suggesting that whatever might be said about him, he had his finger on the pulse of America because it is one of the few uniquely American modern religions that has thrived and endured.
On a personal level, trying to understand him as a human being helps me come to peace with my roots, which were very much grown in the soil of this religion (apparently this drive to dig is related to my own Mars being conjunct the IC in the 3rd house? LOL)
Anyway, I thought I'd practice on him, since his behavior is both distinct and well documented. Please give me feedback on this, as I'm new to astrology and trying to learn by doing. I'd also like to see what others can find in the chart, as this would be very helpful to me in learning to see how the elements play out.
I'm aware, because Joseph Smith founded a religion that is active today, that I'm on touchy ground. It is not my intent to offend anyone and the opinions and observations in this post are strictly my own. Others, particularly those who believe in the Mormon Religion, may disagree with them.
I couldn't find Joseph Smith's birth time, but Astrodienst lists it as 6 pm, and looking at the chart, this certainly seems very likely. It's my opinion Joseph Smith created a Religion in his own image.
Mormonism is one of the richest religions in the world, largely because one of the primary aspects of Mormonism that makes it unique is the way the doctrine seamlessly blends the spiritual and temporal plains, making them interdependent on one another. IE: If you are faithful, you will be rewarded with abundance in the temporal plain. You will become rich as a reward for your obedience to God, and many many Mormons do. You should strive to become wealthy because in doing so, you can contribute more to the wellbeing of the Kingdom of God on Earth through tithing, which will be distributed to the needy, and thus you serve your fellow man. Few religions espouse a stronger work ethic or more avid interest in the affairs of the physical world. Salvation only comes through hard work and faith. A Mormon premise is that Faith without Works is Dead. The reverse is also true: Work without Faith is likewise dead. Salvation requires intense effort. Joseph Smith's Mars is in his 6th House, in Capricorn, which to my mind symbolizes this drive for hard work and consistent effort in the church he founded.
If I had to assign a Sun Sign to the Mormon Religion, it would be Capricorn. Traditions are well established. The system is alive and vigorously involved in every member's daily life. The structure of the religion is a massive bureaucracy, with ultimate power entrusted to the man at the top and authority delegated in a very hierarchical chain of command, which is unyielding and clearly understood by all members. Traditional roles and values are LAW. The religion itself is ambitious and highly motivated to concern itself with recognition, power and wealth in the World at Large. This drive for success is what makes the religion itself tick, and yet it is not what the doctrine focuses on. It's simply what members do and the Church encourages them to do. It's a way of being and the subconscious yardstick that many measure themselves and their fellow members by. It is natural, then, that the founder of the religion had his Sun in Capricorn.
And yet, Mormonism is also highly concerned with family, both the single family unit and the extended family of your ancestors and your church fellows at large. The majority of doctrine stresses family ties. Family is described as the building block of the afterlife. Families can be together forever is both the lyrics of a Mormon song and the rallying call to salvation. Why should you want to be saved? Because you can live together with your whole family for eternity! What more compelling reason to obey and work your butt off is there than that? This is the banner slogan of of the Mormon Church, and the way it is generally perceived by outsiders, so it's not that surprising to see that Joseph Smith's rising Sign was (probably) Cancer.
Aquarius controls Joseph Smith's 8th House, which also contains Venus. Joseph Smith was both lusty and a lover of women. His Aquarius no doubt contributed to his willingness to say "convention be damned" with regards to his sex life. He wanted lovers and he wanted a lot of them. And yet, with his moon in the house of partnerships, he valued commitment and with his Sun in Capricorn, he held traditional values to be important. That same unconventional moon in Aquarius devised a novel solution to the problem. He married them all (despite the fact that some were already married to other men). 50 or so wives was highly unconventional, but if the marriages were all sanctioned by God, as he decided they were, then no sin was committed and his conscience was mollified. Neptune in Scorpio in the 5th House suggests secret affairs, and this certainly applies, as he did not openly acknowledge any of these wives. He married them in secret and when rumor spread, denied it.
What's more, still addressing Venus in the 8th House, he also had a love affair with other people's money, for he wasn't especially fond of earning his own. Despite his work ethic, he looked for other ways to become prosperous besides traditional labor (possibly because he was born in poverty and traditional approaches to bettering his station would not have yielded much in the way of results in that era, unlike today where a person can put themselves through school and build a career through long hours of hard work).
As his church became more established, he made a bold attempt to form it along communist ideals, which was a fresh idea at the time and something some other upstart religions were trying. Members were asked to turn over all their worldly possessions to the church which would then be distributed among the members (including themselves) as need arose. Not surprisingly, Joseph Smith himself got a large share. As things went wrong, and Joseph made bad decisions in his over optimism for expansion, the church went into deep debt. Again, Joseph tried to recoup from this with other people's money by creating an underfunded bank (another popular notion at the time and illegal from the start because his application was rejected by congress) and convincing members to deposit their savings into it. This resulted in a catastrophe, as people eventually cottoned on to the reality that there wasn't much actual wealth backing the paper notes the bank was issuing, forcing Smith to flee the state, even deeper in debt than when he'd started the scheme.
Pluto in Pisces in the 9th House I believe gave him a strong metaphysical bent. Despite the fact that Modern Mormonism spurns mysticism and the occult (at least in their own minds they do, the elements of mysticism are still very evident in their rituals and practices) Joseph Smith was fascinated with it and made his early wages in life by hiring himself out as a mystical treasure hunter, professing to be able to find buried treasure in the Earth with the aid of magical talismans. (Again, that old obsession with other people's money) Shades of that occult mindset color the Mormon religion, despite its present self image as a conservative Christian religion.
And finally, we have Uranus in the 4th House. Joseph Smith was certainly revolutionary in his view of the home and the family unit. He changed the way a good many people viewed family during the years polygamy was openly practiced by the Mormon Church and even today, by those who still either sanction it or practice it, despite its taboo nature. Saturn in this house may also represent the extreme importance Joseph Smith place on home and the family. It is literally required for your Salvation, if not in this life, then you must achieve it in the next.
If the 4th House says something about your circumstances at the end of your days, then Uranus and Saturn here are appropriate. His own home was troubled at the end of his life, as his First and Primary Wife, Emma, was increasingly suspicious of his many marriages and not at all pleased about them. Tension in his home was coming to a rapid boil. When he died, it was quite suddenly and violently, at the hands of an angry mob, as suggested by Uranus.
http://www.astrotheme.com/portraits/N49p4wcV6q6Q.htm
I think Joseph Smith is a rather fascinating character, all things considered, whether you believe in the religion he founded or you don't. (I was raised in it but left it years ago) Joseph Smith founded an enduring religion that still has millions of proponents, suggesting that whatever might be said about him, he had his finger on the pulse of America because it is one of the few uniquely American modern religions that has thrived and endured.
On a personal level, trying to understand him as a human being helps me come to peace with my roots, which were very much grown in the soil of this religion (apparently this drive to dig is related to my own Mars being conjunct the IC in the 3rd house? LOL)
Anyway, I thought I'd practice on him, since his behavior is both distinct and well documented. Please give me feedback on this, as I'm new to astrology and trying to learn by doing. I'd also like to see what others can find in the chart, as this would be very helpful to me in learning to see how the elements play out.
I'm aware, because Joseph Smith founded a religion that is active today, that I'm on touchy ground. It is not my intent to offend anyone and the opinions and observations in this post are strictly my own. Others, particularly those who believe in the Mormon Religion, may disagree with them.
I couldn't find Joseph Smith's birth time, but Astrodienst lists it as 6 pm, and looking at the chart, this certainly seems very likely. It's my opinion Joseph Smith created a Religion in his own image.
Mormonism is one of the richest religions in the world, largely because one of the primary aspects of Mormonism that makes it unique is the way the doctrine seamlessly blends the spiritual and temporal plains, making them interdependent on one another. IE: If you are faithful, you will be rewarded with abundance in the temporal plain. You will become rich as a reward for your obedience to God, and many many Mormons do. You should strive to become wealthy because in doing so, you can contribute more to the wellbeing of the Kingdom of God on Earth through tithing, which will be distributed to the needy, and thus you serve your fellow man. Few religions espouse a stronger work ethic or more avid interest in the affairs of the physical world. Salvation only comes through hard work and faith. A Mormon premise is that Faith without Works is Dead. The reverse is also true: Work without Faith is likewise dead. Salvation requires intense effort. Joseph Smith's Mars is in his 6th House, in Capricorn, which to my mind symbolizes this drive for hard work and consistent effort in the church he founded.
If I had to assign a Sun Sign to the Mormon Religion, it would be Capricorn. Traditions are well established. The system is alive and vigorously involved in every member's daily life. The structure of the religion is a massive bureaucracy, with ultimate power entrusted to the man at the top and authority delegated in a very hierarchical chain of command, which is unyielding and clearly understood by all members. Traditional roles and values are LAW. The religion itself is ambitious and highly motivated to concern itself with recognition, power and wealth in the World at Large. This drive for success is what makes the religion itself tick, and yet it is not what the doctrine focuses on. It's simply what members do and the Church encourages them to do. It's a way of being and the subconscious yardstick that many measure themselves and their fellow members by. It is natural, then, that the founder of the religion had his Sun in Capricorn.
And yet, Mormonism is also highly concerned with family, both the single family unit and the extended family of your ancestors and your church fellows at large. The majority of doctrine stresses family ties. Family is described as the building block of the afterlife. Families can be together forever is both the lyrics of a Mormon song and the rallying call to salvation. Why should you want to be saved? Because you can live together with your whole family for eternity! What more compelling reason to obey and work your butt off is there than that? This is the banner slogan of of the Mormon Church, and the way it is generally perceived by outsiders, so it's not that surprising to see that Joseph Smith's rising Sign was (probably) Cancer.
Aquarius controls Joseph Smith's 8th House, which also contains Venus. Joseph Smith was both lusty and a lover of women. His Aquarius no doubt contributed to his willingness to say "convention be damned" with regards to his sex life. He wanted lovers and he wanted a lot of them. And yet, with his moon in the house of partnerships, he valued commitment and with his Sun in Capricorn, he held traditional values to be important. That same unconventional moon in Aquarius devised a novel solution to the problem. He married them all (despite the fact that some were already married to other men). 50 or so wives was highly unconventional, but if the marriages were all sanctioned by God, as he decided they were, then no sin was committed and his conscience was mollified. Neptune in Scorpio in the 5th House suggests secret affairs, and this certainly applies, as he did not openly acknowledge any of these wives. He married them in secret and when rumor spread, denied it.
What's more, still addressing Venus in the 8th House, he also had a love affair with other people's money, for he wasn't especially fond of earning his own. Despite his work ethic, he looked for other ways to become prosperous besides traditional labor (possibly because he was born in poverty and traditional approaches to bettering his station would not have yielded much in the way of results in that era, unlike today where a person can put themselves through school and build a career through long hours of hard work).
As his church became more established, he made a bold attempt to form it along communist ideals, which was a fresh idea at the time and something some other upstart religions were trying. Members were asked to turn over all their worldly possessions to the church which would then be distributed among the members (including themselves) as need arose. Not surprisingly, Joseph Smith himself got a large share. As things went wrong, and Joseph made bad decisions in his over optimism for expansion, the church went into deep debt. Again, Joseph tried to recoup from this with other people's money by creating an underfunded bank (another popular notion at the time and illegal from the start because his application was rejected by congress) and convincing members to deposit their savings into it. This resulted in a catastrophe, as people eventually cottoned on to the reality that there wasn't much actual wealth backing the paper notes the bank was issuing, forcing Smith to flee the state, even deeper in debt than when he'd started the scheme.
Pluto in Pisces in the 9th House I believe gave him a strong metaphysical bent. Despite the fact that Modern Mormonism spurns mysticism and the occult (at least in their own minds they do, the elements of mysticism are still very evident in their rituals and practices) Joseph Smith was fascinated with it and made his early wages in life by hiring himself out as a mystical treasure hunter, professing to be able to find buried treasure in the Earth with the aid of magical talismans. (Again, that old obsession with other people's money) Shades of that occult mindset color the Mormon religion, despite its present self image as a conservative Christian religion.
And finally, we have Uranus in the 4th House. Joseph Smith was certainly revolutionary in his view of the home and the family unit. He changed the way a good many people viewed family during the years polygamy was openly practiced by the Mormon Church and even today, by those who still either sanction it or practice it, despite its taboo nature. Saturn in this house may also represent the extreme importance Joseph Smith place on home and the family. It is literally required for your Salvation, if not in this life, then you must achieve it in the next.
If the 4th House says something about your circumstances at the end of your days, then Uranus and Saturn here are appropriate. His own home was troubled at the end of his life, as his First and Primary Wife, Emma, was increasingly suspicious of his many marriages and not at all pleased about them. Tension in his home was coming to a rapid boil. When he died, it was quite suddenly and violently, at the hands of an angry mob, as suggested by Uranus.
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