Anna Mary Robertson is one of America's great primitive artists who never had an art lesson in her life. Where Ansel Adams' chart displays Venus in the 2nd house and Neptune in the 7th house (both natural-Venus-ruled houses),
Grandma Moses, as she is known, has Neptune in the 2nd house and Venus in the 7th house. Her life demonstrates the Scorpio MC in that she spent decades that were "secret" in both the sense that she was unknown to the world, and that her talent lay underground; unseen, unrecognized and untapped for the bulk of her lifetime.
The two MC rulers are both cadent in the 12th and 3rd houses, not highly visible positions but both apply to an angle, suggesting their dormant impact. Neptune in the 2nd house showed a life of service and sacrifice before flowering
(retrograde) into an expression of the arts. Neither of the 2nd house co-rulers, Saturn and Uranus aspect the MC to apply for the position of vocational indicator; Uranus is semisextile the MC ruler Pluto to depict a long interior development prior to a sudden change of direction.
A farm wife and mother, it was not until the children were grown and she was widowed that Grandma Moses began to pursue her hobby of painting. The Scorpio MC indicates her profound sense of duty and commitment to her course of action; it was the death of her husband that freed Robertson for her transformation of emergence. She also survived the death of five of her ten children. Grandma Moses wrote her autobiography, My Life's History, when she was 92. She died December 13, 1961, at Hoosier Falls, NY, age 101.
Mars in the 10th house follows Aries on the MC.
Pluto in the 10th house. This is a position of power and prestige for those of us who respond to the law of supply and demand. We act at the appropriate time to represent a need in the mass unconscious of a specific societal group. That need may be for a hero to emulate, such as Marilyn Bell, the swimmer for whom a nation cheered or an educational leader such as Maria Montessori, but more often is for cult figures who challenge the existing taboos and set new societal standards, anti-heroes such as beatnik writer Jack Kerouac, or musician Alice Cooper. The counter culture movements against established mores may fester underground until released by a spokesman or archetypal image embodied by those of us with Pluto in the 10th house. Our performance and display is carried off with intensity and range, and our quality of sincerity is captivating. Many of us have dual careers, one that is publicly known and a second that is minor or avocational.
Few of us seem to be aiming for power overtly: those for whom this was the end goal did not fare well. Kate Chase, who tried to manipulate the First Lady role for herself through her father and then her lover, concluded her life in ignominious obscurity; evangelist Edna Ballard, and government official H.R. Haldeman both had their downfall from the misuse of their potency. They did exemplify some of the most potent vehicles of manipulation, Chase through family bonds and then, through sex, Ballard through religious fervor, and Haldeman through politics. The title that he chose for his book, The Ends of Power, 1978, accurately mirrored his 10th house Pluto.
Others among us are thrust into a public position where we feel that external expectations are a coercive imposition on our private lives, such as Princess Anne of England or presidential daughter Susan Ford. Though a taste of clout can be insidious, all of us seem to experience the loss of potency at some time in our lives (kidnapped and held incognito for ransom, so to speak), either in personal experience or in our career positions. We may withdraw, going underground when overwhelmed with our powerlessness. Even the most visible among us, the public figures and champions have periods of "invisibility", of having to reassess priorities and regenerate directions and capacities.
The most remarkable factor of Pluto in the 10th house is that we are operative on several levels. In some cases this denotes a private life that is inversely different from our public image. The "All-American Sweetheart" on the stage may be a sex-kitten at home or vice versa; the public sophisticate may, in private, cook pasta and raise geraniums; the religious leader may visit prostitutes while the tough executive privately writes poetry. Though not all of the examples are as extreme, there is in all of us an inviolate sense of privacy.
All social and economic strata are represented as well as all vocational fields, but the most outstanding common feature we have is that of appearing before or influencing the masses. Though we work in group environments, represent a group or are part of a group we ourselves have a singular role or distinction. We are the minority figure within the group. Even though we have periods of acclaim alternating with periods of invisibility, career longevity does stand out. If defeated, we rise again from the ashes, stronger in our rebirth than we were before. We are purposeful; only those of us who are ineffectual move from one field to another at random.
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian in a western world, a rare figure in Hollywood's upper echelon of talent, a minority role that is markedly singular. In films he usually portrays an Oriental or Balkan leading man and is often cast as the great screen lover. Privately he is divorced with one son and does not have the reputation (that many actors attract) of being a womanizer.
Pluto in the 10th house may very well give a public image that stands apart from the way the person sees themself, as well as showing that the person "wears two hats." Sharif is not only a famous actor but he is a champion bridge player.
With the MC in Cancer he fits into a game that emphasizes teamwork. Those who are active in the world of bridge know each other, a family in a sense who meet at tournaments and contests. Sharif s active 7th house suggests his
involvement, initiative and zest (Aries) in meeting competitors and his Moon conjunct Venus (Gemini) suggests his pleasure in a game in which he may use his skill and wits, often playing with mentally agile women. For Sharif, the game involves travel and teaching; he is also the author of best-selling bridge books.
Sagittarius on the MC. With Sagittarius on the MC, we apply enthusiasm and eager application to a career that allows us growth and freedom of choice. To achieve our maximum success, we learn from education and experience to keep reaching for more and better. We have faith in deity and in our own philosophy and set our sights on high goals. We fail to succeed when we act upon impulse toward undisciplined indulgence and extravagance, and are wild, restless and scattered, pretentious and lawless.
Our career fields are largely represented by business concerns and the government. Art, literature, publishing and educational fields are also illustrated. We are not people who are happy with a status quo but who seek always to keep movement and growth in our careers. Even when established in a successful position, we continually send out feelers for the next area to explore, the next class to take, the next project to start. A few of us switch jobs and careers but most move ahead in a series of surges to improve our lot, similar to the way that a galloping horse lunges forward. We easily gain prominence as we want to be noticed.
Our performance is quite visible, or what we have to broadcast is heard loudly and clearly, as in the lives of drummer Ringo Starr and conductor Leopold Stokowski, or politicians Abraham Lincoln and Conrad Adenauer. Even those of us with a modest temperament manage to gain publicity for some distinction and recognition appropriate to our social class or time in history. The examples include Empress Catherine the Great, historic scientists Tycho Brahe and Alexander Graham Bell, and astrologer Evangaline Adams.
The publicity that we attract so easily may include a rowdy or devil-may-care scandal, such as that gained by Edward, Duke of Windsor for his affair with Wallis Simpson, singer Janis Joplin for exemplifying the flower children's explosion out of conventional boundaries, and David Carradine for taking naked acid-trips around his neighborhood. Comedian Benny Hill gained fame for his tongue-in-cheek "naughty" skits.
We demonstrate a sense of adventure with which to explore and experience areas that go beyond former boundaries. To evaluate the capacity for success of a Sagittarius MC, consider all planets in the 10th house, the sign where Jupiter is posited and the aspects made by both the MC and its ruler, Jupiter. With a Sagittarius MC and Jupiter posited or conjunct we spread our wings in freedom to soar, as international conductor Zubin Mehta, or we may be noted for exhibition or display, as artist Pierre August Renoir.