Miksi ihmeessä sivumiästä tommoinen päivänmäärä kiinnostaa?
Mainittu tyyppi on itse asiassa romaanihenkilö, jonka on luonut kuuluisa brittiläinen
historiallisten romaanien kirjoittaja (olikohan hän jokin Dunham, tjsp?).
Eikun Dunnett:
The Astrology Test
OK, there *was* a bit of a "cheat" in this test.
But only a bit of one.
The person whose birth data was given was the
subject of a six-volume series of books by the
person I consider the greatest writer of the
English language in the 20th century. He was
fictional.
*However*, Francis Crawford, Earl of Lymond
was also one of the most meticulously imagined
and researched characters in the history of
literature. His creator was Dorothy Dunnett,
considered by many the greatest writer in
Scottish history.
You probably have never heard of her, other
than in mentions of her by me on this forum.
The reason is that she wrote historical fiction,
which is not everyone's cuppa tea. But Dorothy
wrote historical fiction with a precision and
with a level of "due diligence" that most
historians have never achieved. Dorothy never
"fudged" anything having to do with the periods
of time and the characters -- both real and
imagined -- she wrote about. She would typically
spend a minimum of a year researching the place
and the time she was to write about, reading
literally hundreds of books about it, going there
personally to get the "vibe" of the place and its
people, thoroughly immersing herself in the place
and the time, and then starting to write.
She wrote about Lymond for 15 years, in a six-
volume set of novels known as The Lymond Chronicles.
If anyone on earth can be said to have had a real
existence, it is someone who has thus been focused
on by a great writer so intently, and for so long.
Astrology plays a great part in the novels, because
it played a great part in the times of which Dorothy
was writing. As a result, Dorothy imagined and docu-
mented his original birth date and time, and was
aware of many of the *general* things that the
astrology of the times would have said about a man
born at that time and place. Nonetheless, she was
not a believer in astrology herself; she merely "did
the work" to make sure that every word she wrote
about that time period "rang true."
Decades later, she grew curious and, as I said when
introducing this little "test," she commissioned a
well-known British astrologer to cast a horoscope
for Lymond, giving her nothing but the birth data.
The result was the chart I posted, plus the following
description:
"The chart displays the tremendous strength and emotional
powers of Scorpio underneath the characteristics of Gemini
and Libra, producing an outer personality which is mercurial,
fickle, adaptable, quick and original in its habit. The
presence of Jupiter adds a philosophic depth, and that of
Venus means a leaning towards feminine things and an
understanding of them, as well as an unusual success with
women. Mars in the fourth House adds an element of violence
and even crudity, and together with the other factors implies
conflict in the home. The fifth House indicates a quick-minded
facility with, beneath it, great strength and sense of purpose.
Neptune in the 9th House and Uranus in the 12th in association
with the rest, indicate important and unusual events happening
overseas. Neptune, the watery sign, can also mean renunciation.
Saturn in the 10th House has to do with raising up and casting
down in despair, and the 12th House implies self-sacrifice and
even self-destruction, together with prisons, hospitals and all
that is confining. On the other hand, Jupiter in the ascendant
can also mean great good luck.
"A strong, powerful and vigorous chart, overlaid by an original
and decorative outer personality."
Dorothy was shocked beyond words.
This fairly accurately describes the man she spent 15 years
writing about. Francis Crawford, Earl of Lymond first enters
our awareness in the opening book of The Lymond Chronicles,
"The Game Of Kings," introduced by the words, "Drama entered,
mincing like a cat."
If you want to see how accurate the astrologer's interpretation
of Lymond's chart really was, read The Lymond Chronicles. It
would make the perfect summer reading for someone who loves
words and loves great writing. If you can make it through the
first 50 pages (and many cannot), I warn you...you may become
"hooked," and be able to read nothing else until you have
finished the entire series. And then -- worse -- your first
impulse upon finishing it will be to start at the beginning
and read it again. I have read The Lymond Chronicles five
times now, all 3066 pages of it. I just started re-reading
it again. It will be my "beach reading" again this summer.
If you find in Lady Dunnett (she was married to Lord Alistair
Dunnett, the real-life model for Ian Fleming's James Bond)
the magic I do, it may become your summer reading as well.
This year, and many years in the future.
