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For over
thirty years, Carlos Santana has been proving that consistency and change
can make beautiful music together. His guitar still resonates with the
same bell-like clarity first heard by many at Woodstock in 1969, yet he
continues to explore new musical genres with an ever-increasing circle
of creative compadres. The eight Grammy awards he just received for his
CD Supernatural reflect the timelessness of his work.
The
Roots of Caring
 Carlos
Santana was born July 20, 1947 at 2:00 am in Autlan De Navarro, Mexico,
with the Sun, the heart of consciousness, in the tradition-loving sign
of Cancer. No sign is more aware of its roots than this one. It is about
connecting to the river of feeling that binds families and cultures into
communities of mutual care and concern. Cancers are rarely detached or
aloof. While circumstances may occasionally drive them into their protective
shells, they tend to be acutely sensitive to themselves and those around
them. They're natural nurturers.
This caring
quality is demonstrated on Santana's
web site, which devotes considerable space to charitable concerns.
Among them is the Milagro Foundation, described as follows:
"The Milagro
Foundation, founded by Carlos and Deborah Santana, provides financial
assistance for educational, medical and housing needs of children all
over the world. The Santanas believe that life is a miracle (milagro)
and that children everywhere deserve the opportunity to lead safe, healthy
and educationally creative lives."
Santana,
though, is not parochial. An area of the site called "We
Care About" provides contact information for the United
Farm Workers, Save
the Children, The
Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace,
Doctors Without Borders,
Amnesty International,
The American
Indian College Fund, Childreach
and Larkin
Street Youth Services.
The
Need to Create
The Sun describes
the purpose of our being, but the Moon represents the food we need to
sustain ourselves and fulfill that purpose. Santana was born with the
Moon in Leo, a sign of creativity and self-expression. This is ideal for
an artist whose goal is to open hearts as much as it is to entertain.
Those born with the Moon in Leo are frequently comfortable in the spotlight.
In fact, they are often needy for it.
A key element
to the healthy expression of a Leo Moon is to keep connected with issues
larger than oneself. This enables Leo power to be about more than the
ego and to apply its gifts of creativity to larger purposes. Aquarius,
the sign opposite Leo, reflects this consciousness of the collective.
Santana's interest in social causes, diverse cultures and spirituality
provides a healthy outlet for his artistic talents.
Santana recently
revealed that he was a victim of sexual abuse during his childhood. He
has a close conjunction (union) between controlling Saturn and intense
Pluto in Leo at the bottom of his chart (Fourth House cusp). This combination
corresponds with possible misuse (Saturn) of power (Pluto) in a familiar
situation (Fourth House). Digging up the painful past may be the hardest
work there is, but it's a necessary step for healing and another means to
free up creativity.
Gemini
Diversity
Santana's
work has been extraordinarily diverse. Mars, the action planet, is in
Gemini, the sign of variety and curiosity, in his birth chart. His core
of Latin-flavored rock has been extended by playing with jazz artists
(Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, John McLaughlin), blues,
r 'n' b and hip-hop musicians (John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Eric
Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Neville Brothers) and rockers (Boz Scaggs, Jefferson
Airplane). He's even collaborated with country star Willie Nelson, reggae
man Jimmy Cliff, neo-flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert, Africans Mory
Kante and Babatunde Olatunji, and the unclassifiable Bob Dylan.
Bringing
It All Back Home
Cancer and
Leo are perhaps the two most personal signs in the zodiac. Santana's Sun
and Moon in these signs show clearly in his warm smile and openhearted
approach to his music and his life. He has endured hardship and achieved
great public success, yet seems so much more of a person than a personality.
As rapidly advancing technology continues to dislodge us from our old,
familiar ways, we are blessed to have such a loving model for consistency
and change. Viva Carlos!
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