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Practical Magic Joanne
Kathleen (J.K.) Rowling is a Leo, the sign traditionally associated with children
and the joyful spiritedness they exude. J.K. is also the outstandingly successful
author of the Harry Potter books, a most beloved series of heroic, magical adventures
that have captured the hearts of children—and even adults—everywhere. These award-winning
novels have also become an unprecedented phenomenon in the children’s book-publishing
business, with over 33 million in print so far. This is all quite amazing for
a divorced single mom with a child to raise, who was scrambling to make ends meet
when she published the first book of the series in 1997, the year her life changed
dramatically.  Considered
shy, studious and insecure as a child (the perfect bookworm), J.K. has several
planets in hard-working but modest Virgo—most notably her Moon (emotional nature),
Mercury (mental abilities)
and Venus (social skills). These three planetary positions suggest an orderly,
pragmatic thinker who has a keen love of rich detail. As a writer, Rowling aims
to communicate her wondrous tales with clarity and precision, and with intricate
but plausible plot lines that are nonetheless carefully crafted and well executed
(all Virgo talents). Her creative Leo side contributes an additional flair for
the dramatic, making her stories seem larger-than-life and very attention-grabbing.
(Editor's note: Recent reports indicate that J.K. Rowling was born July 31, rather
than July 30. Although that changes some chart details, most of the comments here
still stand.) Leo
and Virgo-influenced writers try to teach their readers something worth knowing
while they entertain them in colorful ways. Fastidious Virgo especially ensures
high-quality writing (plus it hints that Rowling thinks long and hard about her
books’ upcoming chapters before finally writing them). Her goal is to create seven
Harry Potter novels. This suggests her Virgo energy will have her working overtime
to make sure that details remain consistent throughout all these books. (Meticulous
Virgo is nothing if not perfectionistic!) Her Leo consciousness will make sure
her characters are strong, brave, risk-taking and quite interesting to know. Uranus
and Pluto: A Touch of the Weird Also
joining her three planets in Virgo are Uranus and Pluto—two otherworldly influences
that stimulate a taste for the surprising and the unusual (Uranus) as well as
a curiosity about that which is dark, yet deeply engrossing in nature (Pluto).
Rowling thus knows how to tap into childhood hopes and fears, adding an inexhaustibly
imaginative element that imbues her works with page-turning
suspense, excitement and awesome wonder. Perhaps the real magic at work, thanks
to all that Virgo, is her gift of making her worlds of fantasy seem so real to
her devoted readers. Neptune’s
Pool of Inspiration J.K.
Rowling was also born with Neptune in Scorpio, making strong contact to three
of her Virgo planets. Neptune enables a writer of fiction to create entire imaginary
landscapes that are surreal and dreamlike, yet powerful enough to capture the
reader’s full attention in a deeply absorbing manner. In addition, Scorpio—never
a lighthearted sign—adds layers of complexity and profound meaning to the tales
Neptune easily spins. Scorpio also knows how to be effectively scary (although
Leo makes sure it is a fun sensation of scariness). J.K. Rowling’s unconscious
is obviously making fertile use of her Neptune in Scorpio energies in constructive
ways. A
Boost From Her Magical Transits The
transit of Uranus in 1997 (continuing into 1998) made
a very stimulating contact to J.K.’s Sun in Leo. This pattern only happens once
every 84 years. It is known to suddenly catapult certain people into the spotlight,
particularly those innovative types with special talents. Rowling’s first Harry
book came out that year, and before 1997 was over, she was awarded a Smarties
Gold Prize (Britain’s top award for children’s fiction and poetry). Her life became
instantly more exciting and more hectic, but truly liberating at the same time
(Uranus symbolizes such freedom). Now, she can make a living doing what she’s
loved the most since age six: write books. All of her Harry books have taken off
like rockets ever since that life-altering Uranus transit. Now,
transiting Neptune is making the same stimulating pattern to her Sun. Neptune
rules the cinema, and in the next few years, Harry Potter
films will be released, starting in the summer of 2001. This should garner an
even wider audience for J.K. Rowling. (As Neptune is very susceptible to mass
commercialism, expect lots of Harry Potter merchandizing to flood the market.
Level-headed Rowling will make sure she benefits from all this profit as well). However,
with that Neptune transit still in operation until the end of 2002, she may suffer
further backlash from conservative religious groups who already are more than
a little uncomfortable about the "occult" nature of most of Harry’s wild adventures!
Neptune can represent those who are fanatics in their beliefs and prone to distort
things. J.K. has hinted that her future Harry books will get somewhat darker in
tone, which could stir further controversy. Still, Rowling’s loyal, worldwide
audience will continue to enjoy Harry’s adventures until the last sentence of
his seventh and final book is read. These upcoming years may be J.K. Rowling’s
most creative ones yet. Notes If
Rowling was born before 11:00 am, then she’d have her Mercury in Leo, which is
also good for writing children’s books. Yet she seems to show a keen interest
in preparing her books with utmost attention paid to their organization and detail,
and this sounds very much like Mercury in Virgo. | 
