For those of us of a certain generation, the song “Hurricane” by
Bob Dylan served both to immortalize the story of Rubin “Hurricane”
Carter and to symbolize the injustice of racism. In 1966, against
the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the up-and-coming boxer,
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, was accused and convicted of the murders
of three whites in a Paterson, New Jersey bar. The subtitle of Carter’s
autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, says it all:
“From Number One Contender to Number 45472.”
The
release of Hurricane Carter, who was serving a life sentence
for three murders he did not commit, became a cause celebre
for Dylan, Muhammad Ali and other members of the radical
chic in the 1970s. However, it took the devotion of a
teenager from a Brooklyn ghetto and his “adopted” Canadian
family to finally bring about Carter’s freedom in the
1980s. The current hit film Hurricane, starring
Denzel Washington, tells the story of Carter’s life, his
wrongful imprisonment and his eventual release.
Sun
in Taurus: Strength and Endurance
Carter
was born with the Sun in Taurus on May 6, 1937, at 11:45
am in Passaic, New Jersey. Each sign of the zodiac is
said to correspond to one of the Old Testament Twelve
Tribes of Jacob, and the tribe of Reuben is assigned to
Taurus. So, Carter is, in a way, twice a Taurus: once
by birth and once by name.
Taurus,
the sign of the bull, is noted for being strong and persevering.
Some might even characterize Taureans as stubborn–an astrologer
I know quips that they “nod in all the right places.”
Of course, Carter is physically strong, but he is also
strong in will and spirit. He became legendary for refusing
to wear prison garb because he would not put on the clothes
of a “guilty” man. Not even time in solitary confinement
could change his mind.
According
to the film, a guard finally offered a compromise that
Rubin could live with–he put on “hospital” prison whites.
Carter never did succumb to wearing jailhouse stripes.
He is described in a 1975 Penthouse interview in this
way: “His meticulous attire—clean khaki slacks, an immaculate
white turtleneck shirt and a black turban adorned with
a pearl pin—clearly testifies to his determination to
preserve identity and self-respect in the face of the
conformity of prison life."
In
a recent appearance on Oprah, Rubin Carter
disclosed that the way he gets in touch with his “spirit”
is by working in his garden. This is typical of Taurus,
a Venus-ruled earth sign. Many Taureans find great solace
by working with the earth, cultivating flowers to beautify
their home and vegetables to satisfy their discriminating
palates.
Ascendant
in Leo—Radiant Leadership
If
Taurus is the immovable object, then Leo may very well
be the irresistible force. Those with Leo rising, in short,
have presence. They are courageous and proud and will
seek to preserve their dignity at all costs. Here again
we see where Rubin Carter got the strength to hold onto
his beliefs and individuality in a system intent on conformity.
Leo’s ability to lead is unquestioned—be it a family,
a corporation or a nation. Carter now heads the Association
for the Defense of the Wrongfully Convicted and speaks
out on this important issue all over the world.
Four
Retrograde Planets—A Spiritual Influence
Retrograde
planetary motion is an astronomical phenomenon whereby,
from the viewpoint of earth, a planet appears to be moving
backward through the zodiac. When planets are retrograde,
astrologers say that the energy usually associated with
that planet is internalized, or acts differently than
when the planet is in direct motion. Carter was born with
four planets retrograde: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Neptune.
The late astrologer John McCormick did a 100-year study
of retrograde planets and found four planets were retrograde
only 12 percent of the time. It is even more unusual when
three of the four are the so-called inner planets of Mercury,
Venus and Mars. To internalize the energies of the planets
of communication, love and action inevitably leads one
to a very spiritualized existence. McCormick noted this
signature was often found in the charts of writers.
Carter
spent his time in prison studying religion and philosophy.
It was Rubin’s own words in his autobiography, The
Sixteenth Round, that reached out and touched
the heart of Lesra Martin, the teenager wh
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madalyn Hillis-Dineen, C.A. NCGR, is a noted Uranian astrologer and certified Astro*Carto*Graphy interpreter. Madalyn is a contributing author to the Llewellyn anthology, Astrology for Women: Roles and Relationships. She is also the Director of Marketing of Astrolabe, Inc., the largest independently-owned astrological software company in the world and the publishers of Solar Fire. Winner of UAC's 1995 Regulus Award for Community Service, Madalyn is the Clerk of the National Council for Geocosmic Research.
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