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Saturday 27 January 2018

The Danish Girl - A Look at Lili

I watched the movie "The Danish Girl" (2005) just now. It's a difficult movie to watch as my world views are challenged and the movie forced me to think through them. For those who have not heard of the movie, it's about a male and female artist who were married. The husband named Einar / Lili came out as a transgender woman to the wife named Gerda who supported her throughout her journey and transition to a woman.

Let's look at the chart of Lili based on noon birth.

The first planet that I'm curious about is Mars as it's the planet of masculinity. I wonder how Lili sees herself as a man. Mars is in Capricorn which is exalted. Lili might have felt the pressure to keep up her appearances as a man especially when she was younger. As Mars is disposed by Saturn, there could be a limitation, restriction, cautiousness or even fear about his masculinity.

Most interestingly, Mars make a tight sesquiquadrate to Neptune. The aspect is less than a degree which wouldn't change much even with an unknown birth time. Neptune represents refinement. Einar didn't strike me as the rough hot blooded male sterotype. In fact, from the movie, Einar seems considerate, gentle and yes, a real gentleman. A man of gentility. Also, things are not what they seem when Neptune is involved. So, Einar's masculinity might not be what it appears to people. He might be asexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, etc. Essentially, it's not too straight-forward (pun intended). Neptune is the planet of spirituality and letting go. I think letting go of her maleness could certainly be described as a spiritual experience for Lili. Also, the Mars-Neptune aspect suggests a drive and energy towards Neptunian activities which includes art. It's no wonder that Einar / Lili was very successful as an artist.

I'm also curious about Venus as it's the planet of femininity. It is virtually unaspected in the chart except for the semisextile which most astrologers would consider as a minor aspect and regard Venus as a singleton. A singleton is a planet that is not connected to the psyche of the person. It's a sore point or a sticking point in the chart. The person's life inevitably revolve around the themes of the planet, Venus in this case. So, femininity, anything of aesthetic taste and beauty, relationships would be on the forefront of Einar / Lili. The natural houses ruled by Venus would be of prominence in the person's life as well - personal resources, money, talent and values (2nd), and relationships, open enemies, legal proceedings and the other person (7th).

The semisextile aspect between Venus and the Sun is very tight - less than 1°. There's a frustration and tension between Lili's feminine self and herself and her life direction, or indeed her heroine quest. She couldn't easily reconcile the two together as there's seemingly nothing in common between them. It's like a constant itch that can't be relieved, which doesn't prevent the person from excessive scratching. Equally, it could be the case that Einar disregards her femininity and continues to live as a man. That's possible but not what Einar did.

Thank you Lili for the honour of looking at your chart.

The Danish Girl Lili Einar Wegener