As I promised, Miss Austen and the nightly heavens collide to produce a work of mystical and prognosticatory powers!
I don’t know why I did this other than that it seemed fun and, to my knowledge, has not been done before (likely for good reason). My sincerest gratitude to ForeverTeal who, through a coincidence of fortune that shall not further be expounded upon, played a role in the creation of… whatever this is.
(Let’s make a game of it. I won’t tell you which person represents which sign, but I’ll describe them really well and give the birthdate ranges that correspond. See if you can figure out which character typifies which sign. If you need some help, go to the site that gave me this crazy idea: PBS’s Masterpiece Theater gallery of Austen’s male characters.)
Frederick Tilney, Northanger Abbey, March 21st – April 20th: The Frederick Tilney is of an aggressive, cavalier nature yet remains somewhat insular. He is impulsive, running whichever direction—or after whichever skirt—most entices him, though often this pursuit is more for the sake of the chase than the prize. From the virtuous to the degenerate, all Frederick Tilneys are dynamos. The best marshals his pioneering spirit and lust for adventure t0 blaze trails for society to follow; the worst burn paths through any society unfortunate enough to seek to contain him. Subtlety is never his strength, nor is patience, or undo burden of empathy. While pro-activity and risk are his hallmarks, a wise Frederick Tilney will temper his perpetual motion so as to not always charge regardless of the level of resistance or consequence to himself or others.
Colonel Christopher Brandon, Sense and Sensibility, April 21st – May 21st: The Christopher Brandon is stolid, dependable, and can be as unchanging and impervious as stone. His devotion to purpose and fulfillment of his promises, to self and others, is all but certain regardless of circumstance. This unwavering center makes him a leader who cannot be swayed from his aims, which may lead to seemingly impossible triumphs or catastrophes of such scope as to boggle logic. When his character is tempered by devotion to others or social principles he becomes a staunch defender and advocate for others; when the opposite, he embodies the extremes of self-centeredness, and is dictatorial and self-gratifying to the point of totalitarianism. A wise Col. Brandon will endure the foibles of others as he does chaos of situation without succumbing to fury.
George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice, May 22nd - June 21st: The George Wickham is engaging, lively, and the life of any party, from the most intellectual soiree to nights of crude language and cards. His intellect and charisma are frequently matched with a skill at oratory, which makes him both a gifted storyteller and liar. Truly skilled at mobilizing and manipulating people, he is nonetheless not well fitted for leadership roles as they require a level of dedication and fixation that is alien to him. His great variety of interests and appetites sometimes combine with his enthusiasms and vigor to create a perpetual adolescent. This craven being possesses the appearance of wide ability while actually lacking all depth but a sinister, manipulative core. A wise George Wickham will delight himself by fostering an interest in others rather than consuming them in moments of impulse, even when they sometimes lack his persistent energy.
Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey, June 22nd – July 22nd: The Henry Tilney is both caring and prone to appreciate the fantastic, but beneath lies a constancy and strong and stable foundation. In many ways possessed of a variable personality, there is nonetheless an undercurrent of deeply rooted conviction of some sort in him, whether in morality, or law, or power. The unpredictability that sometimes typifies his life arises from his instinctive and creative expressions of this underlying foundation. While his breaking the orthodox can make him a fantastic problem solver, he makes a poor leader as he tends to act in ways that are difficult or even impossible for others to understand and emulate. When poorly seasoned, this combination of creativity and bedrock conviction results in the despising of others, resulting in schizophrenic paranoia, obsessiveness, and control issues. A wise Henry Tilney will keep as his guiding principle the notion of balance between his confident center and his quick, adaptable intellect with which he engages the world.
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, July 23rd – August 22nd: The Fitzwilliam Darcy is a mover of men, an exercise in constant and constructive movement. No other type is so possessed of the confidence, charisma, adaptability, and determination to inspire obedience and even adoration in others. He is leadership personified, and leads others even when traveling to destinations he would like to avoid himself. The Mr. Darcy is the span against which other men are measured, both by themselves and by him. While frequently charitable in his consideration of others, his good graces are always dependent upon conduct that fits his personal code. No man can be as narcissistic, domineering, and intractable as a Mr. Darcy whose confidence tips to assurance of infallibility. A wise Mr. Darcy will remember that even the greatest gifts are often best used in moderation, otherwise those he seeks to sweep into his wake will break themselves against him instead.
William Collins, Pride and Prejudice, August 23rd – September 23rd: The William Collins is a doer of deeds rather than a master of words or performance. His method is almost mechanical: particular, precise, extremely intelligent, and acutely conscious of both practicality andtheory. His goal-oriented nature is paired with a humility and even aversion to celebrity that makes him a fine independent worker or coordinator of others and a reluctant leader. This fixation upon method and result can, when exaggerated, become an extreme judgmentalism that results in constant criticism of others. The standard becomes the expectation, and any deviation from such is not only a sign of imperfect performance but genuine incapability and dishonest intent. To avoid such didactic judgment of the entire world, a wise Mr. Collins will not examine possible future problems before they have come, assume the worst about a deviation from the expected before seeing a result, or claim to have established a lone perfected method of achieving any end.
Charles Bingley, Pride and Prejudice, September 24th – October 23rd: The Charles Bingley is imminently likable, most significantly because of the common and easy affection and regard he feels—and shows—for others. He is a peacemaker, well equipped to use his charm and romantic sensibilities to diffuse tension and avoid conflict, for diplomacy rather than leadership. His extreme optimism makes him a man of significant endurance, able to shake off circumstances that would cripple others. However, if his idealistic nature is allowed too free a rein, he may become unmoored, moved by impulse and improper exercise of momentary passions. A Charles Bingley lost to innate romance is a constant victim and victimizer, a slave to gratifications without understanding of consequence. His life is likely to be spent constructively diffusing conflict or destructively avoiding it at all costs. A wise Mr. Bingley will consider the counsel of others yet make his own decisions, seek for the good while admitting the bad, and establish a level of principle where even he will not compromise.
Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park, October 24th – November 22nd: The Henry Crawford is more a force than a man, a configuration of a number of different virtues—intellect, passion, spirituality, sensuality—whose total is always a rare potency: power of feeling, or speech, or action, of attraction, of virtue or vice, or even all at once. He is a being of extreme emotions, both positive and negative, that can sometimes be hidden but never dismissed. His every action is intense, an outgrowth of strong purpose and expression of self. If he becomes a leader he does so almost unconsciously, as it is difficult for him to place much investment outside himself and his own exploration of self. More frequently possessed of genius and ravenous curiosity than all others, his life is marked by grand events and actions that can be both supernally beneficial or demonically destructive. A Mr. Crawford whose great gifts and potency combine in unfettered self-service becomes an inferno capable of consuming all and everything he comes across. To avoid this fate as human vortex, a wise Mr. Crawford will realize that the scope of his life will be measured by his influence on those around him, not his utter remaking of them, and that power allows for great reciprocity rather than just domination.
John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey, November 23rd – December 21st: The John Thorpe is an eager embracer of life and all that comes with it. While often bright and capable of deep thought and wit, he is rarely obsessive about the complexities of life or prone to fixate on perplexities. His is an appreciative nature which finds a wealth of interesting, beautiful, and enjoyable delights wherever he goes. He is direct and honest in his communication, which often inspires trust in others but rarely leads to his developing a following as his affection for freedom and independence is too great. While his good nature and spontaneity often make others feel comfortable in his presence, if overindulged he may become erratic, foolish, and forever swept along by the frivolous. A wise Mr. Thorpe will anchor his effervescent nature with strong principles and temper his enthusiasm for the new with his experience.
Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park, December 22nd - Januray 20th: The Edmund Bertram is a diligent realist, able to overcome a variety of challenges because of his discipline, pragmatism, and strong goal orientation. Where other men would shirk from truth or become flippant at the difficulties of life, he is buoyed up by a cautious but innate good nature. He has the rare ability to see genuine humor in even difficult circumstances. While not particularly adept at inspiring others, he is often liked and imminently trusted for his firm understanding and patience with others. As both an ambitious and cautious man, he is more likely to reach profound goals than many others by being methodical and consistant in his efforts. His strong center of gravity does risk consuming him, however, wrapping him up in the difficulties of reality more tightly than his inherent humor can balance. This pessimist can reach the very deepest depressive depths, which results in near suicidal fatalism and utter incapacity of the charitable. To escape such a fate a wise Edmund Bertram will stay conscious of the light side of things and be generous when judging the efforts of others, and will not allow the vicissitudes of life to appear to him as inescapably systematic.
George Knightley, Emma, Januray 21st – February 19th: The George Knightley is a perpetual seeker of truth, a man driven both to explore the natures of those around him and of his own mind and soul. He makes the very best and truest of friends and is more able than any other to return good for evil so long as one gives honest effort at camaraderie. Capable and wise in the ways of the world, mind, heart, he is a source of excellent counsel and sound judgment. His intellect is such that he sometimes sees superior possibilities earlier than others, but is patient enough to steer them in these directions even if they make mistakes. This combines with his natural generosity to make him a fine administrator or counselor, though his leadership is usually not of a supreme nature. His capacity and comfort in society belie an underlying independence, a lonesome quality that he never quite abandons. This hidden core is rarely communicated, and if hidden too deeply and allowed to grow to unhealthy proportions can turn his gentle nature harsh. Patience becomes frequent irritation, kindness becomes callousness, peacemaking gives way to constant opposition, all as his secret inner orientation override his faith in anything other than himself. A wise George Knightley will keep his personal/social balance steady by always seeking to participate constructively in the spheres in which he walks rather than observing while detached.
Edward Ferrars, Sense and Sensibility, February 20th – March 20th: The Edward Ferrars is the most gentle, kind, and willingly adaptive of all men. No other has the same persistent ability to rise above the baseness around him to treat people with civility and respect regardless of situation. He is also extremely empathetic, so much so that others may feel he is gifted with supernatural understandings and awareness of the thoughts and concerns of others. While unlikely to galvanize or lead others frequently, he is very likely to preserve associations and groups by inspiring unity and understanding during times of great conflict. While maliciousness is all but impossible for him, his otherworldly nature can reach the excessive, removing him from reality all together. Thus unhinged he becomes incapable of facing problems, refuses to communicate with anyone, and becomes easily taken advantage of and manipulated. A wise Edward Ferrars will balance his great heart and soul by strengthening his mind, and remember that helping others is not possible while denying the tragic realities of human experience.