Celebrity Moon Sign Series: Grigori Rasputin's Moon in Taurus

You find me a man who can look this terrifying pulling on his beard, and I'll write a post about him just for that.

As a change of pace from the admittedly delayed Celebrity Sun Sign Series, I thought it might be fun to examine a famous celebrity's moon sign. While the sun sign is the overriding profile of our identity (or ego), one of the things any astrologer will tell you is that it's not the whole story. This is one of the limitations of newspaper horoscope readings. The sun sign is the description of our conscious ego-identity, and we reflect this even in how we discuss our sun sign ("I'm a Pisces"). The moon sign, on the other hand, is our emotional, instinctual identity. Our moon sign demonstrates how we react, what we feel, our habits, our intuition and our comfort zone. If you examine your moon sign, you may find that many things that you feel and do reflect that particular sign as much as your sun sign. Especially in the case of famous people in history, an examination of the moon sign can shed light on some of the things about such people that seem to be on a different wavelength entirely from their sun sign.

Our subject in today's post is one of my favorite people (and beers) of all time: Grigori Rasputin.

You know an historic figure has infiltrated popular culture when you can have him animated AND in a pint glass.

Grigori Rasputin was born in a poor village in Siberia, January 22, 1869. His sun sign was Aquarius, a sign associated with humanitarian concern, mental ability, groups and organizations, and simultaneous eccentricity and objectivity. Rasputin lost both his brother and sister when he was still a child. This loss, coupled with his ostensibly supernatural childhood abilities, led to him to grow into a rather unique young man. He spent some time, possibly as punishment, at a monastery in Verhoturye. He became very devoutly religious, and even after marrying and having children, he left home to become a wandering pilgrim. After visiting various holy sites, including Jerusalem, he eventually made it to St. Petersburg. At the time, the nobility of Russia especially were interested in the occult and unique spiritual ideas. This interest provided a very receptive environment to Rasputin's unique (in typical Aquarian fashion) spiritual identity. He became a "healer" with a strong following in St. Petersburg, and eventually entered the realm of political influence when the Tsaritsa Alexandra sought his aid in helping the hemophiliac prince, Tsaravich Alexei. Hemophilia, a genetic disease in which an inability of blood to clot leads to excessive internal and external bleeding, was not as well understood back then as it is today. Much of Rasputin's "healing" council may have simply been common sense, including avoiding aspirin (which thins the blood) and ensuring Alexei received adequate rest (to lower blood pressure). This relationship endeared Rasputin to the royal family, and he soon became an important member of royal politics.

Many of Rasputin's identifying traits thus far clearly reflect his Aquarian sun sign: Logic, humanitarian concern, an ability to synthesize a great variety of experiences and knowledge and apply it with an emotional distance. Plus, "aloof" is one criticism associated with Aquarius, and what's more aloof than leaving your family to become a wandering monk?

But it's Rasputin's moon sign, and his instinctual, impulsive tendencies that really paint the picture of what came to be known as the "Mad Monk". Rasputin's Taurus moon sign is associated with physical comforts, emotional and financial security, and pleasure in various forms. This provides a much more physical aspect to Rasputin's emotions, in contrast to the objectivity of his Aquarian identity. This dichotomy, amongst other aspects of his natal chart, shows his unique combination of group involvement and personal, physical charisma. In practical terms, he become deeply influential in Russian politics and seduced great numbers of women, physically and emotionally, at the same time. The mad monk, indeed. He is famous for his belief that, to overcome sin, one had to indulge in it. Indulge he did.

Opinion about Rasputin became increasingly divided over time, and eventually, members of the nobility who were made uncomfortable by Rasputin's political influence plotted to kill him. Ironically, perhaps, the most famous aspect of Rasputin's life is his remarkable death. He was, in one night:
Poisoned with cyanide.
Shot. Four times.
Clubbed.
Castrated.
Bound and wrapped in a carpet.
Flung into the freezing Neva River.
The most terrifying, part, however, is that he died not from any of these- but from drowning in the Neva, after escaping his bonds.

Although there has been debate about the accuracy of this death account, much of Rasputin's life reads like legend. His unique Aquarius-Taurus sun-moon combination reflects the amazing mixture of flesh and spirit present in Rasputin's life. Plus, if after almost 100 years, people are naming beer after you, you must have done something interesting.

What about you, readers? Do any of you have Aquarius sun signs or Taurus moon signs and feel an affinity for Rasputin? Was he a holy man or a creepy crackpot? Leave a comment!