ARIES
“SERPICO”
I’ve never seen this movie in its entirety, but the last shot is quite beautiful. Al Pacino sits on a curb behind a giant old english sheepdog in a brown hat against a black background. A slouchy leather bag rests next to him on the curb. The camera slowly zooms out and the following words roll over the screen: “Frank Serpico resigned from the Police Department on June 15, 1972. He was awarded the medal of honor for “conspicuous bravery in action.” Serpico is now living somewhere in Switzerland.” The camera reveals, as it zooms out, that the black background Pacino is crouched against is a large ship.
Like I said I haven’t seen this movie start to finish, only finish, but in just the last 30 seconds I was struck by what a crappy deal Serpico got. He was awarded a medal for his “bravery” but he had to leave the country and go into hiding. I was reminded that doing something brave doesn’t always come with a reward or fair compensation.
Aries, this week you may feel that the reward for your bravery or humility is less than appealing. Know that this is not the end of the story. Even in Serpico’s case, it was really just the beginning of a new story (one set in the Alps). Consider that this moment may also be a beginning and that it opens with an act of bravery or humility on your part.
(VIII Justice Rev/ Happy Landing- The Miracles)
TAURUS
“ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN”
I haven’t seen this movie since I was probably seven years old, but I’ve always loved the title. Whatever and wherever “Witch Mountain” is, it is somewhere I want to go. The last few seconds are quite beautiful too. An older man with bushy eyebrows is holding a black cat. He looks in awe out across a valley hung with a purple mist. We see that his astonishment is in response to a silver flying saucer which hovers over the field and then disappears into the purple mist. The cat meows and the old man tells the cat cradled in his arms, “Well they’re home now.”
Taurus, this week you may also want to retreat into a purple mist or escape to Witch Mountain. Perhaps you’ve been feeling out of synch or off step with yourself. Now is a good time to reconnect those wires and get back in your own self-directed space ship.
(9 of Discs R/ Can You Hear the Witches Laugh?- the Vyllies)
GEMINI
“CLEOPATRA”
I haven’t seen Cleopatra all the way through, but the set and costumes have always been an inspiration. The last scene is no exception. Cleopatra is laid out on a beautiful stone bed, which looks like melted marble. She is wrapped in gold sequined wings, and looks like a faded moth that flew too close to the light. A sharp, stern man stands a few paces away from where she lies, watching as another woman clings to the side of the marble bed. A narrator says, “And the Roman asked, “Was this well done of your lady?” And the servant answered, “Extremely well, as befitting the last of so many noble rulers.””
I apologize, I don’t know what is actually happening in this scene as I’m unfamiliar with the story, but according to “the Servant” Cleopatra’s life came to a “noble” end. Your life is not coming into any sort of conclusion this week, Gemini, but now may be a good opportunity to imagine a noble end to the difficulties currently facing you. Consider which part you may be playing in this scene. Are you Cleopatra, present only in body, but not spirit? Or are you the Roman who arrogantly snorts, “Was this well done of your lady?” Or are you the Servant who says bravely and defiantly, “Extremely well.”
(Son of Swords R/ Comment Te Dire Adieu- June Miles Kingston and Jimmy Somerville)
CANCER
“FLAME IN THE STREETS”
Again, I haven’t yet seen this film completely, but I know that it was made in 1961 and focuses on racial and economic tensions in London during that time. In the last few seconds of the film we see an older couple, a white man and white woman descending a staircase. The woman pauses at the landing as if too weary to go on. The man puts a hand on her shoulder and they continue down the stairs and enter a doorway to a living room. Another younger couple is there, a black man and white woman. They are a few paces apart, but as the older couple enters the room the younger white woman quickly crosses the room to stand next to the younger black man. The camera zooms out and we see the couples staring at each other in silence across the room. The words “The End” appear between them. What I was struck by in this final scene of “Flame in the Streets” was the distance between the two couples, large enough to fill with a wide font, “The End.” They acknowledge each other and the distance. They’ve taken steps forward, but there is still a whole room to cross.
Cancer, this week, you may feel you don’t have the energy to confront the changes taking place in your life. Some of these changes may be happening outside yourself, but you are being asked to confront the way they effect you internally as well. It seems you may not have the luxury of dragging your feet in the near future. Consider what you can do to synchronize with the shifts.
(Shaman of Cups Rev/ Bring It On Home To Me- Millie Small)
LEO
“AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER”
“Anything can happen don’t you think?”
“Yes darling, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Cary Grant wipes tears from Deborah Kerr’s face with a white handkerchief. Then takes her head passionately in his hands and it looks like they will kiss, but it slides into an embrace instead.
A chorus sings “Our love affair to remember” over a shot of a snowy Central Park as “The End” appears between the trees. This movie is considered by many (and the American Film Institute) to be one of the most romantic movies of all time.
This may be something that you would secretly (or not so secretly) like said about you, Leo, that you were the most romantic of all time, or the most creative of all time, or the most passionate of all time. These are, in fact, all considered Leo characteristics. While the American Film Institute might not have anything to say about it, you could start to see, this week, the possibility of the achievement of something you’ve dreamed about. Prior to this moment you may have felt a sense of limitation, but this week that hold lessens. You might now be more likely answer the same question Deborah Kerr poses to Cary Grant with at least a “yes,” if not a “yes darling, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
(9 of Cups L/ Paper Ships- Dead Man’s Bones)
VIRGO
“RODAN”
Over a spewing volcano, a narrator says, “And when at last they spring upon us, can we be certain we shall beat them back a second time? The answer lies in the Future. Our fears for now, have gone up in flame and smoke.” The volcano continues to explode under the words, “The End.”
This film is part of the Godzilla series. I haven’t actually seen any of them, but it seems, based on the titles, that creature after giant creature threatens to destroy human communities. By the end of each installment the humans remain victorious. As the narrator says, their fears go up “in flame and smoke.”
Virgo, whatever difficulties potentially lie ahead, are likely as difficult to anticipate as an attack by a winged-monster. Your fears have, in many ways, “gone up in flame and smoke,” probably because you’ve already beaten back at least one monster, releasing you to your own unencumbered visions of the future.
(XVII Star/ This Time Tomorrow- The Kinks)
LIBRA
“THE FLY”
This is not “The Fly” that terrified me as a kid, the one with Jeff Goldblum, but it is apparently based on the same short story. In the final scene, an older man with a grey mustache is sitting in a garden telling a small boy, “The search for the truth is the most important work in the whole world,” he pauses and says, “And the most dangerous.” The boy replies shrilly, “I’d like that. I’d like to be an explorer like him. Will you help me uncle Francois?” “Yes, Phillipe,” Francois laughs. Phillipe runs off camera and we see a woman sitting next to Francois. She says, “You’re a dear one, Francois, so kind and so thoughtful. Thank you.” Phillipe reappears, “Here I am!” The woman gathers them saying, “Well come along you two. I’ll see you off.” The three exit the garden as the words “The End” over their backs.
I’m not exactly sure what came before this scene, but more significant to your week, Libra, is this exchange between Francois and Phillipe. You may be more open to the truth and what lies ahead. Perhaps you are approaching the truth as an explorer. This would be a good tactic, as you may be less afraid of what you might find when you consider it a sort of adventure.
(4 of Cups L/ Dare Me- The Pointer Sisters (This video!)
SCORPIO
“JULIA”
Over a silhouette of someone sitting in small boat, not far from a dock, in low light or perhaps cloudy conditions, a narrator says, “And I’ve gone on for many years since. Sometimes fine, not always. But he was right. I am stubborn. I haven’t forgotten either of them.”
This is one of those endings that seems to blur into a beginning. The boat hasn’t left the dock or maybe it has just returned and it isn’t clear if it is dusk or dawn. I haven’t seen this film and I’m not entirely sure what it is about, but there is something strong and persistent about the narrators voice (its Jane Fonda, after all) and her words are honest and promising. They make a promise never to forget, not to fade away even as the scene does.
Scorpio, this week you may feel a similar sense of determination, of resoluteness. Perhaps you can point to a specific victory, a tangible reward, maybe not, but the feeling is the same. And like most victories this one also seems to slide between an end and a beginning.
(VII Chariot/ Run, Run, Run- Ann Peebles)
SAGITTARIUS
“THE MAN FROM BEYOND”
This silent film stars Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist, stunt and escape artist. In the last scene we see a couple caught in an embrace in a garden, both of their hands are clasped as if they were praying together. Their mouths move rapidly over the plunk of some tinny piano keys. The film departs to the words which are meant to be the woman’s, “Yes—even as you speak, it is as if a small voice were whispering, it is true, you must believe.”
Sagittarius, you may feel that the situation you are caught in this week, is rather dramatic. Perhaps you are entrenched in a fight or a deadlock that seems to have no apparent resolution. Consider that perhaps there is another voice to listen to, one which whispers and says, “it is true, you must believe.”
(3 of Swords/ This World Today is A Mess- Donna Hightower)
CAPRICORN
“THE CONVERSATION”
Having never seen this movie, watching the last few seconds of it was rather comical, even though I don’t think it was intended as such. Gene Hackman sits in a corner of an apartment that has been torn apart, playing the saxophone. The camera pans back and forth over the wreckage as if surveying the damage. For some reason it reminded me of a scene from the Simpsons and I half expected to see Lisa Simpson playing the saxophone in the corner, instead of Gene Hackman. In any case, this scene, combined with the title, gave me next to no information about what happened in between the opening titles and closing credits. But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and not knowing and I’m not sure I want to see the movie and have it spoil the strangeness of this scene by providing an explanation.
Capricorn, this week you may be tempted to stare down the future, or tackle the hidden meaning in something esoteric. Consider simply allowing humor to hold the situation for now. Sense will likely be made of your situation in the not too distant future, but not knowing can be quite fun as well.
(XVIII Moon R/ Rama Lama Ding Dong- The Edsels)
AQUARIUS
“BORN FREE”
A narrator says over a shot of a lion and her cubs, “We saw her many times again, born free and living free. But to us she was always the same, our friend, Elsa.” A few seconds later Andy Williams cuts in with the song, “Born Free” and the camera jumps back and forth between shots of a lion and her cubs and a male lion with a regale beard. Eventually the camera zooms out and we see that all the lions are sitting on the same rock, lapping up the sun.
This week, Aquarius, perhaps it is your birthday or just was, or soon will be. You are likely feeling a bit like these lions, loving life and your freedom. As the sign ruled by the planet Uranus, your friends may know you to have an unconventional approach to life or to be quite spontaneous. Your consistency may be in your consistent ability to surprise those around you with new ideas.
(Ace of Cups/ Born Free- Andy Williams)
PISCES
“GODZILLA VS MOTHRA”
This ending was quite a surprise, especially since I didn’t see anything that came before the last 30 seconds. A few adults call up to a boat of children that are disembarking, “Hello, children! Are you alright? Hello?” The kids wave in reply and the camera moves to a shot of a shoreline and then quickly pans up to a cliffs edge. A few men and one woman scramble up the peak and look out over the ocean smiling and waving as the camera moves to reveal what look like two giant larvae swimming out to sea. The only thing I grasped was that some how these humans and this creature had collaborated in some way, perhaps (given the title) to defeat Godzilla.
Pisces, this week it seems you are excited to collaborate. If not with people, than with elements, or maybe even giant sea larvae. There will likely be a certain amount of ease to this collaboration even when you consider the potential communication barriers which may exist between human and Mothra.
(3 of Discs/ Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man- Loretta Lynn)