After my last blog entry about the astrological signs of the fictional characters of “A Streetcar Named Desire” someone asked me about the main characters of Louisa May Alcott's classic "Little Women." So here we go. I hope I don’t need to remind anyone that the book is a coming of age novel about four sisters growing up during the Civil War in the progressive but somewhat impoverished New England March family.
NOTE: Remember our public persona is mostly dictated by our ascendant, or rising sign. Our inner energy drive is driven by the Sun Sign – it is who we are underneath the public masks.
The leader of the pack, although not the oldest, is Jo March. She speaks and then thinks, has trouble controlling her temper, wants more than anything to travel the world and write and hates the boundaries inflicted upon 19th century females. She suffers fools not at all but is deeply devoted to her family and hates the idea that they are actually growing up and going out on their own. The idea of her little nuclear family being torn apart is very painful to her. I see Jo as a person born with a Moon Child Sun because at her core she is devoted to her family and she mothered sickly Beth until her death. At heart she is the little mother hen of the group. However, her public persona (her ascendant), the boldness, the honesty, the temper, the wanderlust is all Sagittarius.
Meg, who is the oldest and prettiest of the girls, often takes a back seat to Jo. She is allowed to tip-toe on the outskirts of genteel society because of her role as governess to the children of a wealthy family. However, she rejects marriage for money and becomes the wife of a tutor with whom she has three children. Astrologically, I find her one of the most interesting characters because she is a one of those unfortunate people born with a sun sign and ascendant which are at odds with one another. Pretty Meg is Taurus rising. She is pretty – Taurus is ruled by Venus – and she really wants to have worldly goods and comfortable things. However, she suffers two traumatic romances and only then learns that her inner drive – which is Aquarian – is the one which will bring her happiness. The last thing an Aquarius at heart cares about is money and status. They want friendship and unity and peace. However, an Aquarian can be quite stubborn and after she gives birth to twins she almost ruins her marriage by neglecting her husband. They come to the brink of separation when she finally listens to him and starts to discipline them and include him into the family again.
Beth is the sweet tragic character and she will eventually die of complications from scarlet fever. Beth is a musician; seamstress and a healer (remember her “hospital” for her six kittens?) She is the perfect example of someone on the Pisces/Virgo – victim- martyr axis. Pisces and Virgo are opposing one another in the zodiac thus forming an axial line between them. Pisces are often martyrs’ to a cause or they martyr themselves to a person. You often see Pisces people suffering “in silence” when they are being hurt by someone. Beth was the sacrificial lamb of the March family – the other sisters went boldly into the new post Civil War era and she was the symbol of the older, “weaker” traditional woman of the pre-bellum days. Her dedication to healing, and of the more domestic duties all point to a rising sign of Virgo.
Then there is spoiled, vain, temperamental Amy. She and Jo fought tooth and nail and Amy even tossed some of Jo’s early writing into the fire in fit of anger. Of course, they clashed. They were both fire. Jo’s Sagittarius fire often ignited Amy’s Leo Sun. Oh yes, Amy was a Leo. She had to have the best clothes, the finest carriage and she made sure she married rich Laurie. Leo has to have the top of the line in everything. However, that is not the end of fire for I believe Amy is Aries rising. What does she do when she doesn’t get her – way? She pitches a holy fit, of course! How Aries-like! They are the babies of the zodiac – and make quite the fuss when the world fails to comply with their demands.
I always knew she would wind up with meek Laurie, a sweet, handsome but confused Pisces/Taurus combo. He was initially and wrongly drawn to Jo’s watery Moon Child Sun. Pisces and Moon Child are both water signs and find comfort with one another. Jo knew better. She knew she would be bored with him. It was in the double fire sign sister, Amy that he found he could satisfy his Piscean need to be in service to someone by showering her with worldly Taurean goods!
