Bernard Berenson: Astrological Article and Chart

Horoscope and chart of Bernard Berenson

Astrological portrait of Bernard Berenson (excerpt)

Disclaimer: these short excerpts of astrological charts are computer processed. They are, by no means, of a personal nature. This principle is valid for the celebrities included in our database. These texts provide the meanings of planets, or combination of planets, in signs and in houses, as well as the interpretations of planetary dominants in line with modern Western astrology rules. Moreover, since Astrotheme is not a polemic website, no negative aspect which may damage the good reputation of a celebrity is posted here, unlike in the comprehensive astrological portrait.

Introduction

Here are some character traits from Bernard Berenson's birth chart. This description is far from being comprehensive but it can shed light on his/her personality, which is still interesting for professional astrologers or astrology lovers.

N.B.: as this celebrity's birth time is unknown, the chart is arbitrarily calculated for 12:00 PM - the legal time for his/her place of birth; since astrological houses are not taken into account, this astrological profile excerpt is less detailed than those for which the birth time is known.

The dominant planets of Bernard Berenson

When interpreting a natal chart, the best method is to start gradually from general features to specific ones. Thus, there is usually a plan to be followed, from the overall analysis of the chart and its structure, to the description of its different character traits.

In the first part, an overall analysis of the chart enables us to figure out the personality's main features and to emphasize several points that are confirmed or not in the detailed analysis: in any case, those general traits are taken into account. Human personality is an infinitely intricate entity and describing it is a complex task. Claiming to rapidly summarize it is illusory, although it does not mean that it is an impossible challenge. It is essential to read a natal chart several times in order to absorb all its different meanings and to grasp all this complexity. But the exercise is worthwhile.

In brief, a natal chart is composed of ten planets: two luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, three fast-moving or individual planets, Mercury, Venus and Mars, two slow-moving planets, Jupiter and Saturn, and three very slow-moving planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Additional secondary elements are: the Lunar Nodes, the Dark Moon or Lilith, Chiron and other minor objects. They are all posited on the Zodiac wheel consisting of twelve signs, from Aries to Pisces, and divided into twelve astrological houses.

The first step is to evaluate the importance of each planet. This is what we call identifying the dominant planets. This process obeys rules that depend on the astrologer's sensitivity and experience but it also has precise and steady bases: thus, we can take into account the parameters of a planet's activity (the number of active aspects a planet forms, the importance of each aspect according to its nature and its exactness), angularity parameters; (proximity to the four angles, Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant and Imum Coeli or Nadir, all of them being evaluated numerically, according to the kind of angle and the planet-angle distance) and quality parameters (rulership, exaltation, exile and fall). Finally, other criteria such as the rulership of the Ascendant and the Midheaven etc. are important.

These different criteria allow a planet to be highlighted and lead to useful conclusions when interpreting the chart.

The overall chart analysis begins with the observation of three sorts of planetary distributions in the chart: Eastern or Western hemisphere, Northern or Southern hemisphere, and quadrants (North-eastern, North-western, South-eastern and South-western). These three distributions give a general tone in terms of introversion and extraversion, willpower, sociability, and behavioural predispositions.

Then, there are three additional distributions: elements (called triplicity since there are three groups of signs for each one) - Fire, Air, Earth and Water - corresponding to a character typology, modality (or quadruplicity with four groups of signs for each one) - Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable - and polarity (Yin and Yang).

There are three types of dominants: dominant planets, dominant signs and dominant houses. The novice thinks astrology means only "to be Aries" or sometimes, for example, "to be Aries Ascendant Virgo". It is actually far more complex. Although the Sun and the Ascendant alone may reveal a large part of the character - approximately a third or a half of your psychological signature, a person is neither "just the Sun" (called the sign) nor just "the first house" (the Ascendant). Thus, a particular planet's influence may be significantly increased; a particular sign or house may contain a group of planets that will bring nuances and sometimes weaken the role of the Ascendant, of the Sun sign etc.

Lastly, there are two other criteria: accentuations (angular, succedent and cadent) which are a classification of astrological houses and types of decanates that are occupied (each sign is divided into three decanates of ten degrees each). They provide some additional informations.

These general character traits must not be taken literally; they are, somehow, preparing for the chart reading. They allow to understand the second part of the analysis, which is more detailed and precise. It focuses on every area of the personality and provides a synthesis of all the above-mentioned parameters according to sound hierarchical rules.

Warning: when the birth time is unknown, which is the case for Bernard Berenson, a few paragraphs become irrelevant; distributions in hemispheres and quadrants are meaningless, so are dominant houses and houses' accentuations. Therefore, some chapters are removed from this part.

For all paragraphs, the criteria for valuation are calculated without taking into account angles and rulerships of the Ascendant and of the Midheaven. The methodology retains its validity, but it is less precise without a time of birth.

Elements and Modes for Bernard Berenson

Bernard Berenson, Fire is dominant in your natal chart and endows you with intuition, energy, courage, self-confidence, and enthusiasm! You are inclined to be passionate, you assert your willpower, you move forward, and come hell or high water, you achieve your dreams and your goals. The relative weakness of this element is the difficulty to step back or a kind of boldness that may prompt you to do foolish things.

Cheers for communication and mobility, Bernard Berenson! The predominance of Air signs in your chart favours and amplifies your taste for relations and for all kinds of short trips, whether real (travels) or symbolic (new ideas, mind speculations). You gain in flexibility and adaptability what you lose in self-assertion or in pragmatism.

The twelve zodiacal signs are split up into three groups or modes, called quadruplicities, a learned word meaning only that these three groups include four signs. The Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable modes are more or less represented in your natal chart, depending on planets' positions and importance, and on angles in the twelve signs.

The Fixed mode corresponds to a majority of elements in your chart, Bernard Berenson, and represents the desire for security and durability: you are able to concretely appreciate a situation and its stability. You definitely prefer to play the role of a loyal, obstinate and hard-working person, rather than to try new and risky experiences - beware, however, not to confuse obstinacy with intransigence. You structure, cement, and strengthen everything you find on your way: it is your nature, although you are not especially interested in swiftness: slow and steady...

Dominants: Planets, Signs and Houses for Bernard Berenson

The issue of dominant planets has existed since the mists of time in astrology: how nice it would be if a person could be described with a few words and one or several planets that would represent their character, without having to analyse such elements as rulerships, angularities, houses, etc!

The ten planets - the Sun throughout Pluto - are a bit like ten characters in a role-play, each one has its own personality, its own way of acting, its own strengths and weaknesses. They actually represent a classification into ten distinct personalities, and astrologers have always tried to associate one or several dominant planets to a natal chart as well as dominant signs and houses.

Indeed, it is quite the same situation with signs and houses. If planets symbolize characters, signs represent hues - the mental, emotional and physical structures of an individual. The sign in which a planet is posited is like a character whose features are modified according to the place where he lives. In a chart, there are usually one, two or three highlighted signs that allow to rapidly describe its owner.

Regarding astrological houses, the principle is even simpler: the twelve houses correspond to twelve fields of life, and planets tenanting any given house increase that house's importance and highlight all relevant life departments: it may be marriage, work, friendship etc.

In your natal chart, Bernard Berenson, the ten main planets are distributed as follows:

The three most important planets in your chart are Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn.

Jupiter, the planet of expansion, organization, power and benevolence, is quite emphasized in your chart. Like any Jupiterian, you are warm, open, sociable, consensual, active and optimistic. You can use your self-confidence to erase differences of opinion, and you leave the task of analyzing and perfecting things to specialists. Your role, and you know it since you were young, is to gather, to demonstrate your synthesizing and conciliatory mind, and to naturally reap its fruits - power.

You appreciate legality, social order but also order in general. With you as a leader, every plan or human entity can be organized and structured. You excel at supervising. The Jupiterian type is indeed the politician par excellence, and a positive Jupiter in your chart is synonymous with good integration into society, whatever the chosen path.

Is this idyllic picture really perfect? Certainly not: each planet's typology has its own weaknesses. One of yours is pride, like the Solarian, but your will of expansion at all costs may generate a form of exaggeration in everything, endless pleasure, inappropriate self-confidence that could lead you to rough materialism and the thirst for absurd material comfort - in the worst cases, of course.

With Mercury among your dominant planets, you are certainly cerebral, nervous, swift, curious, quick-witted, and you love to communicate. Your psychological pattern is intellectual, all the more so since Mercury is important, with its whole set of assets but also of weaknesses, obviously.

Your sensitivity, emotions, and heart's impulses give precedence to thinking, which can lead people to believe that you are a playful and witty but heartless person, intellectualizing situations and juggling with words and numbers whilst ignoring human aspects of things. Of course, it is said that cats always land on their feet - this is your Mercurian strength and your trump card!

Your weakness lies in your nervousness, and you may miss your goal because of your "over-intellectualization" that may be detrimental to other kind of energies such as instinct, spontaneity, heart, sensitivity, etc.

Saturn is part of your dominant planets: among the facets of your character, you have a grave and serious side, wise and somewhat severe, since your concentration can be powerful, to the detriment of carelessness and friendliness.

You often look austere, but it is only an appearance, a kind of modesty or reserve; however, it is true that the Saturnian, who is fond of time, effort, asceticism, rigour and sobriety, may have popularity issues. Nevertheless, honesty and straightforwardness, reliability, as well as slow, wise and deep mental process, although not very popular and visible qualities, eventually become noticed and appreciated. Saturnians' second part of life is usually easier and more fulfilling.

Like the Jupiterian, your Saturnian facet prompts you to seek the essential, security, and longevity. However, the difference with the former is that you will never give priority to wealth or "the bigger, the better" philosophy for the sake of power. Saturn, like Jupiter, symbolizes social integration, and it is usually considered positive to have a harmonic Jupiter and Saturn in one's chart because of their social adaptation capacities.

Your vulnerability lies in your too serious and austere side, which may lead to unwanted loneliness and affective frustration. This generally does not last because Saturnians often hide deep down a golden heart that ends up revealing itself...

In your natal chart, the three most important signs - according to criteria mentioned above - are in decreasing order of strength Leo, Gemini and Cancer. In general, these signs are important because your Ascendant or your Sun is located there. But this is not always the case: there may be a cluster of planets, or a planet may be near an angle other than the Midheaven or Ascendant. It may also be because two or three planets are considered to be very active because they form numerous aspects from these signs.

Thus, you display some of the three signs' characteristics, a bit like a superposition of features on the rest of your chart, and it is all the more so if the sign is emphasized.

With Leo as a dominant sign, you naturally shine brightly. Your dignity, your sense of honour, and your generosity can almost turn you into a solar mythological hero, a knight or a lord from the ancient times. People may blame you for your selfishness, your pride or your somewhat loud authority, but if you are self-confident, kind-hearted and strong-willed, it surely makes up for your little flaws, as long as they remain moderate...

With Gemini as a dominant sign, your qualities include being lively, curious, mobile, clever, and flexible: you often make others dizzy, and you may come across as a dilettante - a bit inquisitive, shallow, and insensitive because you may be too intellectualizing. However, your natural curiosity, a nice quality, and your quick humour, allow you to demonstrate to everyone how much they may gain from your company, and that your apparent flightiness hides an appetite (particularly mental) for life, which itself conceals a terrific charm!

Cancer is one of your dominant signs and endows you with imagination and exceptionally shrewd sensitivity. Although suspicious at first sight - and even at second...- as soon as you get familiar with people and let them win your confidence, your golden heart eventually shows up, despite your discretion and your desire for security that make you return into your shell at the slightest alert! Actually, you are a poet and if you are sometimes blamed for your nostalgia and your laziness, it is because your intense inner life is at full throttle...

After this paragraph about dominant planets, of Bernard Berenson, here are the character traits that you must read more carefully than the previous texts since they are very specific: the texts about dominant planets only give background information about the personality and remain quite general: they emphasize or, on the contrary, mitigate different particularities or facets of a personality. A human being is a complex whole and only bodies of texts can attempt to successfully figure out all the finer points.

The Moon in Leo: his sensitivity

Recherchant l'attention et l'approbation des autres, vous avez besoin Bernard Berenson d'extérioriser vos émotions, de les interpréter et même de les jouer de façon théâtrale parfois car il est essentiel pour vous d'occuper le devant de la scène et de briller. Vous souhaitez faire toujours plus sinon mieux que les autres et vous vous efforcez donc, quelle que soit la situation, de vous montrer chaleureux, généreux, loyal, honnête, droit et courageux. Vous êtes toujours disponible quand on a besoin de votre aide ou de vos conseils et vous êtes fier et heureux de pouvoir rendre service. Attention toutefois à ne pas trop imposer votre présence légèrement dominatrice ! Vous n'êtes pas toujours indispensable et l'on pourrait vous reprocher de vous comporter de manière quelque peu égocentrique et autoritaire quand vous tentez de prendre les choses en main sans tenir compte de l'avis des personnes qui vous entourent. Il serait dommage de donner de vous cette image alors que, manquant peut-être de confiance en vous, vous cherchez tout simplement à vous rassurer...

Mercury in Gemini: his intellect and social life

Une intelligence curieuse, une compréhension immédiate ainsi que des intérêts variés vous poussent Bernard Berenson tout naturellement vers les autres en toutes circonstances afin d'échanger des idées et d'exercer votre sens de la répartie. Avec vous, les pensées comme les actions doivent être rapides et vous risquez de vous montrer impatient, voire critique et ironique avec les personnes qui ne peuvent soutenir votre rythme effréné. Très adaptable, vous pouvez facilement faire plusieurs choses à la fois tout en réfléchissant à une action future car vous avez sans cesse besoin d'être en mouvement. Et même si l'on vous reproche parfois une tendance à la superficialité, à la dispersion ainsi que votre goût à dissimuler quelque peu la vérité, vous vous sortirez toujours des situations délicates avec une facilité incroyable tant vous pouvez être astucieux, rusé et charmeur.

Venus in Taurus and the Sun in Cancer: his affectivity and seductiveness

Dans votre thème, le Soleil est en Cancer, Vénus en Taureau. Point commun évident entre deux Signes à bien des égards complémentaires : la sélectivité. Ne fait pas qui veut partie de votre univers sentimental ! Protection (Soleil en Cancer) et résistance (Vénus en Taureau) sont les deux caractéristiques marquantes de votre affectivité. Ce qu'une telle configuration fait perdre en spontanéité, elle le fait gagner en profondeur des affections. Qu'on ne se laisse pas abuser par votre apparent désir de quiétude : les émotions sont fortes, la sensualité exigeante. D'autant plus que vous n'extériorisez que rarement vos affects. Ce n'est que lorsqu'il y a danger, alerte rouge, lorsque votre couple est en péril, que vous laissez libre cours à vos passions. Celles-ci pourront alors s'avérer d'une rare intensité. On reproche parfois au couple zodiacal Cancer-Taureau une relative inertie : il est vrai que la force des habitudes est grande, que l'affectivité se construit au fil des expériences communes et que vous n'êtes pas - loin s'en faut - l'être des remises en cause quotidiennes. Il faut bien comprendre votre manière de fonctionner : A la volonté de bâtir un univers protégé (Cancer) s'ajoute le désir de goûter pleinement la saveur d'une liaison (Taureau). D'où l'idée qu'une relation pleinement épanouie se forge avec le temps, la patience, la tendresse et la découverte progressive de l'autre.

Que de volupté et de charme recèle votre personne, Bernard Berenson ! Vous êtes ce que l'on appelle une "nature" et lorsque la confiance s'est installée, lentement mais sûrement, vous vous attachez profondément à votre partenaire et vous pouvez ainsi être gagné par la passion. Cela mettra des mois, voire des années, mais vous êtes si généreux et si affectueux que dans la plupart des cas votre relation de couple a des chances de s'épanouir avec le temps. Très physique, très sensuel, vous avez à coeur de savourer avec délice vos moments intimes et cet aspect de votre relation amoureuse contribue généralement à cimenter le lien existant. Tout cela semble  idyllique, Bernard Berenson et en effet ce serait le cas si parfois, votre jalousie et votre possessivité ne se mettaient pas en marche en même temps que vos sentiments puissants. Mais vous avez déjà beaucoup trop d'atouts, alors soyez satisfait !

The Sun in Cancer: his will and inner motivations

Psychologiquement, vous êtes d'une nature rêveuse, tournée vers la nostalgie du passé, vers la mère, vers la famille : tout en instinct, tout en protection ou défense de votre être vis-à-vis de l'extérieur, vous possédez une vie intérieure riche, une imagination fertile voire même infinie, une propension à éviter tout risque inutile, à rechercher la sécurité en ne vous  dévoilant que lorsque la confiance est là, une nostalgie du passé pour le sentiment de bien-être qu'il vous rappelle.

Né avec la marque de ce signe, vous êtes émotif, sentimental, paisible, imaginatif, sensible, fidèle, résistant, protecteur, vulnérable, généreux, romantique, tendre, poète, paternel ou maternel, rêveur, indolent, gourmand, dévoué, mais vous pouvez aussi être craintif, irréaliste, fuyant, passif, susceptible, angoissé, dépendant, entêté, lunatique, passéiste, paresseux, pesant, casanier ou hermétique.

L'amour au masculin : pour vous, Bernard Berenson, en amour, vous êtes un tendre, un sensible, plutôt fidèle. Influencé par votre mère, vous recherchez inconsciemment une compagne qui vous apportera autant d'attention et d'affection que vous en receviez dans votre enfance. Casanier mais rêveur, vous vous épanouirez dans votre cocon familial au milieu de la famille que vous aurez créée, rêvant d'aventures et de voyages extraordinaires... que vous réaliserez quand même quelquefois mais surtout dans votre tête.

La tendresse compte pour vous plus que la sexualité même si elle est également un facteur de sécurité et de stabilité. Vous appréciez énormément de redevenir le petit enfant gâté que vous étiez, savourant les petits plats ou recevant les compliments réguliers dont vous avez tant besoin pour vous sentir rassuré.

Vous êtes sans doute à l'abri des drames, des complications de la vie car au moment même où une situation délicate intervient, vous préférez souvent la tuer dans l'oeuf en n'y donnant pas suite ou en rentrant dans votre coquille tranquillement, et en y ressortant quand l'orage est passé.

Votre foyer sera généralement heureux et riche, calme et harmonieux dans la durée.

Mars in Leo: his ability to take action

Quelle énergie Bernard Berenson ! Que d'initiatives et de force pour agir, construire ou combattre ! Vous faites partie des conquérants, loyaux et soucieux du panache et votre vitalité est telle que vous pourrez l'utiliser sans peine pour arriver à vos objectifs et exercer toute votre créativité. Vous êtes cependant si fier et si entier qu'il n'est pas question pour vous de distinguer chez autrui une once de contrariété sur votre route : vous risqueriez alors, si vexé, de courir dans la direction opposée par réaction. Sexuellement, votre magnétisme et votre énergie font des merveilles et en plus vous n'êtes pas compliqué, il suffit pour que tout se passe au mieux que l'on  respecte votre nature un peu dominatrice et que l'on vous porte un minimum d'admiration. Vous avez en général confiance en vous et en votre réussite et c'est ce trait de caractère particulier qui parfois peut faire de vous un vrai héros à la force herculéenne et au charisme solaire.

Conclusion

This text is only an excerpt from the portrait of of Bernard Berenson, which we hope will inspire you to deepen your knowledge of astrology.

Since the birth time is unknown,, these portrait excerpts do not take into account the parameters derived from the time, which means, the domification (Ascendant, astrological houses, etc.). Nonetheless, these analyses remain accurate in any case.

Regarding the sources of the birth data in our possession, kindly note that the pages we publish constitute a starting point for more detailed research, even though they seem useful to us. When the sources are contradictory, which occurs rarely, after having analysed them, we choose the most reliable one. Sometimes, we publish a birth date just because it is made available, but we do not claim that is it the best one, by no means.