Bob Dylan (May 24, 1941)

Not sure why I’m supposed to feature Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) today. It started with the line from Don McLean’s American Pie, quoted as the title of this piece. Then it evolved into his lyrics from one of his earlier songs.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Written by: Bob Dylan

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’

(Yes, I can see how applicable these words are now, especially verse 3, on January 6th.)

This is considered an accurate birth time (since the collector obtained his birth records). The Yod pointing at Saturn (conjunct his natal Moon) tells the whole story, I expect.

Moon Inconjunct Ascendant

You tend to put your own emotional needs and wants second to whatever you feel has to be done. In other words, you are likely to be more disciplined emotionally than most people your age. But this is not good if you feel that your emotional needs are not important. Your needs must be fulfilled as much as anyone else’s, particularly because your feelings are really very powerful within you.

This aspect also ties together in you a Moon sign and a rising sign that are very different. This indicates that the image you project to other people does not reveal very much about your real feelings. When you are upset, you surprise people by showing a totally different side of your personality.

Saturn Inconjunct Ascendant

With this aspect you probably have a rather serious attitude toward life and other people. It may be quite difficult for you to simply go out and have a good time. You want to be serious and to spend all your time performing significant tasks. This attitude may have developed because you were discouraged from enjoying yourself when you were younger. You may have been made to feel that only work is important, that play serves no useful purpose.

You may find it difficult to express yourself to other people. This is another expression of your lack of self-confidence, which will change if you get positive emotional support from the people around you.

Saturn Inconjunct Midheaven

You are likely to have very serious difficulties with authority figures, because you are afraid of how they will treat you, not expecting that anyone will ever give you the loving guidance you need. You will see all authorities only as potential threats to your freedom and as sources of pain and trouble.

In any case it is good to associate with people your own age, to avoid becoming so isolated that you cannot deal with people. This also helps to counter your loneliness.

(Hence the ‘freewheeling’ image of that first album.)

Moon Conjunct Saturn

With this aspect you tend to refuse emotional help from others. You may feel that your own inner feelings are not very important because they belong only to you.

Two Incidents, One Year Apart

When I first envisioned this post, I thought about the time he was booed by some of the audience when he introduced electric guitars to the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. This was his middle finger to the authorities. (In the chart of that event, I let the timing be randomized and then changed it to PM from AM.)

The ‘event’ Saturn is inconjunct his natal Midheaven, echoing his natal aspect between them. His Part of Fortune is conjunct the ‘event’ Midheaven. His natal Pluto is conjunct the ‘event’ Sun. His venturing into electric guitars would be the making of him.

The second event is an obvious one: his motorcycle accident, of which there are scant details. I set the time for 12 noon, to see what popped up.

Now we’re getting somewhere: the ‘event’ North Node @ 21° Taurus 33′ is almost exactly conjunct his natal Moon. His natal South Node is conjunct the ‘event’ Saturn. And the ‘event’ Ascendant is almost exactly conjunct his natal Midheaven. This feels fated. His natal Sun and Pluto are forming a Yod with the ‘event’ Moon. Need I say anything more?

It has been suggested that this accident may have saved his life. I would tend to agree with that assessment. He certainly walked away from the constant busy-ness of his life and spent time contemplating his future. He also starting writing and recording with The Band.

Some advice about life from a few good men…