Hi All,

It has been years (decades) since I was last in a bar or as they are now called, a “club.”  However, I can still remember the smell of old beer and stale perfume emanating from the bartender and waitresses, not necessarily in that order.  For the most part, it appeared to me that the people sitting in those stuffy, and dimly lit dens of refuge were seeking comfort in a number of ways.  First, there were those that were the merry makers, you know, the ones that were loud, laughing, and buying rounds for their friends.  Then, there were those that sat tucked away, huddled in the shadows of the room in the miasmic wisps of cigarette smoke.

My memory was jostled to these long ago forgotten scenes of when I used to build houses for a living, by a conversation I inadvertently overheard while working in downtown San Luis Obispo.  As a former carpenter and house builder, one is never guaranteed a full day’s work due to weather, lack of materials, or any other number of possibilities.  Often, sometimes too often, a job would shut down due to poor weather.  You see, when in the early stages of house building there is little protection from the elements.  You can either go home, or go off to shoot pool and have some fun with your buddies.  This was long ago when single, and with little cares.

As an astrologer, when I give way to these reveries I am always reminded of the 12th house, the house of “forgetting.”  The 12th house is associated with drugs and alcohol (both one in the same) among other things, and it is easy to find them both at a bar.  Still, there is such a difference between the jovial character mentioned earlier, and the one hiding away in the back.  I often thought of what the astrological differences might be between these two types of men.  After all, both are in a darkened bar, drinking, and soothing their souls (memories of the womb).  Still, one is highly extroverted and the other is highly introverted, but how, and why?

Well, since one is rarely given the birth dates of strangers in a bar, one needs to exercise creativity and imagination, astrologically speaking that is.  The jovial individual could be experiencing a major transit of Jupiter in his natal birth chart; his behavior may not necessarily suggest a predisposition to happiness.  On the other hand, the fellow in the back could just be living out a heavily activated Saturn, either natally, or by progression/transit.  It would be very difficult to simply guess the nature of this beast.  So this presents a problem of limitations to all that might be interested in understanding this type of behavior, and in this type of environment.

The happy go lucky patron, the one with a pocket full of quarters could very well have an impulse control disorder (afflicted Mercury to Uranus), or a mood disorder (afflicted 12th house Moon) such as schizophrenia.  This man may be putting in quarter after quarter (now you can really tell how long it has been for me) playing sad songs, one after another, bringing everyone down with him (Sun/Moon square Saturn).  The man in the back may have just had a bad day, trying to recover from an enormously difficult day.  Or, he may have a delusional disorder (12th house Neptune afflicted to Moon or Mercury), trying to keep out of sight from those that are “following” him.

However, when it comes down to it, this does not really matter.  The bar is a representation of the mother’s womb, just as any home is to the average person.  On any given day patrons come and go, most staying for a quick beer or a game of pool.  It’s the ones that come early, and leave late that makes it relatively easy to determine who has what and why.  For many psychologists, there is the strong belief that the issue is mom (Moon), and the resultant behavior of the alcohol is simply a repeat of dad’s behavior when growing up (Saturn rx).  Still, regardless of the conditions mentioned I find that the motivation of an afflicted 12th house is an issue that is blaring with the neon lights, and can easily be viewed from any vantage point from the 12th house.

Aho

Curtis Williams  MA, A.P. D., CRMT