The East Coast Kathleen Zellner – Looking up the Chart of Rosemary Scapicchio
December 10, 2020 | Clarisse Monahan
Like many who continue to quarantine and search for new content to throw into the abyss of uneasy time, I just spent the past couple of days fiendishly binge-watching the epic and excellent “Trial 4,” Netflix’s new wrongful conviction docu-series about a young black man railroaded by a myopic justice system in early 1990s Boston. Sean Ellis and his family’s courage and strength were incredibly inspiring, but I also found myself quickly looking up online the chart of Rosemary Scapicchio, Sean’s powerhouse attorney.
The first thing that sticks out about Rosemary’s chart is that she has strong Asteroid placement in relation to her personal planets, specifically Sagittarius Moon conjunct Ceres. Moon conjunct Ceres is matriarchal, but this does not mean maternal. This distinction is subtle but crucial in that matriarchal power directs itself more toward abstract systems (such as justice) rather than, say, family. Ceres is associated, moreover, with a concern for workers, social service, the vulnerable, and people who do have the ability to fight for their own rights. As Rosemary’s Ceres is in truth-seeking Sagittarius, this placement would manifest in her dogged pursuit of knowledge which she demonstrates in her decades-long advocacy for Sean’s justice.
Rosemary also has Mars in Gemini, which means her weapon is her word. We see Mars in Gemini in charts of amazing advocates for human rights. Cornell West, the powerful black activist, public intellectual, and Harvard professor, has this position, too. Not only does this make you extremely eloquent, especially when you are destroying some crooked cop on the stand, but you are also able to remain measured while doing so.
I got into Astrology in the catacombs of my University library, while accidentally chancing upon a book on Renaissance astronomy and its world of polymaths, omens, and stars. At first, it seemed quite unlike the philosophical universe I was supposed to be writing about-the one of the logical rules hung up like salty fish along reason's tight string. But I've come to see that both systems heavenly and sublunar-are governed by deep, predictable patterns. I've taken this insight into my professional Astrology and Tarot practice, third-eye fully open to the deep cosmic alignments and principles that structure our experience of time. Life seems convoluted and non-linear, but astrology can clarify one's sense of place in the greater cosmic order.
As well as astrology and tarot, I also designed a collection of Astro Americana collection of zodiac shirts which is inspired by county fairs, amusement parks, airbrush booths, and the kitsch pleasures of American cultural referents—big cars, baseball hats, Las Vegas casinos, etc. I wanted to combine these motifs with the equally outlandish and strange exuberance of the Zodiac so that when you wear these shirts you feel as cosmically large as whatever sign you choose to be.
