Through awareness of our greatest weakness and wound, we may dip into that ‘source of mercy’ without reservation and be better for the experience.

The Planet And Mythology
Chiron was discovered in 1977 and was named after the centaur of Greek mythology who was a teacher, healer, mentor, musician, physician and prophet. He was the mentor of many Greek heroes we know well today, including Jason, Hercules and Achilles. Chiron was proficient in the art of war, in healing, ethics, rituals and science.

The most common story which has earned Chiron the Wounded Healer title involved an invitation to Hercules, by the centaurs. Soon a fight began, and Hercules began to battle with the centaurs as they scattered in many directions. One of Hercules’ own arrows struck Chiron in the leg during the melee, causing him agony for the rest of his life. As Melanie Reinhart writes in her early seminal masterpiece, "Chiron and the Healing Journey," the implications of this story are profound.

"The fighting factions symbolize the conflict embodied in Chiron’s form: the centaurs represent Chiron’s lower half, the rejected animal part of him, while...Hercules represents his top, human half. This wound is the heritage of centuries of repressing and persecuting our instinctual selves..." (2)

In Greek mythology, Chiron could not die from his wound because he was immortal, nor could he cure it despite his efforts as a physician. Yet as he sought healing for his own wound, he found he was able to help others along the way despite the presence of his own pain; in fact, there was amelioration of this pain when he was working to heal others instead of himself. As Reinhart writes, Chiron’s tale underscores the "need for acceptance of our woundedness as a precondition for any healing that may follow." (3)

Eventually, Chiron was allowed to replace the tormented Prometheus, who was being tortured by Zeus as punishment for stealing fire. Prometheus was bound to a rock where a Griffon pecked at his liver each day, yet he could not die because the organ would regenerate every night. In a deal ironically brokered by Hercules, Zeus allowed Chiron to replace Prometheus, where he soon gratefully died. Soon after, Zeus placed him in the heavens as the constellation Centaurus.

There has been some excellent study and research on Chiron in natal astrology, yet far less on Chiron by transit, solar arc or understanding Chiron in midpoints. I have been using Chiron for many years and am pleased to offer this look at the mysterious planetoid between Saturn and Uranus through case studies. In particular, we shall use the life of Leonard Cohen, who is extremely Chironian by natal chart, as well as through his well-documented creative activity over the span of nearly 45 years.

The Chironian Poet
No one bridges pain and beauty quite like Leonard Cohen (chart shown), the Canadian poet and singer/songwriter with an international following that is somehow both mainstream and cult. His poetry bridges the gaps between religion, love, hatred, sacrifice, ritual and almost always pain, both personal and collective. Cohen has been quoted as saying he thinks he was born in the early morning and before daybreak. To that end, astrologer John Etherington rectified Cohen’s chart to 4:29 am with, I believe, finely-reasoned skill and precision. It is his work (which appeared in Apollon Issue One) which I acknowledge here. (4)

Cohen is a double Virgo (Sun and Ascendant), with Moon in Pisces, a vivid polarity that courses through his work and life. Chiron is at 9 degrees Gemini, Retrograde, and elevated in the 10th House. Chiron squares Venus and also squares the Moon. In addition, he also has several startling midpoint pictures that involve Chiron: including Pluto=Venus/Chiron, Neptune/Chiron, and Mars=Mercury/Chiron."

Suffering and mercy are Cohen staples; these are certainly Virgo-Pisces themes as well but the essence of this writer is rounded out precisely with the all-consuming influence of Chiron throughout his life. He also has Venus and Neptune tightly conjunct in Virgo in the 1st House.

Cohen was born to Jewish parents in an upper-middle class area of Westmount, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. As Etherington points out, Chiron reared its head by transit early in Cohen’s life when his father died in the war at his first Chiron square Chiron. Later, with Chiron conjunct his natal Sun, he became aware of the Holocaust. (5)

In general terms, it is the client’s earliest wounding(s) as seen through Chiron’s placement in the chart that will allow eventual healing to manifest. Cohen was in his late 30s before he could accept his father’s death (symbolized by Chiron in the 10th House).

"Let Us Compare Mythologies" was Cohen’s first book of poetry. At this time, transiting Chiron was conjunct the Lunar Nodal Axis (specifically the North Node in Aquarius) in the 6th House, symbolizing his first public outreach as one of destiny at the ripe age of 22.

Transiting Chiron was conjunct Cohen’s Moon when his first novel was being written, before its completion in October of 1962. This was a critically acclaimed, semi-autobiographical offering called "The Favourite Game." (6) This was also the time of his Saturn Return, the two most striking astrological notations at this time. In addition, Solar Arc Chiron was sesquisquare his Saturn, adding further developmental tension to the mix.

When Chiron challenges the Moon (generally by conjunction, square, opposition or as a key midpoint) we see the symbolism of motherhood in a poignant, strained way. (We also see this with natal Chiron on the Ascendant, curiously enough, essentially due to the understanding of the Ascendant as the gateway into the world. The mother’s crucial role in the new soul’s welcome is at the crux of this understanding. However, the Ascendant/mother connection is less obvious, usually, until therapy brings this information out.)

For someone not in touch with their creative side, Transiting or Solar Arc Chiron to the Moon may manifest solely as a time of internal hurting and a great need for suffering in order to come to terms with old wounds, often related to our personal mother. It can also represent illness related to the stomach or breasts if other astrological notations also point to this area of the body. For Cohen at this time (although we do not know for certain even through his biography), we know that he dedicated The Favourite Game to his mother in the original edition. We also know that a novel, for a writer, is akin to nurturing a child — in this case, a first child since it was his first novel.

Soon after this time, Ira Nadel, his biographer reports that Cohen wrote the following to his publisher at the time: "The further a writer gets from his malice, his bitterness, his selfish problems, the more full of wounding pain his writing becomes." (7)

In late 1964, "Flowers For Hitler" was released, a book of poetry that broke all the rules in many respects for its emphasis on political landscapes juxtaposed with historical and personal imagery. (8) This was during the period of time when transiting Chiron squared itself and was opposed to Venus and Neptune and also made a quincunx to Mars. Cohen considered the poems radical and ambitious and was ready for a critical response from his publisher. He wrote to publisher Jack McClelland of McLelland and Stuart and said the poems "will speak to nobody because nobody enjoys my grotesque kind of health." He closed the letter with "Goodbye forever/Leonard Cohen/The Jewish Keats. (9) A Chiron square is a very individual process because of its elliptical orbit; this contrasts with the inherent structure and reliability of the quadrature of Saturn. That being said, Cohen’s description of his own poetry here keenly embodies the desperation of the symbol. A Chiron square — at least later in life — is about purging personal and collective pain. As a Jew and as a poet, Cohen’s personal anguish and collective anguish are embodied in this work.

Beautiful Losers
Cohen’s second and only other prose work, "Beautiful Losers," (and what a Chironian title!) was released in 1966. (10) A complex, erotic offering with religious overtones, this watershed novel was radical and unprecedented in the English language. Cohen himself described it years later as "more of a heatstroke than a novel," as he completed the bulk of it on the island of Hydra in Greece, during a period of heavy drug usage. Cohen would then abandon the novel form altogether for poetry and music. But during this time, it is fascinating to note just how active transiting Chiron is again in his life, this time in the form of an opposition with his Sun. At the same time, transiting Uranus and Pluto are conjunct his Venus-Neptune conjunction.

When Chiron makes a challenging aspect to the Sun we struggle to unlock the positive potential of our masculinity because old father wounds are opened again. But more importantly, the Sun represents our core energy -- our sense of meaning. When Chiron opposes (or makes any other challenging aspect) to the Sun, our hope for the future and our ability to shine is often dampened — and sometimes irretrievably. For those without a creative outlet, the series of Chironian transits we have already seen in the life of Leonard Cohen could be extraordinarily difficult. Cohen himself has often struggled with depression and drug use as he sought to align and understand his solar nature and his Chironian nature.

For those who can assimilate these two energies -- as Cohen has -- there are very real inner rewards. These include compassion, serenity and patience when things cannot be altered; there is a stronger will to live and wisdom is cultivated. This very real polarity (which is essentially between the solar principles of the Sun and Chiron) was outlined in a superb article written by Liz Greene, "Wounding and the Will To Live." (11)

Greene points out that "the Sun working with Chiron (positively) can activate the will to live...because one’s sense of individual purpose has combined with a feeling of empathy for the slow and painful struggle toward the light which exists in every living thing." This paragraph is strikingly similar in message with a song of Cohen’s from his 1992 album The Future, called "Anthem." The chorus is:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in. (12)

This is wonderfully illustrative of how this poet and musician harnessed the difficult Chironian energy over the course of his lifetime. A few years later, with transiting Pluto providing the background darkness of the period between January 1970 and the summer of 1971, we note the powerful hand of Chiron again. Transiting Chiron then was also opposing Mercury and quincunx Venus and Neptune. Transiting Chiron was also quindecile the Sun. (This is a 165-degree aspect convincingly resurrected by Noel Tyl that connotes unrelenting motivation and obsession. This is an extremely important aspect — use a 2.5 degree orb — that every astrologer should work with and get a feel for.) This was the period in which Cohen released his album Songs Of Love And Hate and a new book of poetry entitled The Energy of Slaves. (10)

An example short poem from this volume entitled "Love Is A Fire" illustrates Cohen’s Chironian wound within the context of giving and receiving love. (13) Cohen’s 11th House ruler is the Moon, receiving a square from Chiron.

Love Is A Fire

It burns everyone

It disfigures everyone

It is the world’s excuse

For being ugly.

On the topic of love, it should be noted that Cohen’s relationships with women over the years were anything but straightforward. He has also had many failed relationships as he sought the Virgoan ideal of perfection, and, as indicative of his Chiron-Venus square and Pisces Moon, a tendency to feel victimized by life. An aspect of developmental tension between Chiron and Venus is strongly indicative of someone who sees a romantic partner through a lens frosted by images of hurting or pain. And, as Reinhart writes, this same aspect connotes an ability to "see beauty where others do not notice it." (14).

From "The Spice Box Of Earth," an early book of poetry from Cohen, he shows us this symbolism clearly in a poem called "Beneath My Hands." (15)

Beneath My Hands

your small breasts

are the upturned bellies

of breathing fallen sparrows.

Notice the sparrows are fallen — injured in some way. Later in this love poem he writes:

When you call me close

to tell me

your body is not beautiful

I want to summon

the eyes and hidden mouths

of stone and light and water

to testify against you

Here, we see him ‘testifying’ on the side of beauty; though the subject in the poem does not see it in herself, Cohen can clearly ‘see the beauty!’

Though Cohen has worked with this uneasy truce between coping with the difficult Chironian demands of ritual, alienation and loss and finding the light (Sun), he still admits to suffering with related anxieties on a regular basis.

The Chiron Return
At the age of 50, something was happening to Cohen that happens to many of us, though we may not recognize it exactly for what it is — a new orientation toward understanding and appreciating our mortality. The Chiron Return generally happens around the age of 50-51, a time when the occurrences of the past are re-assimilated. This new assimilation of past experiences is perhaps not accepted as readily, as we look for acceptance within ourselves before anyone or anything from the outside world.

As Reinhart writes, it poses the question "what am I going to do with the last part of my life?"

These are crucial years right before our second Saturn Return, a period which will ideally pave the way for a smooth transition to the latter part of our life. She states that "if a personal sense of connection with the numinous has not yet been found, denial and fear of death may invite...experience of meaninglessness. However, for many people, the Chiron return brings...commitment to their individuation and spiritual life." (16)

For Cohen, the latter quite readily gripped his soul. Always prone to flirting with religious themes throughout his poetry, no matter the core subject matter, Book of Mercy was, even by his standards, a great departure. (17) Published at his Chiron return, this book contains 50 personal psalms to mark his age, filled with agonizing love and reflections for the eternal and the spiritual. As Nadel writes in his biography on Cohen, "some wondered how the poet who seemed to possess such venom in his previous book, Death of a Lady’s Man, could now possess such spiritual love." (18)

But the Chiron Return is often about a shift in beliefs and in attitudes, particularly if that foundation is already there (as seen through planetary placements, aspects, rulership dynamics and the Level of the person in question). Self-healing had begun in earnest for the man so identified with creative pain and sorrow — and he had chosen to answer that call with artistic energy in this book’s release.

Though mainly a critical success throughout his life, the albums I’m Your Man (1988) and The Future (1992) established Cohen as a popular force, too (albeit late in his life). With a new, modern Euro-sound to compliment his folk sensibilities, Cohen won the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (during a Jupiter return) in 1993. (19)

Cohen’s spiritual longings have never faded, though they have certainly gotten tangled up with women (such as actress Rebecca de Mornay) and with his unrelenting creative side. Jennifer Warnes was a longtime back-up singer to Cohen and once released an album of Cohen’s music herself. She said to his biographer that Cohen changed the way she regarded music. His singing and its effect on his audience "was the place where God and sex and literature meet...I’ve never known anyone with more courage to go where all of us are afraid to go." (20)

This is certainly a Chironian theme expressed with complete acceptance by the man — to go where angels fear to tread. When Cohen was recently asked for his understanding of the idea of love, his answer was wonderfully illustrative of a Chiron-Venus square:

"During the course of my life there have been some wonderful women. And it was not that I could not find love, but that I could not accept love, because I did not know how. Perhaps the break-ups were an element in that depression...but it had to do with an isolation of myself. It has been the force, the determinant mechanism that made me adapt this attitude in life. I lived trying to avoid it, to escape it, to understand it, to handle it. It made me turn to drink, it pushed me to drugs, and it lead me to Zen." (21)

Zen and Chiron
On August 9 1996, Cohen was ordained as a Zen monk at the Mount Baldy community in California, residing there for more than five years in the snow line on the San Gabriel Mountains. He worked as cook and secretary to Roshi, a spiritual teacher he has known for more than 30 years, performing mundane, daily rituals. (Virgo-Chiron)

On this day of his acceptance there, transiting Chiron was sextile his natal Mars, from the 2nd House of self-worth. His Secondary Progressed Moon was conjunct Chiron and Solar Arc Chiron was in the 12th House (institutions), conjunct Mars!

Zen’s aim is to destroy and take away beliefs in a person instead of adding new beliefs. It is the ''nothingness'' that is left when a person eliminates religious belief altogether, certainly a challenge to Cohen’s Jewish upbringing. Zen teachings say there is freedom not from suffering, but within it. This is amazing imagery to illustrate the nature of Chiron!

There is no other planet that represents personal survival juxtaposed with collective pain in the way Chiron does. It is here where Chiron calls on us to be strong — perhaps stronger than we have ever had to be. Cohen recently left the mountain and his Zen studies; when he descended he did so armed with about 250 poems and songs tucked under his arm. Just recently, Cohen released a new album called "Ten New Songs" (at age 67). Consider the idea of survival and spiritual pain from this verse from A Thousand Kisses Deep, as Transiting Chiron currently squares Cohen’s Sun and Solar Arc Chiron quindeciles his Moon:

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,

I’m back on Boogie Street.

You lose your grip, and then you slip

Into the Masterpiece.

And maybe I had miles to drive,

And promises to keep:

You ditch it all to stay alive,

A Thousand Kisses Deep. (22)

After this album was released, an interviewer reminded Cohen about his now-famous response to a journalist in the past, when asked about going through life as a pessimist. Cohen replied at the time that "a pessimist is someone who waits for the rain. But I am already soaked to the skin."

In a recent interview, he was asked that as someone who suffers from ongoing melancholy, does the thought of death frighten him?

"No, only the possibility of illness and physical disabilities makes me anxious (Chironian fears). Tennessee Williams commented rightfully so, ‘Life is a fairly well-written play except for the third act.’ But that last act is miserable." (23)

Planetary Distinctiveness
Before we go any further it should be observed that there are important differences between the symbolism of Neptune-Chiron and Pluto-Chiron. For instance, although Neptune is about sacrifice, Chiron also finds itself related to this theme. But there are striking differences. With Neptune, the sacrifice is about redemption — in the return to all unity and oneness. As Liz Greene writes in her monumental work The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption, "personal desires of any kind become culprits, for in our gain lies someone else’s loss, envy or anger." She further writes that "all of this is barter, for there is always a ‘payoff’ in mind, a goal in sight: Eden at the end of the thorny road." (24)

Chiron, on the other hand, is very personal in most ways, despite its astronomical link as both an inner and outer planet. Chiron, even in mythology, doesn’t so much want healing for the world as he does simply to be rid of the pain for himself. However, along the way he truly begins to discover the precious link between healing others and healing oneself. Despite the fact that Chiron was a teacher and healer before, his true sacrifices came after his wound was experienced. This makes Chiron so much more human — the energy so much more approachable in theory and in reality — than the illusive Neptune.

Plutonian and Chironian energies are also often confused, but in a different way. Both are sometimes called ‘transformational’ energies; while this may be true ideally, in truth that word would be better saved for the god of the Underworld. This is because, archetypally, Pluto demands transformation. And, it always delivers, whether we like it or not! When Pluto transits the Ascendant we will change, of that there can be no doubt. But Chiron’s promise is more peripheral -- more dangerously vague in its application for change. It is a feeling of breakdown that is not necessarily accompanied by a related transformation. This is crucial to realize. Chironian energy is more difficult to integrate because there isn’t a forced quality about it. It can therefore languish as an illness, a depressive state of mind with fewer outlets for understanding its difficult message. Handled well though, Chiron over the Ascendant, for example, can signal a dawning of purpose.

The Dark Side
Because Chiron continues to be associated with doom and gloom, I chose the previous case study as an example of someone who was able to manage the tremendously complex energies in a creative fashion. Leonard Cohen lived out his suffering through his work, even though he did go through many depressive states at sporadical intervals in his life. But to pretend Chiron doesn’t have a dark side would be remiss. The following two shorter case studies illustrate Chiron’s synchronistic power in illness, dark states of mind, and death.

Private Case File (‘Edward’)
Edward almost bled to death from the stomach in mid-July 1975 at the age of 34. A severe alcoholic, Edward natally has Chiron in Cancer in the 9th House square to Venus and Jupiter in the 6th House. He also has some key midpoint pictures involving Chiron as well: Chiron=Moon/Saturn, Mars/Neptune (feel the despair inherent in these symbols together!) and Pluto=Chiron/MC (status in life challenged or wounded by necessary transformation of perspective).

During this time period, we see pressure placed on the Moon (stomach) by transit through a Chiron quincunx, the only challenging aspect to the Moon. Chiron is also conjunct Saturn in the 6th House and square Pluto. In addition, SA Chiron is quindecile the Sun and SA Pluto is opposing the Sun! The Sun, of course, is the furnace of the horoscope, where individual destiny and personal will are met.

Doctors gave no hope to Edward in 1975 and flatly told his spouse that he would not make it, barring a miracle. Edward did indeed survive, perhaps the mysterious hand of Chiron showing a potentially different path to take, if the will is there. But Edward did not work with his ample natal Chironian energy in the same manner as Cohen or other creative types. His natal Chiron squares languished in alcohol addiction; he was, in fact, an extremely creative, sensitive person who chose to repress this for the vast bulk of his life, rather than work with the sensitivities and assimilate them. His alcoholic disease was reinforced by a Moon-Neptune conjunction.

Edward never did stop drinking and lasted another difficult 24 years with many health concerns along the way. He died at 58, as transiting Chiron opposed natal Uranus, semi-squared the Moon and quindeciled Saturn. In addition, SA Chiron was sesquiquadrate Saturn. The midpoint pictures by transit were Saturn, Sun=Chiron/Asc (the Ascendant is the health centre of the horoscope). (22)

What should Edward have done in relation to the Chiron symbolism? He could have done something like join Alcoholics Anonymous and work to help others with their addictions; that would have been an obvious path to take given the miracle that occurred in 1975. Instead, he chose to continue on along a path that was fraught with danger and despair — a path that eventually caught up with him.

Ernest Hemingway
(chart shown)
Born in 1899, Ernest Hemingway was the second of six children, developing a love of literature and music from his mother, who was a trained opera singer. Hemingway’s childhood was relatively free from tragedy or trauma of any kind. He went on to lead a life that could only be called exciting by most any standards, becoming a world traveller, internationally-known author and even a paramedic during the First World War. During the war effort he was almost killed in enemy fire, spending nine months in hospital.

But Hemingway’s life as an adult grew darker than his carefree childhood, as the shadow of depressive tendencies enveloped the talented novelist. Married four times, Hemingway has Pisces on the Descendant and Neptune quindecile the Moon and square Mars. He also had Chiron square the Ascendant, a profound symbol for hurt and inner anguish that needs release; it is also the mark of a potentially-wise mentor. At the age of 29 at his Saturn Return, Hemingway’s father killed himself, just as the author was releasing "A Farewell To Arms," a book that ensured he would reach celebrity status. (25)

Hemingway continued on with his troubled inner life, all the while releasing books that were critically acclaimed and widely enjoyed. "The Old Man and the Sea" (1952) was the last great work of Hemingway, as alcohol, depression and ill health marred the quality of short stories and other writings he would release afterwards. He entered the Mayo Clinic in November of 1960 and was diagnosed with diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver and depression. At this time, transiting Chiron made a quincunx to his Sun, opposed his Mercury (depression), squared his MC, made a sesquiquadrate to Venus and trined his Jupiter (liver). He was hospitalized again later in the same year and then left in June of 1961. One month later, on July 2 1961 at his home in Ketchum, Idaho, he pointed a loaded shotgun at his head and pulled the trigger. (26)

When Hemingway died, he was experiencing Chiron square itself, always a difficult transit that puts us in touch with areas of our life that we may not be willing to accept, change or even acknowledge; and yet the purging of that personal pain is the remedy. Transiting Chiron was also conjunct his natal Moon in Pisces, made a quindecile to Mars, squared Uranus, squared the MC and, of course, opposed his Ascendant! Chiron symbolism was tragically poignant during this time period.

Pot Of Gold
Chiron is often about illness because this speaks of the level of repression we experience individually and collectively, particulary in western culture. Any planet (or behavioural faculty) should ideally be free from repression. The kind of wound identified through Chiron’s sign, house placement, aspects and midpoint pictures makes it imperative that we are honest with our needs, no matter how deeply they reside. This minimizes the ‘Accumulated Developmental Deficit’ as Noel Tyl writes about in Astrological Timing of Critical Illness. (27)

It is true, the 'healing' dimension of Chiron is not easily accessed. In fact, that is the only promise the centaur makes. This is because the 'wound' is developed where we would never want to go — a deep, resonant place often buried from our early childhood. It is a guarded, uneasy secret that only we can unlock. Where the centaur walks by transit and solar arc is where and when we have a time window for secrets to be assimilated and made welcome under the warm light of the Sun.

The discovery degree for Chiron is Taurus 4, with the corresponding Sabian Symbol of "The Rainbow’s Pot of Gold." (28) May we all unlock this treasure and spend the knowledge wisely in service of ourselves and others.

References

1. Nadel, Ira, Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen, Toronto, Canada, Random House, 1996, p. 237.

2. Melanie Reinhart, Chiron and the Healing Journey, England, Penguin Books, 1989, p. 24.

3. Reinhart, Chiron and the Healing Journey, p. 28

4. John Etherington, Apollon, Issue One, ‘Leonard Cohen’s Secret Chart.’ Enfield, United Kingdom, The Magazine Printing Company, 1998, p. 49.

5. Etherington, Leonard Cohen’s Secret Chart, p. 53

6. Leonard Cohen, The Favourite Game, England, Secker and Warburg, 1963.

7. Nadel, Various Positions, p. 123.

8. Leonard Cohen, Flowers For Hitler, Toronto, Canada, McClelland and Stewart, 1964.

9. Nadel, Various Positions, p. 118.

10. Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers, Toronto, Canada, McClelland and Stewart, 1966.

11. Liz Greene, Apollon, Issue Three, ‘Wounding and the Will to Live,’ p. 12.

12. Leonard Cohen, The Future, Anthem, Sony Music 1992.

13. Stranger Music, Selected Poems and Songs, Toronto, Canada, McClelland and Stewart, 1993, p. 168.

14. Reinhart, Chiron and the Healing Journey, p.207.

15. Cohen, Stranger Music, p. 16.

16. Reinhart, Chiron and the Healing Journey, p. 268.

17. Leonard Cohen, Book of Mercy, Toronto, Canada, McClelland and Stewart, 1984.

18. Nadel, Various Positions, p.238.

19. Leonard Cohen, I’m Your Man, Sony Music, 1988.

20. Nadel, Various Positions, p. 245.

21. CBC interview.

22. Leonard Cohen, Ten New Songs, ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep,’ Sony Music, 2001.

23. CBC interview

24. Liz Greene, The Astrological Neptune and the Quest For Redemption, York Beach U.S.A., Samuel Weiser, 1996, p. 97.

25. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 102: American Short Story Writers, 1910-1945, Detroit, Gale Research Company, 1991.

26. Dictionary of Literary Biography, 1991.

27. Noel Tyl, Astrological Timing of Critical Illness, St. Paul, U.S.A., Llewellyn Publications, 1999.

28. Marc Edmund Jones, The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Santa Fe, U.S.A., Aurora Press, 1993.