‘Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry’; Understanding Padre Pio
August 8th, 2007 at 3:08 pm (Celebrity Astrology)
Padre Pio was an Italian priest who was also a saint and a stigmatic, that is, the wounds of Christ physically manifested in him for most of his adult life. Many miracles are attributed to him as well, from miraculous healings to bilocation. I chose Padre Pio’s horoscope because it helps us to understand just how good his horoscope is, and consequently to put all other charts in perspective. We will look at his horoscope (we have the unusual good fortune to have an apparently accurate time of birth for him), and specifically we will examine what Ptolemy called “the quality of mind.” This is a planet or planets which indicates the individual’s deepest motivation.
Some astrologers say that we cannot tell whether a person will be good or bad, and whether they will be a saint or a criminal. However, this can most definitely be done, and the ancient astrologers provide us with the techniques to determine just this. This type of examination does not leave much room for moral relativism; good and evil are as distinct in the horoscope as they are in real life.
The horoscope of Padre Pio is below:
The most dramatic feature of this horoscope is that all of the planets are either disposed by strongly benefic planets, or are conjunct the Royal fixed stars. Even without going into a deep analysis of this horoscope, we see that we are in the presence of someone truly unusual and special. The two most important planets in the horoscope are the Moon in Cancer (in its own sign), and Mercury in Gemini, also in its own sign. Interestingly, these are the two planets we would examine when trying to find “the quality of the mind.” The Moon is the intuition, while Mercury is logic, and the planets connected to these two indicators tell us a great deal about the level at which a person is going to live.
Mercury is conjunct the Sun, which is four degrees away from the Royal fixed star Aldebaran. Though the Sun is not strong by sign or house, it is ruled by this very strong Mercury. Ptolemy says that Mercury as significator of mind and strongly placed makes a person “prudent, clever, sensible, capable of great learning, inventive, expert, logical, studious of nature, speculative, of good genius, emulous, benevolent, skilful in argument, accurate in conjecture, adapted to sciences and mysteries, and tractable.” This seems very much in keeping with the best qualities of Padre Pio, as recorded by his biographers and contemporaries. Note the comment about him being “of good genius.” Genius comes from the old meaning of “spirit,” rather than someone with a high IQ. The old definition of genius is far more profound, because it goes to the quality and inherent morality of a person. This is perhaps the most positive endorsement we can find by Ptolemy, and is in keeping with what is perhaps Padre Pio’s most famous quotation: “pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
Combined with a strong Moon that is increasing in light, we get a person who is ingenious and expansive. The influence of the Sun adds nobility, especially combined with the Royal fixed star Aldebaran.
So, Ptolemy got it right. If you’re interested in this technique (and if you analyze natal horoscopes, you should be, as this is a key first step), I would point you toward John Frawley’s book, The Real Astrology, pp 11-16. The author analyzes the horoscope of Adolf Hitler using this method, and accurately shows its simplicity and power.
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Chris said,
August 16th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
wow, thank you Nina for this horoscope, I have a book about the life of padre Pio with pictures and a relic (a piece of his robe), send to me by another “padre” who lives a while with him in Italy.